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Missouri is regressive in many ways. It is a very violent state with out of control gun laws. They just rolled back the minimum wage in St. Louis from 11 to 7 something. BACKWARDS BACKWARDS BACKWARDS.
I'd agree that Michigan people generally hate it here. There's a lot of boosters who love it loudly but to me it always rings a little hollow. Like "Come on, guys, it's not THAT bad." I don't consider that a ringing endorsement.
I'd note that those states with high levels of satisfaction seem to be rural, isolated places. Montana and Alaska likely attract people who want to live there. I reckon they're so isolates you work hard to get out, leaving mostly people who moved there for isolation or low taxes.
Whereas places like Michigan aren't attracting those sorts of rich isolationists or adventurers.
People dislike Michigan because it is tainted by rust belt stereotypes, these stereotypes only seem to have validity in the southeast part of Michigan. I would bet that most people polled who disliked Michigan do live in Michigans southeast near Detroit or its little brother with the bad water.... Flint. If your news is filled with stories of unemployment, crime and corruption, and your local cities are dismal places to visit I can understand why people are down on it.
Ironically Minnesota which is on the good list is a very similar state to Michigan in climate, culture and geography. MI, MN and WI all share a lot culturally and historically. Why is Michigan different? The northern two third of Michigan is very beautiful, residents in places like traverse city, gaylord are usually quite happy about where they live. Michigans second largest city is also nice....Grand Rapids is urban and much safer than the places across the state from it. Life in Grand Rapids is typical Midwest living...in a good way. Just a few counties put Michigan on that list opposite of Minnesota. Many of the boosters you speak of know all this and are desperate to try and present the states better qualities. Many in Michigan are also ashamed of its image and resentful toward those places that created that image. Michigan is a complicated place. I once lived in Michigan, I'd like to think I understand it's good and it's not so good. I know I always loved spending time in Michigans nicer places, they are very underrated nationally. Stereotypes about the state continue to keep people away.
Something entirely possible is that many people in the states with the lowest self-assessments may like the specific place where they reside, but not the state as a whole. This can be true when there are major disconnects between different sections of a state, for example Chicago vs. downstate Illinois, which in many respects have little in common with each other. The state is well recognized for its current economic and political woes, but contains many communities that are locally extremely nice places. People may be happy living in downtown Chicago, Naperville, or Carbondale (just as examples) but have a low regard for the state.
List matches up almost line for line with the states with highest % of people who work for themselves. Conservatives also just tend to have more pride in the place they live in. Very noticable on the national level I live in South Carolina EVERYONE flys a US flag outside their house here, I'm originally from CT where no one flew a flag.
Missouri is regressive in many ways. It is a very violent state with out of control gun laws. They just rolled back the minimum wage in St. Louis from 11 to 7 something. BACKWARDS BACKWARDS BACKWARDS.
How are the gun laws out of control? I found Montana and Wyoming to be backwards. And full of trigger happy people who valued gun laws over education.
I love Louisiana and feel there isnt a more interesting or fun state to live in but I do live in the gulf south where it is party central 24/7. Not lacking in amenities or creature comforts, but crime is high and incomes are low. Still, its about the people here and they are a hard working, supportive, fun loving bunch!
Honestly i think our climate has a lot to do with people not wanting to be here. This heat and humidity is not bearable by everyone.
Many states are large and have tremendous differences in quality of life between areas.
I live in Tennessee. Many people think of the Smokies, lakes, a "slower pace of life," Nashville/Memphis music scenes, Gatlinburg, etc. Most people generally have a positive impression of the state.
I'm over an hour away from the Smokies and nearly five hours from Nashville. I can get to the coast of Charleston, SC about as fast as Nashville. My town is basically full blown Rust Belt. Yes, it has Southern culture, but we have a lot more in common economically with Rust Belt areas of Ohio than we do with booming Sunbelt areas around Nashville.
Native young people are generally leaving the area due to a lack of jobs and opportunity. The population is aging. There isn't much of a "can-do" attitude here. To the extent new people are moving in, it's mostly retirees. There are a lot of issues with drugs and crime, especially in rural areas. The downtown is heavily boarded up, not much new activity is going on there. At best, we're stagnant.
Compare that to the booming areas of metro Nashville where people are moving from all over, things are looking up, jobs are being created, etc. Even Knoxville, a mere hour and a half away, feels like a world of difference from Kingsport.
I love Chicago, where I have lived for quite a while now.
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