A Gallup poll completed in December of 2013 asked
residents of all 50 states to express their views about the states in which they
live. The polling included interviews
with at least 600 residents in every state.
The poll sought to ask residents how they view their states in terms of "the best possible state to live in," "one of the best possible states to live in,"
"as good a state as any to live in,"
or "the worst possible state to live
in." The
ratings were tied to a variety of questions related to trust in state government, well-being, stress levels and that sort
of thing.
As it
turns out, Montana is the best state.
Alaska statistically tied with Montana in a
favorable rating. In the poll, 77% of
the residents of these two states thought the state “the best or “one of the
best” states in which to live.
As a resident of Montana, I am not surprised.
I love living here.
Yesterday, as example, I drove through the Rocky Mountains between to
cities and saw winding rivers, herds of wild elk roving the mountainsides, blue
skies and scudding clouds. I talked with
some very thoughtful people, including my friend, Dawg, who might have become a
comedian if working as an electrician had not panned out for him. At the end of the day I came back home to my
pretty country place in this world.
Though (nominally) a working day, I enjoyed myself.
Interestingly, Rhode Island came in at the bottom of
the poll. Only 18% of the residents of
Rhode Island consider their state as the
best or one of the best states in
which to live. I have never been to
Rhode Island. I know it very small—about
the size of a fart let by Texas.
Actually, Rhode Island measures somewhere near 48 miles in longitude by
37 miles in latitude, something that might qualify as “a ranch” here in Montana. I also know a guy from Rhode Island. He makes his living as a film critic and once
came to Montana to shoot firearms at some targets we put out for him. We call him “the Rhodent.” He is not a particularly accurate marksman.
--Mitchell
Hegman
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