Your Survival Guy’s 2025 Super States: Live Free or Flee?

Your Survival Guy’s much anticipated 2025 Super States is in, and it comes down to this: Live Free or Flee? Which is why my favored “live free or die” New Hampshire is once again number one. When it comes to competition between states, New Hampshire is not only a beacon of freedom for New England, but really the entire Northeast.

Your Survival Guy likes to think of my Super States as a back-of-a-napkin look at the country. It’s a story of the haves and the have-nots. The sad truth is that not all is right in all our 51 (including Canada) states. When their politicians control the purse strings and big blue blob cities are ruined by the bums, it’s time for law-abiding citizens to consider greener pastures.

“Where’s everyone going?” you wonder, gripping your steering wheel as another flash of orange and white passes you by. That army of U-Hauls screaming down I-95 South might stop for gas at Pedro’s South of the Border, but their real destination is Florida or some other southern haunt we’ll refer to as the “real” Southern New England/New York/New Jersey.

This is not just an Eastern phenomenon either. The left coast is invading Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, much to the chagrin of locals who are not happy about being called Eastern California. You can throw the former tax-free Washington state into the mix as well.  Its “Bezos tax” on investment income has turned it into a “Flee” state, and he is a Floridian now. What do politicians think is going to happen? Money goes where it’s best treated.

OK, where should you go? How about Florida’s panhandle? I love St. Joe’s and Apalachicola. It’s a mix of weekenders and year-rounders who want to “Live Free and Not Freeze” while playing in the Gulf of America. As an aside about Your Survival Guy’s high-ranking North and South Dakota; they’re for the summers, the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore tourists, and PO Boxes.

Now it’s not all about taxes. I’ve always said you don’t want taxes wagging the dog. Your family and pets probably love where they live. But there’s a reason why homes in the perennial bottom ten of Your Survival Guy’s Super States are vacant for five months and 29 days a year.

Here’s a story. Your Survival Guy and Gal were talking recently about moving to Tennessee. It wasn’t a real serious discussion. If you live near the ocean, it’s hard to leave. But every year, when real estate taxes go up, it makes one wonder: What are we paying for? Our kids didn’t go to the schools, and the roads are a mess.

Our discussion wasn’t as much about us as it was about future generations. Where will our children and grandchildren live when the American Dream of owning a starter home is simply that?

As the states’ rights revolution unfolds before our eyes, pay attention to the lay of the land, not only in your neck of the woods. And if you’re not happy about your state’s rank, email your local reps, not Your Survival Guy who you can email at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com when you’re serious about talking about the American Dream, your own Super State, and your investment future.

The 2025 Super State Rankings:

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.