Seriously considering a move to the United States, Some help on choosing the best place to live?

I'm seriously considering a move to the United States. I live in England at the moment. I need your help U.S residents on the best place to live, in terms of Safety (Crime), Entertainment, Shopping etc. Thanks so much!

Public Comments

1. Try Seattle It may rain but you have the best views. You can ski and hike on the mountains, live near the Ocean and Puget Sound were you can go whale watching. It was great shopping and entertaintment. It is famous for its music and stores that were created there. (Starbucks, Amazon, etc.) Its a nice place with nice people.
2. Yikes! US is a biiiiiiiiiiiig place! You have no ideas to help us narrow down? Big cities...Chicago, New York, LA have lots of entertainment. Less safe places, because cities are so anonymous! Shopping? You can find shops and stores everywhere. BEST department stores are so huge that they have branches or associated stores in every major city. And, unfortunately, almost all shopping is chain or franchise...You won't find a lot of unique shops any more, and even if you find privately owned shops, much of what is available is mass produced. Really hard to find unique any more...doesn't make enough money! (but, of course, I've noticed that, too, in my travels. Same can be said of the rest of the world!) For safety, you will probably FEEL safer in more rural areas. When there IS a major crime, it seems so unreal, that we don't even truly believe it has happened. I live in the Rocky Mountains. Somehow, we all manage to entertain ourselves pretty well, it's very safe...I don't feel uncomfortable walking around after dark alone. I DO carry pepper spray, just in case, and there HAVE been occasional encounters with wild animals, such as bears and foxes...but if you leave them alone, you'll be pretty safe. I'm only an hour from Denver, a major city, so I can get the Museums, culture and shopping I need there. Anyone will give you a different answer, though...It's kind of like asking where to live "in Europe"? Easier to answer if there's more detail.
3. kenturky is good place
4. Long before you look for a place to live, you have to consider what visa you will apply for so you can actually move to the USA. This can take from 2 to 25 years depending on your skills and circumstances. You either have to marry a US citizen, be rich, be world famous or have an advanced degree in the sciences, engineering or medicine. And where you livein the USA will be determined by who you marry or by where you are offered employment to get an employment based visa. Unless you are very rich, you do not just choose where to move to in the USA.
5. The US is a huge country. you should really decide what you are looking for, and what type of weather you like. Look at a map of the US, and imagine it divided into roughly 4 regions- North east-cold winters, shorter usually HOT summers South east-mild winters, longer hot, humid summers north west-four seasons, but really cold winters, south west-mild winters, except at elevations. hot summers. There are vast rural areas in the US, as well as huge metropolitan/suburban areas. If you are looking for rural areas, the middle half of the country is more rural. The east coast is becoming more and more crowded, same with the south west/california area. Personally, I live in Virginia, and love it. also, it is easier to fly back the UK from the east coast, so definatly consider Virginia, the Carolinas, maryland, Pennsylvania, etc. Florida is nice, but really hot in the summer. If you are looking for weather similar to England, try Washington or Oregon-lots of rain, cooler overall weather.
6. Where to live is not your main problem. There are dozens of U.K. citizens who write in here every week with exactly the same question. Problem is, the only way you can get a work visa is to first find an employer to give you a contract and sponsor your work visa ( temporary). This is extremely difficult, esp. right now. If you are wanting to immigrate, you must have immediate family here to sponsor you or have a REALLY rare and valuable job skill . Otherwise the only way is through the Diversity lottery program. Every year about 10 million people world wide apply to immigrate to the U.S. thru this program. About 50,000 are accepted. U.K. citizens U.K. is over their quota for this 5 yr. period. See 2nd site below. Even when you can again apply, it takes years and a tremendous amount of luck. Sorry, I know this is not news that you hoped for, but it is the reality. You may want to look into other options, like E.U. or Commonwealth countries if you want experience living and working overseas.
7. I live in Washington State. If you like rain, move here. If you like snow, fly on down! If you like expensive property, this is your place. I would say crime is not very high in Washington, to be honest. We never hear about anything big happening. Washington is a great place if you enjoy skiing, hiking and the big outdoors. If you like the beach, Ocean Shores is a nice place. Although it has a small population. If you like lots of people and expensive housing, then Seattle works. If you like cheaper housing but bigger cities, Spokane is a great place but it gets hot. There is alot of shopping, tons of walmarts (ick). We have alot of Target and Fred Meyer stores also. Big companies here are Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing. My dad is a manager at Amazon and makes alot of money. So if you are trying to get into a big company, those are the ones to go for. Good Luck
8. San Jose is one of the safest cities in the country, with that being said, its also the most expensive, but in life, you generally pay more for higher quality. The Bay Area is paradise compared to anywhere else in USA. Im from Florida, moved to Pennsylvania when I was 22 and then to California for 5 years and Im back in Florida. So this is an unbiased review because I am not a Cali native and I do know other states and what they have to offer. California is the only place where you can surf in the ocean(in normal water, not freezing water) or ski in the snow in the same state on the same day. Southern California is always great but the Bay Area is really the best. Entertainment and shopping? Dont even get me started. You have San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose all within 40 minutes of each other, 3 major cities, plus you have all the scenic nature stuff too like Half Moon Bay and Lake Tahoe and things like that.