PODS survey - Where Are People Moving to in 2024? Hint: There’s Been a Shift!

[sopas ej]

It's funny where people in the US are moving to...

As an aside, I recently read an article about the cost of healthcare in the US, and the supposedly cheap states of Texas and Florida actually are among the most expensive states for healthcare in the US. I guess that wouldn't matter to a retiree with Medicare, but for younger people who think they're escaping high costs of living, well, wait until you have to go to urgent care or need surgery, or need to see a specialist.

Here's a Forbes article about it, with rankings and methodology: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/healt...h-care-ranked/

But to cut to the chase, here are the 10 most expensive states for healthcare:

1. North Carolina
2. South Dakota
3. Nebraska
4. Florida
5. Texas
6. South Carolina
7. Arizona
8. Georgia
9. New Hampshire
10. Louisiana

Here are the 5 most affordable states for healthcare:

1. Hawaii
2. Michigan
3. Washington
4. California
5. Massachusetts

[edale]

Isn't healthcare affordability almost entirely determined by your insurance? How would the state you live in change things?

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by ChiSoxRox

Indeed, measuring from the center of the terminal layout, ATL is the same distance (596 miles straight line) from DTW and MIA.

(MDW is 591 miles, ORD is 606 from ATL)

Indianapolis (state capital) is in the center of Indianapolis. Columbus (Ohio) is in the center of Ohio. Nashville (Tennessee) is in the center of Tennessee. That means people from those regions tend to think that ALL state capitals are in the center of their respective states, and center means halfway. Except Atlanta is...not.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by edale

Isn't healthcare affordability almost entirely determined by your insurance? How would the state you live in change things?

I'm guessing those rankings are based on Medicaid, basically government health insurance for those with limited income. It's managed primarily by each specific state. Each participating state administers its own Medicaid program, establishes eligibility standards, determines the scope and types of services it will cover, and sets the rate of reimbursement physicians and care providers. Differences between states are often influenced by the political ideologies of the state and cultural beliefs of the general population.

[ChiSoxRox]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Indianapolis (state capital) is in the center of Indianapolis. Columbus (Ohio) is in the center of Ohio. Nashville (Tennessee) is in the center of Tennessee. That means people from those regions tend to think that ALL state capitals are in the center of their respective states, and center means halfway. Except Atlanta is...not.

The old state capital, Milledgeville, is substantially more central in Georgia -- but after the Civil War the railroads congregated on Atlanta and to take advantage of business ties Georgia moved the capital.

Wikipedia has a surprisingly long list of state capital moves.

[mhays]

Washington state's healthcare laws (related to Obamacare) make it easy for me to afford private insurance as a part-time freelancer in my 50s with moderate income. I've heard horror stories about what people like me pay in some states.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by bilbao58

In case you missed the post, the list is based solely on PODS customer moving data.

Well my point was more about the article being poorly written and that Myrtle Beach is probably their largest inbound market by percentages. Even using PODS data, as it is a national company, it's HIGHLY unlikely that Myrtle Beach is their largest inbound market based on raw numbers.

Originally Posted by edale

Isn't healthcare affordability almost entirely determined by your insurance? How would the state you live in change things?

Healthcare, health insurance, etc. is mostly regulated by state governments.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by edale

Isn't healthcare affordability almost entirely determined by your insurance? How would the state you live in change things?

Originally Posted by homebucket

I'm guessing those rankings are based on Medicaid, basically government health insurance for those with limited income. It's managed primarily by each specific state. Each participating state administers its own Medicaid program, establishes eligibility standards, determines the scope and types of services it will cover, and sets the rate of reimbursement physicians and care providers. Differences between states are often influenced by the political ideologies of the state and cultural beliefs of the general population.

It's based on people with employer-provided healthcare, the way the majority of Americans get their healthcare. You'd have to read the article to get all the details, but here are the examples for the most expensive and least expensive healthcare states:

Most Expensive:

1. North Carolina
North Carolina’s score: 100 out of 100

North Carolina is the most expensive state for healthcare, with the highest average premium for residents with “plus-one” health insurance coverage through an employer ($4,781 annually).

North Carolina has the second highest average premium for residents with family health insurance coverage through an employer ($7,180.33 annually).

The state reports having the fifth highest average deductible for residents with single health insurance coverage through an employer ($2,267.67 annually).

It ranks 11th highest for average deductible for residents with family health insurance coverage through an employer ($4,061.67 annually).


Most Affordable:

1. Hawaii
Hawaii’s score: 0 out of 100

Hawaii sets the benchmark for having the most affordable healthcare in the U.S. It earned a perfect score of 0 on our healthcare cost ranking index and boasts the lowest percentages and costs in several key metrics:

Hawaii records the lowest percentage of adults who chose not to see a doctor at some point in the past 12 months due to cost (5.7%).

It also has the lowest percentage of adults reporting 14 or more mentally unhealthy days a month who could not see a doctor due to cost (11.6%).

Hawaii boasts the lowest average premium for residents with single health insurance coverage through an employer ($911 annually).

It also has the lowest average deductible for residents with single health insurance coverage through an employer ($1,310 annually).

Hawaii has the second lowest percentage of children whose families struggled to pay for their child’s medical bills in the past 12 months (5.7%).

Hawaii residents with family health insurance coverage through an employer pay the second lowest average deductible ($3,115 annually).

Hawaii has the third lowest average premium for residents with plus-one health insurance coverage through an employer ($3,654.67 annually).

It boasts the fourth lowest average premium for residents with family health insurance coverage through an employer ($5,373.67 annually).


The methodology is at the end of the article.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'm blown away that Greenville

I just looked at Greenville on Google Earth for the first time, ever. Looks like its critical flaw is that there is no way to build an interstate highway directly between it and Knoxville, TN, as such a road would travel directly through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, plus plenty of other rugged terrain.

[edale]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I just looked at Greenville on Google Earth for the first time, ever. Looks like its critical flaw is that there is no way to build an interstate highway directly between it and Knoxville, TN, as such a road would travel directly through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, plus plenty of other rugged terrain.

I've driven from Knoxville to Greenville and it was pretty easy. I'm not sure the exact route we took, but I think we went through Ashville, and it didn't take very long. I also don't know why a lack of a direct connection to Knoxville would be a critical flaw. Knoxville isn't even a big or important city, and Greenville has direct freeway connections to Atlanta and Charlotte, as well as the other notable urban areas in SC- Columbia and Charleston.

[llamaorama]

I wonder how representative of the mainstream are people who migrate for reasons other than family or job obligations. Especially when they come from places that don’t have immense push factors like very rural communities, expensive urban cores like NYC, or AK or HI.

It seems like these people skew conservative and want to max out the amount of material consumption they can attain on an upper-middle income.

Everyone else may have other reasons to stay put or can’t move.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by llamaorama

It seems like these people skew conservative and want to max out the amount of material consumption they can attain on an upper-middle income.

I'm guessing this is on-point. For many Americans, relative desirability means where can I get a newish house as big as possible, with as much stuff as possible, and engage in maximum consumption (so minimal taxation/regulation).

[Wigs]

Crawford, didn't you grow up in Detroit suburbs where people wanted the largest house they could afford with maximum consumption habits?

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Crawford, didn't you grow up in Detroit suburbs where people wanted the largest house they could afford with maximum consumption habits?

I guess? The suburb I grew up in was older and affluent, not really newer sprawl.

Detroit has quite a bit of McMansion-type sprawl but still nothing like a Sunbelt metro.

[llamaorama]

What someone had growing up can be different to what their adult self wants and can attain.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I guess? The suburb I grew up in was older and affluent, not really newer sprawl.

Detroit has quite a bit of McMansion-type sprawl but still nothing like a Sunbelt metro.

My point was the vast majority of Americans are similar (as are many Canadians)

Very few are living urban, walkable lifestyles and willingly sacrifice square footage and a yard for other amenities.

[azliam]

Originally Posted by The North One

Will never understand why anybody would willingly move to an inferno like Phoenix. You have to be crazy.

Crazy? I imagine most residents are smart enough to stay out of extreme heat and adapt to PHX during parts of the Summer, just like I would imagine northerners aren't crazy enough to stand in a blizzard or rainstorm for hours upon end whilst Phoenicians are enjoying their mild Winters.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Because people from the north who complain about the cold to justify a move to the south are all couch creatures. They're going to move to Texas or Florida and just sit in the AC watching TV all day before driving to a restaurant, then back to their couch for another 4 hours of netflix and chilling in the AC.

Exactly.

My parents moved to Florida. I'd say by year 3 they were sitting in the condo most days. They stopped going to the beach. They never used their condo complex pool. What was the point. They moved back to PA after 9 years.

[Steely Dan]

"permanent vacation" is probably sexier in theory than in the reality of living it daily.

And I say that as an extremely ardent beach lover.

But there's more to life than the beach.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Crawford

Yeah, I've been to Hilton Head, and don't get it. It's obviously very hot/humid, but also the beach is mediocre and there's little surf. There also isn't much history or much of anything beyond vacation homes and condos.

Marco Island, in FL, gives me similar vibes. More tropical and bigger, but the same "why are all these people here" vibes.

Hilton Head fucking sucks - the water is turbid, fucking hot as hell, spread way the hell out in a bad way, the houses are nice, but at least the redneck riviera in Florida has nice clear water. I don't get the appeal of HH. Its a fucking sham for upper middle class dumbasses.

My family went to Costa Rica this year - temperature way lower and properly tropical, I can (try) surfing, etc, and heading to Lake Michigan later this summer and next year for sure.