[VOA]

I grew up in north-central Oklahoma, have relatives in Dallas and working friends in Houston.

My suggestion: check out the places in this order-
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Tie: Missouri or Colorado
4. Tie: Kansas or Arkansas
5. Louisiana

Texas is still a nation. And generally attracts the more robust, hard-working folks
from around the world, including even the undocumenteds from Mexico.
Plus, Texas is even on it's own power grid.
Personally, I'd go for the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex or San Antonio, with Houston
down the list just due to the muggy weather...but you do have two airports for getting out
of town.

The rest of the rankings are just my own idiosyncratic listing on the general
business vitality and innovation of the different states.

The reason I did put Oklahoma just after Texas is that it does receive a bit of
"spin-off" business activity from Texas, shares the same general attitudes
about 2nd Amendment rights and politics are pretty conservative.

Do be careful about transportation in/out of certain places, e.g., Wichita, KS
even if it has Boeing and other aircraft plants has up/down periods in the
commercial aviation; can be VERY expensive to fly in/out when one of the major
lines pulls out of the market!

[sweetliberty]

"Kansas or Arkansas"

Knasas? What, pray tell, could Kansas possibly have to offer, at least to a sighted person? And Arkansas, well, that's the choice I made, but the corruption in politics here and the depressed economy have gotten me rethinking the wisdom of the move. The climate here though, is as near perfect as anywhere I can imagine if you like 4 real seasons.