Do Americans find it hard moving to a new state?

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tyoung89@reddit

As someone that has moved to different states twice, the most annoying part of it is having to get a new driver's license for that state. Other minor stuff like filing taxes in multiple states is slightly more annoying.

For the legal differences, it's not that different. Mostly just minor changes.

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HorseFeathersFur@reddit

Marijuana and alcohol laws can vary widely between states. Also if you’re a woman, abortion laws will affect you greatly.

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molten_dragon@reddit

If you're a gun owner those laws can be pretty different from state to state as well.

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Blog_Pope@reddit

Liquor laws are what shocked me. I went from a state with strict controls to one where you can be a single can of cold beer in a 7-11. Became very concerned there was a lot of drinking and driving going on

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EddieIsNotMyRealName@reddit

Some states have drive thru liquor stores, or at least they did, I'm not sure if it changed

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MelodiousMelly@reddit

They're all over greater Phoenix. I don't know about other parts AZ.

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Xistential0ne@reddit

I flew into Boston once and drove to VT. Stopped at a “safety stop” in New Hampshire to use the rest room. Huge liquor store at the rest area. So weird. I was told all the liquor stores are state run since the state had the land for the rest stop they decide to put a liquor store there.

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melina26@reddit

I’ve been there! Huge place, surly employees at the time

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Sudden_Outcome_3429@reddit

Ohio has them; I have three within a couple of miles from me

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sapphicsandwich@reddit

Louisiana still has them. And drive through Daiquiris!

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Salarian_American@reddit

And they can even vary within a state, as counties and cities can have their own specific laws about how alcohol is or isn't sold.

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OrganicHistorian2576@reddit

I once moved from New Orleans to Shreveport. The laws were worlds apart.

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Ok-Flight-1504@reddit

I had a couple come into the supermarket where I was working yesterday and act shocked that only beer was sold and no wine. They said they were from the west coast and apparently, whichever state they are from, supermarkets can sell wine there.

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ImagineFreedom@reddit

My first visit to Colorado I was surprised I couldn't find wine nor decent beer in the supermarket. My first visit to Florida I was surprised to find liquor at Walmart. When I moved to Tennessee I was surprised I could buy liquor on Sunday. When I visited Georgia I was surprised you can't buy alcohol on an election day. Being from Texas, I did know you can buy alcohol 24/7 in Louisiana.

It's very much a hodgepodge of rules down to the county level. Somewhere around Dallas I remember a dry county next to a wet county with a bunch of liquor stores right on the county line.

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CardStark@reddit

Florida does not sell liquor in the grocery section of Walmart or any other store. It’s a separate store.

Beer and wine are sold in most grocery stores.

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Hello_Hangnail@reddit

I remember visiting my friends in PA and tried to buy a case of beer the grocery store 😆 They don't sell alcohol anywhere but specific state run stores

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LynnSeattle@reddit

In Washington, grocery stores carry beer, wine and hard alcohol.

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Evapoman97@reddit

Yeah in CA a beer and wine license is in one and hard alcohol is a different license.

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DrowsyMaggie@reddit

There is a lot left up to state control and those differences in decisions as a result do affect your day to day life. Taxes can vary pretty wildly. There is not a uniform school calendar. Moving to a new state can feel hard just because it feels like a hundred small things are often just slightly different, especially during that first year and they pile on and it gets exhausting until you get used to it.

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Proud-Delivery-621@reddit

The county adjacent to mine is dry, so you can't buy alcohol anywhere. You can still own it, though, so the border is lined with liquor stores and strip clubs.

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desertrose0@reddit

I mean, there's not much difference between buying a beer at a 7-11 and buying one at a grocery store. You still have to drive home. It's not illegal anywhere (that I'm aware of) to drive with an unopened can of beer. It's only a problem if it's an open container.

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molten_dragon@reddit

Wait until you hear about drive thru liquor stores.

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Prestigious-Dog-2150@reddit

Thanks for pointing that out. Foreigners picture everyone in the US walking around with a six-shooter on their hip: NOPE!!!

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molten_dragon@reddit

Yeah, most of us are carrying semi-auto these days.

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Significant-Dance-43@reddit

Amateur: I just tote around my RPG launcher and .50 cal bolted to the back of my truck.

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Ducksaucenem@reddit

It has to be bolted to the back of the truck now? You can’t carry it around hip firing? This country….

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Significant-Dance-43@reddit

It’s my lack of Jesse the Body Ventura as Blain strength. I, unfortunately, got time to bleed.

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phred_666@reddit

I live in Redneck central in one of the most gun friendly states. I very rarely see anyone carrying in public.

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ivhokie12@reddit

Lots of concealed carry. Very few people open carry.

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gtne91@reddit

Mostly because the concealed carry laws are decent.

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phred_666@reddit

Open carry state… don’t need to conceal

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gtne91@reddit

I understand, but most still choose to conceal.

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link2edition@reddit

Concealing in a better idea anyway

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Salarian_American@reddit

I lived in New Hampshire, one of the states where open-carrying firearms is legal. You would see it occasionally, but even there it was rare enough to be remarked upon.

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wiarumas@reddit

Knives too.

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Dazzling-Climate-318@reddit

But knives aren’t legally weapons, in some states.

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boldjoy0050@reddit

I'm a gun owner and there are some places I'd never even consider living because of the laws. No way am I getting rid of my family heirlooms.

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Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit

Same.

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HorseFeathersFur@reddit

That too, definitely. There are states that have reciprocal conceal carry permits for certain other states.

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ComesInAnOldBox@reddit

Being a gun owner and just passing through different states can be problematic, depending on the state. AND you have to be careful transporting them in your vehicle if the highway passes through the boundaries of a National Park.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

Abortion laws only affect those unable to travel. The issue is greatly overblown for most people.

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Avocadobaguette@reddit

I think all the women who have died from lack of access to emergency abortion care would probably disagree with you. If they weren't dead, that is.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

I think you're extremely ignorant to the point of being disingenuous if you think contemporary states don't allow abortion to save the mother's life.

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Avocadobaguette@reddit

Amber Nicole Thurman: A 28-year-old Georgia woman who died in 2022 from sepsis after a delay in receiving a routine dilation and curettage (D&C) to clear her uterus following a medication abortion. A state maternal mortality review committee classified her death as preventable. Josseli Barnica: A 28-year-old Texas mother who died in 2022 after experiencing a miscarriage. Because of the state's abortion ban, doctors delayed medical intervention for 40 hours, waiting until they could no longer detect a fetal heartbeat to provide standard, basic miscarriage care. Nevaeh Crain: An 18-year-old Texas woman who died in 2023 after seeking care at multiple emergency rooms for pregnancy complications. Medical staff delayed appropriate treatment while debating legal risks under the state's abortion bans. Tierra Walker: A 37-year-old Texas mother who died in 2024 of complications from preeclampsia after doctors repeatedly refused to terminate her pregnancy despite documented seizures, hypertension, and an enlarged heart. Candi Miller: A 41-year-old Georgia mother who died in 2022 from severe infection after taking abortion medication at home. She reportedly avoided seeking follow-up medical care at a hospital due to fear of the state's six-week abortion ban. Ciji Graham: A 30-year-old North Carolina woman and former police officer who died in 2023 after medical providers and an abortion clinic delayed or denied life-saving heart treatment and miscarriage care due to pregnancy-related legal complexities. Tesa Wilkinson Sebeski: A 26-year-old Indiana woman who died from internal bleeding caused by a ruptured ectopic pregnancy after delays in care stemming from a care desert and provider fear of legal penalties.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

Fascinating how you advocates keep blaming the abortion laws but not the physicians or hospitals for properly understanding and applying those laws.

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Avocadobaguette@reddit

Of course I don't blame the doctors and hospitals trying to avoid jail sentences over intentionally vague laws.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

lol. That's not how it works. Hospitals have government relations and compliance teams that notify staff of new requirements. Smaller groups employ the services of trade associations and law firms. Unfortunately, not every employee or professional pays attention.

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

That’s only if you choose to have an abortion and can plan to travel. If you have complications from a wanted pregnancy and go to the hospital for care, if it turns out you need an abortion they will make you wait until you are near death.

A woman in Texas who got sepsis from a miscarriage can’t just hop onto a plane to Colorado.

https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-abortion-ban-miscarriage-blood-transfusions

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

Know they don't. Your own link even says that and links to an article about it. https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-senate-abortion-ban-legislation-medical-exceptions

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

“The bill stops short of removing what doctors say are the ban’s biggest impediments to care, including its major criminal penalties, and doesn’t expand abortion access to cases of fetal anomalies, rape or incest.”

How about you just sit with the reality of what you support instead of lying about what women in half the country are being forced to go through?

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

lol. Or you know I could be grounded in objective reality instead of advocacy like you.

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

I do advocate for women not to be tortured and killed, yes. Have fun looking away from the horror of what you did.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

lmao. yeah i figured you're one of the crazy advocate types.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

Oh for crying out loud, every state has exceptions to save the mothers life. They are not making people wait for near death. They are making physicians determine that it really is to save her life rather than trying to use it as a loophole.

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

You can’t get away with lying like this now that the policies you support are a reality. This isn’t hypothetical anymore. Miscarrying women in America ARE being denied necessary abortions until it is too late to save their lives. Here is just one of the documented cases:

https://www.propublica.org/article/josseli-barnica-death-miscarriage-texas-abortion-ban

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

Who said I support these policies? I'm fairly neutral on the matter (having family and friends who are prochoice, prolife, and in between them such as those who support abortion early in pregnancy but not later) but I'm also pro truth and pro not misleading people. Propublica is obviously very biased. Don't know why you're relying on it so much. Reading the article it's clear that it could have been malpractice. In fact that's what prolife proponents wrote about it. See https://www.liveaction.org/news/experts-say-died-malpractice-pro-publica-blame

It's also interesting that you bring up deaths from not getting early abortions but you don't bring up deaths from receiving abortions; presumably because it doesn't fit your political agenda. Both are very rare. Hence my original point that concerns over abortion laws are overblown and don't impact the vast majority of people.

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VariegatedPlumage@reddit

Also, in Texas and Alabama, patients who plan to travel across state lines for an abortion AND those who assist them in their travel can be prosecuted.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

No they can't. Anyone can travel across state lines to get any service. Interstate commerce clause of the Constitution. Classic example is gambling in Nevada which for a very long time was illegal in most states.

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Mindfullysolo@reddit

Yes if you mean not being able to get a voluntary abortion at conception, you could of course travel. The larger concern is for a pregnant woman not being able to get life saving care during complications due to the strict laws. Travel would not be an option if you are in the ER fighting for your life.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

Oh really? show me the state that doesn't have an exception to save the mother's life?

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Mindfullysolo@reddit

It’s too vague. Laws dont clearly address threats to long-term health, fertility, or organ damage.  Also “save the mother’s life” is medically vague and legally risky. Doctors often delay treatment because they fear prosecution, loss of license, or lawsuits if someone later argues the abortion was not “necessary enough.”  In a difficult situation, the woman is given no option to choose, the Dr who can be prosecuted is fully in charge.

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HorseFeathersFur@reddit

And that’s a law that would greatly affect that woman and her family.

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

That, and “those unable to travel” ends up being a lot of women when abortion is illegal in entire regions of the country.

Most women who get abortions are already mothers. If they need to travel 1000+ miles for an abortion, they’ll need to arrange childcare in addition to taking off work and paying for a flight and hotel.

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serouspericardium@reddit

Most people aren’t choosing where to live based on abortion laws, it’s generally for work, school, or family

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HorseFeathersFur@reddit

Yes but those laws will affect them one way or another. I’m responding to tyoung89’s last sentence in their comment: “for the legal differences, it’s not that different. Mostly just minor changes.”

I beg to differ.

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GudsIdiot@reddit

As do insurance and rental laws. Each state regulates that kind of thing as well. Some states mandate you always get renewal on your insurance with a maximum increase of $X each time your term comes up. Some places, like Texas, allow you to go to a hotel and charge your landlord if your AC is out in the summer more than X days.

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Extra_Shirt5843@reddit

Well, I was never going to get an abortion, and I'm too old to have babies now, so not really an issue. That being said, the politics in general in states like that would give me pause.

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Individual_Umpire969@reddit

You may have just been lucky. Every woman I know who had an abortion told me at one time “I’d never have an abortion.”

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Extra_Shirt5843@reddit

I tried desperately to have kids for years. If I had ever been lucky enough to get pregnant, I would have thanked my lucky stars. But even if I had gotten pregnant in school, to me, personally...I believe it's a life from the beginning and I wouldn't have ended it. However, I don't believe in making that choice for others. That's between you and your own morals/faith.

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HorseFeathersFur@reddit

I have a daughter, so the laws affect me just as much because they affect her.

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Prowindowlicker@reddit

And if you’re a disabled veteran you’ll have different benefits between the states.

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HorseFeathersFur@reddit

Great point!

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rainidazehaze@reddit

I feel like all that stuff is different though, it's generally stuff you looked up ahead of time as part of deciding to whether yo move to that state. The OPs question feels like it's more about keeping track of many different laws after moving. Any significant law changes in the areas you listed are ones you avoid entirely by not moving there instead of adjusting to when you're there. And if you do move there you definitely aren't having trouble remembering that law difference in your day to day.

People who smoke marijuana and live in a legalized state are mostly not going to consider criminalized states in their pool of possible new states. People who are concerned with abortion access are checking ahead of time if it's protected in their state.

The only maybe exception is when you're coming from a state with very lax alcohol laws compared to the majority (i.e. moving from a state with open containers to a state that prohibits them). Most of the time you just deal with that and try to keep track of the changes because you can still access alcohol and it just limits where/how. There aren't any dry/prohibition states (currently).

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Pentagogo@reddit

You’re assuming people have a choice about moving. I was a military spouse for a long time and I lived a lot of places I would never have chosen to move to on my own.

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Prowindowlicker@reddit

Hell I was military and never would’ve moved to some of the places I got stationed.

California being one of them

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Xistential0ne@reddit

Thank you for service. Outside of my state. We like our Seamen and Airmen and I guess now Spacemen better than you Marines anyway. So nah nah nah.

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ComesInAnOldBox@reddit

Generally when people move to a different state it isn't because they just felt like a change of scenery. An overwhelming majority of people who uproot themselves and move to a completely new area aren't doing so out of a desire for change, they're doing it because of work, school, or financial hardship.

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queerandthere@reddit

Great points. Also, I am trans and state laws greatly affect where I am able to move.

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Green_Elevator_7785@reddit

There’s a great trans migration out of the south right now. So many people I know are leaving.

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Xistential0ne@reddit

But I hear so many people in the South saying Trans is not real. So the migration must not be real either. /s

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WillGrahamsass@reddit

Really? I didn't know such laws existed. I'm so sorry for your troubles.

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lyrasorial@reddit

There's a genocide starting. You should look into it.

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SquareTaro3270@reddit

I’m not trans but I keep up with the news and… yeah. I’d think it was hyperbole if I wasn’t keeping up with everything unfolding.

“Gender ideology” was recently categorized as terrorism in the same vein as ISIS. What is “gender ideology”? How to they define it? Well, they haven’t. They’ve decided it isn’t important to actually define something they’ve said they will use “lethal force” against.

If that’s not the set up to genocide idk what is

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SquareTaro3270@reddit

And before anyone starts asking “who is they” or “source?” it’s on the official White House website. It’s all public and they aren’t exactly being subtle about it

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ComesInAnOldBox@reddit

Link?

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archseattle@reddit

Yeah I was going to say, if you’re a woman it could also mean being forced to have your rapists child in about 9 states.

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Scratocrates@reddit

Also if you’re a woman, abortion laws will affect you greatly.

Only if you attempt to have an abortion. It can definitely be a burden having to travel out of state, but the medical horror stories usually end up to not be about the actual laws, but ignorance and incompetence by the patient and medical system.

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Stan_Deviant@reddit

This. The OP asked if it impacts decisions and it totally does. My little sister would have died during a terrible miscarriage without the kind of care that is limited in restricted abortion states.

I also look at their laws about LGBT protections as those scotus cases could be overturned now that roe fell.

My job is relocating us and every new place has terrible laws for queer women so I'm leaving that organization.

(Taxes over split years are annoying and more complicated, the DMV isn't fun anywhere, right on red and bike stop laws take a minute to adjust to, changing all the insurance for your things- new agent- new medical- new doctors, sigh)

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

Yeah, I had family I didn’t visit when I was pregnant after the Dobbs decision, because of their state’s abortion laws. On the off-chance that something happened, I didn’t want my kids to be left motherless because doctors weren’t allowed to treat me.

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Ryiujin@reddit

Moved to texas from midwest and south east before that.

SE to MW was easy. Walked in. Did it. No biggie.

Texas was a 3 hour wait. Got up to the counter, almost done. Asked if i have a car. Yep Is it registered in tx? Not yet going to tax office after this to register it.

You have to do that first. Why?

Pause. Yiu have to do that first.

Why

So im at the tax office. Wait an hour. Go up. Did you get your car inspected?

Whats a car inspection? You gotta get it inspected for safety and exhaust.

Cant i just get it registered now and come back with i spection proof?

No.

Me at the absolutely sketchiest inspection “station”. Ok done. Thats 20 bucks.

You looked at it for 45 seconds. Shes good.

You didnt touch exhaust. Its fine.

Fml.

Back at the dmv with registration. Apparently my passport ran out in the three weeks this transpired. Oh sorry you need id.

That is id. Its expired.

It expired last week. Im still me. Heres my drivers license. Its all the same info.

Yeahhhhh no. We need id thats not expired. Do you have a birth certificate?

Fml. 6 weeks later after ordering a copy. Back at dmv. 2 hours later. Finally get it all done. Welcome to texas!

Fuck texas. They made this way too hard.

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Findinganewnormal@reddit

WTF Texas? They didn’t even ask about my car and it wasn’t registered in Texas for years after I got my license so I know that the order of those two is irrelevant and yet I fully believe your story. I get that working at the DMV isn’t easy but I’ve never met DMV workers who were as actively hostile and ignorant as those at the Texas DMV.

When I first went to get a Texas license I asked upon arrival if the documents I brought were sufficient since the website was no help at all. Got told all was in order. Four hours later when it was finally my turn the lady took one glance at my stuff and said I needed more then told me to come back another day. I politely pointed out I’d been told my documents were sufficient and asked for some way to expedite that second trip because I literally couldn’t afford to take off another day of work to wait 4 hours. She immediately called over the resident police officer to kick me out. I wasn’t being threatening in any way, she just didn’t want to do her job and wanted to intimidate/punish me for not immediately obeying.

Fortunately I was a young, small white woman who could cry on command and the police officer wrote my “front of the line pass” himself.

Still took me a good hour the next visit but at least it wasn’t 4 and was only a very miserable visit rather than a horrible one.

The whole thing was hell and a disorganized, awful mess. It was also my first lesson in voter suppression but that’s another story.

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Ryiujin@reddit

Yup I should have just lied. Said no. I got the feeling they did it to fuck with me as no one else has said the same thing about registering a car before license.

The suppression is real. The whole idea of the exhaust inspection is bogus, you are told its x amount. Station charges more. Always more. They dont really look at anything. Best yet is no one even knows the laws. Texas repealled inspections what last year….

UNLESS you live in the metro areas.

So i go to inspect. They say they cant inspect. Why. Too new. Why? You did it last year? New law says this county still does them. Blank stares Go ask dmv to do inspection. Yeah no. So i just updated my registration. It didnt ask for the inspection at all. But of course. I get to still pay that i spection fee.

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flippythemaster@reddit

OP does mention education system which is probably the biggest difference. If you’re deciding whether to move for work and you have kids you are probably going to need to do a lot of research into the local schools.

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NSNick@reddit

That applies for in-state moves as well.

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LawnJerk@reddit

That applies to an in-city move too. Move to another part of town and your kids might end up in a less desirable school.

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evil__gnome@reddit

Thinking about where I grew up in Georgia, you could even move a couple miles away in the same town and have a drastically different school experience. I had friends who lived less than 5 miles from me who went to way better schools than I did, all because we were on different sides of main street.

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AlpsHelpful1292@reddit

It’s more of an issue for teachers because licensing requirements vary so much by state. I am a teacher in California and our requirements for a teaching credential are greater than most other states. Out of state educators often have issued transferring their credentials. On the other hand I have heard it is easy for CA educators to transfer to most other states.

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PloofElune@reddit

Yeah, while many states had varying standards for education, the primary thing impacting schools is how well they are funded. By design property taxes are the most common way of funding and this means poor and low value areas often miss the mark if cost of living is higher.

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azerty543@reddit

There is statistically very little effect when it comes to school choice. Unless you are in the bottom 10% or top 10% its not as important as people imagine it to be.

High performing kids do well regardless of whether they go to a good, average, or just below average school.

Low performing kids do worse wherever they are as well. Its because the traits that most predict academic outcomes like stable homes, support structures, good role models, ect are mostly things that schools have no control over.

Its not to say we shouldn't try, or we shouldn't reward good teachers, if anything it a call to have a bit of grace with teachers and administrators who choose to teach in rougher school districts. They are often fighting an uphill battle against things they have no control over, but often judged harshly for it.

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Opening-Bandicoot859@reddit

The multiple tax returns are a bit annoying. I lucked out in that my old driver's license was set to expire shortly after my move. Agreed on the legal differences. Every state has it's own quirks, but the differences are pretty minor.

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AlpsHelpful1292@reddit

If you have a job that has different professional licensing requirements by state it’s more complicated. My partner and I would have trouble moving to another state because we are a teacher and a lawyer.

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Kilordes@reddit

On that last point: I think in many cases that's true, but if you plotted various laws on a chart some states are much further away from each other than others.

Marijuana and alcohol as already mentioned can have about the largest separation you can have - legal vs. felony - but there's other too. Gun laws including what kinds of guns are legal, where it's legal to shoot them, carry them, transport them, etc. is another huge one that also range between "legal" and "straight to jail" - move from Texas to NY and a whooooole lot changes. Business licensing including as it relates to taxes but also just what you need to do to sell or do something runs a wide gamut. Some motor vehicle laws. Gambling / games of chance.

The changes do tend to cluster around "the vices" but in general moving from one "kind" of state (CA, NY, IL) to another "kind" (TX, AL, MS) can feel like moving to another country in terms of what's legal and what's not. There's also outside the letter-of-law legal changes just what gets enforced/scrutinized can change dramatically - in CA for example speeding isn't exactly a big deal in a lot of places, well above where in another state you might be guaranteed to be pulled over if a trooper witnesses it.

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Downtown-Oil-3462@reddit

Omg I HATEEEEEEEE having to get a new ID when I move. You hit the nail on the head. Everything else I can handle with ease… but updating my ID? No, absolutely no, not happening for a very long time after each move.

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itsmyhotsauce@reddit

Not super true. We live in 50 different countries. Laws don't always vary much from state to state but they can be drastically different depending on your origin and destination.

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dietsalem@reddit

new license, having to register your car, and getting new license plates 🫠

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Ok-Salamander5687@reddit

And sometimes learning new traffic laws 😅

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dietsalem@reddit

yeah 😅 i’ve lived in Utah pretty much my entire life, but i moved to Minnesota at the end of 2024. Minnesota drivers are some of the best drivers i’ve experienced. the year that i lived there, i think i honked at another driver like, twice. but they take their speed limits VERY seriously. i felt like the asshole just going 5 over lmao. i moved back to Utah at the end of 2025 and holy shit, i knew Utahns were bad drivers but within the first week back, i nearly got into several accidents. people run red lights like they’re a suggestion. no one yields for pedestrians. if you’re not going 25 over, you’re going too slow. there’s so many news articles about people brandishing guns to other drivers during road rage incidents, and there’s dozens of car accidents everyday. like what is actually going on

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sinsaraly@reddit

That’s crazy and surprising for someone who’s never been to Utah! Why do you think it’s like that?

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dietsalem@reddit

it’s a conglomerate of reasons. in the last 10 years, Utah, more specifically Salt Lake City, has become the new Silicon Valley. if you’re not going into the tech industry, you’re not going to make a livable wage. people from out of state are moving to Utah at a rapid pace and the roads just cannot keep up. it doesn’t matter which area of Utah you move to, there is construction trying to accommodate the large amount of cars on the roads. and because there’s so much construction, there’s going to be so much traffic, especially on the freeway headed to SLC. people get impatient, people get short tempered, people start cutting other people off and they get mad

i don’t think the blame is solely on the people moving in from out of state, i also think it’s the large Mormon families who have a bunch of kids learning to drive. there’s a lot of kids behind the wheel and they’re usually distracted

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VariegatedPlumage@reddit

There’s also a phenomenon that happens in cities with a lot of transplants (I see it in NYC a lot) where you have people from tons of places with tons of different driving laws and different driving cultures all trying to learn to drive in the same place. Nobody is following the same rules or the same social mores and it makes traffic a nightmare.

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dietsalem@reddit

that sounds exactly like what’s happening here

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turkeybuzzard4077@reddit

Yeah for the vast majority of laws you run into all the states are pretty much on the same page, it's too much of a headache for anyone to do otherwise.

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shakebakelizard@reddit

I lived in Seattle (Washington State, north of CA) for 5 years. I kept my Florida license plate because transferring was too much trouble and I never got a problem about it. I did get a new driver's license due to professional licensing. Otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with that either.

There were some cultural differences but it didn't matter. I'm pretty adaptable and mind my own business. I don't really over-analyze or ruminate on my decisions so I never had an issue. Eventually I moved back to Florida because my business there was done.

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IAmBaconsaur@reddit

I moved from upstate New York to a small town in Iowa. I changed my plates after a few months because I was sick of people saying they saw me at the "insert whatever store here" since my plates made me super recognizable.

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tyoung89@reddit

My move was from NC to WA, then back to NC 5 years later. So pretty similar experiences. and I kept my old plates on my car until they expired, then got them registered in the new state.

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shakebakelizard@reddit

I went through Vancouver a few times. Once on the way to Portland. I didn't find the dream of the 90s though.

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desertrose0@reddit

I never had an issue getting a new license when my parents moved to Michigan and then I transferred my residency to New York. It was harder to change my name when I got married than to transfer states, though going to the DMV is never fun.

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boldjoy0050@reddit

The most annoying part for me is moving to another state and find out they have some stupid, backwards ass rule or policy and because "it's always been that way", no one is inclined to change it.

Example is state run liquor stores in North Carolina. Truly awful selection of products, like maybe 1/8 of what's available in other states. And if you ask NC natives about it, they don't really care or know any better.

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glendacc37@reddit

Agree. Biggest hassle is getting the new driver's license. I've moved to several different states, and many require you to take their written exam to get the license. Nothing hard, just time consuming.

I otherwise feel like OP is overestimating the differences between the states. I wouldn't describe any of it to be confusing or a problem (eg, due to language or culture).

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Major_Spite7184@reddit

And North Carolina will get you on state registration if you’re bringing in a vehicle. Heaven forbid you have more than 1.

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Particular_Bet_5466@reddit

Yeah that’s annoying for sure but isn’t the whole restarting everything else in your life a bigger deal? You have relationships with people, especially grow up with people in your youth, have family in one state usually, a job in one state usually, are familiar with your surrounding etc. that’s all mostly restarted in a new state. Of course there’s exceptions but that seems kind of minor compared to everything else.

American states are familiar that the culture is basically the same. Infrastructure is mostly the same. That part is familiar. But most people aren’t vagabonds and have roots/connections in their local area.

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tyoung89@reddit

Yeah, leaving friends and family and just general familiarity with the area is tough. But that’d be the same if I moved a few hours away in the same state. I suppose I would’ve been able to visit home more often if I was closer, but again, that might not be a big deal if the state you’re moving from and to are next to each other. I assumed OP meant more stuff that’s specific to moving between states.

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Deep_Downlow@reddit

In some major cities moving to the opposite side is also "a whole new life" like a move from Plano to Arlington (it was actually Collyville to Cock Hill but who knows all the towns and areas within DFW? ) but when I lived in Fresno, in the Tower District, I saw my friend like once a month when she moved to Clovis 10miles away about a 30min drive down Palm and Shaw and all those traffic lights.

I've had 4 active drivers licenses at the same time, (because I never gave them up to the DMV clerks. California, Montana, Maine and Texas, but gave up Colorado and my Washington Ids.)

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Ms-Metal@reddit

Exactly this. I just posted about it. Yes it is really hard to move to a new state but not for the reasons OP thinks.

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rainidazehaze@reddit

Sure but that isn't special for states. Restarting everything else in your life also applies basically equally to moving a few counties away in most states, anything more than a couple hours drive is basically a new life, cause you need a day trip or stayover to visit your old area.

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

Access to medical care now varies a LOT between states.

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Holiday_Hotel3722@reddit

Best part about moving to NYC: no license becuase no car!

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ijswijsw@reddit

Yes. I moved from Maryland to Alabama when I was 12. Just 3 states away. I couldn't understand some of my teachers because of their accents.

I was also ahead academically, just based on when different states start different things. I had to go up a grade in math, which also then meant having to have my own ride to the high school for one class every day, then back to the middle school in 8th grade (and again in 9th because we had a "freshman campus").

Then I moved to South Carolina when I was about to turn 16. My drivers ed didn't count in a new state, so I had to either pay to take more drivers ed or wait until I was 17 to get a drivers license.

Moving again also screwed me academically as well. I had a math class in 10th grade in Alabama that was a higher level than anything offered to me in South Carolina. I got a 92% in that class. An A on my Alabama GPA. But South Carolina, or at least my district, used a 7 point scale so my A turned into a B. Which brought my GPA down, which meant I wasn't in the running to be valedictorian (not that I wanted to make a speech, I just had a superiority complex and hated not being number 1).

Moving as an adult without kids is much easier. There's a few potential culture issues and driving laws vary state to state, but education is a huge part of life that is purely managed at a local and state level.

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Asparagus9000@reddit

Moving away from friends and family causes a lot more issues than the different cultures between states.

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Accomplished_Key_171@reddit

Only thing harder than saying bye to your friends is trying to make new friends from scratch. If you're not moving to a big city where there are groups designed for meeting people, it can seem nearly impossible to make those connections again.

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ForestOranges@reddit

I moved to a small town after college, thankfully we were only 30 minutes outside a major city. I don’t think I made a single friend in that small town and I didn’t even know how to meet people there. In the city there were events and groups designed for meeting new people.

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NightDragon8002@reddit

It took me years to make solid friends even in a bigger city, I think making friends as an adult is just hard 😭

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gofindyour@reddit

Unless your family sucks🥲

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Fluffy-kitten28@reddit

Then the hard part is starting over and making a new family with no support in the wings.

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1nfam0us@reddit

Boy, tell me about it.

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HuaHuzi6666@reddit

^ most Minnesota answer lol

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fatstankyshit@reddit

I’m a Minnesotan and immediately agreed with that sentiment. This response made me laugh

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BigPapaJava@reddit

For all the differences in laws, education systems, and taxes, the differences are usually minor. Federal laws on most issues set a kind of minimum standard that states have to meet or exceed.

The problems with moving to different states usually concern the possible sheer distance from family members and friends and some differences in politics, geography/climate, and some regional cultural issues… but it is still nowhere near as much of a culture shock as a European moving to a different EU country with a vastly different language and culture from their own.

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WritPositWrit@reddit

It’s not any harder than moving within the same state.

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SourceOfConfusion@reddit

No, I’ve lived in five states.

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Bellad_Henderson@reddit

What makes you keep changing places?

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ThePickleConnoisseur@reddit

Road laws can be a little different but they can also be enforced differently jn the next town over. Education is very district and even school dependent.

For the most part things are the same minus some road rules and taxes

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SparklingSaturnRing@reddit

Driving can be wildly different. I’m from Detroit and a friend who moved here from Vegas struggled with the fact that (supposedly) our main road signs are much farther from that road then in other places so he kept making turns to fast. We also have ‘Michigan lefts’ and the car insurance in this area is the highest in the country, it’s also not advised to drive on the Lodge (a freeway) if you’re not from here because everyone goes 30 or more miles above the speed limit

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ktelAgitprop@reddit

I always love discovering the driving cultures whenever I rent a car in a new city! I came back from Chicago telling everyone how delightful the horn usage was there 😂 like they’re not mad per se they’re just telling you very clearly that you’re about to be crushed if you don’t gtfo of the way.

On the other hand my husband was road tripping with his sister as 20-somethings and they were pulled over (don’t remember where) after making a right on red, which was legal where they were licensed. Officer was like yeah you ARE supposed to sit your ass still at the light the entire time and wait for it to be green- what do you think red lights are FOR? But just gave them a warning bc they were so genuinely naive and confused about what they’d done wrong.

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ThePickleConnoisseur@reddit

I’m pretty sure turning right on red is legal in every state

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TillPsychological351@reddit

Individual states even have their own driving culture.

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

I've moved to a different country but never a different state. So, yes?

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scottypotty79@reddit

A state’s political landscape is definitely a factor when considering a move. As far as travel goes, some things to be aware of are varying cannabis laws and laws concerning the possession and transportation of firearms. California has ports of entry that ask you if you have any fruit because they are such a critical agricultural state and have a strong interest in preventing certain kinds of pests from entering.

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Mistriever@reddit

Some probably do. It's never been an issue for me, but I've always changed states (or countries) after I already had a job waiting for me. It is a hassle though, but not much more than moving within the same state or even within the same city.

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Accomplished-Race335@reddit

We moved to 5 different states, none of them next to another. It was pretty easy.

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yahgmail@reddit

I've lived in the Southeast, Midwest, & East Coast. I experienced the most overt anti Black racism living in the Midwest, so I'd never live there again. I don't even visit family still living there (we see each other in other states).

I would live in the Southeast again, although the laws & culture are too conservative for me, but they were manageable because my family still lives there.

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redvinebitty@reddit

If they have kids, schools will factor

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betterbetterthings@reddit

It’s a massive problem if you have jobs that require licenses and certifications. They are state specific

It’s also a massive problem if you have a job that gives you state pension. You’ll be exiting that pension system if you leave

It’s a massive problem because of big differences in cost of living in different states. If you sell your house and can only afford a tiny apartment in a different state, it’s a big change

So yes moving states is a big deal for many people

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omgidontknowbob@reddit

I’ve lived in several different states and a few different countries. The short answer is that it’s relative. Not accounting for differences in languages and banking systems, the cultural/social difference between living in Texas and California is roughly equivalent to the difference between Belgium and Germany (in my experience).

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Relative_Specific217@reddit

Kind of depends on which state you’re moving to and which state you’re moving from. Like moving from Arizona to North Carolina would be a giant change in landscape, weather, some cultural aspects, but probably not so different politically, economically, and legally. Some states have really different laws with taxes, insurance, etc. and that bring in new people who are looking to for a lower cost of living or less regulations. Some states get people that want out of the hot weather or out of the cold weather. It just depends on what you want, but it’s definitely nice to have 50 options to choose from!

Logistically though, there’s not a lot of extra work to do other than updating your driver’s license and plates.

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AdamOnFirst@reddit

Traveling from state to state very very little most of the time. If you’re carrying goods or maybe a firearm you have to make sure you know the laws, but it’s not too much.

Moving from state to state CAN be a culture shock, but so can moving within a state if you go from a rural to urban area of vice versa. It varies from person to person.

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strawberryselkie@reddit

It depends on which states and how far you're moving. I moved from one coast to the other and it's taken some adjustment. It's hard living 3000 miles away from everyone and everything you know. The food's different, the drivers are different, the dialect can be different, some of the culture and customs are different. The weather, seasons, climate, and natural surroundings are entirely different. Some things about living here are better, some are worse.

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betterWithSprinkles@reddit

I moved from Florida to California many years ago and was surprised by how different Mexican food was between the two states.

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AZJHawk@reddit

I lived in Miami for three years in the early ‘00s. It was difficult to find any Mexican food and impossible to find good Mexican food. The places we found were a Caribbeanized version of Tex Mex.

Of course, in Arizona we have no shortage of good Sonoran and Bajan food and we also get some more central Mexican options, but good Cuban food is hard to come by.

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Natural_Field9920@reddit

No it’s not difficult at all

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AZJHawk@reddit

I’ve lived in five different states. For the most part, the changes are not that big and pretty easy to adapt to.

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Adventurous-Ask2111@reddit

I've moved a lot. Hawai'i to Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania to Texas, Texas to a different place in Texas (8 hours apart and it wasnt even east to west. West to roughly halfway through Texas) West Texas to DC, DC to Iowa. Etc.

The most annoying parts about moving is changing your drivers lisense, actually moving, and trying to get a place to live. The taxes, new location, and everything else that comes with moving isnt too bad.

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Ilovefishdix@reddit

Culturally, I'd have a harder time figuring some places out than others. I'm a hippie dude in the rocky mountain west. It's a culturally pretty purple area without a ton of people. Lots of dirt bikes, guns, and redneck shit plus a lot of shrooms, art and jam bands. I'd have a harder time figuring out east coast cities like Baltimore or NYC than anywhere in the west. Most of the laws are somewhat similar everywhere you go.

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sanedragon@reddit

Those absolutely come into play for me. As do climate and geography. Even with everything considered and moving to an area that was on my short list, I still experienced a bit of culture shock at first.

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2-Ns@reddit

It can matter for things like civil rights. Abortion access varies by state now, so some pregnant people are unwilling to travel to states where they might not receive medically-appropriate care if something goes wrong while they’re there. Women have died in the past few years because they were turned away from hospitals during medical emergencies involving pregnancies.

It also matters for trans people. Some states ban trans people from using public restrooms, so some trans people avoid moving to or even traveling through those states for fear of arrest if they need to use the restroom.

Before 2015, same sex marriages were also only recognized in certain states. So if you lived in Massachusetts, you were married, but if you moved to Idaho, you weren’t.

Historically, huge numbers of black people moved out of the south and to the north and west to escape racial violence. That was called the Great Migration and lasted from the 1890s through the 1960s.

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flyingsqueak@reddit

This. Different laws in different states might not matter too much to straight white men, but the differences in the states can matter a while heck of a lot to anyone else. It will matter to those straight guys when they suddenly find themselves to be single father's after their wife dies due stupid abortion laws making it impossible for doctors to treat serious complications in pregnancy.

People saying the different state laws don't matter much are so oblivious.

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serouspericardium@reddit

It’s not that they don’t matter, it’s that the differences don’t affect most people, so most people don’t consider them when deciding where to live

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Tbd423@reddit

Exactly! most of these answers pmtfo

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crazedconundrum@reddit

Mother of adult trans daughter here. Whole family moved from Alabama to New York last year for basic human rights. Breath of fresh air. No more rudeness/ hostility to her from strangers- she's married to a woman. Besides leaving everyone we ever knew, only negative was snow. I just have my mantra of " no 90 percent humidity" as I shovel. Better in every way.

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makestuff24-7@reddit

Moving from Oklahoma to Illinois in a couple of months for similar reasons. Congrats to you and your family!

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ricks35@reddit

I used to prefer my state for cultural reasons, but now I prefer it because I know that if I lived in other states they would have just watched and pretended to pray while my first pregnancy killed me. My husband would be a widower before age 30 and the healthy, living child I have now would not have had a chance to exist. Crazy that those “family values” they talk about would prefer a grieving, childless widower to a happy family of three with plans for more, but like I said, culture differences

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2PlasticLobsters@reddit

I suspect it's something most of us take for granted. There's always some level of bureaucratic annoyance when you move. Changing states just alters the flavor somewhat.

Sometimes it works in your favor. We were pleasantly surprised that in Washington state, you make an appointment to get your license. No waiting for an hour at the DMV, yay!

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RoseRedd@reddit

The hardest part of moving is traveling to see friends and family you leave behind. For a time my brother was living on the East Coast, our mom was in the Midwest, and I was on the West Coast.

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Opening-Bandicoot859@reddit

I did it a year and a half ago. Moving is a big adjustment in general. I only went one state south, but I left the state I grew up in. There's a slower pace here, and fewer people. That definitely took some getting used to. I'm a little less reliant on GPS, but I'm sure glad to have it. Despite differences from one state to another, the US has a common "fabric," so to speak, so even though you're in a new location, it doesn't feel completely foreign. That's been my experience, at least.

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Altril2010@reddit

See my flair. I’ve done it a lot. There are some things that are annoying, but it isn’t necessarily hard.

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Pop-19502020@reddit

You mentioned driving through states. I have driven across the country 4 times (and doing it again in 2 months). Sometimes you can’t even tell when you’ve entered a new state. You just keep on going.

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shammy_dammy@reddit

Not really. The only thing is to learn/buy the things you'll need if you make a large temperature shift.

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minidog8@reddit

I find the difference between urban and rural to be more difficult than a difference between states.

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RockShowSparky@reddit

The taxes can surprise you.

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MortimerDongle@reddit

Yeah. I've met people in PA who didn't realize that local income tax has to be filed separately from state income tax until they'd already live here for years

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MortimerDongle@reddit

It's annoying but not hard

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ButterscotchOdd8257@reddit

Not usually. The laws aren't that different, and the culture might be but people know what they are getting into.

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CrankyOperator@reddit

I've done it, it really depends.

When I moved from a Midwesterner/Northern City to a suburb in the South, that was tough. Both logistics wise and culture. I'm not even against the culture, it was just a huge shift.

Then I went back to my northern/Midwest City and once again left for a neighboring States suburb. That was easier just because of experience. I knew I was trading 1 set of benefits and detriments for another set. I was fine with the pay off.

The biggest thing is mostly being aware of trade offs and your personal priorities.

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BandicootWide8250@reddit

Depends. Culturally it's not always a huge difference depending on where you're moving.

The biggest pain is moving away from friends and family, having to get a new driver's license, and tax differences.

I've moved states a few times now and it's not that big of a deal, but culturally some states are much harder to make new friends and meet new people in than others. Midwest states tend to be the most stranger friendly in my experience.

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AlmiranteCrujido@reddit

Moving as a young person is very easy, especially if it's to a state in a similar region.

Moving as an older, well-established person is harder.

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PatronStofFeralCats@reddit

Depends on the state. Mississippi to Louisiana? Easy peasy. Louisiana to Missouri? I'm so confused. It's always windy; the hilly, curving roads make me car sick; and we have both real winter AND real summer. I hate it here. But hey, at least most of my neighbors finally hate the president as much as I do. All it took was moving 10 hours away from everything I've ever known.

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ReliableSlug@reddit

Hi! I just moved from Texas to Vermont! The only stress I’ve been dealing with is how more expensive it is to live here and how much harder it is to find an affordable apartment or house. Right now I’m living with my boyfriend and a roommate so the rent is fairly cheap but we are saving up to find a place of our own.

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semisubterranean@reddit

Let's face it, moving is hard. Packing, lifting heavy couches, finding affordable housing, finding new doctors and dentists ... It is a real pain. But differences in state laws, cultures and educational systems are the comparatively easy part. It's not significantly harder for me to move to Kansas than to move to another city in my own state a similar distance away.

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colliedad@reddit

Two weeks ago I travelled across four states to buy a puppy, so no, it's not hard.

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ssk7882@reddit

Moving to a new region is usually a much bigger deal than just crossing the border to an adjoining state. I've lived in a number of different New England states, and there was no culture shock involved. Ditto moving from New York state to New England.

Crossing the country from Massachusetts to Oregon, on the other hand, required a bit more adjustment, and from what I've seen when visiting my southern in-laws, moving to the southeast would likely involve some genuine culture shock. (The first time someone asked me "what church do you go to?" I was extremely shocked! I think actually living in that region would involve quite a lot of those moments.)

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Fillmore_the_Puppy@reddit

I have only done it once and didn't find any of the things you mention difficult to navigate. But I moved from one west coast state to another, and there are quite a few regional similarities. Also, I don't have kids, so didn't have to worry about anything school related.

Probably the most difficult things to learn in a new place would be unspoken social norms (like, say the difference in how folks might interact between Vermont and Texas) rather than anything that's easy to research like different traffic laws.

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Otherwise_Trust_6369@reddit

Just moving to another state in and of itself is generally no big deal but it can seem like a different country if there's a big difference in distance, climate, demographics, socioeconomics, politics, etc.

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MaritimeDisaster@reddit

Climatic differences are underrated. You can go from basically tropical to alpine in the United States and it’s really jarring.

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CharacterSchedule700@reddit

I grew up and live the majority of my life in dry dry dry places. Moved to NJ in 2021 and its so humid.

Not only did I not realize how dry it was where I grew up, but I didn't realize how humid was in NJ. Why? Because NJ isn't really considered humid, I'm just a dried up little bean thats getting his first taste of moisture lol.

It's really weird the skin conditions that have come up with the move though. I have chafing, rashes, and other skin conditions that were never a concern purely because I sweat more. It was worse because during COVID the face masks trapped my breath up in my beard and caused some not great stuff on my skin there. I actually have to worry about skin care beyond sun screen and lotion here.

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Asleep-Assistant-269@reddit

Wow - you must be from like Arizona, Nevada, or New Mexico? New Jersey is well below average humidity for the US.

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CharacterSchedule700@reddit

Great question that led me to research what I'm talking about a bit.

Short answer- no, I grew up in Southeastern Oregon and lived in Montana for most of my adult life. High elevation, mountain rain shadows where you get 12-15 inches of prescription per year, mostly in the form of snow. Where live in NJ its 45 inches of prescription, mostly in the form of rain and only 315 feet in elevation.

Long answer- the areas where I lived were low dew points whereas New Jersey has a higher dew point, which makes it a lot muggier. On paper, they have similar humidities. Right now: 36% where I grew up, 52% where I lived in MT, and 45% where I live in NJ.

But the dew points are significantly different: 30º dew point (currently 62º) where I grew up, 36º (currently 49º) where I lived in MT, and 55º (currently 64º) where I live in NJ.

The higher dew point means that sweat doesn't evaporate as fast, which makes it feel more humid.

So tldr; when I said it was more humid in NJ, I actually meant it was muggier here, which causes me to feel my sweat a lot more since the sweat is not evaporating.

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Proud-Delivery-621@reddit

Yeah I'm about to move from Alabama to Maine and it's going to be a serious climate shock lmao.

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matthewsmugmanager@reddit

This is a very accurate statement.

The cultures can be very different, but Americans already know that before we move. We are aware of regional difference.

Once we do move, we often marvel at the small things in daily life that are so different from region to region. And often, we find that a particular region is not to our liking.

But laws and education systems are not so different that they are actual obstacles.

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CharacterSchedule700@reddit

Agree, I've moved between 2 states Oregon -> Montana -> New Jersey.

I knew what I was getting culturally when I moved and lamented at the lack of dining options when I first moved to Montana.

I think the closest I came from a law issue was moving my guns between Montana and New Jersey. Last minute I had an epiphany and thought, "you know what, I should leave these with family here. It's not like I'll have a use for them there." And OMG I am so glad I did.

Because: 1) Having an unpermitted gun in NJ is an automatic prison sentence. 2) I haven't seen more than 5 guns since coming here and all of them have been on police officers. 3) I live in an apartment complex that would have required carrying my guns from the car, across the courtyard, and into the apartment. There is a 0% chance I would've gotten away with it and I would've gone to prison. 4) I have had zero use for them here.

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Deep_Downlow@reddit

Education is very different between states and especially if moving from the city to country and the careers of the community. My kids had a shitty (elementary) education in Hopkinsville Kentucky and it was far superior in Colorado Springs and then pretty good near Tacoma Washington.

But I've had to move my kids to another district and there are changes between those as well, even schools within the same district. Somehow the poorer neighborhood's high school was more well behaved regarding personal property than the more affluent High School. Now mind you, there were a lot less fights and overt graffiti in the "rich" school, there was less petty theft, cheating and overt drug use at the poorer school.

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RenderMaster@reddit

This.

I moved from the Midwest to Miami. I’m still in the USA- use the dollar, pay taxes, etc. but the climate is entirely different and I don’t speak the language. The driving “laws” might be similar but the behavior of other drivers is not.

I sometimes wonder if I had moved to the UK or Australia if the culture would feel more familiar to me than South Florida.

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DesignerNecessary289@reddit

I moved from Oregon to Louisiana when I was very young. It was a massive culture shock. The racism in the South was shocking to me. White people would say the most racist stuff to me assuming I would agree because I’m white. The way they treat animals is wayyyy different. There were very sick stray dogs running around, which is not something I had ever experienced. I tried to take a stray dog to a shelter and found out there wasn’t a “no kill” shelter anywhere nearby. In Oregon, dogs are basically people. It was very difficult for me. Also, in the more rural areas, I sometimes couldn’t even understand what people were saying because their accent was so different from what I was used to.

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RuthlessLogic@reddit

I've moved states 4 times as an adult and the biggest PITA has always been having to navigate new health insurance & medical systems.

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MyHouseisOrange@reddit

No real thought about traveling between states, it's no big deal as our driver's licenses are valid in all US states, etc. But, moving - yes - many unique factors to consider - culture, taxes, environment (weather), political leanings, educational systems, cost of housing, cost of living overall, access to good food (some places are considered food 'deserts" because it's hard to get or buy fresh food, healthcare options, cost of insurance. Those things can vary a lot between states so one needs to consider them before moving. It's a lot to weigh.

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bdrwr@reddit

Depends what state. For example, I would find it extremely hard, nigh impossible, to move to Texas.

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sorryimgay@reddit

One of my siblings met a good friend in college who moved from a state on the west coast to attend a Louisiana university for music.

After she graduated in music education, she literally could not afford to move back home until about 8 years later. Her grandmother died and her family let her inherit the house.

Yes its hard moving out of the south

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Moons_of_Moons@reddit

It's just annoying.

Different liscence Different medical insurance Different secret DMV rules Different grocery store chains

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Lexie_Acquara@reddit

it’s pretty easy to move to a new state. it’s nothing like moving to a new country. You almost have to do nothing. You might have to file both state taxes the year you move, and get new ID eventually, but that’s about it. Whether you pay attention to laws and schools depends on your priorities, but many people move without much consideration to that stuff. If you are mayor LGBTQ or disabled, it can be pretty important to look at state laws, for example.

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awfulcrowded117@reddit

It might affect the decision to move, but it isn't a problem no. Moving residence is just paperwork

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Teri-k@reddit

My husband was in the Navy and we changed states every three years. It's not that different, really. Mostly laws are the same, state income taxes will change, you may have to get your car licensed, etc. But schools aren't that different, you register your kids and get their schedules and they all run pretty much the same way. The stores and restaurants are often chains, so they're familiar.

I don't think customs are that different, either. Some parts of the country center more around church, others may have more outdoor activities, but overall we're pretty much the same in our day-to-day lives. Americans have always moved around a lot, so there's quite a bit of mixing anyway. In fact, I don't think the state you live in matters a lot in terms of your normal life, (excluding recent changes in health care, etc.), it's more if you are in a city or a small town, and what the weather is like. For us, our first moves were always to find the parks and the library. :)

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SoftValuable8910@reddit

It can be very difficult culture-wise, depending on where you move.

I lived most of my life in a very liberal city environment, and moved to a very conservative rural environment for college. It was a huge culture shock, and there were definitely laws in my new state that didn't exist in my old state, and vice versa. I actually ended up moving away from my college town pretty quickly because I had such a hard time adjusting.

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MrBingly@reddit

If you don't have guns or smoke weed then it is pretty straightforward. Tons of people move states and don't realize the laws are different until they find themselves in trouble. But usually it's pretty small trouble. There are lots of differences between states, but people just don't pay attention and skate by not knowing.

If you smoke weed then you definitely need to make sure you're not bringing it into the wrong state because you can get serious jail time for it in some states, but it's legal in others.

If you own guns you need to do some research about the state you're moving to, and even states you're traveling through. For example, one gun I own would be a felony to possess in California if it didn't have a plastic fin on the back of the grip. So even though someone could legally bring this gun into California, it would have to be modified to avoid getting you in serious trouble.

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johnincolorado@reddit

Inertia and family ties are the toughest things to overcome.

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MISProf@reddit

I don’t like changing medical care. Other than that it’s not a big deal. I’ve moved across multiple states several times for work.

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94grampaw@reddit

Ive lived in 3 states so far, definitely some differences depending on what state you come from and what you do can be substantial or trivial.

Like if your not into guns or cars or pot alot of the differences between states aren't that big of a deal in day to day life.

But if you are, differences become big, like if you have some kinds of guns they can be totally legal, or a felony that will put you in prison for ten years. Fully depends on what side of the state line you're on.

Is your car street legal, or will it be state sanctioned by chp, and towed, because of the exhaust system.

Is buying weed a crime or a trip to the shop next to the Fred Meyer's.

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LynnSeattle@reddit

If you’re not into guns, moving to a state where people worship them is a big deal.

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94grampaw@reddit

Also that too, either direction really some states are very similar and other are very different

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Omvega@reddit

For the average person the difference is probably less but I am gay and married to a trans person so I would have to choose carefully

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Active_Yellow_1573@reddit

So e do, so.e don't. I've lived in 4 states and district. My wife is on state 6 and 1 district. But my parents haven't even left their neighborhood.

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normallystrange85@reddit

I've lived in 6 different states across the country and never had too much of an issue. Generally, you just need to file your taxes differently and deal with the DMV to get your car registered and a new driver's license.

Culturally it's not too bad to adjust place to place. From big towns to small towns, liberal areas and conservative areas, you find that people are largely... People. Most are good. Some are bad. Just swap what football team you cheer for (or don't and start a friendly rivalry) and you'll be fine.

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mauser98k1998@reddit

I’ve done this 5 times. It’s not that big of a deal.

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Traditional_Trust418@reddit

I moved states just because of state laws

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Special_Aardvark8317@reddit

It’s not hard at all if you have the money to do it.

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RespectablePapaya@reddit

No, the differences between states are very minor. Seem people might not want to move to a specific state for culture or weather-related reasons, but minor differences in laws and education systems usually don't factor into it.

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PainterOfRed@reddit

It's not like changing countries. Yes, there are different laws in each state, for mostly minor differences. But, there is a basic structure to the legal system where a new state won't feel foreign. Hardest part - getting a new driver's license.

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Junior-Reflection-43@reddit

It may depend a bit on why you are moving. To go to university? Because of a job? Because of wanting to be near family? To retire or for taxes? Are you forced to because of a recent event? Or just because you want a certain type of climate/environment. Having kids is also a huge consideration in looking for neighborhoods.

It might also depend on how long you have been in the place you are moving from, and how to deal with all of your “stuff”. Purging, packing, and preparing for a move may be the most stressful part. Finding new doctors and dentists /healthcare can also be important but a pain (pun intended).

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Conscious-Science-60@reddit

I have no interest in moving to a new state because pensions for public service jobs are done by state. My retirement will be much better if I stay in California!

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rh681@reddit

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you a move from Hawaii to the Midwest was no picnic.

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Hello_Hangnail@reddit

It's hard moving across town

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NCErin@reddit

It doesn’t factor into my decision to move states or to travel, but I will admit I’m always thrown a little bit by learning the local business chains, like the local grocery stores and gas stations. The fact that they’re different then the ones “at home” don’t really matter, the contents are the same, but it’s a small learning curve.

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Familiar_Fan_3603@reddit

Apparently not, based on the tons of people moving to NC. I think if you come from a culture/family line of moving and aren't really rooted anyway, it's not hard. As a native in my state, I feel this cultural difference in those that have community and suburbanites who are used to paying to outsource everything and have family scattered all around the country.

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Rotten-Roses@reddit

Yeah it was actually really hard adjusting to the new legal system, norms, and everything. I didn't know how to get help when I neended it because everything just worked completely differently than where I grew up.

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Vernix@reddit

OP asks a great question, and the breadth of the replies is amazing – a deep dive into all aspects of our lives. Legal, cultural, political, educational, economic, religious aspects and impacts. Basic living needs like medical and veterinarian care, food shopping, car repair, entertainment – all are vital to a fulfilling life. The weather. The bar scene. Dog parks. Libraries. Access to weed. Access to 12-step meetings. Access to the ocean, the mountains, the desert. Access to a mosque. Can you afford a home? Can you carry a firearm? Can you have an abortion?

A couple of topics are not emphasized in replies here.

Education. For many, quality of education might be the deal breaker. Those with children of public school age are wise to examine state and local school rankings – before the move – over a range of aspects: test scores, graduation percentages, teacher salaries, state funding, class size, all of it. Parents who see their children’s schooling and learning decline after a move are heartbroken. States with poor education performance do exist; 26 through 50 are below median. Also, remember that the taxes you pay for education enhance your property value and the overall health of your community, even if you are childless.

Racism and intimidation. It’s everywhere. In some states where open carry is legal, men wearing two pistols stroll the supermarket aisles, and women insult others in the checkout lines because their skin is the wrong color or their eyes are a different shape or they talk funny. In other states you won’t see this, though it’s certainly there in more subtle ways. Never doubt that a non-white person will place this at the top of their list of things to find out before moving. This also can apply to religion.

It’s impossible to know what the full cultural impact of a move will have, but this is one area where doing one’s own research could be helpful. Start here at Reddit. Join state and city and town subs if they exist. Identify the big things that could happen to you and your loved ones. If you’re single or a couple with no dependents, your options will be broader. Make the difficult choices before you go, and deal with your driver’s license when you get there.

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FreeStateOfPortland@reddit

If you’re a woman, I’m pretty sure you have to register specially in Texas so they can track your uterus.

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redrach09@reddit

Traveling no, moving yes. I’m life long Florida resident and while I would love to move out of this state it does feel overwhelming all the things that are different. But the biggest thing for me is snow/cold. I know how to deal with heat, I don’t know how to deal with snow.

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SnowblindAlbino@reddit

I've moved around many times and have lived in every region of the US outside the deep South. I've also been to all 50 states. Moving between states is an issue only in terms of paperwork, since you need to change your driver's license, vehicle registrations, pay taxes differently, etc. It's a basic bureaucratic hassle like anything else I suppose, not something anyone would consider a problem. Otherwise it's just like moving within a state.

Traveling between states is nothing. We (my family) always honk the car horn when we cross a border, just because we did that when our kids were little. But otherwise you'd generally not notice. There are different laws but most you can ignore; obvious examples would be those around marijuana...for example, weed is legal in Oregon/Washington/Montana but totally illegal in Idaho, so you'd want to be careful what you carry across that border in case you are stopped for at traffic violation. But otherwise? I just drove across six states last week and other than the "welcome to _____" signs you'd hardly notice.

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OkayDay21@reddit

I moved from Pennsylvania to Florida and hated it so much I moved back nine months later.

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sterrre@reddit

Yup. Vancouver Washington is inhabitated solely by Oregonians who wanted to avoid state taxes.

Because Washington has no income tax, and Oregon has no sales tax, a person who lives and works in Vancouver and crosses the bridge to do shopping in Portland can avoid most state taxes and be terrible people.

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No-Handle-66@reddit

The only major differences are having to register your car in the new state, getting a new state driver's license, and different tax codes. You have to file taxes in the new state, and register to vote in the new state.

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Healthy_Blueberry_59@reddit

My take on it from experience is that we think it is no big deal but it is more critically important than we are willing to admit or factor into decisions. Health care and education laws, for example, can differ very widely and affect access. Hunting and gun laws and access to public lands can also vary widely. If you just work, have no kids, get health insurance through your work, you probably won't encounter many differences.

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Tree_killer_76@reddit

There are more than 300,000,000 of us and everybody is different. For some people, relocation is crippling. For others it’s no problem. I’ve lived in 4 states including cross country moves. I’ve moved when I was able to fit all my stuff in 2 car loads and I’ve had full service moves.

There are certainly logistics to any move. But the basics that must be considered are the difference in state income taxation, property taxation, home values (which can of course vary wildly even within a single city) general cost of living, commute and, if you have or plan to have kids, school quality.

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BouncingSphinx@reddit

Almost every time I've moved, it's been to a different state. Only one state change while I was a child.

It's really not that different, especially if it's similar areas. Minor changes in how things are done, but overall not that different. Moving from France to Germany is going to be vastly different from moving from Texas to Virginia.

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Aprils-Fool@reddit

Nope. I’ve lived in 3 states, each in a different region. No trouble at all.

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igottathinkofaname@reddit

I don’t even like moving across town…

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georgia-peach_pie@reddit

It really depends on the persons situation. Traveling from state to state is something no one I know even thinks about. But moving could become really complicated depending on the person. Sometimes getting certain types of professional licenses in another state can be a real hassle and could even involve long waits or more schooling depending on state requirements. And then there’s education. My husband and I were actually strongly considering moving to another state and then found out that state has some of the worst education in the country and decided against it because of our kids

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Cowboywizard12@reddit

Depends on the state, I've lived in Massachusetts for most of my life.

But I've also lived in Maine and New Hampshire for a little while (also Illinois and Michigan as a toddler but I don't remember that at all.)

It was super easy to get used to both Maine and New Hampshire as a New Englander.

But I'm sure I'd be harder to get used to living in a Non New England State for me

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jackofspades49@reddit

I dont think its confusing. But fuuuck it sucks to have to move all your stuff.

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sonofaturkeysandwich@reddit

well, to be fair, even different counties have different rules or "laws" not just states so its not too hard to adjust moving states.

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Standard-Jaguar-8793@reddit

I’m a person of color. I have a trans child and two women in my family are of childbearing age.

At this point in time, you bet I thought long and hard about where to move to. There are states I wouldn’t even visit, let alone live there.

The process is easy enough, just time consuming. There’s so much to consider: insurance (homeowners and health), changing drivers licenses, finding new service providers, etc. I’m lucky we moved to a friendly place.

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MamaLlama629@reddit

Some people are built better for moving. I know people who packed up their whole lives and moved somewhere they knew nobody and then there’s me, I had a hard time moving across my metro area

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Brennisth@reddit

The most annoying part is when you're on a border. My husband works in one state that has income tax, and his company requires his residence to be in that state, so our house is there. I work across the border in a state that doesn't have income tax, so my employer doesn't withhold state taxes. But the state where I work is a joint property state (half of what I earn is his by definition). So I have to pay tax in his state on the half my income that my state considers to be his, even though it's not withheld. Other annoyances include former states asking you for jury duty years after you've moved out, getting campaign calls for states where you can't vote anymore, etc.

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tuna_safe_dolphin@reddit

As an adult, I've lived in Massachusetts, California, Washington (state), Texas, North Carolina and Maine.

In many ways, it's like moving to a different country where they speak the same language and share many customs and beliefs. Climate-wise it is 100% like living in different countries.

For me, having grown up an lived most of my life in New England, Texas felt the most foreign.

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HotSteak@reddit

I've moved back and forth across the river from Minnesota to Wisconsin multiple times. Most things are the same. The main difference is whether 0.5% of the population is drunk at any given moment or 45% of the population is drunk at any given moment.

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roseccmuzak@reddit

and this is why I spend my summers in Wisconsin as a southerner

What do you mean i get to wear sweaters and drink in June? What is it, fall?

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No-Conversation1940@reddit

Why are you wearing a sweater? It's in the 50s, let the arms breathe!

Wisconsin is the only place I've ever lived where I wanted some people to drive drunk after meeting them. I could tell they had not driven a vehicle while stone sober in years, maybe since they took their first driving test.

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Maleficent-Hawk-318@reddit

Feel like 0.5% is a very low estimate for anywhere in the upper Midwest, gotta be honest.

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DaBingeGirl@reddit

Yep. My family aren't big drinkers, we're an anomaly here. Drinking is definitely the go-to activity in the Midwest. A friend of mine is an ER nurse, she tries not to go out between Friday evening and Sunday night because of how many crashes she's seen. The drinking culture is insane.

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Marcudemus@reddit

I don't know why, but as I was scrolling, I read the second half of your comment first and was like, "Ahh, that must be Wisconsin., And then I read the first half and well whaddya know? 😂

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CryptographerIcy4465@reddit

Oh, yah.

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willtag70@reddit

I've lived in 9 states in every major region of the country. It's not a big deal, minor adjustments. Far more to do with learning your way around a new place, the weather differences, figuring out what neighborhood to live in, normal living factors. Laws, rules and social norms are mostly minor. Some places are more extreme, but overall it's not a big deal.

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throwa1589876541525@reddit

The only confusing part for me was transferring my driver's license and car registration. Otherwise the process was basically the same as moving house within a state

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Charming-Sea8571@reddit

I moved states a lot when I was young. The education part was a problem. Which reading group do you belong in? Lots of testing and it’s easy to get messed up . I was put in the wrong group and it took a good teacher the follow year to see it and get me back to where I should be and always was before.

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Forsythia77@reddit

When I moved from Indiana to Massachusetts, yes. It was so different than the Chicagoland area in Northwest Indiana I lived in. Moving from Boston to Chicago felt like moving home because I was used to Chicago, it's suburbs, the Bears perpetually disappointing me and the inherent understanding that am italian beef needs to be dipped. Or at the very least au jus on the side. It was the little things that got me. I'm glad I did it though. I was young and I needed to get out of my bubble and experience more of the world.

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Krewesing@reddit

I’ve moved across the country many times, as both an adult and child. It was usually easy. But I had pretty bad culture shock moving from the south to California once as a teenager—and moving from the south to California in my 20s. I am from California and have lived most of my life here, so you’d think it would have been easy. Every other move I’ve done has been easy. But both of those times I had a really tough time adjusting to the different norms and cultural expectations in my CA community that my prior peers did not have.

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rubberguru@reddit

Lived in 9 states since the 80s, and the worst part is the drivers license. It’s not that bad either. The alcohol laws were silly sometimes. (can’t buy cold beer in stores or on Sunday)

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PigletRivet@reddit

I’d say it’s hard because moving is expensive. If you don’t have thousands of dollars on hand, you’re basically stuck where you are.

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TheJokersChild@reddit

In some careers, you go where the jobs are. You can't be picky about what state they're in. I've done it a few times. There are culture shocks sometimes, but overall it's not a challenge. Definitely easier than moving to another country.

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_Smedette_@reddit

No, not really. There can be cultural differences, but the legal stuff isn’t really an issue.

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Meowmeowmeow31@reddit

Depends on if you’re a woman or LGBT.

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Wadsworth_McStumpy@reddit

The laws and education systems and such really aren't much different. It's all (except Louisiana) based on English Common Law, with minor variations, mostly in things like alcohol, marijuana, and guns. There's really more of a difference moving from a big city out into the countryside of the same state (or vice-versa.)

As for customs, yeah, it can be different, but Americans are very accepting of others. You won't really have problems unless you're looking for them.

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Ok_Membership_8189@reddit

Not really, other than the distance. If we were to move to Canada we’d have to make a list of every darn thing we were moving, down to the ball point pen, and that would be a pain. Nothing like that moving state to state. I’ve done it and it’s really no different from moving within state. Again, except for the distance.

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WhichWitch9402@reddit

We moved a lot as my dad was in the military. FL to Alaska. Then Rhode Island, FL, NY, AZ.

There is a lot that is the same and a lot different. Probably hardest thing to manage is doctors, dentists, and the like.

Hubby and I are close to retirement and we live in Midwest but liberal leaning state. I don’t like the heat so not moving south but I wouldn’t because of politics anyway. We have visited those states, but I would never, ever move there. Also what is, to me, the over the top religious stuff - “have a blessed day, God bless you”, talking about Jesus and God in every convo would drive me crazy. I was raised Catholic, but some of those Southern states really hit you over the head with it. Personally, it’s a major turn off.

I may have to shovel snow and occasionally deal with the smell of pigs and cows, but it’s a much better environment for me and my LGBTQ+ family members. I’d love to move to NE but cost of living is so high I can’t afford that.

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desertrose0@reddit

I moved several times cross country when I was a kid and ended up going to college 1900 miles from home.

It can be a bit of a culture shock when you move so far away. The climate is different, the people are different, the general culture can be different. And yet, you adapt. In the end you all speak the same language so you make it work. The hardest part is uprooting long term friendships and family structures. My cross country moves were pre social media, so this meant that contact with these friends and family was few and far between after moving away.

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jessek@reddit

Most day to day laws are the same between states. Really the only difference is culture.

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jginvest71@reddit

If you move to a place with different weather it can take getting used to. Especially someone who’s rarely driven in snow and you find out you need snow tires or snow chains every winter. Cost of living can change from state to state (more accurately, region to region). Parts of the country are way more evangelical and conservative than others. Parts are more educated and liberal. Some states have weird laws. In my state, you can carry a gun to Costco, but you can’t buy liquor there. It’s illegal for discount clubs to sell it.

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Ad-hocProcrastinator@reddit

I was in the service for almost 12 years. I have lived in several states. Most annoying part is having to switch everything over. And I hate being the new guy in town.

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JustWatchingthefun01@reddit

It’s not hard at all. More Annoying things like having to get a new driver license. It isn’t hard just usually a little annoying. Change of car registration, again not hard, just a little annoying.
No problem Just driving state to state isn’t an issue for anyone.

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Bastyra2016@reddit

For a while I was changing states every 7 years or so. Of course I noticed the cultural differences (moved from the south to the north). The biggest non cultural differences were 1) House buying process-sellers received 10% earnest money and I had to get a lawyer to complete the transaction vs minimal $500 earnest money and just working with the realtor. 2) Gun culture-went from a very lenient state to one where you had to be interviewed by the local police before you could get a permit to purchase a weapon-needless to say never told anyone about my stash 3) Alcohol sales-at the time in my south state beer/wine was sold in gas stations and grocery stores but the strength was limited to 4.9% (law since changed). In the north state all alcohol had to be purchased at “liquor stores” which were conveniently attached to grocery stores. I tried my first 8% beer. Also the north state many restaurants didn’t have liquor permits and you could bring your own beer and wine and pay a corkage fee to consume on their premises-extremely rare in the south. 4) this may be more urban vs rural but way more regulation. There were car safety inspections (not just smog) and it was a racket-always found something to flunk you with, you had to pay to do everything-park,walk on the beach, drive on the road,cross the bridges… after 7 years i moved to an intermediate state that was a mix between what I experienced and then 7 years later back to the rural south… much prefer it here.

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Living_Watercress@reddit

States have different lifestyle choices. I moved from a state with an ocean and mountains to a state with corn and soybean fields.

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Proud_Grapefruit63@reddit

If I ever moved to a different state, I think the biggest thing other than logistics would be getting new insurance (health and auto.) Auto insurance is regulated by individual states, and I'd lose my legacy discount with the carrier I have now.

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krendyB@reddit

A lot of the “it’s so easy, really not a big deal or things to consider” answers are clearly written by people who aren’t trans, pregnant, gay, or a minority.

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Kind_Advisor_35@reddit

The biggest differences between state laws currently are going to be on recreational marijuana, reproductive rights, and business taxes. If you're a woman, you will be more sensitive to state laws on what you can do with your body. Like it may be prudent to get a more effective and longer lasting birth control like an implant before moving to a state with no abortion rights.

As for other technicalities, the process is pretty much the same when you're changing states. Updating your car insurance, getting a new registration and license, changing your address with various companies and services you do business with, finding new doctors, having your prescriptions transferred, updating any professional licenses, etc.

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Prowindowlicker@reddit

Also veteran benefits if you qualify.

The states differ on property tax exemptions, education, taxes on vehicles, divers licenses, etc.

For example here in GA I get a partial tax exemption, don’t have to pay taxes on my vehicle, and get a free drivers license.

But if I move to Alabama I can get full property tax exemption up to 160 acres, my kids get a free ride to any in state college, vehicle taxes are exempt, free drivers licenses, free admission to all state parks, and a lifetime discount on hunting and fishing licenses.

So if you’re a disabled veteran where you move can benefit you greatly

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TeamTurnus@reddit

More for the fact you might be moving 1,000+ miles away from your existing network. Compared to that, figuring out what the difference is between state laws feels less dramatic.

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drsfmd@reddit

Does that factor into someone's decision to move states or even simply travelling across one state to get to another?

There's a large exodus from blue states because of highly restrictive gun laws and high taxes.

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Illustrious-Set-7907@reddit

It's not that different. I've moved and lived in multiple different states. I think the biggest trip up I faced was going from Midwest to the east coast. Nothing huge but I kept thinking people were mad at me for a couple months.

Regardless of state it was always more of an adaptation going from a city to a smaller rural town or vice versa.

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ReserveMaximum@reddit

I’ve moved states multiple times as an adult starting when I did university out of state. As an adult it’s not too difficult.

As someone else mentioned the most difficult part besides the move itself is registering your car and getting a new drivers license. Most states won’t make you take a new drivers test if your old license is still active. Also they conveniently usually let you register to vote when you get the new license. There’s also the hassle that you need to change your insurance coverage when you register your car to the new state.

As far as changes in education, the system is much more identical than most Americans will give credit for, biggest difference is history curriculum will vary wildly, different states focusing on different aspects of history at different levels. Also different states have different grade levels for middle school (can be a mixed bag anywhere from 5th to 9th grade). However adults without kids in these age ranges won’t notice much of a difference.

Another weird one is different states have slightly different driving laws when it comes to how HOV lanes work on the freeway, how turns at intersections are handled, and how on and off ramps work for the freeway. However once one is made aware of these differences it’s easy to adjust to them

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Mysterious-Web-8788@reddit

Usually no. Some careers require state certifications that can take a long time to get. Some of those are kind of annoying because they're the same thing in the new state anyway. But it's usually mostly like moving to another city within your current state.

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alwaysboopthesnoot@reddit

Weve lived in about 10 US states, some of those states twice along the way. Moving very often here and then living overseas in several places and then returning home. We just moved again to another new state, within the last two years.

I’ve met a lot of Americans who do the same and don’t seem to mind it too much. Whether it’s for jobs, as a member of the military, due to going away to college/university, to move closer to extended family, it’s not a rare or unusual thing to experience.

We’ve also met quite a few people that have never traveled far from their family farm or hometown, never leaving their state or even their home county. They’re just not at ease outside a certain area and feel safer/happier at home. Or maybe no real opportunity for big changes exists for them (but ime it’s much more likely they’re just not looking all that hard, or are just unwilling to make any big changes).

The worst part for a lot of people is the paperwork, trivial inconvenience stuff that just has to happen. Address changes. Car registration, voter and school registration, dealing with taxes or banks or real estate issues. Finding new doctors, vets, insurers.

For us, we do pay some attention to things like extreme abortion restrictions and bathroom bills, drag queen and transperson harassment and crackdowns—in US states where I simply refuse to live or buy a home—but don’t think about legal technicalities or differences in law too much, otherwise.

Just traveling through a state? No. Living, working, buying homes in a state? Yes. Politics and the legal deference informed by, underpinned, or pushed/supported by those politics, matters. A lot.

In our case, though, that’s what the companies recruiting us and paying to move us and their lawyers working for us, are for. If anything serious happens, I’d lean on their expertise to guide us through anything that comes up. We’ve run into inheritance, insurance coverage, and tax issues that differed state to state, and in one case those lawyers were very helpful. We handled the other stuff all on our own.

Some people do well, others not. If the age of the kids is at a critical stage (pre teens, teens mostly ime) or a following/reluctant spouse is at a critical career or life stage point— and then the move happens? Ugh. Not good for anyone.

If the new locale is vastly different in feel, look, size, political or natural landscape? You give up a big house or land and your own home to rent a smaller place, or leave a quiet suburb for a noisier big city? You’d likely have more qualms and a less-quick adjustment as a whole family.

You might miss greenery and hills, or open sky or mountains, lesser-trafficked roadways, things like quick access to medical care or good neighborhood schools, which might add to your jitters or concerns about adjusting to your new home. These atmosphere/family life/home environment things would likely matter more to most people, than any law/legal differences between the states.

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red_vette@reddit

Nope. Was pretty easy to move. Hardest part was selling a house 600 miles away.

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Ms_Schuesher@reddit

I did, but I left my family and friends 5 hours away and moved somewhere I knew no one (except my husband and son). I got over it eventually, and have made some of my best friends here.

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smellslikebadussy@reddit

Professional licenses (CPA, bar association, etc.) can be an issue if you're in that situation. A lot of states have reciprocity agreements for various licenses but it's not universal.

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ComposerNo2646@reddit

I live just across the river from a neighboring state, and would be hard-pressed to move even the few miles over the border.

Culture and the education system aren’t really factors for me. Culture can be a change depending on where you’re moving to and from, but if you’re going city to city it’s probably not actually that different. The education system across the country largely follows the same framework because of standardized testing and the educational material manufacturers not wanting to make 50 different versions of everything; the bigger difference is the specific school district because that determines funding.

What does factor in to my decision is the legal and logistical side. I’m disabled and on a fair number of government benefit programs. Most of them are administered by the state and would require reprocessing if I moved to another state. Plus as a trans person, I have to consider if state laws are designed to target my medical care and/or freedom of expression (though my home state sucks on that front, so that’s more something pushing me to leave than to stay).

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GamerDadofAntiquity@reddit

I’ve lived in five different States in my life. Two of those States twice, so I’ve moved between States six times. It can be a giant pain in the ass, especially if you have school-age kids and/or certifications. Here is a non-all-inclusive list of issues:

- Car Registrations. To register your car in a new State you often have to pay the Sales Tax again on the value of your car, even if you own it outright. I’ve had it cost as much as $8000 just to move my registration over.
- Kids school. Curriculums vary between States. For example, what one state teaches in second grade another school may not teach until fourth grade, and vice versa. There are going to be things your kids have to learn twice, and other things they may never be taught at all. If you move too late in the year, they may struggle passing State final exams for their grade that cover things they weren’t taught at their old school. If they fail one test they may get held back a grade, even if they do really well on all the other subjects. The school year varies as well, we once moved right after my kids graduated their grades just for them to have to get re-registered in the new school, go back to school for another month… And take final exams again.
- Certifications and licenses. Many professional certifications and licenses are State regulated. Like a *lot* of them. Primarily medical/legal/child care but there are many others. Trying to practice that skill in a new State can mean needing to get re-certified in the skill. Retraining/retesting, etc, which also carries a cost.
- Budget. Your budget you’ve been polishing for years has to be completely overhauled. Insurance rates vary by State, and taxes on sales, property, fuel, etc can vary wildly between States.
- Permits. If you have permits for various things you own they often don’t transfer. Being the US, the big one is guns/accessories/carry rights, but this also includes certain pets, fish, plants, tools, fertilizers, items with historical significance, and others. Legality of things between States changes as well. What you bought legally on the open market in one State may be illegal and non-permitted in the new State, there’s no grandfathering, and ignorance of the law is not an accepted excuse. Just moving and taking your perfectly legal (in the old State) stuff with you can potentially make you a felon in the new State.
- Learning new laws. Goes with the above, but also traffic laws, etc. You’re responsible for knowing the laws in the State you move to, and if laws were straightforward we wouldn’t have lawyers. Laws can be a muddled mess. Regulations for what you can and cannot have on your car can vary, stuff like window tint or headlights or trim can get you in trouble. Emissions laws vary as well, and your car may not even pass inspection in the new State, even though it was perfectly fine in the old State. This is especially painful to learn *after* you’ve just paid sales tax on your vehicle a second time just to get it registered. Also applies to trailers, boats, recreational vehicles, etc.

Not a complete list but you’ll get the idea. It can be pretty painful.

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MuchDevelopment7084@reddit

Nope. Most laws are practically the same. So no big deal.
The biggest issue I've ever had was getting a new drivers license, and tags for my car. Which is time consuming. But not hard.

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DistanceRelevant3899@reddit

I’ve lived in Ohio and Kentucky. It wasn’t hard at all outside of getting car registered in a new state and all that. It annoyed me enough that I just drove around Ohio with expired tags for 3 years after I moved back to Ohio.

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goteed@reddit

My wife and I live full-time and travel the country in an RV. For the most part this isn't a problem at all. Most places have similar laws but there are a few regional ones that can be quite odd at times. Many times this has to do with laws around alcohol and when and where you can purchase it. Here's a few examples...

Arkansas - This is the state with the most "dry counties" in it. A dry county is a country where the purchase of alcohol is not permitted. Fun fact on this. Alcohol companies will actually lobby the government to keep dry counties dry. At first this sounds counter productive as why would you want to keep it illegal to sell your product? The reality is that those in dry counties will drive to neighboring wet counties and purchase a metric fuck ton of booze to take home with them!

Montana - Montana has weird brewery laws. In the state of Montana you can only purchase 48 ounces of beer at any brewery in a 24 hour period. If the brewery is busy they'll give you a punch card that gets punched for each pint you buy. After three proper 16 ounce pints, you're cut off!! Now you can go to another brewery for another 48 ounces, but after your 48 there you gotta to another brewery all over again. Breweries also have to stop selling at 8pm and be closed by 9pm. After doing a little research I discovered that these laws were put in place after lobbying from the Tavern industry.

Indiana - Yeah, screw you Indiana because you have a law this is just mean!!! In Indiana when it comes to buying beer, you can buy it at a gas station or a grocery store, but it has to be WARM!!! Again, that's just mean!!

The other thing where laws can be different is when it comes to the purchase of marijuana. While it's still illegal at the federal level, some states have other laws around it. In some states it's still illegal to sell or posses. In others there is an exception for medical use and you have to have approval from a doctor to purchase. Side note - in most states where medical marijuana is legal it's laughably simple to get approved for it. And then there are some states where it's completely legal for medical or recreational use. In those states there are dispensaries all over and you just walk in and purchase.

All in all though travel from state to state from legal perspective is fairly simple.

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Reaganson@reddit

Personally, yes. I’m tired of living close our nation’s capital. But my family has over 200 years alone in my State, and it’s still in my blood. Finally, my advanced age and medical needs makes it to costly and difficult.

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SpeakerCareless@reddit

People with jobs licensed by the state have an addiction headache. My husband is a lawyer and our have to be licensed by the state bar association of any state we move to. Some states have reciprocity (if you’re licensed in one state you can be licensed here) but others that want to limit competition may require you to take the whole bar exam over even if you’ve been practicing law for 20 years or something.

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Osric250@reddit

I've lived in a dozen different states. It really depends where you are in your life. As an early 20s where I could pack my entire worldly possessions into my car? It was super easy to change states, pack up and move somewhere new. Biggest issue as others have said is leaving friends behind.

In my middle age with a house and kids? Moving is a much more involved and calculated process. And this is irrelevant to the distance being moved, this would be the same for moving to the other side of town as it would to moving across the country, the only thing that would really change would be the price tag.

For the most part less remain the same. Your day to day activity is not going to be impacted by them. Just small changes around how some edge cases are handled. Some of those cases are incredibly important, such as reproductive health and that absolutely does factor into people's decisions, but largely you won't notice a difference when moving there.

Education doesn't really change. Our education is funded by the property taxes of the communities the school serves. So wealthy areas have better schools. You'll see a far greater difference in education between a wealthy suburb of a major city and the poor inner city schools, and that difference will remain consistent no matter which state or major city you're going to.

Customs change somewhat over regions, less state by state. You'll see some small changes between states in the south but nowhere near the change as you will going to New England or the Pacific Northwest. Those are all regions that cover multiple states, and again you'll see far greater changes in custom locally just going from an urban city to a rural town in the same state. Most of the time you can travel between similar sized cities and not get a huge culture shock no matter where that city is.

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AncientGuy1950@reddit

Speaking as someone who has moved between states multiple times, no, not hard at all. You have to get a new driver's license, and that's always a pain, but as things go, not that big a deal.

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TheBimpo@reddit

Logistically it’s pretty easy. Emotionally and financially are more difficult.

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chodeobaggins@reddit

The laws that affect your day to day to day life are pretty much the same in most states. I started moving around the country when I was 18. From Alabama, to Texas, then Idaho, and Montana (2,200 miles away). Recently back to Alabama after 15 years to take care of family. Generally all you need is a lease and a driver's license to be a citizen of that state. Once you have those, a new license plate is easy. Speed limits and liquor laws vary. Taxes are different but they are still filed/paid the same way.

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NunnyaDBusiness@reddit

I’ve lived in 6 states. It is not hard to move to a different state. Getting your drivers license and car registered are really the only hassles. Some states it is also a bit of a pain to register kids for schools.

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TalkShitGetWitt@reddit

Currently moving from Louisiana to Ohio (originally from Florida). The weather will be the biggest immediate change (gotta learn about snow tires and driving on snow 😱), but I’m also going to miss all the friends I’ve made and the schedule I’ve carved out for myself. Also going to horribly miss the cuisine of Louisiana!!! Can’t beat the food.

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papercranium@reddit

I've lived in seven states in wildly different parts of the country, and it wasn't that difficult. That said ...

The medications I take aren't more restricted in one state than another
I'm infertile, so highly unlikely to need an abortion
I'm white and was born in the US, so issues with police, ICE, etc. are likely to be in occasions of my choosing
I don't need health insurance subsidies that are only offered in some states and not others.

But you were asking for personal experiences, so here were some of the challenges I actually did experience:

Getting used to spicy food when I moved from the Midwest to New Mexico (I adore it now)
Not having the right clothing: Dallas was extremely dressy; it took me a couple years to acquire all the right gear for Vermont winters
Not belonging to a church in Texas was scandalous to many people in ways that I never experienced anywhere else
Adjusting from the way people conserve water in New Mexico to the way folks near Lake Erie in Ohio was a huge shock to my system, even though I'd lived there before. For some reason, adjusting to desert living didn't feel that strange.

But in general, feeling at home in any place takes active work, usually years of it. Just going to a place and expecting to feel like you belong almost never works out well.

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General-Winter547@reddit

I’ve lived in 6 states. It’s not too bad. Getting a new drivers license is usually the worst part.

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Ok-Energy-9785@reddit

Some do

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Own_Grapefruit8839@reddit

It’s important when moving states to complain that the drivers in your new state are much worse than where you came from.

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codenameajax67@reddit

It's kinda like traveling between European countries if they spoke the same language.

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Ok_Buy_9703@reddit

Pretty much if you own firearms is the biggest difference between states. But I've only lived in two. California has major differences with the laws.

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Major_Spite7184@reddit

Depends? I’ve done it several times. Many times it’s really easy. Some states make it hard, with things one might not consider. To get your vehicle registered in some states is a simple transaction, but in others there’s a whole lot of paperwork and a huge fee, like several hundred dollars. Most states are in different utilities areas from one to another, so to get services you have to do credit checks and proof of address and things one may not be equipped to do right off the bat. Moving from one to another isn’t hard, but establishing oneself someplace and checking all the legal boxes for “stuff” is hard. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a random state, county, or city tax or fee sneak up on me and ruin an entire month.

TLDR; it’s expensive if your desire is to do it right.

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papisilla@reddit

Your personal rights very alot between different states other than that ust just money and paperwork

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Constellation-88@reddit

Depends on which state you’re moving from and to. Sometimes, if you move from a place like Kansas to Missouri, there isn’t going to be as much of a difference. But if you move from a place like Louisiana to Maine, you’re going to deal with a lot of culture clashes and weather differences and legal differences.

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JellyfishFit3871@reddit

Traveling is easy.

Things like getting a new vehicle tag or driver's license is a little annoying.

Figuring out your new breakfast spot and grocery store is a bit.

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Eric848448@reddit

There’s very little difference in day-to-day life.

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urquhartloch@reddit

I have moved across the country many times. No. Just minor headaches like getting a new driver's license, finding a social group, and finding a place to live (sometimes sight unseen until you get more established).

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Odd-End-1405@reddit

Have moved multiple times to multiple states. It really is not that huge a deal, for the most part things are very similar in every state.

There are of course nuances you need to either prepare for or learn. Where can you turn right on a red, who requires smog inspections, where alcohol is sold. But again, nothing is really that life altering nor challenging,

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ComesInAnOldBox@reddit

Depends on where you're coming from and where you're going to. Also depends on the reason for moving. If you're military and moving duty stations, for example, it isn't anywhere near as big of a pain in the ass as it is for everyone else because most states have exemptions on a lot of requirements, such as getting a local driver's license and vehicle registration.

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linkxrust@reddit

No Laws are the same brother. For the most part.

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Silly-Resist8306@reddit

Nope, not a problem. Just pack up your stuff and go somewhere else. No forms or permissions needed. Once you get to your new location all you need to do is get a new driver license and car registration and register to vote. It really is that easy.

There are different laws and rules in each state, but those are easily determined by an hour on the internet. Something like 7 million US citizens move from one state to another each year.

As many have commented, there may be factors that influence one’s decision to move, but it’s an easy thing to do once the decision is made.

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No_Cut4530@reddit

The quality of seafood gets fucking terrible the further you move from the coast, that's really been my biggest trouble with it

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Bluemonogi@reddit

I don’t think it is really that different unless you move completely across the country and are dealing with different weather, different cost of living.

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nehinah@reddit

Probably the biggest difference in culture would be me moving from Texas to Hawaii to be with family, but Hawaii is a big outlier in general. Otherwise, most of the differences in culture tends to be based on environmental and weather factors.

But education is a big thing parents consider when moving yes, because that even varies by zipcode.

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CountChoculasGhost@reddit

It’s vaguely inconvenient.

Different taxes, new drivers license, new car registration/license plate.

But that’s really about it.

The biggest inconvenience is paying for the movers/truck rental. Might cost you a bit more if you’re crossing state lines.

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roseccmuzak@reddit

I'm from Mississippi, moved for school one state over 5 years ago. Never changed my license or car plates until about two months ago, bought a new car and got plates in my new state. I just stayed registered to vote back home and went back to vote a few times. Just my luck of course, I'm now moving back to Mississippi for a job (I swore id never go back lol). Also, I'm a teacher so I had to do some paperwork to get Mississippi to accept my out of state teaching license, but this varies from state to state.

The move is only a 3 hour drive. I cant think of a single thing that would change or feel different if the 3 hour drive move was in state. Obviously it wouldn't be easy to move to the other side of the county because that is thousands of miles. I also really liked my new license plate so I'm not planning on changing it any time soon - you're technically supposed to change it when you move but it really isn't enforced.

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aWesterner014@reddit

It really isn't that difficult. Growing up we moved from South Dakota to Iowa. Once I graduated from college, I moved from Iowa to Illinois.

I suppose moving across multiple states could be more challenging than what I've experienced.

The biggest challenge for us has been living so far away from family. Our family members are between 5-8 hours away by car. Flying is worse because everyone lives about 30 miles from an airport and trying to fly requires at least one layover. Train is worse.

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Wonderful_Shower_793@reddit

Hard? No. Expensive? Absolutely.

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Sweet_Cinnabonn@reddit

I've moved states multiple times in the past, and back then the only concrete difference was that I had to get a new driver's license. The legalities of moving are non existent, and the culture is virtually indistinguishable.

Oh, except that kraft slices in upstate New York were white, while everywhere else I've lived they are yellow orange, like cheddar. That was an adjustment when I moved there and again when I left.

Gun laws varied, but most Americans don't own a gun.

But in the past 10 years we've had dramatic changes to the rights of women, Trans persons, and sometimes protections for LGB people. And now voting rights.

There are not very many Trans people. Less Trans people than gun owners. LGB people are around 10% of the population. But roughly half of the population has a uterus, or is presumed to on sight. So that's a lot of people affected.

I'm probably never going to need an abortion. But there are medications that I cannot get in some states because it might hypothetically damage a fetus I'm only hypothetically carrying. Medications that treat other health conditions I might actually have.

So now there are places I won't move. Because I don't think it's safe to move somewhere I know my healthcare will be lesser.

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Famous_Tumbleweed346@reddit

Depends on the state you're moving from and to. Most the laws aren't drastically different. Some make registering and voting really hard, while others make it easy. It can be weird getting used to buying alcohol at a liquor store if you're moving from a state where it's sold in grocery stores, but it's just an adjustment. The hardest thing for me has just been the different politics and climate. Going from a blue state to red state is a bit of a culture shock. And if the climate is very different, you may be replacing much of your wardrobe. When I moved from Maine to South Carolina, I had tons of cold weather gear that was suddenly useless.

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w3woody@reddit

The hardest part of our move from California to North Carolina was the physical move itself: we drove across the country with our more valuable stuff and had movers move the rest.

Once we were here there was some minor administrative stuff: new drivers license, re-registering the cars, registering to vote. But all of this was a minor nuisance.

The laws of the different states are similar enough in most areas that it’s a nothing burger—no more difficult than respecting the laws of European countries or countries in South America when traveling. (Unless you own a gun or use certain drugs, at which point things can get interesting.) Though I had to retake the drivers license test twice because the first time I didn’t study—and the state has a completely different points system for penalizing people who get things like speeding tickets I had no clue about.

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DemasiadoHumana_@reddit

The laws change. The Walmart somehow stays the same.

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musaXmachina@reddit

I think people have the laws or things unique to that state they care about like taxes or cost of living. Other than that common wealth states have interesting laws. I wouldn’t life in those places.

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FireHammer09@reddit

It's a much bigger deal than moving across state.

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Athrynne@reddit

I've lived in 5 different states in my life. The biggest cultural change was moving from the West Coast to East Coast. The cultural differences aren't really that big though. As others have mentioned, the biggest hassle is getting a new driver's license and changing your car registration.

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bombfirst885@reddit

I just moved from MN to ND and the biggest difference is the taxes and somehow even less trees and more windy. I was already in the NE so not far from the border but there is a difference.

Culturally this is going to be huge depending on how far you move off of home base. When I go to Florida it is like a different country compared to the Midwest.

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Jaci_D@reddit

Not at all for us. We moved 1000 miles with a newborn and a small toddler. We are three years in and thriving. Good friends for both us and the kids. We knew we would make friends through them

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mmm1441@reddit

Cultural impacts can be significant. Texas vs New York, for example.

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DoNoHarm--TakeNoShit@reddit

Pensions can vary depending on your state. I live near a border and could move a couple hundred miles within state and keep my pension, or get a job 15 minutes away in another state and rethink my entire retirement strategy.

For the most part laws are pretty similar, and people are aware of the hot button issues like abortion and gun control. Driver's licenses and professional licenses and certifications need to be moved to another state which can be a real hassle. It is a learning curve to file state taxes in a new state, because the rules are not even remotely similar from state to state. I can't keep track of all the stupid rules about buying alcohol on Sundays.

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pikkdogs@reddit

I have an example.

I came from Michigan. We had like a 7 percent state income tax. I moved to North Dakota where it is a 1 percent sales tax. Then I was asked to move to Minnesota with like an 8 percent sales tax. And it was really hard for me to do it, since I would almost always be taking a pay cut to move.

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Agreeable-Sun368@reddit

Yes. I grew up in suburban DC, went to a state college 2-3 hours from home, and then moved to the semi rural midwest for graduate school. It was a culture shock for me. My dad is from rural Wisconsin, and I had spent time out there, but actually living there it became very apparent to me that midwesterners GENUINELY had a different culture and behavior norms and expectations than I did in a way I had never really felt with my family. I did feel different and wrong-footed. Even when I lived in Chicago, I felt the same way. I LOVE Chicago, but it just has a different cultural feel than any east coast city.

I now live in Atlanta and while there are certainly SOME cultural differences, it's way more similar to where I grew up and went to college and I don't feel the same sense of displacement and cultural disconnect that I did in the midwest.

I know in my heart I would never enjoy living west of the Mississippi. I do not have a Western or West Coast personality lol.

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Prestigious-Dog-2150@reddit

I don't think it's an issue traveling, but it is an issue when moving to a new state, especially one in a different region, e.g., moving from the Northeast to the South, or from the Midwest to the West Coast.

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MattieShoes@reddit

I've moved states 4 times. Generally not a big deal. Exceptions:

Allergies. I have industrial grade allergies, so when I moved somewhere with year-round pollen, it was kind of miserable. And I did it twice.
Kinda sucks for kids in school. But that's not really because moving states -- even just moving to a different school in the same district sucks.

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MikeD1942@reddit

I had pretty minimal issues. Lived in 9 states, two of them a couple times, and two other countries.

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LomentMomentum@reddit

Depends on the region and state. Many people who live in NYC or DC, for instance, move to Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland or Virginia frequently (and vice versa).

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filkerdave@reddit

NY to MA to NC to WY

It's mostly paperwork and not difficult. Doing your taxes can be a pain because if there are state income taxes each state will want a prorated cut from you but your tax forms will make that easier.

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Twichl2@reddit

Well moved from CA>NV>WA and potentially to OR next.

It is harder than moving locally for sure- Particularly when it comes to your drivers liscence, and car registration.

You cant rent unless you have income established where youre moving to, which is stressfull. Traveling through mountain passes with everything you own in a truck can be a little scary.

If youre moving with in your cultural region, (like I have) the difference in laws is mostly related to cars and driving. Or one offs, like theres no lottery in NV, or no sales tax in OR. There are other laws/taxes that you might care about that you should research before deciding where to move. Example: home buying, business owning, various political policies, ect

If you're moving further away, like across the country, then you start running into more differences culturally that are also reflected in laws that you may not know about right away. My brother moved across the country years ago, and the culture shock took him a while to get used to. (Also the amount of hate he received for being a Calfornian) So that certainly made the move even harder than it already was.

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ChesterNova@reddit

The big one that can be annoying is finding work if the licenses are different one state to another, but that depends a lot on one’s profession. Many professions can honor licenses from one state to another, but the devil is in the details.

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kibbeuneom@reddit

It didn't used to be as big of a deal, especially moving within the same greater region. I lived in Wyoming, Missouri, Michigan Nebraska, and Minnesota before I was 15, and as someone else said, the biggest deal was the move itself and my parents getting new driver's licenses.

Nowadays people are moving more because of tax codes and other laws, and often leaving their region altogether. Especially areas that are also high cost of living to areas where cost of living is closer to the national average. Places like Chicago and New York see a lot of people leave at some point in their life when t get get tired of all the things I've mentioned and they also want to live in a warmer climate. But they frequently end up going home because the jobs don't pay as well or life just isn't what they were imagining.

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nathanwilson26@reddit

Not in the slightest. It’s quite easy. Differences in state laws are largely a matter for lawyers, and don’t affect people on a day to day basis. I could move to a different state tomorrow, and have a local drivers license, voter registration and residency for tax purposes set up by the end of the week.

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TheBrownCouchOfJoy@reddit

Traveling across is nothing. But the first move to another state was such a hurdle. Geographically I only moved like 15 miles, still in the same metro area. Mentally it was such a hurdle. But I’m glad I did it, because the next move was to another country.

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Odd_Mathematician654@reddit

Depending on your profession, you may need to get a new license or certification. For example teachers, lawyers, cosmotologists,and real estate usually require taking a new test and getting certified in that state. But it is done all the time.

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Mindfullysolo@reddit

Traveling through no issues at all, moving to- cultural difference would be more apparent and could leave you very unhappy if you were not prepared. Example, someone living in NY would have culture shock moving to Oklahoma and vice versa.

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tetlee@reddit

As the other person said it's trivial.

Partly why it's so ridiculous when people compare different states to being like different European countries. If you think they're similar you've never moved country.

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AccursedQuantum@reddit

I suspect if you give the EU another 200 years it might be a lot easier to move between European countries.

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UglyInThMorning@reddit

Hell, around a hundred years ago you could stay in one place and the European countries would move for you.

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Pale_Row1166@reddit

I would say it can be trivial. We moved from NYC to the upper Midwest and culture shock doesn’t begin to cover it. Blue state to red state, populous to sparse, they’re less educated in this state, which is very apparent when you’re dealing with the public here. The liberal elite east boast bubble is real. It can be startling when you leave it for a place that’s not California or South Florida.

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GasmaskTed@reddit

Different like the way England and Scotland and Wales are different

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WonderfulProtection9@reddit

What is like England Scotland and Wales?

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CreepinJesusMalone@reddit

I feel like there's a big difference between moving regions vs moving states.

There's a massive difference between Texas where I lived before and Maryland whee I live now. They're completely different cultures.

Sure, procedurally they're similar enough, but the Mid-Atlantic and and Gulf of Mexico aren't remotely alike.

Though I will say it's more like the difference between the US and Canada vs the difference between like the UK and Germany or something.

It's both very different and very familiar at the same time.

The difference between Maryland and Virginia is negligible even if people in both states pretend like it's not lol.

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snmnky9490@reddit

Well they are in terms of size/area and to some degree legal, but as far as culture nowhere near as much

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94grampaw@reddit

Canada's also not that different

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ChardonMort@reddit

I think it definitely factors into decision making/planning. There’s more obvious things to take care of, like getting a new drivers license and transferring car tags, but also things that pop up completely unexpectedly. Some things can be really frustrating, expensive, and time consuming too. For example: When I moved to my current state from the previous state, there was an issue with reciprocity over my teaching certificate. I had to pay to take a different set of licensing exams, pay for another background check, and resubmit all of my transcripts/credits to the Department of Education in the new state.

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MsJenX@reddit

Yes, English shows. Im currently trying to get access to this old Brazilian soap opera with subtitles. Otherwise I don’t find that it’s easy to access non English or Spanish tv shows.

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GandalfTheGrey46@reddit

I've lived in about a half dozen states. It's really easy to move for the most part. Mainly you get a new driver's license and change your car registration. You don't even have to set up a local bank anymore due to smartphones and cash back at grocery stores.

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Exciting-Hedgehog944@reddit

It really depends on where and what setting. For example moving from a college town in the upper Midwest to another college town in let’s say Pacific Northwest the change might be very trivial other than regular moving challenges and the sadness of being a multiple day car trip or plane ride away from your friends and family back home.

Moving from a more rural setting in say West Virginia or Mississippi to somewhere like LA or NYC is going to be complete culture shock for the family/people involved in nearly every way.

The education systems, customs, political leanings, laws, civil rights, car culture, alcohol, religious outlook, the way people speak, weather, etc are all vastly different in these places. Even the racial and religious diversity that people are used to seeing is very different in these settings.

I think too it matters on why the person is moving. Yes people try to research before they move but many times people are being transferred for work and may not have a choice where they are transferred to go unless they quit their job.

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Djinn_42@reddit

It depends on the state. There can be different food, different accent, different climate, etc.

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xannieh666@reddit

I grew up in Virginia and I have lived in Buffalo New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin . Honestly the hardest part is the house/apartment hunting when yoy have to drive 10 or more hours away.

Other than that it's not that hard to get resettled. Getting new drivers liscence is a bit of a pain. Just because you have to do it not that it's hard.

The other difficult part is getting used to different climates and seasonal allergies . New Jersey was similar to Virginia so my spring Allergies were very minimal. Buffalo was the worst for fall allergies , Illinois was hell for spring. Wisconsin is similar to Illinois but not nearly as bad.

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Fun-Spinach6910@reddit

Depends, how close is the state? Are you in the north moving to the south, or the east to the west. It can be culture shock.

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mlo9109@reddit

Yes, money, unfortunately, is a factor. Also, work. A lot of companies do not hire people who are not local candidates. However, it's expensive to move and you need income to pay your moving costs and living expenses upon arrival. I've been trying to get out of rural hell since I graduated from college but haven't been able to afford it or find an employer willing to hire me as a non-local candidate.

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WillGrahamsass@reddit

Massive decision for anyone moving to a new state. I lived in a neighboring state for several years and never fully acclimated.

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Haluszki@reddit

It might be for some and not for others. For example, someone who grew up in an area where there wasn’t a lot around or things happening might find it very easy to leave their area to go somewhere different. Someone who grew up in an area with a lot going on might not want to leave or they might want to leave for a quieter place. It’s all really dependent on the individual. I think most people consider cultural differences to an extent when they make a big move, but it’s probably not the deciding factor for many people when making a move.

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HermioneMarch@reddit

It depends on a lot of things. When I was younger, I moved states and other than having to get a drivers license, it was no big deal. But now, when I think about it I feel overwhelmed. My job (teaching) is a state license so I don’t know that I would be able to do it in any other state. My child is disabled and receives services thru the state via a waiver. It took 3 years on a waiting list to get on the waiver. Moving to another state would start that process over and leave him vulnerable.

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fuzzyizmit@reddit

I've moved plenty of times, and sometimes it can be annoying... but it is nothing like moving countries.

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Pentagogo@reddit

It can be complicated. A lot of careers (nurses, teachers, funeral directors, therapists, etc) require licenses that are state-specific. So moving means you have to get a new license in your new state. Sometimes it’s just paperwork and a fee. Sometimes you have to take an exam. Sometimes you have to repeat some or all of your education.

School for children can also be complicated. Different states have different rules for what age you have to be to start school, so kids can be put in a different grade based on what state they’re in. For example, when I lived in Arkansas kids had to be five by August 1 to start kindergarten. So my kid, born in September, would have been nearly six if he started kindergarten there. In New York, kids have to be five by December 1, so he started kindergarten a year earlier here than he would have if we had stayed living in Arkansas. It can cause problems if you move with a kid around that age. They might have spent a year in preK and be ready for kindergarten but have to repeat preK because of the dates. Or not have done preK yet but get thrown into kindergarten or even first grade without being prepared because that’s where the state says they belong based on their birthday.

School curricula are also different in every state. So moving with kids may mean they repeat certain subjects or skip them. New York does algebra in 9th grade, Arkansas does it in tenth grade. So if you move between them that year you might get algebra twice or not at all.

Cars are registered with your state. When you move states you have to get a new registration, license plates, and drivers license. That’s expensive. Some states charge you tax on your car every year. It can be $500 or so to get your car set up in a new state. Some states require cars to be inspected every year, some don’t. You may move to a state that requires inspections and not know that and get a ticket, or find out during the inspection that your car needs a lot of repairs before it will pass inspection and you can get it registered.

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AnathemaRose@reddit

As a teacher, yes. If I wanted to move to a different state I wouldn’t necessarily have the correct credentials to do my job. Some states share reciprocity but not all. For example, I live on the border between two states, but only have the credentials to work in one.

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lezzerlee@reddit

I’m certainly aware of which states I won’t move to due to their laws, politics, weather, job opportunities, legal protections , etc.

But if I make a decision to move it’s not that big of a deal. Gotta update identification, figure out different taxes, read up on area traffic laws etc. But day to day stuff a lot of the US can be alike.

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Background_Humor5838@reddit

I've moved to states where I actually felt the cultural differences and legal differences and I found it annoying and unpleasant. I've also moved to states where not much was different at all. The culture and laws of a state can definitely factor in to people's decisions. If you smoke weed, you probably want to live somewhere where it's legal or at least decriminalized. If you like a laid back or fast paced life, nature, animals, warm weather, all seasons, old fashioned, liberal, artsy, etc., you will want to live somewhere that suits you.

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Fit-Initiative3958@reddit

Honestly the hardest part of moving states is realizing every DMV somehow independently decided to become the ninth circle of hell.

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Alycion@reddit

I’ve hopped around quite a bit. Sometimes it takes a bit to get use to. The first move was as a teen. Parents didn’t want me going to high school in Baltimore, so they moved me to a small town in WV. I was an outcast. I hated it. The only good thing was that I met my husband. Six days after graduation, I moved back to Maryland. Lifelong dream of living in Ocean City.

I was trained in middle school in tv broadcasting. My first job was where I met my husband. Getting a shot at that as a teen, was amazing. He came along when I was a bit older, a pup out of broadcasting school.

You have to hop areas to get a decent pay. The next move was to Virginia Beach area. Two rentals and a purchased house. We both left tv for better paying jobs. After a tough patch that made a therapist almost cry, we moved to Florida. It took getting use to, but it’s a good place for now. I don’t know if I’ll stay here for life or head back to ocean city or the outer banks of nc. Maybe St. Augustine. Outer banks would be the hardest. Houses are expensive as is home owner’s insurance.

Not like it’s cheap where I live anymore. I bought at a great time.

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Ms-Metal@reddit

Yes. Moving is always a big ordeal. It's not so much about laws or customs though for each individual state, it's more about practical things. If you have kids, I imagine schools are foremost in your consideration or should be. My parents never cared about it, my parents made us move in the middle of a school year, but how are the schools, what is the best school district in the area, what types of charter schools and other options are there, how long is the school year there, lots of different variables.

Also things like your favorite stores and restaurants can be a big deal. I moved from a big city to a smaller city, from a metro area of about 3M people to about 500k when I moved to my new city. It seemed a million miles away from my old one. They didn't have any of the same restaurants, none of the stores that I was used to, both utilitarian like grocery stores and also fun shopping stores. So that can take a lot of getting used to. I swear, we moved from an area with tons of fine dining in nationality you can imagine, to a place that is almost all chain restaurants and we've only had a handful of good meals and almost 30 years.

When I moved here, I was still in my 30s and things like doctors and dentists, were not really a consideration. Now I've got 25 years on that and healthcare professionals and dentists and that type of relationship are amongst the most important relationships to me. I have great relationships with my doctors that I have gone through a lot of trial and error and time to make sure that I have ones that are compatible with my style and yet are still excellent diagnostically and as far as their skills. It would be a really big deal for me to give that all up. We might move one more time before retirement but at this point in my life that would be my primary consideration. I think so much of it depends on where you are in life! But yeah it's a really big deal to move to another state, just not for the reasons that you cited.

ETA- The other thing I didn't bring up is if you're young and not married and don't have kids yet, obviously the dating scene and ratio of men to women and whether it's welcoming to singles or more of a family-oriented environment, is also a significant factor. It's all about stages in life.

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Universally-Tired@reddit

It depends why you are leaving. For me, it was not hard at all. My family left years ago. It was just me and my wife. Her family was around and her mother was the best. Then my wife passed and I had to get out. Stay would have been much harder.

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LeSkootch@reddit

Connecticut to Massachusetts, back to Connecticut, now in South Florida. Went from New Haven area to Boston so the general vibe wasn't all that different. Boston was just larger. People are similar, New England culture, etc...

Florida is a bit different (I'm in a city with about the same pop as New Haven) mostly from the lame architecture and sprawl. I miss the brownstones of Boston and the sorta Gothic architecture of New Haven. The history. Culturally, where I live is not much different from the north east as a good chunk of people are also from there.

Something similar is the massive disparity of wealth. Like going from the Yale neighborhood to a very downtrodden area in New Haven very quickly. My area is like that now, too. Can be in a neighborhood with million+ homes and two blocks west not want to be outside at night.

There's a certain level of homogeneity across the places I've lived. There are differences but the foundation is the same. Each place has its unique characteristics but the underlying everything else isn't a culture shock when you move.

People speak much slower down here, though. I've had to change my speech because I was sick of people that listen too slowly commenting on it.

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Leverkaas2516@reddit

It's not confusing. The laws aren't that different.

Cultural differences are more relevant.

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Far-Valuable9279@reddit

I have lived in 6 states. It’s annoying but it’s not as hard as moving somewhere you don’t speak the language

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Different_Bridge_983@reddit

Mostly no. Mostly it’s trivially harder than moving house within a state.

There’s no laws impacting residency that hamper a move from a logistical standpoint. You’ll need to promptly get a driving license in your new state, but that’s just a bit of paperwork.

For some people some state laws do factor in to whether they want to move to a specific state. The major topics would probably be laws about civil rights, abortion rights, education policy, legalization status of certain drugs, and gun control.

For people in some professions and trades they might also factor in whether they can get licensing in the state they’re moving to - the answer in most cases is “yes, after jumping through some hoops”, but there are instances where this might be a more significant obstacle to a level someone might reconsider.

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FarFarAway7337@reddit

From my experience, it depends. I don't think it's as hard to move to a bordering state as it is a state further afield. Especially if the bordering state shares certain things in common, culturally. Sometimes the climate, politics, and other factors make a move easier or harder.

I'm originally from western New Jersey. Moving across the river to eastern Pennsylvania wouldn't be a big change, but moving to western Pennsylvania likely might be, in many ways.

I once moved from NJ to the Bay Area of California. There were some cultural differences, despite it being a liberal-leaning area, and me being liberal (NJ mostly so). New Jerseyans tend to be a little more "gritty", fast-paced, and no nonsense. That didn't always seem the case there. Climate-wise, it was milder than NJ but I always called it "the desert", even though I know it isn't.

If I ever had to live in a "red state", it would have to be in a big city. I wouldn't fit well in Trump country.

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Acrobatic_Box9087@reddit

I have lived in Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma. Like other posters have said, one of the biggest hassles can be getting license plates for your car and getting a new driver's license.

The laws in the various states are usually about the same. Gun laws can vary quite a bit. However Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Oklahoma have constitutional carry. And Trump has proposed nationwide constitutional carry.

But on the whole, moving from one state to another is no big deal.

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Dontyellatmeimnice@reddit

It's a bit of a pain because you have to get a new driver's license, car insurance and registration, possibly health insurance. Culturally it can be difficult, making new friends, fitting in with the vibe. That said people do this all the time, usually for a better job and standard of living.

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Both-Beautiful960@reddit

Depends on how far of a move, but I had way more culture shock and adaption issues moving as a New Hampshire native to Phoenix, Arizona than I did to Cambridge, England. Having immigration help probably smoothed a lot of it over, but damned if I didn't have more and unpleasant paperwork problems with Arizona.

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ScorchedByTheSun@reddit

Yes.

It's confusing and can be very difficult, especially when it's more than half way across the country, mostly in terms of figuring out how to move your stuff (which can be prohibitively expensive), and differences in state government, having to learn new agencies and ways common tasks are done. But it's very rewarding and 110% worth it if you go to the perfect state for you. We have many options in this country.

Being in the right state can transform your life.

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ScorchedByTheSun@reddit

Yes. It's confusing and can be very difficult, especially when it's more than half way across the country, mostly in terms of differences in state government, having to learn new agencies and ways common tasks are done. But it's very rewarding and 110% worth it if you go to the perfect state for you. We have many options in this country. Being in the right state can transform your life.

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HorseFeathersFur@reddit

Some do. Moving from a coastal state to the Appalachians can be seen as a culture shock, many have described it to me as a pleasant one.

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TheLurkingMenace@reddit

The hardest part is dealing with the DMV. They all suck in different ways.

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ScorchedByTheSun@reddit

Yes. It's confusing and can be very difficult, especially when it's more than half way across the country.

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onegirlarmy1899@reddit

Homeschooling laws are different from state to state. Some states have little to no oversight while others have a lot more. I wouldn't say this is something that effects most families, but I know people who make moving decisions based on homeschooling laws.

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thebeatsandreptaur@reddit

Most day to day things are the same. Grocery stores, most road laws, restaurants, TV, internet providers, apartments, things like that.

The real shock comes from either completely different weather, if you moved from a city to the country or country to city (which would happen even in the same state), and certain rights and overall political leanings in the area that give more or take more rights than you're used to, which is the biggest one.

Everything else is pretty much the same...except some major, broader things. The culture shock is more from seeing people supporting certain things (left or right) on local forums or with yard signs, or saying certain things once you get to know them a bit or interact daily at work.

You might move somewhere that weed is legal or decriminalized, or the opposite. You might move from somewhere you can get an abortion to a place that's made it illegal, or a place that lets you change your gender or a place that doesn't allow you to on your ID. Those are bigger overarching culture shock differences.

More socially it'd be like you might be from somewhere with a big gun culture and move somewhere that doesn't have it. And you might get some looks if you mention your gun collection, or the reverse happens. Or you might move from a place that allows drinking in public to a place that doesn't, drinking isn't illegal but the rules are just a smidge different. Or you can't buy liquor or even beer some places on Sunday, or they don't sell it in grocery stores or whatever. In your home state having a relative in ICE might be seen as a thing to be proud of for a lot of people and you move somewhere that's not the case.

You might move from a place where being trans has less of a chance to get the shit beat out of you or treated like shit or fired to a place where it's genuinely dangerous for you and even loved ones.

For the majority of people most of this isn't something you're totally aware of day to day, it's just a more over arching feel you have living in the place. Do you feel more accepted or less? More safe or less safe? Like you have more freedom or less? And that's going to depend on the person, their beliefs, and their life. Some people would find states that don't have abortion, are heavy in gun rights, and don't have decriminalized or legal weed to be where they want to live. Many want the opposite. People are constantly moving from more blue states to red and from red to blue.

In my experience, you adapt quickly when you move to a state or even a city that is more in line with your views and what you want or need out of life, because it just feels right. But if for some reason you end up in the opposite situation, it's extremely demoralizing, even if it's just "little" things like liquor laws, weed and weather that's effecting you personally.

Most of the time you aren't hearing coworkers or your barista saying shit that's completely abnormal to you, most day to day laws are the same, most everything is the same. But there's some bigger things going on in the background that can sometimes take you by surprise if you aren't used to it, for better or worse. This is amplified depending on how different the place is you're moving to. Some places are chatty and open, others are less chatty and more closed off socially. Shit like that.

Most of the time you aren't moving that far and the state is next to yours and it's basically entirely the same. There's a big difference between moving from Cali to like the deep south than there is Cali to Oregon or Tennessee to Kentucky.

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Untimed_Heart313@reddit

I moved between MO and PA (about 18 hours) multiple times, and the hardest part for me is moving all the stuff. Hell, ive been back in PA for almost 3 years now, and I STILL have shit in Missouri lol I imagine just moving to the next state over would probably be a bit easier though

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LHCThor@reddit

I have lived in 5 different states. The individual states are much more alike than different. It’s not like moving to a foreign country. The difference between states is very small. The biggest difference is cost of living and pay.

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LaughSuccessful6300@reddit

Lived in 6 states over the years, house hunting, getting drivers license, and multi state tax filing sucks, but it’s usually not hard. License is biggest pain because you only have a few days after moving and there is a test

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pawsplay36@reddit

Every time I have moved states, it was to experience an upgrade in experience.

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MrNotOfImportance@reddit

I would say it depends on the state and the location within it as well as the greater overall region. Going from rural Wyoming to rural Montana doesn't really feel different at all.

Whereas moving from rural Maine to San Francisco, a city on the other side of the country with a very unique subculture would be a pretty life changing decision.

As for travel though? No, most traffic laws for most states are fairly similar. Aside from differences in levels of enforcement and fines, traffic law is by and large universal.

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Eagle_Fang135@reddit

Having both moved states and being an expat, I would say excluding the need for a visa that it is like being an expat.

I moved from California to Texas as my big change and it is different. Most laws, processes, etc. are by state and although some may be similar others are different. For instance you need new state DL and License Plates. Where you get them can be different. In CA it is all done at the DMV. In Texas the plates are at a separate office from DLs.

Some states have an income tax while others do not. Gun laws are also different by state.

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Reasonable_Wasabi124@reddit

I've lived all over the country. I didn't find moving all the difficult. Just remembering to do all the little things like getting your new state's driver's license and car registration. Making sure everyone has your new address.

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SunnyCynic@reddit

I do it quite often. The laws do factor into my decision but it’s mostly where there’s work because at the end of the day, I probably won’t be there long.

But I do know a lot of people that never left their hometown. Just depends on the person ig

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TaquitoLaw@reddit

I spent like three hours the first time trying to figure out dual state taxes for the year just to find out I owed California $10.

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AccursedQuantum@reddit

I have moved between states four times - that's just as an adult, not counting times I moved as a child because of my parents.

While there is some getting used to the new area and leaving family behind, the primary difficulties have been costs and job related. But neither are particularly difficult, especially if your possessions fit in a single car and your job situation is flexible.

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Vulpix_lover@reddit

The difference is more to te region than the state itself, RI and MA are similar enough culturally where it doesn't make a difference. Compare that with moving from New England to the south, it gets different quickly

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Helo227@reddit

When moving states the most complicated part is vehicle registration and getting a new ID.

Travel between states is pretty easy. Cultural differences are minor. Laws for the most part are pretty consistent, and any that would impact you you’d probably look up far in advance (ie. Is marijuana legal there or not).

If you have or plan to have kids quality of public education might be a factor in your decision. States are wildly inconsistent on that.

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reyadeyat@reddit

I've lived in seven states and am about to move to a new state. It's not a big deal - you have to do some paperwork (to transfer your license and register to vote), but that's about it. Most states have broadly similar laws and you find out about the minor differences (think: can alcohol be sold in grocery stores?) pretty quickly just by going about your daily life.

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DadPuncher69@reddit

I've lived in three different states, and for the most part they're all very similar. I didn't feel out of place in the states that I am not originally from. The hardest thing for me was finding a good job if I didn't already have one secured before the move.

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Arrowdodgingace@reddit

It depends on the state. Someone who’s used to mild California winters will have quite a culture shock in Alaska vs someone moving from Utah to Arizona (ei both desert states).

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DesertWanderlust@reddit

It's more about the culture you move to. I moved from Tucson, Arizona to a Midwest college town, and I wasn't prepared for the culture shock. It was very insular to the point of it being disturbing. Basically, you had to be lumped into one of a few groups and, if you didn't "drink the Kool Aid," then you hated it. So I just hated it until I moved after 3 years.

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