"California Dreaming" isn't just a song title, but a desired way of life for a majority of Americans. According to the results of a recent Harris Poll, the Golden State tops the list of desirable locations for homebuyers across the nation. This "thumbs up" to California comes amid reports that the state has the third highest unemployment rate in the nation (a whopping 12.4 percent as of August Bureau of Labor Statistics) and foreclosure rates across the state are still unnaturally high.
Who Loves the Golden State?
Harris Poll has been conducting national research regarding the question "If you could live in any state in the country, except the state you live in now, what state would you choose to live in" for several years. Since 2002, this is the seventh consecutive year that survey respondents listed California as their top state choice.
The research featured online polling of 2,620 adults within the U.S. between September 14 and 20, 2010. Of the respondents, those categorized as Echo Boomers (aged 18 to 33) and Gen Xers (aged 34 to 45), choose California as their dream state. According to the report, it is believed that a warm climate is one of the biggest draws to the state and that feature is prevalent in a large assortment of the states that ranked highest in the report.
Other Top Ranking States
While California ranged supreme in the specified demographics, other states still ranked as desirable living locations by individuals. Other top states include:
- Hawaii: The Aloha State the top pick for Baby Boomers (aged 46 to 64) and Matures (aged 65 and over). In those age brackets, California did not even make a blip on the radar.
- Florida
- Colorado
- Arizona
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Texas
- New York
- Washington.
State Choice Reveals Personality Traits
The popularity of specific states in relation to decisions made by age demographics can easily be categorized by applying urban psychology to the mix. Research recently conducted and published in American Psychologist has attempted to determine the relationship between personality traits and the selection of living locations. Simply put, some states attract personalities lead by the heart while others attract folks who lead with their head (September, 2010).
University of Michigan psychologists Nansook Park and Christopher Peterson evaluated the personality traits of 47,369 people originally from the 50 largest cities. The findings categorized individuals as either head centric (creative, open-minded, curious and had a love for learning) or heart strong had (appreciative, empathic, favored teamwork, had hope, constraint and faith). (Infrastructurist.com). California had multiple cities ranking as head centric, which could explain why the demographic base of younger dreams favored the region as opposed to the practical strategy made by those approaching (or who have reached) retirement age.
If your American Dream has always been to relocate from your home state to a more desirable location, now is the time to make the move. Nationally, the housing market is flush with inventory, pricing discounts and purchases can be financed with the lowest historical mortgage rates on history. Regardless of if you want to buy a luxurious single family detached home financed with a jumbo mortgage in California or a studio coop in New York, Mortgage Marvel can make the task of finding low mortgage rates on point.
