I've been trying to talk my wife out of living in Michigan for something like a gagillion years.  Not that Michigan is awful. It's not.  It has beautiful Spring and Falls and summers are quite pleasant.  And our part of Michigan (south eastern), is no more north than Northern California. 

On the other hand, Michigan has terrible roads.  Sure, there's no traffic compared to say New York or California but they're full of pot-holes.  The excuse is that trucks in Michigan are allowed to have far more weight on them than in other states.  But I don't buy that fully. I think other factors, including corruption, are significant issues as well.

According to Scientific America, much of Michigan just plain sucks when rated for weather, natural amenities, cultural activities, and other issues that poll high in the area of desirable elements to have when choosing a place to live.  But such models are typically incomplete too.  For while say Ohio and Indiana rate poorly, they rate California very high.  I've spent more time in California than most other states and while it is pretty and I love the weather, I wouldn't want to live there.  If we could just eliminate..the people (traffic jams, intense politics, etc.) it would surely be more attractive.

I was surprised that Texas didn't do better.  It's mostly rated as "yellow" (not bad, not good).  So much for my calls to move there.  Florida did very well but on the other hand, it has its own issues to deal with.

I guess as a wise woman once said, it's not loving what you want but loving what you've got.