I have lived in many of these places, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Idaho, California, Maine and others. Currently in Maine. Though Minnesota and Wisconsin are my favorite states since I grew up there, they are mostly not "postcard" pretty with mostly flat topo and ag-dominated landscapes. The panhandle of Idaho is great; Coeur d'Alene is a great, beautiful city that is just the right size, imo. Not a *big* city, but big enough to have everything. California has everything, of course, but I dont think I would want to live there, and I can't pinpoint why. Maine is beautiful, but over half the state is effectively devoid of human life. Bar Harbor is a nice little town, but very touristy and the population is seasonal. I live near Bangor, which is aight. Maine seems pretty poor on the whole.