I've lived in the east. Maine on the face of it was idyllic, albeit the winters were long and freezing. Crime was so low that no one bothered to lock their doors at night. The worst they had to worry about was 'Massholes' (bad drivers from Boston). Beautiful coastline and woods. Fall was out of this world. I felt safe. But now that I have DC, another set of problems would crop up. There's no work for the younger populous, so they end up going to precisely those areas of the country you'd originally wanted to avoid because of gun crime, social problems, ridiculous property prices, etc. But there was much to miss in the New England region. I'm very in tune with nature and wildlife, and what I miss most of all is the sound of loons wailing on the lakes at dusk, a great horned owl hooting in the woods, cute chipmonks, endless stunning coastlines etc. I loved the style of the properties there, too.
On the plus side, having returned to the UK I can her tawny owls again and walk in woods without the fear of getting permanently lost, meeting a moose or a bear, or encountering a skunk. They're cute, but they've earned their reputation. They STINK.
Talking of stinks, I loved New England a lot more than the south. Florida is unbearably humid, swampy and the place reeks of rotting vegetation. Hurricane season was - interesting. Never saw a gator but had nightmares about them. Key Largo was a shit tip. Miami was intimidatingly violent: I felt on edge the whole time. It's a death penalty state that revels in being a death penalty state. There were some attitudes openly expressed there in Britain would quite rightly render you persona non grata. I suspect I'm one of the few British citizens ever to enter Florida who has been nowhere near either Orlando or a theme park. But the rest of it - with the exception of some of the lower keys - isn't all that.
Despite its downsides I loved my time in the states, which had its pros and cons just as Britain does. I was there with an American ex. If I were a newly qualified PhD right now, without ties and looking for work as a lecturer, I'd consider going back (or perhaps to Canada). Now that I'm settled in the UK with a family I find Britain safer for a variety of reasons. If I could go back knowing it would only be for a maximum of five years, I would (but only to the North East coast).
In sum, middle American can be a lovely, comfortable place to live, but as far as I can see all you need to do is get sick to change all that. I was happy there but from what I can see, the American Dream is just that. A dream.