diff --git a/command/init.go b/command/init.go
index 4da1ea049..5d33063e9 100644
--- a/command/init.go
+++ b/command/init.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -81,10 +80,6 @@ func (c *InitCommand) Run(args []string) int {
 	if len(args) == 1 {
 		path = args[0]
 	}
-	// Set the state out path to be the path requested for the module
-	// to be copied. This ensures any remote states gets setup in the
-	// proper directory.
-	c.Meta.dataDir = filepath.Join(path, DefaultDataDir)
 
 	// This will track whether we outputted anything so that we know whether
 	// to output a newline before the success message
diff --git a/command/init_test.go b/command/init_test.go
index c51e8a4a6..6ccdbadbc 100644
--- a/command/init_test.go
+++ b/command/init_test.go
@@ -305,12 +305,12 @@ func TestInit_targetSubdir(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("bad: \n%s", ui.ErrorWriter.String())
 	}
 
-	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(td, "source", DefaultDataDir, DefaultStateFilename)); err != nil {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(td, DefaultDataDir, DefaultStateFilename)); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	// a data directory should not have been added to out working dir
-	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(td, DefaultDataDir)); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(td, "source", DefaultDataDir)); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/command/meta.go b/command/meta.go
index 63b170451..ffd9ec62e 100644
--- a/command/meta.go
+++ b/command/meta.go
@@ -44,7 +44,8 @@ type Meta struct {
 	// Protected: commands can set these
 	//----------------------------------------------------------
 
-	// Modify the data directory location. Defaults to DefaultDataDir
+	// Modify the data directory location. This should be accessed through the
+	// DataDir method.
 	dataDir string
 
 	// Override certain behavior for tests within this package
@@ -159,6 +160,7 @@ func (m *Meta) Colorize() *colorstring.Colorize {
 }
 
 // DataDir returns the directory where local data will be stored.
+// Defaults to DefaultsDataDir in the current working directory.
 func (m *Meta) DataDir() string {
 	dataDir := DefaultDataDir
 	if m.dataDir != "" {
@@ -498,12 +500,7 @@ func (m *Meta) WorkspaceOverridden() (string, bool) {
 		return envVar, true
 	}
 
-	dataDir := m.dataDir
-	if m.dataDir == "" {
-		dataDir = DefaultDataDir
-	}
-
-	envData, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filepath.Join(dataDir, local.DefaultWorkspaceFile))
+	envData, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filepath.Join(m.DataDir(), local.DefaultWorkspaceFile))
 	current := string(bytes.TrimSpace(envData))
 	if current == "" {
 		current = backend.DefaultStateName
@@ -520,17 +517,12 @@ func (m *Meta) WorkspaceOverridden() (string, bool) {
 // SetWorkspace saves the given name as the current workspace in the local
 // filesystem.
 func (m *Meta) SetWorkspace(name string) error {
-	dataDir := m.dataDir
-	if m.dataDir == "" {
-		dataDir = DefaultDataDir
-	}
-
-	err := os.MkdirAll(dataDir, 0755)
+	err := os.MkdirAll(m.DataDir(), 0755)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dataDir, local.DefaultWorkspaceFile), []byte(name), 0644)
+	err = ioutil.WriteFile(filepath.Join(m.DataDir(), local.DefaultWorkspaceFile), []byte(name), 0644)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}