Where To Live Now: Using The Electoral Map As Guide
"Come to Montana," a friend living in Bozeman told me when she heard my husband and I are planning to move back to the States next spring after three years in Mexico. "We almost went blue; you could help put us over the edge next time."
"We would be thrilled to have you in the Old Dominion," my sister-in-law said. "Now the new Dominion."
"Maybe you'll consider Colorado," another friend wrote, exulting in her state's red-blue shift.
Ever since Obama took the prize last week, I've been excited about moving home to the States and though my husband and I have many requirements -- a bucolic piece of land within an hour of a sizable airport; good schools; four seasons, not too cold, would be nice -- I've found that I've increasingly consulted the electoral map as I've been trying to zero in on our new home.
One reason I left the U.S. in the first place was my growing disconnect with a country (and especially the rural area of Texas where I used to live) that could send George Bush to the White House twice. This time, I'd like to be surrounded by neighbors who are less likely to flaunt the confederate flag or shoot my dog (this happened -- twice). I'm weighing this need for some blue-tinged enlightenment with the competing desire to be closer to my family in Tennessee and friends in the Southeast.
The good news is that now many more states have opened up to me: North Carolina and Virginia, for example.
The bad news is that my husband, a Texan, loves the open land and broad horizons of the West. This summer, hopeful that an Obama victory would give me the confirmation I needed to return to the States, I agreed to a scouting trip in the West, but I insisted that it had to be the Blue West.
I loved the Northwest but each place offered its own challenges. My husband doesn't want to live in or near a big city, which excludes Seattle. We looked around Spokane, but after our intense ethnic experience in Mexico we felt there wasn't enough diversity. Canadians don't count, we decided.
My husband nixed Oregon, which is prime blue state west. "It must be a socialist state," he complained. "You can't even pump your own gas!" We liked the area around Trinidad, Colorado, until I learned it was the sex change capital of the world. Yes, I like diversity, but even I have my limits.
When we couldn't agree on anything in the West, I set out to persuade him to go East. I eventually convinced him to consider the Nashville area, including nearby Franklin. Several elements made it attractive to him: it's gorgeous; Tennessee is one of the least-taxed states in the country; and it's not that far from his dear Texas. I'm painfully aware it's not blue, but we'd be only four hours from my parents.
We were making plans for a post-Christmas visit to the area when the New York Times gave me reason to reconsider. Last week, it published a map showing counties that went more Republican this time than in 2004.
While almost all of the country showed blue, meaning on this map that Democratic percentages were higher than 2004 in these counties, there was a big swath of dark red that extended from Southwest Virginia through Arkansas (the "Hillbilly Belt," someone called it), meaning that a serious chunk of the redder-than-ever counties were in Tennessee.
I was reassured to see that Nashville went blue in 2008 and though the county surrounding Franklin voted Republican, the compensation is that fewer votes were cast for McCain than for Bush, which indicates that I'll find some sort of intelligent life there.
But still, I'm tempted to strike the whole state. I'm not sure I could live in a state that, as a whole, didn't seem fazed by the developments of the last eight years. A state that has achieved what I thought was impossible: it's now even redder than Texas.
Sensing my new hesitation about Tennessee, my husband proposed Oklahoma. He'd found a wonderful piece of property near the historic town of Guthrie. Consulting my electoral map, I found that Oklahoma is one of only two states in the country in which every single county went for McCain. Nary an oasis in sight. (The other pure red state is Alaska, which is little comfort).
I now feel like we're back to square one -- which is all over the map. Maybe we need to reconsider New Mexico, which had been ruled out earlier for other reasons, and my husband is thinking it might not bee too bad if we didn't have to pump our own gas in Oregon.
In the meantime, we're open to suggestions.
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___Ms Ralston, I think you may have a problem assimilating in a blue state or county as your particular bias, or prejudice, will not be well received by everyone. While I can certainly understand your fear of gun-totin’, dog killin’, hill-billy-in’ neighbors, I cannot understand your aversion to Trinidad, Colorado because “even you have your limits when it comes to diversity”.
I too have made a promise to vote with my dollars when it comes to vacation spots and possible living locations. States like the one I’m from which have gone overwhelmingly for racist, fascist fear mongers should have their financial clocks cleaned by voters who do not want to support this type of politics in our country. But what you are describing_a “limit” to the tolerance that we could expect_is disturbing.
Perhaps you might want to stop patting yourself on the back for “liking diversity” long enough to start living the fuller life of tolerance_for everyone. Your new neighbors may like you better than your old ones did.
The biggest problem with Tennessee is the Banking and Insurance Companys rule with a iron hand.
HIghly amusing article. As one of those not-foreign-enough Canadians, I've been looking at grad schools in the US for several months. I couldn't make any decision until November 4th, as had McCain won I would certainly not be moving to your country. And now that the US has made the international community sigh with relief, my school options are very firmly planted in Blue zones.
See Jeannie Ralston's Profile
Thanks for all of these. My husband is actually looking up all the places mentioned and since he's considering Oregon again, I woke up this morning thinking I should go back to one of the favorite places we saw on our entire tour of the west--Ashland, Oregon. It's nice and blue and such a beautiful town with culture and four seasons and skiing nearby. OK, it's not near my family or a great airport, but....What do people know about Ashland?
Ashland has a great Shakespeare festival every year; in fact, the whole town kind of revolves around that -- you might get more Shakespeare than you want.
Why not give the greater Seattle area another chance? If you don't want to be in a big city, frankly you don't have to go very far outside of Seattle to be in the woods or in farmland, and still be pretty close to Sea-Tac airport. Even Olympia isn't too far away -- it's a lovely, smaller, progressive city.
It would take native Texans at least fifteen years to get used to Seattle's clouds.
Lawrence, Kansas, is a gem of brilliant blue one hour from the Kansas City airport:
http://www.douglas-county.com/online_services/cl/ve/electionresults.asp
I was born and raised in suburban Detroit but got out of there at my first opportunity as a young adult. Made the mistake of spending a few years in Buffalo NY. Some nice folks there but man...what a dreary hole! Tried the South for awhile in the DFW area. Scary place and way too sufferin' HOT & sticky most of the time. I then lived in Seattle for several years in the late 70's and early to mid 80's. Best and happiest years of my life. I am convinced that it is America's most livable big city and I regret having to leave there. Currently live in upstate NY to be near one of my daughters after my wife passed away. I'm about halfway between my son in NYC and another daughter up in Toronto, Canada. It's OK here but I'm seriously considering a move back to Seattle once I fully retire for real. Politics matters little to me when gauging the livability of a place, but I did find Seattle to be overall a rather liberal and progressive area.
How funny Roger! I too, was raised in suburban Detroit, but left a long time ago.
I currently live in Las Vegas. We turned BLUE this year!! I was so proud!!! You wouldn't really get the four seasons though, but it's beautiful - the blue skies, mountains, great hiking, rock climbing, and fabulous sunsets over the mountains. Las Vegas really isn't all the strip - you'd actually have to threaten us with death to get us to go there :) It's a beautiful outdoor meca for our family.
Good luck to you in your hunt for BLUE!!!
I do think looking at the stark red/blue map is exceptionally misleading since 48 states are winner (even if barely) take all.
I live in Bexar county, Texas and there are plenty of conservatives, but also plenty enough liberals to keep me sane. If you look at how south central Texas and along the border votes you can see that all in Texas is not lost (actually we used to be more heavily democrat, don't know why that can't happen again). Alternatively, for liberal types and four seasons, you might look at places between Lawrence and Kansas City, Kansas. KC is your usual big city with something for everyone and Lawrence is your usual liberal type college town. In between and to the north and south, in Douglas, Franklin, Johnson and Jefferson counties there are suburbs, but there is also still a tremendous amount of farmland and very rural areas. The land is a lot like the Texas hill country but with lots of rivers, creeks, seasons. At most they are an hour apart, depending on where you're headed, so easy to find work and folks that think like you.
Good Luck.
*laughs* Oh this is great! I thought this very thing immediately after the election, peering at an electoral results map, wondering to myself, "Okay, so... where are the best places to live?" (I currently live in a sadly too-red-county in Colorado--something my folks tragically didn't take into consideration when they moved from a much more progressive area many many years ago.)
Consider Decorah, Iowa!
1. We went quite blue this past election cycle (I'm a transplant, but I think it went for Bush in '04).
2. We have an excellent gown-town relationship, and Luther College brings in many exciting cultural events of all types. (We are also very close to other smaller schools, such as UNI and NICC).
3. We are 45 minutes away from the LaCrosse airport (which connects to most major hubs) and Minneapolis-St. Paul is a very easy 3-hour drive.
4. We have four seasons! Winter is very cold and snowy, but I gladly live with that because (A) We plow and we MOVE ON, and (B) the summers here are incredibly mild and just beautiful.
5. We have churches of most denominations, although we have mostly Lutheran congregations (really? lol).
I found this article amusing, since I've been searching for a new place to live and was checking out the way people voted. I was interested in moving to SC for almost a year, since the real estate is so reasonable, but seeing "McCain +11" scared the heck out of me.
Although I live in a very Republican county (remember Sheriff Mike Scott?) at least the State of FL finally turned blue. However, political opinions don't seem to matter much, since nobody here talks to you anyway!
Charleston is lovely. Yes, it is heavily red but the folks are so darn polite they would never criticize your choice of politics. They would just bless your heart and offer you some sweet tea.
I have family from South Carolina (Charleston area also) and if you think having a confederate flag and a number of apartment complexes with the word "Plantation" in it then you and I have two different views.
Move to Seattle. Move into the 36th district where the number of Republicans is about 20% or less. You would be hard pressed to move to a more liberal place. Plus we easy access to downtown, heck part of the district is downtown. We have a ballet, opera, grocery stores, public markets, and skateboard parks. We have a dozen United Methodist Churches, half a dozen Catholic churches, synagogues, temples, and lots of brew pubs, book pubs, and a drinking liberally chapter. All my neighbors went to the local Presbyterian church to attend the caucus. Both candidates for the state legislature were Democrats. We have a top two vote getters go to do a run off in the general election rule. We are pissed about the party system, and this is payback. Probably more people live in the 36th District than live in several counties in Eastern Washington. We are polite drivers. We plant gardens in all sorts of places, and put up our own public art in our yards. Some of it is good, all of it is interesting. We have several stores that feature certified organic food. We have steak houses and vegan restaurants. We are getting used to growth, so why not join us in this great liberal corner of the world.
One definite option that my family has been considering is Vashon Island (we have other relatives who live there already). We currently live in an entirely too-red-county (and city) in Colorado.
See Jeannie Ralston's Profile
Thanks for the suggestions. Keep 'em coming. I'm just wondering if looking at county voting trends is a little too obsessive. My husband tells me to ease up on the blue state thing. What would be your top considerations in choosing a place to live, if your work allowed you to live anywhere but you weren't fabulously wealthy?
I have traveled extensively in country and abroad, currently live in Jacksonville, Florida, a red county in a blue state. If I could live anywhere in the US, I would choose the Asheville area in North Carolina. The surrounding land is reasonable and astoundingly beautiful. Asheville is an Oregonian feeling oasis in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The people are the most welcoming and open-minded I have experienced on the entire East Coast. There are several universities in the area, so culture abounds. Give it a visit. The area, Buncombe County, is solidly blue.
I agree on Asheville. I may want to move there one of these years, I live in Los Angeles now so I'm not sure I could handle such a big move, but we'll see. Also considering Portland, OR area and I love northern NM. Being a native southern Califorinian, I am a major weather wimp! Good luck with your search :)
Really, Jeannie, don't let him tell you that the blue state/red state thing isn't a big deal. It is. It will matter every time you meet a friend, join a club, read the newspaper, watch the local news. This last election has drawn the racism out so it's really horrible right now.
I would want to live somewhere where people had progressive ideas, small neighborhoods, little shops, good greenways, nice nature preserves, four seasons. Clean air quality (Tenn has some of the worst). Charlottesville Virginia is WONDERFUL. Lots of people riding bikes to get around, a downtown square with charming, progressive shops, the nearby mountains. They also have a great lingerie shop. I would move there if I could choose.
Tennessee has all these things except the progressive people. I wish we could flush them out and bring people like you and your husband here.
I feel your concern for the political landscape of an area is essential to truly becoming integrated into a community. Being around like-minded folks is a lot less frustrating, and much more positive an experience overall, than if you were to live in an area where folks just don't share your same political and social ideology.
Its something I desperately wished my folks had really put more thought into, before they moved (many years ago) to a much less progressive area than they had been living in.
And, its also the most compelling reason I want my family to move again! *I* need to be in a community that doesn't constantly piss me off with their sanctimonious self-righteous narrow mindedness! ;-)
As for Colorado, there are some areas here that are utterly awesome and amazing in its geography, scenery, and community (Boulder is a very good example)--Colorado also has some really... shall we say... backwards-thinking areas, too. A good look at the counties of Colorado in the electoral map, you can see where you ought to consider living and what areas to avoid.
Personally, I am extremely fond of Colorado (I want my family to move to either Boulder or up to Washington state)--its tremendously diverse in so many ways. But do take care in researching where to live here--and you won't be disappointed. :-)
I think OH offers a good mix of all the things both you and your husband are looking for in a state :)
Now we are blue, too, whoo-hoo!
I've lived in Oregon (Portland Metro area, actually, which includes Vancouver, WA) for about six years now and it's not too bad (a transplant from Huntsville, Alabama). Traffic in the metro area is a nightmare, but the scenery is gorgeous and my wife and I both loved the eastern side of Vancouver, which is growing rapidly but still retains a "small-town" feeling. And it's less than 15 minutes to PDX. Oh, and having someone pump your gas for you is kinda nice... a bit annoying waiting if there's a lot of people waiting, but it has two benefits... you don't show up to work smelling like gas, and it offers an avenue of employment for thousands of Oregonians.
Saved me from making a comment about no self-serve gas. It does provide thousands of jobs, and there appears to be no savings to the customers in self-serve states. The same thing goes with U-Scans at the grocery stores. Here in Central Oregon they are not used very much. I am against them for two reasons: one, they take away cashier jobs from real human beings and two, the grocery stores are making the customers do their work, again with no savings to the consumer. One of the things I love about Oregon is our "socialism".
Washington state, at least the western part of it, especially Seattle is my idea of heaven. North Carolina, not so much.
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