The big sort

[pmv]

Is this article exageratting the issue? How far can this really go, when surely it's not that easy to relocate (afford property, find employment, etc)? Does seem plausible that COVID and the pandemic responses are accelerating it though.

And is it not going to make the electoral system even more unfit for purpose?

Americans are fleeing to places where political views match their own

America is growing more geographically polarized — red ZIP codes are getting redder and blue ZIP codes are becoming bluer. People appear to be sorting.

www.npr.org

 

[Greenman]

I'm sure it's political for some, but certainly not all.
I'm evacuating because the area where I live is overcrowded, crime is rampant, and parts of it are filthy.

 

[HomerJS]

How would anyone determine political affiliation of a town? Are they just not saying...

Diverse communities are becoming more diverse?
White communities are becoming whiter?

 

[nOOky]

We will consider politics when we retire if we move. I don't want to be around a bunch of fat white old Trump humpers in my golden years. In fact the more I look at certain other countries health care system the more I think about becoming an ex-pat.

I have declined taking a job because it was in Texas. Firstly the weather sux for a northerner, and even in a blue town you're still stuck in a red state.

 

[Zor Prime]

I don't think the article is exaggerating its point. A lot of movement is fiscal as well however. I'm in CA at the moment and conservative oriented people are getting out of here to TX and other red states with increased speed but it is not only politics but also due to fiscal policy. TX is a destination spot, FL is on the rise from what I'm seeing. COVID opened the door to remote work for a lot of people which makes transitioning even easier.

 

[pmv]

One thing is that political affiliation is going to be correlated with demographic characteristics (like race, income and even sexuality). And the latter might be more what directly influences where people move to, but that would have a side-effect of sorting by politics as well.

 

[pmv]

How would anyone determine political affiliation of a town? Are they just not saying...

Diverse communities are becoming more diverse?
White communities are becoming whiter?

I'm sure that's part of it, but I doubt it will be purely about race. And I don't think it would be difficult to speak to people or look at electoral maps or read the news and work out what sort of politics are dominant in a given region. Even I know that Austin is where every non-Republican in Texas gravitates to and I'm not American and have never been anywhere near Texas.

 

[fskimospy]

Politics may play a role but I imagine cost of living is the primary factor. Broadly speaking people are moving out of the northeast and CA because while they are the most desirable places in the country to live the cost of living due to restrictive housing policy has become unsustainable.

 

[pmv]

Found another take on it. Seems as if it might be more due to location changing people than to people changing location.

The Real Culprit Behind Geographic Polarization

Research shows that partisans aren’t purposefully walling themselves off. There is no intentional “big sort.”

www.theatlantic.com

 

[IronWing]

On a neighborhood by neighborhood basis, I see HOAs driving the sorting. My neighborhood has no HOA so it is now a magnet for truck hoarders who want to fill up their front yards with monster trucks and project cars. The motorheads tend to be much more conservative than the snowbird retirees that preceded them.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Even I know that Austin is where every non-Republican in Texas gravitates to and I'm not American and have never been anywhere near Texas.

Every major city in Texas is run by Democrats. Only the rural areas are Republican, unfortunately Texas has huge amount of rural areas. Austin is not really much (if any) more liberal then Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio.

 

[gothuevos]

COVID didn't unite us. Russia isn't uniting us. People are moving and getting more entrenched.

Our slow fall/decline continues.

 

[hal2kilo]

COVID didn't unite us. Russia isn't uniting us. People are moving and getting more entrenched.

Our slow fall/decline continues.

Beethoven's 5th? Or is it the 3 and out NFL bong?

 

[HomerJS]

For all the people moving to Texas, why would you want to move to a place where you would be prone to freezing to death because Republicans neglect the electrical grid?

 

[IJTSSG]

For all the people moving to Texas, why would you want to move to a place where you would be prone to freezing to death because Republicans neglect the electrical grid?

APPTHJSITDNOTI

 

[nakedfrog]

While I didn't love living in a town with a rich racist history, or a state where my vote counted for fuck-all beyond the local level, that's not why I moved, nor was it cost of living (since that went up drastically in my new location). I'd also made the decision to move ten years ago, it just took eight years to get to the point where I could manage it.

 

[nakedfrog]

APPTHJSITDNOTI

Are you having a stroke, Covfefe?

 

[vi edit]

I'm part of this article. I moved my family from Kentucky to Portland, OR for a lot of these reasons. I was tired of raising my kids in a judgmental theocracy. It's not so much the concept of red or blue states, but rather how far states have let authoritarian and evangelical doctrine take over for actual policy. I'm out.

 

[pauldun170]

We will consider politics when we retire if we move. I don't want to be around a bunch of fat white old Trump humpers in my golden years. In fact the more I look at certain other countries health care system the more I think about becoming an ex-pat.

I have declined taking a job because it was in Texas. Firstly the weather sux for a northerner, and even in a blue town you're still stuck in a red state.

I'm looking for vibrant, college towns with diverse easily accessible health care as well as social opportunities that don't revolve around the word "church".
That's where I'm headed.
It's just a coincidence that demographics in those avoid voting for Republican.

 

[Moonbeam]

“Wherever I go there I am.”

 

[IronWing]

“Wherever I go there I am.”

I ain't having any of that.

 

[brycejones]

For all the people moving to Texas, why would you want to move to a place where you would be prone to freezing to death because Republicans neglect the electrical grid?

To own the libs! Duh

 

[hal2kilo]

I'm looking for vibrant, college towns with diverse easily accessible health care as well as social opportunities that don't revolve around the word "church".
That's where I'm headed.
It's just a coincidence that demographics in those avoid voting for Republican.

I was amazed when I first moved out here in 86 that Washington state at the time, had the lowest church attendance in the country. I don't really think it's change that much since.

 

[Paratus]

For all the people moving to Texas, why would you want to move to a place where you would be prone to freezing to death because Republicans neglect the electrical grid?

Or if a woman lose control of your body to the state.
Or if a minority be disenfranchised by the state
Or if a parent of a transchild be prosecuted by the state
Or if a business getting a sweet tax deal have it held over your head if you dare disagree with the state.

 

[Zorba]

Every major city in Texas is run by Democrats. Only the rural areas are Republican, unfortunately Texas has huge amount of rural areas. Austin is not really much (if any) more liberal then Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio.

I get the impression, though, in Austin it's white people that are liberal, while the democratic slant of the other cities is driven more by minorities.