I was born in CA and love living there when I am in the USA. Do I agree with everyone in the state, no. The state has residents who share some of my beliefs and some who do not share my beliefs. I do not know anyone who has all the views as I do, even my DH and I don't agree on everything and we share the same house.

I personally dislike the label of red state or blue state, I understand is is efficient when discussing the election but when discussing where I live, not too much.

I wouldn't decide where to live on religious views either, such as Mormons in Utah.

I have friends who threatened to leave the US if Bush was elected. They now live in New Zealand. Seems a bit extreme to me. If you don't like the political situation, work to change it. Elections aren't permanent. Neither are "colors" of states.

I live in Wisconsin, which used to be a nice pleasant purple type of swing state, but after the battles of the last few years its more like a battered and bruised color. Vast sums of money have been poured in here from outside for the various recall elections and then again for the pres & senate elections. Was joking w/ my brother who lives in Alaska (red) that Im tempted to move to a red state, just for some respite from the hateful attack ads and namecalling. I honestly have given some thought to choosing a place that's been written off and no candidates bother coming around.

Cultural amenities might be more of a factor in where you choose to live. On the other hand culture is more and more these days tied into political beliefs. I dont know about writing off entire states though -within most states even the most red (or blue) I think you can find some city or enclave of whatever your persuasion.

I personally dont think I could live anywhere I couldnt get a good cup of dark roast coffee!

I live in a very red town in a very blue state, so you would be making the wrong assumptions based on where you happened to zoom in. My previous town/state was also the same. We didn't choose either town/state due to politics. Choices were driven by job, school systems and commute times.

My ancestors have been in Maryland for 350 years, and it breaks my heart to say I am ready to abandon the ship.

My requirements for a domicile have nothing to do with political views. It has more to do with whether or not the concerts I want to go to travel close enough. Or if I can find a good Indian restaurant. Or a there is a college that I can take a few interesting courses occasionaly. Or how close a beach might be. And definately, what the cost of living might be for someone on a fixed income. Economics can cure a lot of self righteous pissy "I'm not going to associate with THEM" behavior, no matter who THEM might be to whomever. You live where you can afford to live. And it's actually very helpful to come into contact with those who believe differently than you. Unless you've become an old fossil who never had much of an open mind to begin with.

Yes, it matters if a locale is actively hostile to my gay friends. But any location like that would probably fail most of my "civilization" tests above. Even in a very conservative location, there are always pockets where like minded people come together to form some type of community. Or vice versa. Even in the most liberal location n the nation, there are plenty of vocal persons providing opposing viewpoints who can band together with similar minded people. "Community" can happen anywhere, and is indeed often much more cohesive in the face of opposition than it would in the face of approbation.

Arizona with its high anxiety about immigration (and SB150 law) would be a problem for me as I have non-Anglo relatives and friends. Wouldn't want them to feel that they were under extra suspicion during a visit.

I live in a red, red town in a very blue northern state. I'm sure sometimes people edit what they say amongst themselves to preserve the public comity, but it would be different when the issue turned on how people looked, and how they were treated differently by public officials based on that. That's unacceptable to me.

I think (hope) this will soon pass and we can all once again simply be Americans.

L.

I just want to live somewhere where it's not too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry, too expensive or too cheap, too populated or too isolated and where the people aren't too mean or too friendly. It really doesn't matter to me who the president is - he has nothing to do with whether or not I succeed in life. That's all on me. There are people who I do not agree with, but I do my best to get along with everyone, no matter what race, religion, political afiliation or sexual preference. I'm not going to move to another state or another country to get away from things - the things you run from always have a way of finding you again.

I live in Florida.

'Nuff said!

We moved from CA to ND and yes it has taken awhile to adjust to weather, Midwest culture, different friends, food etc, but as long as we could/can travel it is not a problem. The medical seems to be better, I wish for stricter laws especially for DUI's but that is changing due to the oil boom. What I do miss is the fresh veggies and Mexican food and other ethnic foods. But I do enjoy the food here also. I think it is great that each area of the the US and Canada does present us with a variety that we can choose and learn new tastes and ideas.
People here seem to much more involved in the political fields and more knowledgeable. We do see our politicians more, smaller meetings and we can visit with them.

I'm with Cas66 on this one... no matter who is President, I WILL DO WHAT I WANT TO DO... AND SUCCEED. It may be tougher with one party in power than the other, but so be it.
Having said that, I don't think I could stomach California.

NCRE, I love CA, funny thing I've found, the state government is blue, I've lived in areas here that are decidedly red. I was surprised a few years ago I lived in a different city in the same county what a difference. I would imagine it is like this in most states, is any state really one party?

I've visited areas I know I wouldn't blend in, but mostly I get along with everyone.

My friend and I joked about the problems of the state of California as we sat at a beachfront restaurant enjoying breakfast.

I wouldn't leave California's beautiful weather and all my family because I didn't like the president or the governor.

NCRE, I love CA, funny thing I've found, the state government is blue, I've lived in areas here that are decidedly red. I was surprised a few years ago I lived in a different city in the same county what a difference. I would imagine it is like this in most states, is any state really one party?

I've visited areas I know I wouldn't blend in, but mostly I get along with everyone.

My friend and I joked about the problems of the state of California as we sat at a beachfront restaurant enjoying breakfast.

I wouldn't leave California's beautiful weather and all my family because I didn't like the president or the governor.

Now that we are on the subject of politicians and California - what do you guys think of Clint Eastwood and the chair? Wow! I always liked Clint, always liked a lot of his movie roles, and always thought he seemed smarter than the average bear. That chair stunt really has me worried about poor old Clint. I think maybe he's losing it? Starting to geeze? His little stunt was supposed to ridicule Obama, but I think he just made a fool of himself. I still think he's a great actor/director though.

While I would not eliminate a whole state based on their political beliefs, I would certainly take the political climate into consideration when choosing a community in which to live. Because I am kinda middle of the road, I would prefer to live within a community that is not too far in either direction. My goal is to be part of a community and for that, I prefer to not to have watch my tongue every second.

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.

Alexander Tyler--

It appears we have reached the tipping point.

Actually the quote is from Alexander Fraser Tytler...

Ans a typo in the attribution SO alters the meaning...

Based on the path we are following, fascism would not be out of line.

If I were free to choose any place in the world I would probably pick a blue state to live in. But this is our home, and there are a few benefits to living in a red state--- completely unintended benefits, lol.

kswl,

Pardon my ignorance, what are the benefits of living in a Red state? I'm getting tired of living in a Blue state. It's so expensive to live in one.

So here's the humorous follow-up to the original post:

New Real Estate Advertising in Colorado (thanks to Donald Urschalitz, Palm Beach Realtor and those who commented on his AR blog)

Open House this weekend� Free brownies.

This mellow home is located on a quiet street. Dude; enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of this 3 bedroom 2 bath well lit home in a high traffic area downtown.

"Come to Colorado and enjoy the high life"

"Now it's really Rocky Mountain High"

"Come check out this joint today!"

Haha Good ones C9! I was wondering when you were going to make it back.

We hate to be "blunt", but this pad won't last long - so "doobie" careful not to let this one slip by. Feel free "buzz" the doorbell any time, and don't feel like a "dope" if you happen to step on the "grass". We do have a little "roach" infestation, but it's all good man. And forgive us for our curb appeal - we have a "chronic" problem with "weed".

Sincerely yours, Mary Jane

My thought on the original post.

I'm not really surprised by the Colorado outcome and I'm not even planning to move there. I think sometimes when people want to retire somewhere, they have an idea in their head of what the experience "should be" and it may or may not have anything to do with the people already living there.

I think age related demographics are frequently overlooked in these discussions. The election was strongly tied to age differences. Personally, I live in a (relatively) conservative part of a Blue State and the big difference between us and the rest of the stage is a large number of retirees.

cas66ragtop (aka Mary Jane)-
I've been lurking for the few days but just haven't had anything worthwhile to say. I have to say that I loved your first post on this thread and wholeheartedly concur. This thread is supposed to be about the political aspects of living in different states, not about politics, although I knew that eventually someone would take it there. (Gran Marino - wow - powerful film) The original story was interesting to me because in the past we've said that the only non-coastal state that we could live in is (western half) Colorado, but we're not ready to give up our sailboat just yet which is why we're in Florida now even though we are both California natives (too expensive).

I've been disappointed that some of my extreme-red-leaning Facebook friends who threatened (promised?) to move to Canada if the election didn't go their way, haven't moved yet. Or maybe they have and I just don't know because I was forced to unfriend the craziest ones. Maybe it's just that the real estate market isn't favorable there. (Okay, okay, that one was about politics)

I feel I should point out that I didn't bring up Utah specifically because of the Mormon religion, per se, but because of the influence it has there, particularly in their alcohol laws. At least the last time my DH went there for work travel, he couldn't buy a beer until he got a "membership" to the bar because only members could buy drinks. Obviously a way to work around some arcane law. Just started me thinking, I wonder if there are fewer Starbucks per capita there? (because I believe Mormons also do not eat/drink caffeine) Is it difficult to buy tobacco? (not that I care, but just curious).

The post about Arizona made me pause for thought, too. Back 25 years ago when you could just walk across the border for a little shopping in Nuevo Laredo without fear, I was often the one in my group stopped coming back through the border and asked for ID while my friends breezed through. (My ethnic background is difficult for most people to figure out, but it's not remotely Hispanic or Native American, which many incorrectly assume - it's Japanese, weird because only Asians tend to get it right.) I think the Arizona laws would make me very uncomfortable say, when I was sitting at a stop light next to a police cruiser.

I've spent too long musing and must now go back to cleaning house and preparing for a sailing team trip to the east coast this afternoon.
Everyone have a great Thanksgiving break and remember to give thanks for our freedom to discuss such matters in a civilized discourse (most of the time anyway!)

The press wasted no time trumpeting author Stephen King's rant that people like him should pay more taxes.

The press has neglected to mention that Mr. King has moved to Florida, where he pays less.

I've been disappointed that some of my extreme-red-leaning Facebook friends who threatened (promised?) to move to Canada if the election didn't go their way, haven't moved yet.

The idea that ultra-conservatives would want to move to Canada is funny and sad. Are they so stupid that they don't know what Canada is like?? (I gather this was an actual threat given by some people before the election)

I laugh at a relative who while living in Southern California, complained several times about the "Hollywood types" ruining her state of California. She lived in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles County, I'm sure she never saw any "Hollywood types" in her town.
She then moved to Washington state, which is probably more liberal, it all seems a bit silly to me. Celebrities I see giving their opinion on TV, regardless of the issue, don't affect me much. I usually try not to watch them.

I am in CO. Honestly I'm not thrilled about the legal pot. Already the medical marijuana business is a joke. They have signs outside the shops offering $10 joints and you can basically go in, tell them you get headaches and you have a prescription because some have doctors onsite. They advertise on Craigslist. Can you imagine the folks who are against Big Pharma (who are for legal pot by and large) if Merck advertised on CL?

A friend who is a middle school principal in an upper middle class area said he has never seen use of pot so common in 7th and 8th graders, they just dip into mom or dad's stash, his opinion after 20 years as a principal is that it immediately sharply rose when MMJ became legal. I have seen kids and 20 somethings smoking pot while driving cars in my "nice" area three times in the last year. Is this common where you live? The libertarian part of me says, yeah adults should be able to do what they want as long as it doesn't harm anyone, but the reality isn't going to be rosy. And yes, pot heads will move here.

As far as where I'd live, I think I'd avoid IL and CA due to the widespread corruption and financial situation in the states. All three are beautiful places to live, but the taxes and policies are hurting them financially.

My mother in law is selling her ranch in Co due to the politics there. This is no small feat, it involves moving 6 horses, dogs, goats cats etc. She is moving to Wy where they are more tax friendly and in general their values are closer to hers. We all have to prioritize and living will people who are like minded is a priority to her. I am from Il and am actively working on getting the heck out of here, its a circus. Also, my ex is selling his business and moving to Florence Italy, he cant stand to see where this country is going.

We don't live in Europe during WW2 or in a dictatorship. I prefer a state/community which embraces true US values. Unfortunately, many entitled in this nation have forgotten this nation was developed to embrace immigration, all religions and different lifestyles vs. the Old World.

People are stupid everywhere. Not much more needs to be said.

I prefer a state/community which embraces true US values.

But.. everyone defines this differently.

Well no... True US values requires a knowledge of history and that clearly states every state/economic region in this nation was built on migration population (whether from Eruope to Eastern Shores, East to West, or immigrant population and tolerance for all religions).
The only part of US values I would object to is the destruction of the Native-Indian population and purchased labor (aka slavery).

Note - the above is not to say fighting and racist/bigotry didn't exist as this nation expanded.

As I stated those who feel 'entitled' have created a new definition of US values but what this nation was founded on was fight/oppose the Old World thinking.

Go figure - at this point Old World/Europe is more tolerant and forward thinking vs. the New World/USA as it relates to tolerance, diversity and caring for its citizens.

I love the USA and would not threaten to leave it if x or y was elected but can point out a major portion of our population lives in a silo. E.g. small portions of this nation wants to separate from the US.

This message threat introduces concepts (e.g. gay marriage nad legalize drugs) which are decades old elsewhere in the world and those nations haven't fallen into anarchy or poor values as many other nations still consider Sunday 'a family day' and close most shops.