Have You Moved for Politics?

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My piece from yesterday about how states are one of the few things keeping politics functional in the USA today was inspired by the Colorado secession movement, whose leader we interviewed today. But that post got into the question of how much people today are self-selecting into increasingly homogenous states.

TPM Reader JM gives us his story …

You mentioned in an article this AM that there might be some state selection based on political ideology. My wife and I might fall in this category. For a few reasons, she and I both ended up in Florida over a decade ago and started our family there. As the Bush Administration went about its business (and the Republican party changed), we grew more and more aligned with Democrats after both considering ourselves moderate, ticket-splitters. However, in our area of Florida, Democrats were gun-toting, support-the-death-penalty types (among other things) and that really didn’t match us. In addition, Florida is hopelessly gerrymandered and completely in the grips of the Republican party in the legislature (both branches) despite its 50-50 split in national elections. This meant chronic budget shortfalls for municipal and school services, public works done on the cheap, etc. Long term, we really couldn’t see ourselves raising a family and growing old there.

There just wasn’t a place in the social or political fabric for western liberals such as ourselves.So, we set out to look for work in more politically-agreeable places and, ultimately, ended up in Portland, OR. While Oregon certainly has its share of Republicans, they are a different breed. In addition, the Democrats are far closer to our political peers (sustainability and education are big policy drivers). As an added plus, it isn’t so stinkin’ hot for half the year…

I’m sure others have done the same. Have you gotten any such feedback today? Curious to hear your thoughts. Keep up the great work. Take care!

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