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I've heard a lot of talk here and in the news about transplants especially from urban areas, the north, or California turning other places more liberal. However in my personal experience its been quite the opposite. Here in Maryland, there are a lot of natives who talk about moving south because they can't stand the government here, with the high taxes, the support for illegal immigration, and the lack of moral values in our schools and society and the decline of family values especially with gay marriage.
I've run into a lot of former Marylanders in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, and Tennessee. A majority of them love the South more, and recognize that one of the reasons the South is better is because of conservative politics, especially business friendliness, toughness on crime, and especially the lower taxes and the lack of "smart growth" nanny statism and lower gas taxes that make the Southern states an easier place to achieve the American Dream.
Also within Maryland and nearby parts of Virginia and West Virginians, most of the Baltimoreans and poeple from the DC area I know who moved to places in the outer suburbs/rural areas are more conservative than the natives who lived there for generations. They are even MORE opposed to illegal immigration, MORE supportive of the death penalty, and MORE supportive of gun ownership, including owning assault weapons. Because the people who used to live in Baltimore or Washington DC actually have personal experiences with illegal immigration and crime and high taxes and are VERY defense of their new home and are very passionate about keeping these problems away. I've traveled to rural areas in Maryland to speak against illegal immigration and in favor of official English laws and in some rural areas some of the natives actually wonder why so many people hate illegal immigrants so much because they never actually had to deal with illegals in their own lives. When rural Marylanders oppose illegal immigration its usually about tax money and redistribution of wealth. When urban folks oppose illegal immigration its not JUST for these reasons, but also about how illegal aliens destroyed their neighborhoods, refused to speak English, committed crimes, brought drugs into the neighborhoods etc
Many people also do move away from the cities and from the Northeast looking for small town values and more family friendly environments. And its very often the urban/suburban transplatns who has a no nonsense view on crime, who believes someone should NOT be allowed to accumulate a lenghty record, that this person should have been locked away for life, or given capital punishment if he has killed or commited violent crimes.
There is a good chance I will be moving to West Virginia or Virginia in a few months and trust me I will be voting for Republicans especially because I have seen how the Democrats have destroyed Maryland. I will be against taxes, illegal immigration, abortion, and gun control and supoorting pro-life policies, and the death penalty and lower taxes. And I will definitely be against mass transit and high density development and smart growth.
I think the "liberalization" of Virginia and North Carolina is more due to illegal immigration, and to racially motivated obama votes by the black population. Also in terms of transplants, most of the people who CHOOSE to move to rural areas or the South are conservative. The liberal ones are the ones who usually didn't have a choice, like their company transferred them there, or they couldn't find a job back home up north. Well maybe they need to see that their company moved because of tax breaks, or there are more jobs there because of the lack of union laws. And maybe cost of living in cheaper, and that suburban lifestyle more affordable because of the lack of "smart growth" and lower gas taxes.
I'm going to ignore the obvious political trolling, and just say this.
It depends upon the area.
In some areas, transplants undoubtedly make conservative areas more liberal. See what's happened in Colorado and Nevada in the west, both of which used to be as conservative as Arizona. Yes, Latino voters played a big role, but it's not like undocumented immigrants can vote - many of the Latinos who migrated to these places were already citizens from Southern California - they were also transplants.
As to the South, really the only areas where left-leaning white transplants are enough to make a difference are Northern Virginia, the Triangle Region of North Carolina, parts of Southern Florida, and segments of a few urban areas like Atlanta and Nashville. These are really the only places left in the South (excepting college towns and the like) which are white majority and vote for Democrats at the top of the ticket, and it's because there's a substantial white progressive block who votes along with nonwhites. Remember though that black transplants are also transplants, and have changed the political balance in suburban Atlanta and in Dallas and Houston.
That said, transplants can also make a state more conservative. Look at South Carolina, for example. The transplants are white, and fairly conservative. They may not be as conservative as native-born whites. For example, maybe they're 60% Republican rather than 80%. But since due to migrating down, they diminish the overall voting power of the black population (blacks are not moving to South Carolina), the overall effect is to move the state to the right.
I've heard a lot of talk here and in the news about transplants especially from urban areas, the north, or California turning other places more liberal. However in my personal experience its been quite the opposite. Here in Maryland, there are a lot of natives who talk about moving south because they can't stand the government here, with the high taxes, the support for illegal immigration, and the lack of moral values in our schools and society and the decline of family values especially with gay marriage.
I've run into a lot of former Marylanders in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, and Tennessee. A majority of them love the South more, and recognize that one of the reasons the South is better is because of conservative politics, especially business friendliness, toughness on crime, and especially the lower taxes and the lack of "smart growth" nanny statism and lower gas taxes that make the Southern states an easier place to achieve the American Dream.
Also within Maryland and nearby parts of Virginia and West Virginians, most of the Baltimoreans and poeple from the DC area I know who moved to places in the outer suburbs/rural areas are more conservative than the natives who lived there for generations. They are even MORE opposed to illegal immigration, MORE supportive of the death penalty, and MORE supportive of gun ownership, including owning assault weapons. Because the people who used to live in Baltimore or Washington DC actually have personal experiences with illegal immigration and crime and high taxes and are VERY defense of their new home and are very passionate about keeping these problems away. I've traveled to rural areas in Maryland to speak against illegal immigration and in favor of official English laws and in some rural areas some of the natives actually wonder why so many people hate illegal immigrants so much because they never actually had to deal with illegals in their own lives. When rural Marylanders oppose illegal immigration its usually about tax money and redistribution of wealth. When urban folks oppose illegal immigration its not JUST for these reasons, but also about how illegal aliens destroyed their neighborhoods, refused to speak English, committed crimes, brought drugs into the neighborhoods etc
Many people also do move away from the cities and from the Northeast looking for small town values and more family friendly environments. And its very often the urban/suburban transplatns who has a no nonsense view on crime, who believes someone should NOT be allowed to accumulate a lenghty record, that this person should have been locked away for life, or given capital punishment if he has killed or commited violent crimes.
There is a good chance I will be moving to West Virginia or Virginia in a few months and trust me I will be voting for Republicans especially because I have seen how the Democrats have destroyed Maryland. I will be against taxes, illegal immigration, abortion, and gun control and supoorting pro-life policies, and the death penalty and lower taxes. And I will definitely be against mass transit and high density development and smart growth.
I think the "liberalization" of Virginia and North Carolina is more due to illegal immigration, and to racially motivated obama votes by the black population. Also in terms of transplants, most of the people who CHOOSE to move to rural areas or the South are conservative. The liberal ones are the ones who usually didn't have a choice, like their company transferred them there, or they couldn't find a job back home up north. Well maybe they need to see that their company moved because of tax breaks, or there are more jobs there because of the lack of union laws. And maybe cost of living in cheaper, and that suburban lifestyle more affordable because of the lack of "smart growth" and lower gas taxes.
I can speak specifically to NOVA and the Research Triangle from first hand experience. The transplants DO make the area much more liberal...and consequently less southern. A reason for the liberalization of NC and VA, aside from the aforementioned points of illegal immigration and the black vote, is that most of the new residents that move to NOVA and the Research Triangle are younger professionals with advanced degrees...who tend to be more liberal. These people aren't moving to VA and NC because they want to get away from their regions politics or because they like the south...they move here because of high paying tech and government jobs and they also bring their political leanings with them. As the natural progression goes...these people settle down and have kids and their kids have the same values and political leanings the parents do. Therefore NOVA and the Research Triangle will continue to become more liberal while areas that aren't replete with high-paying tech jobs will stay southern in culture. Thats why Raleigh and surrounding suburbs are losing their southerness and the areas 50 miles outside Raleigh is just as southern as it's always been. Same with NOVA....Once you get about 50-60 miles out of the DC suburbs you start hearing thick drawls again and people would SHUTTER at the idea of being considered anything but a southerner.
I can speak specifically to NOVA and the Research Triangle from first hand experience. The transplants DO make the area much more liberal...and consequently less southern. A reason for the liberalization of NC and VA, aside from the aforementioned points of illegal immigration and the black vote, is that most of the new residents that move to NOVA and the Research Triangle are younger professionals with advanced degrees...who tend to be more liberal. These people aren't moving to VA and NC because they want to get away from their regions politics or because they like the south...they move here because of high paying tech and government jobs and they also bring their political leanings with them. As the natural progression goes...these people settle down and have kids and their kids have the same values and political leanings the parents do. Therefore NOVA and the Research Triangle will continue to become more liberal while areas that aren't replete with high-paying tech jobs will stay southern in culture. Thats why Raleigh and surrounding suburbs are losing their southerness and the areas 50 miles outside Raleigh is just as southern as it's always been. Same with NOVA....Once you get about 50-60 miles out of the DC suburbs you start hearing thick drawls again and people would SHUTTER at the idea of being considered anything but a southerner.
Right.
There's a certain "tipping point" when it comes to things like accent as well. People learn their accent mainly from their schoolmates. So the kids of a northern transplant who settles in an area still 90% southern will end up sounding (and largely being culturally) southern. In contrast, if an area is mostly overrun with transplants, the southerners who still go to public schools will begin speaking like northerners, because most of their classmates do.
Politics is a thornier issue. Studies suggest at least a component (but probably not more than half) of our political positioning on the left/right spectrum is due to genetics, so the kids of liberals in the south are all things considered, still somewhat likely to be liberal.
There's a certain "tipping point" when it comes to things like accent as well. People learn their accent mainly from their schoolmates. So the kids of a northern transplant who settles in an area still 90% southern will end up sounding (and largely being culturally) southern. In contrast, if an area is mostly overrun with transplants, the southerners who still go to public schools will begin speaking like northerners, because most of their classmates do.
Politics is a thornier issue. Studies suggest at least a component (but probably not more than half) of our political positioning on the left/right spectrum is due to genetics, so the kids of liberals in the south are all things considered, still somewhat likely to be liberal.
I think that NOVA...and to an increasing degree the Research Triangle are getting in that position where they are sufficiently overrun with transplants. The same can be said for the more affluent northeastern suburbs of Atlanta. These areas have had quickly growing economies especially in the tech, government, and financial sectors which have brought tons and tons of people to the South from all over. I mean...the south has BofA, Wells Fargo, several high level government defense contractors, formerly Wachoia, BB&T, Regions Bank, Verizon, IBM, BMW, Mercedes, and a plethora of other high paying companies.
Case in point: I grew up in Southwestern Virginia in very rural Appalachia in a city that sits on the Tennessee border. I have always had a thick accent. My uncle used to live in Duluth, GA which is a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. When I would go visit I would get mocked for sounding like a redneck by the neighbor kids. This area is fairly wealthy and a lot of the residents are from the northeast. Actually, both of the neighbors on either side of my uncle were from Connecticut and some of the other neighbors were from the Northwest. The entire area felt transient...It was suprisingly even difficult to find a good "down-home" restaurant in his part of the ATL suburbs.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70
I've heard a lot of talk here and in the news about transplants especially from urban areas, the north, or California turning other places more liberal. However in my personal experience its been quite the opposite. Here in Maryland, there are a lot of natives who talk about moving south because they can't stand the government here, with the high taxes, the support for illegal immigration, and the lack of moral values in our schools and society and the decline of family values especially with gay marriage. .
So are you truely asking about a political shift in certain regions or is the underlying premise of the thread really to push a conservative agenda? Has gay marriage made Maryland morally bankrupt? Are gay weddings in Baltimore affecting and disturbing your life personally? Is the sky falling there?
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 04-04-2013 at 09:04 AM..
The most conservative suburbs of Boston are in New Hampshire, a state known for more conservative economic policies and culture than Massachusetts. The most conservative types tended to choose New Hampshire. As New Hampshire has slowly trended to the Democratic Party, the Boston exurbs are now among the most Republican parts of the state. Though being the wealthiest parts of the state helps.
So are you truely asking about a political shift in certain regions or is the underlying premise of the thread really to push a conservative agenda? Has gay marriage made Maryland morally bankrupt? Are gay weddings in Baltimore affecting and disturbing your life personally? Is the sky falling there?
Gay marriage no.......but the new gun control laws, the increased highway tolls, the income tax hike, the increases on the alcohol tax DO affect my life. The statewide plans for "smart growth" REALLY affect my life as it makes suburban and semi-rural living mroe and more expensive. When construction on farmland is limited, and all the growth is directed toward transit-oriented developments, the remaining low-density areas will become mroe and more expensive as the supply declines or remains stagnant and the demand is the same so in fact high density development is very regressive for the middle class and blue collar families.
If you expand it to my family, friends, and others I know, they have also been directly impacted by the cigarette taxes, plastic bag bans in some jurisdictions, and some have lost their jobs due to state government restrictions and unions destroying manufacturing and agriculture here.
The Southern areas I was talking about wasn't the Triangle or Northern Virginia. More places like South Carolina, North Florida, Savannah, and eastern Tennessee. Also if you look at the Baltimore area's exurban counties like Carroll and Harford, many of the MOST conservative people who fled Baltimore City during the 60s and 70s when the crime epidemic really began. And Ive noticed being more educated doesn't necesarily make one more liberal especially as if you make more money, the liberal style income tax hikes affect you MORE. And if you are running your own business, liberal regulations affect you more. There are small business owners who are being regulated and taxed to death here while they can run a very lucrative business in South Carolina or Georgia.
People move for things other than politics. I would think politics would be far down the list of reason to move for most people.
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