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There's good money to be had in healthcare in California. If you play your cards right (shop carefully on Craigslist), you can still find studio or 1BR/1BA apartments in good areas of any major CA metropolis for $1300/month or less. Well, not like San Francisco or downtown L.A., but you can just go south from SF into Daly City or north from DTLA into Burbank and find surprisingly good deals. Shop wisely, but you can make it in CA, even if gas prices go up to $5+/gallon next year due to new carbon pricing laws back there (b/c you can always take rail in the Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego, or even Los Angeles' rapidly expanding rail network).
I do agree, Nashville is a superior city to Cincinnati or St. Louis. Cincinnati and St. Louis do, however, have the potential to blow Nashville out of the water in livability if they could shed their Midwestern cultural conservative mentalities; I could say the same for Louisville even, which is kind of Midwestern in bent. In fact, Cincinnati and environs could be a sort of San Francisco of the Midwest if there wasn't so much in-fighting between the City of Cincinnati, the Ohio suburbs, and the northern Kentucky suburbs; it's really a sad situation over there. Nashville has long had a creative bent, however, and the city has obviously done a brilliant job of using that to its advantage.
An aside: With StL and Cincinnati still living in the 1960s with regards to racial relations and Cincinnati incapable of accomplishing the greatness it deserves, I think Louisville could well be the next "on the map" city in that general part of the U.S. And I don't even love Louisville, but I call it as I see it. Louisville has a good blend (well, relative to other Midwestern cities) of civic vision, bold but careful initiatives, community pride (Louisvillians are almost as defensive about their town as Texans are about their state), and healthy population and business growth, plus an inner city that, while hardly the best in the U.S. in terms of crime, is still a bit safer than the inner cities of StL, Cincinnati, and even Nashville. (Louisville's crime stats are somewhat "low," but that's considering all of Jefferson County, not the old city limits, and no less specific neighborhoods.) Anyway, Louisville could "pull it off" if it plays its cards right.
I def would be open to moving to Northern California and the Bay Area. I really love visiting that area. I always wanted to live out west before. The people are a lot more socially progressive than the midwest and south. California is an amazing place to visit. California has some issues.. not big on their politics and social programs but the scenery, weather and people make California my favorite state to visit. So much to do in California and the weather is near perfect. I like it it cool and dry 65-80 and no humidity. Someday I will move out West but for right now I have to stay close to family. My gf wants to stay close to her family in Nashville.
Do you think a person can be left wing and still enjoy living in the South or at least certain parts of it? Or is the social atmosphere and politics/way things work so overwhelmingly conservative that it would drive a progressive crazy?
In my experience, southerners keep their opinions to themselves for the most part.
Natives aren't going to try to make accommodations for anyone. Whether they are liberal or conservative. It's your job to be respectful and adapt. I'm as conservative as they come and I would never dream of moving to someplace like West Hollywood or Paris and expect them to accept my views with open arms and getting into arguments with the locals just because they don't adhere to them. That is the mind of an entitled person. I keep my personal opinions to myself and be kind and respectful and I always have friends. Period. If you can't do that, don't move anywhere.
You prove my point perfectly.
While I understand where you're coming from, the local shouldn't be so closed-minded in regards to the newcomer. Eyes should be open on BOTH sides... and while the newcomer should be more open to adapting to the place they have moved, it is still respectful for the local to hear the thoughts and opinions of the newcomer (ONLY if the subject comes up and not otherwise)
Do you think a person can be left wing and still enjoy living in the South or at least certain parts of it? Or is the social atmosphere and politics/way things work so overwhelmingly conservative that it would drive a progressive crazy?
Well, what issues are important to you? There are many enclaves in the South that are liberal. Southerners get a bad wrap for being tough and rude but in my experience the "old south" (Charleston, Savannah) is very welcoming and nice.
Natives aren't going to try to make accommodations for anyone. Whether they are liberal or conservative. It's your job to be respectful and adapt. I'm as conservative as they come and I would never dream of moving to someplace like West Hollywood or Paris and expect them to accept my views with open arms and getting into arguments with the locals just because they don't adhere to them. That is the mind of an entitled person. I keep my personal opinions to myself and be kind and respectful and I always have friends. Period. If you can't do that, don't move anywhere.
It might be a little disheartening to know your vote for statewide office is nothing more than a throwaway, but other than that politics probably aren't the overriding theme that will cause you discomfort in the South. If you're in the PNW now the climate and geography will be much bigger buzzkills than the politics.
Why would the geography be a buzzkill in the PNW? Amazing mountain ranges, hills, lakes, forests don't sound like a buzzkill to me.
I have heard of left wing people leaving east TN because of the red state/conservative nature of our area. However some liberals do just fine, as long as they are respectful about their disagreements with the prevailing conservative traditional values of the south. If a liberal was as "open minded" as they claim to be, then they could be happy in the south. Again that would mean tolerating and respecting those who hold some conservative religious beliefs. I think the same could be said for a conservative person going to live in a New England city like Boston, or in the PNW. If the conservative was respectful of the liberal/progressive culture in those places they would probably do ok living in them. However anyone who moves to a place and challenges the values of the area will likely end up socially osteracized, and miserable with the place.
You do know that much of the PNW is conservative, right? The majority of counties in Washington and Oregon are republican. In WA the State legislature is Republican-controlled.
Im a green/socialist, artist, musician who was raised in Philly and my Wife was born and raised in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
We've lived all over the east coast, from Vermont to Florida, and would never live in the north again. I even hate going back to visit, these days. The pace, too many people, lot's of anger. Every place has its plusses and minus's. The South has dopey politics but there are other things that make the quality of life much better. I suppose it all depends what your priorities are.
Why would the geography be a buzzkill in the PNW? Amazing mountain ranges, hills, lakes, forests don't sound like a buzzkill to me.
Other way around. Geography and climate are better in the PNW than the south.
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