Liberal towns in Idaho (Moscow, Blackfoot: transplants, 2011, crime)

[speedoflight]

I cannot agree more with you re: living in diff places tend to make you more open to different lifestyles and attitudes in different states. I've lived in CA and in TX. One so called blue state and the other, so called red state. I have found that there's a great many so called liberal people in CA who possess a very closed mind. They are only accepting of you if you are like them. I do not consider this "liberal". I consider it the same mentality of those who are conservative and cannot accept anyone but those in the same mind set.

Originally Posted by huntman58

Deeptrance
You’re so right on you’re above post and in that flavor yes Boise is Liberal in life style not politically if you compare it to Berkeley. But very much so when compared to other Idaho towns. As I said before it all really is based on how you see things and were your coming from. As you writing suggest also how many places you have lived in and experienced. I believe people who have lived in many varied places seam to be a bit more open minded based on there life experiences and the ones that have grown up and lived in one area tend to not be as open now there are always some this would not apply to but it is just a personal opinion of mine from living in a few deferent states of this country or visiting others. .Hint been to every state west of the Mississippi river but Alaska and Hawaii and a few east of the river also. lived in 6 of them including Idaho and Calif.

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by speedoflight

I've lived in CA and in TX. One so called blue state and the other, so called red state. I have found that there's a great many so called liberal people in CA who possess a very closed mind. They are only accepting of you if you are like them. I do not consider this "liberal".

Exactly. I'm visiting California right now, am in Sebastopol and have been dishing out my brand of fiery libertarian rants to my leftist friends here who are all in favor of legislating their point of view. I'm just as scared of Hilary Clinton as I am of President Cheney. (That was not a typo. )

While driving through Utah, I met some of the friendliest, most accepting people I've ever met --- and they were conservative Mormons. I was openly telling them that I am a skeptic who doesn't believe in any religion, and it didn't change how they acted toward me at all. Nothing but acceptance, because that's how I treated them. We were appreciative of our mutual respect and our shared love of the natural beauty we were experiencing.

There are plenty of other Mormons who might have pulled their children away from me upon learning that I wasn't one of them, but that's true of any group of people including atheists. I was completely shunned at the one atheist social group I visited in Austin because I mentioned that I used to be a Christian. Wow --- they all just shut down like I had leprosy! It was pathetic, made them look very small-minded and xenophobic. People are people, I don't care what you believe or who you choose to sleep with as long as you are respectful of the rights of others and you're kind to everyone who is a decent human being.

But that's all irrelevant to the question posed by this thread! If a person wants to live in a liberal town, then it's our job to help them find one.

[mark6052]

deeptrance, is it our job to help them find a town with low gay population?
OOPs, different thread.

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by mark6052

deeptrance, is it our job to help them find a town with low gay population?
OOPs, different thread.

They need a laughing smiley, LOL is too worn out.

I suppose we don't have a "job" --- it's just the game played on this site to help people out and I wouldn't personally choose to help someone who seeks things that I personally don't care about. But I wouldn't judge someone for wanting not to be around gays. Makes me wonder about the person, it's a pretty strange motivation for moving. If anything, I would use a high gay population as a positive socioeconomic and cultural indicator, but it's none of my business what someone else prefers (including their choice of who to sleep with.)

Helping someone find liberal towns makes more sense, because "liberal" is a broad category that the person is using to describe a place that has lots of the types of people and activities that he prefers. I'm still not clear on what the goal was in this thread ---- lots of independent coffee houses? Organic produce in the markets? Easy availability of ganja? A good live music scene? Tolerance for diverse lifestyles? *shrug*

[mark6052]

I should start a thread on conservative towns, wait , i know them, diversity is three bars to drink in. culture is watching kids play football. God i love this country.

[WazzuCoop21]

Even the most "liberal" town in Idaho is a far cry from what most people would define as liberal. Idaho is still a very traditionally family values type of state with a high mormon population. If you like the outdoors and open country, more small city kind of life, you will love living in Idaho.

[wildberries61]

Would tend to think liberal thinking is more Ted Kennedy, John Kerry Hillary Clinton list goes on. Sure, this might upset someone when I started the thread was more trying to find the towns to avoid. The town I am in now is half and half and we sure know who is what. Amazing how the older you get the more opinions we all have never knew a town could be so divided let alone Our Country. Its okay to be different as long as in the end we really all want it to turn out right.
As for coffee shops and available ganja wouldn't that be Vancouver!!!

[suzzeque]

My husband and are I currently living in Mountain Home, AR and it is very much the bible belt, highly conservative, Bush land even now, we have friends who really like Moscow, since my husband travels frequently we can live just about anywhere. I am a liberal and from Northern CA I have found this area to be very intolerant, no cultural mix, and I often have to be careful what I say. The KKK headquarters is an hour or so away, would Moscow be an option any other ideas. California has become way to expensive and elitist in my opinion, any thoughts would be appreciated.

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by suzzeque

The KKK headquarters is an hour or so away, would Moscow be an option any other ideas.

One of my oldest brother's childhood buddies from Santa Barbara is a professor at the U of I in Moscow and he loves the area. It has its progressive elements, but don't think you're going to escape the KKK in the interior NW! For every progressive in Idaho, there's a right-winger who will make you feel like Arkansas was at the cutting edge. However, Idaho is changing more rapidly and is more fluid in the dynamics of its culture. Many people are moving there from other areas and its cultural roots aren't as deep as those of the South. Thus.... you might feel like it's an improvement. It's a tough call. Have you looked into some more progressive areas of the South? Or are you looking for a HUGE change? Don't forget that you'll be deprived of humidity and your skin will take time to adapt! Idaho is a world away from any southern state as far as climate is concerned. That might be good or bad depending on your preferences!

[sultresweetie]

Originally Posted by deeptrance

One of my oldest brother's childhood buddies from Santa Barbara is a professor at the U of I in Moscow and he loves the area. It has its progressive elements, but don't think you're going to escape the KKK in the interior NW! For every progressive in Idaho, there's a right-winger who will make you feel like Arkansas was at the cutting edge. However, Idaho is changing more rapidly and is more fluid in the dynamics of its culture. Many people are moving there from other areas and its cultural roots aren't as deep as those of the South. Thus.... you might feel like it's an improvement. It's a tough call. Have you looked into some more progressive areas of the South? Or are you looking for a HUGE change? Don't forget that you'll be deprived of humidity and your skin will take time to adapt! Idaho is a world away from any southern state as far as climate is concerned. That might be good or bad depending on your preferences!

She isn't going to have a problem with the KKK in Idaho. The KKK is the south, and any transplants with the once Hayden Lake compound was disbanded years ago. Those folks were not native Idahoans. In fact, I believe some of the most vocal were from CA. My husband is black and we haven't had any problems with people. We did have one older gentleman while we were visiting Star Valley, WY who thought he was the basketball player, Karl Malone! We both got a good laugh from that experience! I think people take a second glance, because it's so rare to see a black person in the region, but we haven't experienced any racism yet.

From my experience dating interracially in Tampa FL compared to Idaho, the south was much more uncomfortable seeing me with a black man, although it was an equally conservative climate. There were places that I couldn't go or he couldn't go when we were together, because he feared there would be confrontation. Neighborhoods and some establishments were segregated in that respect. That doesn't happen in SE ID, and there is actually a better mix of white and other races than where I lived in Oregon, Latino being the prominant, after white. Even here in the open-minded Bay Area, I've been called a "white *****" in the predominantly black area I live in, and some black women make it known that they do not like the fact that I'm dating a black man. Idiot racists calling themselves "The New Black Panther Party" have made their anti-white sentiments well known around here.

Although, I grew up in SE ID and experienced a lot of negativity being raised liberal and agnostic in Idaho, good people are everywhere in every color and political or religious affiliation, as well as the stupid people, and I didn't have any problems making friends or living my life how I chose. The few self-proclaimed skinheads I came across, were young and ignorant highschoolers, and I really don't think they even knew what they stood for. I think they thought if they shaved their heads and wore combat boots that they were representing. They saved their BS for graffiti swastikas, and would be too cowardly to actually say or do anything to anyone. My husband had the same experience when he was going to college in Fremont, CA. Grown ass men scratching swastikas on the bathroom stalls, but they would never have the cajones to back it up.

I would like to see Idahoans more tolerant of gay people. We are moving forward in San Francisco toward partnership rights, and many companies offer health benefits to domestic partners affecting gay and unmarried straight couples. Idaho is doing just the opposite. However, my best friend growing up in Idaho is a lesbian and wouldn't ever consider leaving.