Liberal/Progressive Place to Retire (conversation, retirees, friend, 19 year old)

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Takoma Park, MD.

LOL. I was thinking the exact same thing.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by artisan4

Does anyone know of a liberal area or community to retire to? For example, though Florida is currently ruled by the righties, is there a liberal community/area in Florida?

Why not stay where you are?

[North Beach Person]

I'm starting to smell a troll thread.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by artisan4

Does anyone know of a liberal area or community to retire to? For example, though Florida is currently ruled by the righties, is there a liberal community/area in Florida?

Just because an area or state has a govn or senators of a particular party doesn't make it one way or the other. There are a lot of liberals in florida. How about NM or Co? Even if you pick a state that leans right, there is more to where one lives than politics or should be and you will always find people who think the way you do if you join the right organizations. Pick a city or town with a major university, they are usually more liberal. Large cities are normally more liberal than small towns.

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

Eureka Springs, Arkansas, although it isn't close to a liberal arts college. Actually anywhere in Northwest Arkansas is pretty liberal these days - Fayetteville, up around Bull Shoals Lake, and then of course Eureka. Very laid back, accepting of most anything. Austin, Texas comes to mind as well, although it's awfully expensive these days. Got the college thing covered, though.

Yeah, some more parameters might help a little bit.

I was about to suggest places like Eueka Springs and even Hot Springs. Oh, BTW, except maybe for Fayetteville, NWA is extremely conservative right now, but we do have friends on both sides and even the libs do not feel totally out of place. Of course all our elected officials, from county clerk to senators are Republicans as are almost all the judges.

Certainly Austin or most of the surrounding areas should work for a lib.

[modhatter]

Jupiter, Florida, Boca Raton, Coral Springs, Key West. This is a generalization but also somewhat factual. Liberal/Progressive areas are generally the higher income areas, and higher percentage of college educated. Boy will I get hate mail on that one. There are a few exceptions here and there, but generally speaking, it rings true. You would think it would be the other way around. It is a mystery to many.

[jm02]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

You know most people don't spend their time discussing politics and causes, doesn't matter whether they're working or retired.

Actually, they do more than you think. When we lived in a very conservative state, it was common that random people would freely blurt out statements conveying thoughts similar to "I'll be glad when Obama is kicked out of office" or "Gay people should not get married." Now that we've moved to a more liberal area, the reverse is true. Acquaintances freely express sentiments along the lines of "Mitt Romney would be a disaster" and " What's the big deal about gay marriage?" Instead of "discussing politics," in each area people most likely assume shared beliefs and probably view their comments as innocuous as saying "Nice weather lately, huh?"

It seems entirely possible this could be an important consideration for the OP if he or she has grown tried of hearing views contrary to theirs freely expressed by strangers for years on end. It did for us. Not sure why people are questioning this. If people don't want to help him or her, just ignore the thread.

[jghorton]

Originally Posted by artisan4

Does anyone know of a liberal area or community to retire to? For example, though Florida is currently ruled by the righties, is there a liberal community/area in Florida?

-Been in Florida many years ... You can find liberal/'progressives' wherever you look for them, but, those who associate liberals with 'progressive' and refer to others as 'righties' ... are generally way too young to retire. Otherwise, they will quickly discover that not too many of the retirement age folks with whom they would be retiring, still classify themselves and others with those labels.

[Yeledaf]

It might be helpful if the OP prepared a survey and distributed it to a random group of people in the areas visited, just to make sure that they were sufficiently progressive. After all, no one wants to interact with people who hold diverse opinions. Separating into segregated, homogeneous camps is the wave of the future.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by artisan4

I'm thinking by the water, in either the New York City area, or around Sarasota FL. Have driven around FL quite a bit and like Siesta Key, but have yet to find a part of Florida that seems 'blue'. Thus far we've been to Panama City Beach....

There are pockets of progressives in northwest Florida, but Panama City Beach is not going to be where you find them. Check out South Walton County. Seaside is an interesting place (if you can afford it!) Also, Tallahassee (Florida State University) has a progressive feel, and more in the way of culture. Beautiful beaches are only 2 hours away.

I'm now in northeast Florida. It still tends to run red here, but people who are more moderate or even liberal do find each other. Still, I can understand why someone would seek simpatico territory.

Sometimes being in the minority can wear a person down. I'm not what anyone would consider a bleeding heart liberal, but the purposeful ignorance of some of the people I deal with on a day-to-day basis can take my breath away.