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Im not here to change anybody's political views, but I have to categorically disagree with TX being live and let live. Having minority political positions "know their place and sit down" is not "live and let live", and no different than the "have a great day! racism" BS i dealt with during my time in AL. The level of vitriol over masks and the 2020 election here in comal county was legendary, and my family dealt with multiple instances of confrontations by openly social conservatives in public areas that left a pretty sour taste in our continued dwelling here. They're not federally prosecuting 6 residents of this political hegemony of a city over the trump train fiasco last year, for nothing. And that made national news.
Having political silos within a state does not at all mean a place is live and let live. The closest I've got to not having to actively hide my social-democratic politics from my surroundings were two college stints in Atlanta GA and Lafayette IN. I also dealt with relationships with local women (the IN one being my exwife) and can categorically say that outside of the silos of those places, neither place I would construe as live and let live, in fairness to TX.
I used to think college towns were good places to find a live and let live reprieve even in red states, and then i finished my undergrad in Tuscaloosa AL and found out different lol. I could say the same thing about college station.
As to liberal politics and cost of living, that tired talking point is getting turned on its head with covid and all the wfh transitions from the upper middle class, so I won't waste my breath drawing the distinction between causation and correlation with my eight year olds Crayolas for the benefit of those slow at the pickup.
Silos in a big state like TX? Sure, all day.
Live and let live? Not in our experience. Good luck!
Relax. There are more liberals in Texas than in most other states. Biden got more votes in Texas than he did in New York.
I spent over a decade living in Waco which is not even one of the liberal urban areas of Texas and I knew plenty of Democrats and liberals. The difference between Waco and say Vancouver WA where I live now is that in Waco, Dems are outnumbered by Republicans by about 45% to 55% whereas in Vancouver it is the opposite. What that means is that unless you live in urban Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, or El Paso then your politicians are likely to be Republicans. But you'll still meet plenty of liberal people. You'll just be outvoted.
I taught at a big public HS in Waco. I had plenty of openly gay or LGBT students, I had trans students, I had kids with gay parents. No one cared and most were supportive. Some of their older Baptist parents were typical bigots. But the kids were mostly all right. It's not much different from anyplace else.
If you are in a profession that depends on support from the state government, like say, education or public health, then you are likely to be endlessly frustrated by GOP-dominated TX. Or if you want to move to some small town and run for office on a platform of pro-choice and gun control then you'll likely be frustrated as well. But if you just want to live an ordinary life in one of Texas' larger metro areas you won't notice much difference from anyplace else.
Some of the right wing folks here on this forum will be pissed off to see another liberal moving to Texas. But no one you actually meet in real life will care in the slightest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hindsight2020
Im not here to change anybody's political views, but I have to categorically disagree with TX being live and let live. Having minority political positions "know their place and sit down" is not "live and let live", and no different than the "have a great day! racism" BS i dealt with during my time in AL. The level of vitriol over masks and the 2020 election here in comal county was legendary, and my family dealt with multiple instances of confrontations by openly social conservatives in public areas that left a pretty sour taste in our continued dwelling here. They're not federally prosecuting 6 residents of this political hegemony of a city over the trump train fiasco last year, for nothing. And that made national news.
Having political silos within a state does not at all mean a place is live and let live. The closest I've got to not having to actively hide my social-democratic politics from my surroundings were two college stints in Atlanta GA and Lafayette IN. I also dealt with relationships with local women (the IN one being my exwife) and can categorically say that outside of the silos of those places, neither place I would construe as live and let live, in fairness to TX.
I used to think college towns were good places to find a live and let live reprieve even in red states, and then i finished my undergrad in Tuscaloosa AL and found out different lol. I could say the same thing about college station.
As to liberal politics and cost of living, that tired talking point is getting turned on its head with covid and all the wfh transitions from the upper middle class, so I won't waste my breath drawing the distinction between causation and correlation with my eight year olds Crayolas for the benefit of those slow at the pickup.
Silos in a big state like TX? Sure, all day.
Live and let live? Not in our experience. Good luck!
Two divergent, but equally relevant posts. Thanks to you both. To hindsight, if you think Comal was anti-masks, can you imagine what Alabama was like?
College Station residents play nice with the African American athletes but I've heard some stories for sure.
That's (But no one you actually meet in real life will care in the slightest) a pretty bold statement. As usual it depends on circumstances. Overall I would say if you're looking at it from a standpoint of will there be a public display of contempt and dislike with the 'Yankee go home sentiments' hurled, I would say no (unless they are a truly obnoxious in your face type who simply can't shut it and deliberately pushes buttons and continuously draws negative attention to themselves.
I agree about Texans (for the most part) being a live and let live people but again, circumstances. No one likes an outsider coming into their home and trying to cram controversial beliefs upon them. They may not jump up and have a hissy fit, might never say one word but to take this as an indication they could care less would be a mistake.
Being a fish out of water is one thing, being a loudmouth, pushy fish out of water is something else and even then (depending on circumstances) while it might not evoke a public display, it will definitely draw plenty of cold shoulders. So the OP has done her homework and figured Austin correctly and hey that's good, birds of a feather yada yada. But the remark "Outside of Austin, could I be welcomed or do I need to keep my opinions and life to myself?" does raise a flag. I could be wrong but it sounds like OP is set to flaunt her lifestyle and opinions and just craving a good fight. Ugh, who needs this crap.
Another thing, while Texans, for the most part, don't make public scenes about the changes that are occurring in our state, please don't think we're too stupid to realize the consequences of these changes. Some of us have lived here our entire lives and enjoyed our way of life and you bet we are not so ignorant and backwards that we aren't aware this could very well become a thing of the past.
As someone who was a waiter way back when, I assure you my ethnicity has been a factor, as in some customers didn't want me to wait on them.
Why leave Austin? It's the most liberal city in Texas.
I don't live in Austin or Texas, I'm just looking to move out of Virginia. I'm also SSDI and don't make enough money to live in big metros, if money was no object, I'd live in Los Angeles, CA. I also need a place with good public transportation and I wonder if some of the TX suburbs have reasonable public transportation.
LOL, We were just driving through Longview TX this weekend, and my daughter spotted an elaborate Wiccan display in the front yard of a house only two doors down from a large Baptist church.
As has been mentioned, the major cities are pretty liberal, but there are "pockets of liberalism" even in smaller cities.
Without a doubt, this is politically a Red state, but Texas also not easily categorized as to how that might be manifest.
For instance, if you like doing the kinds of things Texans do, you'll generally be welcomed to do them with Texans. Put on some cowboy boots, get a cowboy hat, go to a rodeo...you'll be welcomed. Buy a gun, go to a gun range...you'll be welcomed. Generally speaking, Texans perceive being Texan as more important than being anything else.
I suspect that Wiccan acted Texan in every way but religion, and got along fine.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
8,852 posts, read 10,466,342 times
Reputation: 6670
Quote:
Originally Posted by lonestar2007
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That's (But no one you actually meet in real life will care in the slightest) a pretty bold statement. As usual it depends on circumstances. Overall I would say if you're looking at it from a standpoint of will there be a public display of contempt and dislike with the 'Yankee go home sentiments' hurled, I would say no (unless they are a truly obnoxious in your face type who simply can't shut it and deliberately pushes buttons and continuously draws negative attention to themselves.
I agree about Texans (for the most part) being a live and let live people but again, circumstances. No one likes an outsider coming into their home and trying to cram controversial beliefs upon them. They may not jump up and have a hissy fit, might never say one word but to take this as an indication they could care less would be a mistake.
Being a fish out of water is one thing, being a loudmouth, pushy fish out of water is something else and even then (depending on circumstances) while it might not evoke a public display, it will definitely draw plenty of cold shoulders. So the OP has done her homework and figured Austin correctly and hey that's good, birds of a feather yada yada. But the remark "Outside of Austin, could I be welcomed or do I need to keep my opinions and life to myself?" does raise a flag. I could be wrong but it sounds like OP is set to flaunt her lifestyle and opinions and just craving a good fight. Ugh, who needs this crap.
Another thing, while Texans, for the most part, don't make public scenes about the changes that are occurring in our state, please don't think we're too stupid to realize the consequences of these changes. Some of us have lived here our entire lives and enjoyed our way of life and you bet we are not so ignorant and backwards that we aren't aware this could very well become a thing of the past.
Perhaps, as long as we don't count the aprox. 44% of TX that self-identifies as 'Christian Evangelical', and also rather 'strongly' feels that everyone else oughta share those same 'beliefs' too...
New Study of Christian Nationalism in Texas Should Be A Warning For The Whole Country "Our [Founding] Fathers intended that this nation should be a Christian nation, not because all who lived in it were Christians, but because it was founded on and would be governed and guided by Christian principles.” ― David Barton, Texas historian and author of The Myth of Separation
Barton’s home state, long a breeding ground for right-wing politics, is also a hotbed of Christian Americanism. Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy recently published my Christian Americanism in Texas Politics since 2008, the first extensive study of the subject. The report profiles the major proponents of Christian Americanism in Texas―politicians and non-governmental activists―and examines the tools they use to promote the ideology.The report shows just how pervasive Christian Americanism is in Texas politics, and how the ideology forms part of the official platform of the Texas Republican Party, which has controlled all three branches of state government since 2003. Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and numerous Republican legislators show evidence of Christian Americanist belief, as did Abbott’s predecessor, Rick Perry. Given the core Christian Americanist contention that Christianity should be given privileged status in law and public policy, one would expect to see sympathetic lawmakers introduce a raft of legislation clearly designed to give preferential treatment to Christianity (especially its fundamentalist/evangelical varieties).
Yet few such measures have been introduced in Texas in the past decade, much less made it into law. What we see instead are myriad bills that, though not explicitly pro-Christian, advance the Christian Americanist agenda―such as measures requiring biblical instruction in public schools and allowing school prayer, as well as bills shielding those who discriminate against others on religious grounds. However, these measures are couched in terms of religion generally (for instance, “sincerely held religious beliefs”), rather than Christianity explicitly.
I don't live in Austin or Texas, I'm just looking to move out of Virginia. I'm also SSDI and don't make enough money to live in big metros, if money was no object, I'd live in Los Angeles, CA. I also need a place with good public transportation and I wonder if some of the TX suburbs have reasonable public transportation.
Do you think LA has good public transportation? I know it's got a nice subway system and all but it's still not like what you can find in the northeast. In any case their public transportation still blows everything in Texas away.
I'm not sure Texas would work for you. Sounds like you can't/won't drive and are on a fixed and limited income. The suburbs and small towns with the best transportation are also the most expensive ones. That's also true if you want to stay away from areas where you're surrounded by Trump signs. There must be better options out there for affordable places that aren't ruby red.
I don't live in Austin or Texas, I'm just looking to move out of Virginia. I'm also SSDI and don't make enough money to live in big metros, if money was no object, I'd live in Los Angeles, CA. I also need a place with good public transportation and I wonder if some of the TX suburbs have reasonable public transportation.
In Texas you need a car. The public transportation is not good.
I don't live in Austin or Texas, I'm just looking to move out of Virginia. I'm also SSDI and don't make enough money to live in big metros, if money was no object, I'd live in Los Angeles, CA. I also need a place with good public transportation and I wonder if some of the TX suburbs have reasonable public transportation.
You'll find that outside of the big metros, public transit is basically nonexistent in Texas. This is even more so in the small towns. We are a very car-centric state, and it is too hot here most of the year for there to be anything "walkable."
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