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But this is not true and just your opinion. When it comes to facts sunbelt cities lack in many QOL metrics.
Horrible transportation
Lack of accessibility to many simple things. God forbid your car gets towed in many sunbelt areas.
Food deserts scattered everywhere
Lack of tenant rights
High obesity
Shorter lifespans Pro red politics and lower education amenities etc.
Etc etc
You regard conservative politics as degrading the quality of life of the Sunbelt. You regard this not just as an opinion, but as a fact. What you seem to overlook is that I, and many others, would argue that conservative politics actually enhances the region's quality of life. Indeed, it might explain, at least in part, why some of the people moving to the Sunbelt have chosen to do so.
You regard conservative politics as degrading the quality of life of the Sunbelt. You regard this not just as an opinion, but as a fact. What you seem to overlook is that I, and many others, would argue that conservative politics actually enhances the region's quality of life. Indeed, it might explain, at least in part, why some of the people moving to the Sunbelt have chosen to do so.
I’m a South Carolina blue. I’m a native South Carolinian. There are many aspects of rural South Carolina that make for a low quality of life for a high percentage of rural residents, except that in the majority of their minds, living in the country or a small town where it’s not crowded makes for a better quality of life.
South Carolina’s largest cities are mostly blue, despite majority white populations. The suburbs are less red than they once were. I believe that people moving here because it’s a red state are overlooking the fact that it’s actually a burgundy state due to blue residents, and I believe blue residents are increasing in number here because they don’t like the cold and high cost of living on average any more than red people do.
But this is not true and just your opinion. When it comes to facts sunbelt cities lack in many QOL metrics.
Horrible transportation
Lack of accessibility to many simple things. God forbid your car gets towed in many sunbelt areas.
Food deserts scattered everywhere
Lack of tenant rights
High obesity
Shorter lifespans
Pro red politics and lower education amenities etc.
Etc etc
It's no secret compared to the rest of America, the south generally has the worst QOL for any American. Higher obesity rates,shorter, diet and lack of public transportation does contribute to poor health.
Despite this though, these problems still exist for Black Americans in other parts of the country outside the south. Those list of metrics you listed generally impact lower income areas. Black Americans in predominately middle class to affluent communities in major and minor sunbelt cities have access to all kind of high quality amenities. We don't live in food deserts. We have average to longer lifespans. Also have access to high quality education. We don't have public transportation though. Can't win on that front.
But according to this list the worst cities for Black Americans tend to be in Midwest and Northeast States. Even though we know states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas are at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to education and poverty, these particular cities listed on the other hand still made the list for worst cities for African Americans. Illinois and New York state dominated this list btw.
That's why I would break down metropolitan areas when it comes to QOL metrics. Where are Black Americans generally fairing better when we break down metropolitan areas.
Because I've been all over this country and I couldn't tell you if Black folks in lower income or working class communities of Elizabeth, New Jersey or Newark or Staten Island were better off than Black folks in those same conditions in Jackson, Miss or Baton Rogue, LA. To this day one of the worst areas I been to where I saw Black People living in straight despair from top to bottom was Newark and Camden,NJ. Never seen that level of poverty growing up in East Texas or when I moved to Houston. Don't get me wrong there's blighted areas but didn't seem like it was quite the level of those 2 cities.
But I won't make the claim that the Southeast is far more superior when it comes to QOL than the Northeast. There's a lot of places in the Southeast or the South in general I would never move to because of it's lack of QOL. I think there's a clear difference between the Houston, DFW, Charlotte and Atlanta's METRO areas compared to some of these other smaller micropolitan areas in the south.
I’m a South Carolina blue. I’m a native South Carolinian. There are many aspects of rural South Carolina that make for a low quality of life for a high percentage of rural residents, except that in the majority of their minds, living in the country or a small town where it’s not crowded makes for a better quality of life.
South Carolina’s largest cities are mostly blue, despite majority white populations. The suburbs are less red than they once were. I believe that people moving here because it’s a red state are overlooking the fact that it’s actually a burgundy state due to blue residents, and I believe blue residents are increasing in number here because they don’t like the cold and high cost of living on average any more than red people do.
South Carolina isn't the only red state where this is the case.
In fact, I can think of only one red state whose cities are also red: Oklahoma.
Otherwise, even red-state cities vote blue. It's why I say that the actual divide in this country isn't red state/blue state but urban/rural. The rural parts of a number of blue states are pretty conservative as well.
I’m a South Carolina blue. I’m a native South Carolinian. There are many aspects of rural South Carolina that make for a low quality of life for a high percentage of rural residents, except that in the majority of their minds, living in the country or a small town where it’s not crowded makes for a better quality of life.
South Carolina’s largest cities are mostly blue, despite majority white populations. The suburbs are less red than they once were. I believe that people moving here because it’s a red state are overlooking the fact that it’s actually a burgundy state due to blue residents, and I believe blue residents are increasing in number here because they don’t like the cold and high cost of living on average any more than red people do.
IIRC South Carolina isn't drifting to the left appreciably over time, unlike VA/NC/GA, mostly because the transplants it attracts are not all that different in terms of political spread than the population as a whole.
The average white transplant is a bit more likely to vote for Democrats than a native-born white, but overall the transplant population is much whiter than the state as a whole, so it cancels out.
It's no secret compared to the rest of America, the south generally has the worst QOL for any American. Higher obesity rates,shorter, diet and lack of public transportation does contribute to poor health.
Despite this though, these problems still exist for Black Americans in other parts of the country outside the south. Those list of metrics you listed generally impact lower income areas. Black Americans in predominately middle class to affluent communities in major and minor sunbelt cities have access to all kind of high quality amenities. We don't live in food deserts. We have average to longer lifespans. Also have access to high quality education. We don't have public transportation though. Can't win on that front.
But according to this list the worst cities for Black Americans tend to be in Midwest and Northeast States. Even though we know states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas are at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to education and poverty, these particular cities listed on the other hand still made the list for worst cities for African Americans. Illinois and New York state dominated this list btw.
That's why I would break down metropolitan areas when it comes to QOL metrics. Where are Black Americans generally fairing better when we break down metropolitan areas.
Because I've been all over this country and I couldn't tell you if Black folks in lower income or working class communities of Elizabeth, New Jersey or Newark or Staten Island were better off than Black folks in those same conditions in Jackson, Miss or Baton Rogue, LA. To this day one of the worst areas I been to where I saw Black People living in straight despair from top to bottom was Newark and Camden,NJ. Never seen that level of poverty growing up in East Texas or when I moved to Houston. Don't get me wrong there's blighted areas but didn't seem like it was quite the level of those 2 cities.
But I won't make the claim that the Southeast is far more superior when it comes to QOL than the Northeast. There's a lot of places in the Southeast or the South in general I would never move to because of it's lack of QOL. I think there's a clear difference between the Houston, DFW, Charlotte and Atlanta's METRO areas compared to some of these other smaller micropolitan areas in the south.
Something to keep in mind even with that list is that many also may be refugee relocation hubs that get people that are coming with very little, have a strong college presence that may skew towards a higher educational attainment gap and the information is based off of estimates, which can vary. With that said, there are some aspects that could be improved on in these areas for sure, but many of those areas also have black residents with a good QOL as well.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 05-16-2023 at 07:38 AM..
Could you link to one of the census tables you used to pull the numbers? I'm curious because I've struggled in the past to differentiate between longtime African-Americans and second gen Caribbean or African Americans in the Census tables.
Also do we have any way of telling where the migration is coming from? Like how many of those moving to Atlanta are coming from San Francisco versus rural parts of Georgia (or elsewhere in the South) that are outside of MSAs?
I'm a bit surprised by Richmond and Virginia Beach being so negative.
I am too and while I know COL have increased in both, I would have thought that both would have gained versus having a loss.
I don't understand why this thread has become about the Northeast vs. the Southeast, when it's been shown statistically speaking that the Reverse Great Migration is heavily from the Midwest.
Again, Black people aren't leaving the Midwest for COL reasons. Even in Chicagoland, you can buy a house on the South Side (or within the black suburbs) for under $150,000; often way, way under that.
The top ten metros losing black folks include places like New York, Miami, and San Francisco, and LA so it’s not just the Midwest losing black population.
I am too and while I know COL have increased in both, I would have thought that both would have gained versus having a loss.
If I had to guess, wages haven’t kept up with the increase in COL. Why move to VA beach or Richmond if you can go north to DC or south to NC or Atlanta and likely have a better QOL? VA beach also has a huge military presence which increases costs of living and both are relatively small cities.
I do think Virginia is a bit underrated as it does have a lot of areas with a large relatively wealthy black population with relatively low crime and good schools.
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