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I would argue that your threshold for "urban counties" is a little high. Omaha, Little Rock, Madison, Des Moines, and even Cedar Rapids all have a an urban-liberal vibe to them. Those are the cities I know best, at least. I could see an argument for Cedar Rapids as rust belt.
The original idea for the map was an article I read claiming there was a cutoff of (IIRC) 600 people per square mile. In counties with higher density, Obama almost always won (I think there were only a few dense counties - Orange County and a few in NJ, which Romney won), but Obama lost less dense counties almost as frequently.
I then decided to look at the counties which were exceptions to this rule. Obviously some of the counties under the threshold are not rural. For example, consider Clark County, Nevada. In theory it isn't dense enough, but in practice much of the county is wasteland and desert. Discounting this it probably makes the "urban" cutoff, but I didn't want to start making random exceptions.
The original idea for the map was an article I read claiming there was a cutoff of (IIRC) 600 people per square mile. In counties with higher density, Obama almost always won (I think there were only a few dense counties - Orange County and a few in NJ, which Romney won), but Obama lost less dense counties almost as frequently.
I then decided to look at the counties which were exceptions to this rule. Obviously some of the counties under the threshold are not rural. For example, consider Clark County, Nevada. In theory it isn't dense enough, but in practice much of the county is wasteland and desert. Discounting this it probably makes the "urban" cutoff, but I didn't want to start making random exceptions.
Right, that does make sense, but I just can't help thinking it doesn't tell the whole story. Clark County is an excellent example - of course it's urban, it has Las Vegas in it, but since it's so big, it falls short. A better statistic to use for a cutoff would be the percentage of population in each county living in areas denser than 600 people per square mile. That way the exceptions wouldn't be so random.
Applying to SUNY Potsdam, among others like SUNY Purchase, etc.
The school itself, from what I've been reading online in College Prowler, a website where students post about their universities/colleges for other students, is generally very tolerant of diversity, it seems. That and while not 100% creative artsy [ they have biology and other sciences, business, education like NM State], it is very artsy I was told by a traditional-aged student at SUNY Potsdam. The Village of Potsdam, from what I read in the school's brochure, is quaint and artsy. However, I would like to know more; the school, another student said, was LGBT-tolerant and open to non-traditional learners. Crane School of Music is there and SUNY Potsdam offers something like 300 performances yearly in theatre and other arts. Sounds like a positive place for arts, both town and school. having formerly lived in Southbury, CT and spent plenty of time around Lower Westchester County [ White Plains and Sleepy Hollow], while SUNY Purchase is 90% creative/liberal/performing arts-focused; the Fairfield-New Haven-Westchester-Putnam County area of NY/CT [ though still fairly artsy] is basically an overpriced, corporate rat-race with freeway traffic similar to California, Denver, or yes, Albuquerque and El Paso!
I briefly lived in both Bath and Wellsville, NY and so was rather surprised at what was mentioned about the Finger Lakes. Both villages/towns had plenty of rednecks [ like "Metro" Las Cruces, NM minus the large Mexican-American population]; though Alfred-another college town with a private [ Alfred College], and " two year" state called SUNY Alfred Tech [ similar to NMSU as in " Aggie" and Technical school], was rather quiet and very open-minded! Similar to Norfolk or Salisbury in Connecticut without the frantic " rush-rush" attitude of the wealthy " professionals" who've overtaken CT's Litchfield County; and the ridiculously expensive housing costs of Connecticut. Hammondsport also seemed pretty nice, slow-paced, and very artsy. It has its " necks" but for the most part they won't bother you. Of course things may have changed since NY State passed marriage equality. Vermont is rather open-minded, but also rather expensive now, more like Connecticut.
The school itself, from what I've been reading online in College Prowler, a website where students post about their universities/colleges for other students, is generally very tolerant of diversity, it seems. That and while not 100% creative artsy [ they have biology and other sciences, business, education like NM State], it is very artsy I was told by a traditional-aged student at SUNY Potsdam. The Village of Potsdam, from what I read in the school's brochure, is quaint and artsy. However, I would like to know more; the school, another student said, was LGBT-tolerant and open to non-traditional learners. Crane School of Music is there and SUNY Potsdam offers something like 300 performances yearly in theatre and other arts. Sounds like a positive place for arts, both town and school. having formerly lived in Southbury, CT and spent plenty of time around Lower Westchester County [ White Plains and Sleepy Hollow], while SUNY Purchase is 90% creative/liberal/performing arts-focused; the Fairfield-New Haven-Westchester-Putnam County area of NY/CT [ though still fairly artsy] is basically an overpriced, corporate rat-race with freeway traffic similar to California, Denver, or yes, Albuquerque and El Paso!
I briefly lived in both Bath and Wellsville, NY and so was rather surprised at what was mentioned about the Finger Lakes. Both villages/towns had plenty of rednecks [ like "Metro" Las Cruces, NM minus the large Mexican-American population]; though Alfred-another college town with a private [ Alfred College], and " two year" state called SUNY Alfred Tech [ similar to NMSU as in " Aggie" and Technical school], was rather quiet and very open-minded! Similar to Norfolk or Salisbury in Connecticut without the frantic " rush-rush" attitude of the wealthy " professionals" who've overtaken CT's Litchfield County; and the ridiculously expensive housing costs of Connecticut. Hammondsport also seemed pretty nice, slow-paced, and very artsy. It has its " necks" but for the most part they won't bother you. Of course things may have changed since NY State passed marriage equality. Vermont is rather open-minded, but also rather expensive now, more like Connecticut.
Upstate NY varies greatly and if you are considering SUNY Potsdam, I say go for it. You may like other SUNY campuses too. Ithaca sounds like a perfect fit in terms of a city/town that you may be looking for and Ithaca College, while private, may be worth a look.
Chatham county in NC is a rural liberal enclave. I'm not sure if there are any other counties in the state that qualify. Most of the blue counties in eastern NC are simply black-majority counties.
Northern CA, most towns in mendocino and humboldt counties.
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Applying to SUNY Potsdam, among others like SUNY Purchase, etc.
