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But you can't remove part of the population to make a city fit what you decide it is. The university culture is part of those and other cities and makes them what they are - more liberal.
Much of the healthcare community jobs in that town are heavily dependent on Medicaid dollars, so there's another reason.
The counties surrounding Charlotte and a few areas of Mecklenburg County (mostly outlying) are the reverse and definitely more Republican.
My perception is that the current Mayor and many others in elected office are more liberal than the constituents they represent, who may trend towards being liberal, but not as radically as some of the elected body. In much of North Carolina, it's the exact opposite, with the state trending conservative, but not as radically as the legislators in the Republican areas (Pittman in adjoining Cabarrus County is the perfect example of this).
Not to veer off the original topic, but to address your points: Gangs have been more of an issue than they used to be as Charlotte has grown, but not the level of LA, Chicago, etc. Charlotte does have drug problems, and some of the drug crime isn't in the stereotypically bad areas:
But you can't remove part of the population to make a city fit what you decide it is. The university culture is part of those and other cities and makes them what they are - more liberal.
I think if Raleigh, at least in town proper, didn't have a fair percentage of state workers it would be a bit more blue. Seems consistent with every other capitol city in the nation. Culturally bureaucrats aren't traditionally folks into rocking the boat.
So there's more to consider to NC's towns than liberal or conservative. NC is a bi-polar state, which has helped make it more progressive than some of its neighbors. But you have to choose the right kind of conservative or liberal town depending on your specific brand.
As far as liberal towns in NC, Asheville wins this one hands down. However, the suburbs surrounding Asheville are some of the most conservative areas in the state. It's like a jelly doughnut. A blue core surrounded on all sides by hot red. Asheville itself is very bohemian. Lots of artsy shops, drum circles and some very nice neighborhoods. But come Friday nights, downtown Asheville lets its freak flag fly. At times, I have felt unsafe walking Asheville at night.
If you're more of the purple middle of the road type, Black mountain is a really cute alternative to Asheville. It has all the charm, but a little less bohemian. Super safe, and Mayberry like. There's a good mix there. Billy Graham lives in Montreat, just north of Black Mountain, but people tend to be polite and respectful of differences there.
Winston-Salem and the triad are red as red gets, and are probably the most rabidly republican areas of the state, with the one exception of the neighborhoods east of US 52 between downtown Winston and Kernersville. Parts of Winston are very sketchy. Its a bi-polar city at best. There's a definite line in WS. Don't cross 52. It's the most stark contrast of Blue vs Red I've seen just about anywhere. The Ardmore neighborhood is full of medical residents and a pretty safe area. Buena Vista is a VERY wealthy area full of old money conservatives. The Sherwood Forest neighborhood is probably as close as you'll get to middle of the road in WS. Kernersville is blood red, and kind of like a mini version of Durham in the opposite direction. I don't recommend it.
Can't agree with this. Forsyth and Guilford typically vote Democrat in recent presidential cycles. Wouldn't that alone disqualify as being 'as red as it gets? or 'the most rapidly republican areas in the state." This is hyperbole and just plain out uninformed.
I pulled the presidential election map from 2016 (nytimes) that lets you see results by county.
Forsyth (Winston) voted democrat 53%. Guilford (Greensboro) 58%. For comparison, Wake county voted Hillary 57.4%. Buncomb County (home of "ultra liberal" Ashville) 54.3%
Can't agree with this. Forsyth and Guilford typically vote Democrat in recent presidential cycles. Wouldn't that alone disqualify as being 'as red as it gets? or 'the most rapidly republican areas in the state." This is hyperbole and just plain out uninformed.
I pulled the presidential election map from 2016 (nytimes) that lets you see results by county.
Forsyth (Winston) voted democrat 53%. Guilford (Greensboro) 58%. For comparison, Wake county voted Hillary 57.4%. Buncomb County (home of "ultra liberal" Ashville) 54.3%
Yeah, every major city in the state has a solid democratic majority, and most of those democrats are fairly liberal. Particularly in places like Chapel Hill and Asheville, which voted for Sanders over Clinton in the primary.
The rural areas in the Piedmont and Western NC are dark red. The rural areas in eastern NC are a mix of dark red, and dark blue (from a large rural black population).
Asheville and Chapel Hill are super conservative. While Inside the Beltine, Raleigh and the suburbs of Charlotte are super liberal. Everywhere else is normal..................
I don't know much about Asheville, but chapel hill most certainly is as liberal as CNN itself
Eastern North Carolina is racially polarized when it come to voting patterns. Majority white counties vote Republican while Majority Black counties vote Democrat. There's a few holdouts (BLADEN), but that is the general rule of thumb.
Western North Carolina is largely Republican and Conservative. Some of the reddest counties in the state are found in WNC.
Out of all the cities:
Durham, Chapel Hill, and Asheville would be the most liberal.
Greensboro, Charlotte, Cary and Raleigh would be on the next tier.
Fayetteville, Greenville, and Winston-Salem would be on the tier after that.(High Point could be either on this tier or the next tier)
Followed by Wilmington, Concord, and Gastonia
Then Jacksonville.
Most of the smaller cities (40,000 - 70,000) tend to be in red counties.
Eastern North Carolina is racially polarized when it come to voting patterns. Majority white counties vote Republican while Majority Black counties vote Democrat. There's a few holdouts (BLADEN), but that is the general rule of thumb.
Western North Carolina is largely Republican and Conservative. Some of the reddest counties in the state are found in WNC.
Out of all the cities:
Durham, Chapel Hill, and Asheville would be the most liberal.
Greensboro, Charlotte, Cary and Raleigh would be on the next tier.
Fayetteville, Greenville, and Winston-Salem would be on the tier after that.(High Point could be either on this tier or the next tier)
Followed by Wilmington, Concord, and Gastonia
Then Jacksonville.
Most of the smaller cities (40,000 - 70,000) tend to be in red counties.
What's with the Winston Salem misinformation on this thread? Winston Salem is on the same tier as Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh. In the past election it went by a 10 percentage point margin to Clinton.
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