Torn! - Stay in WA where we love living, or move to Bismarck to be closer to family?

[Tundra dweller]

So you are saying your entire argument for not moving to North Dakota is based solely on your views about abortion rights?

[MidwestNative]

Originally Posted by Tundra dweller

So you are saying your entire argument for not moving to North Dakota is based solely on your views about abortion rights?

No, one argument for not moving to ND is the conservative religiosity in the state, whole region really - this issue isn't just in ND. Abortion rights, by definition, is always part of that dynamic. Other ways this plays out is lack of legal employment protection for people who are gay and lack of women in represented office - these 3 issues and others ones create a culture that is detrimental for both women and men and professional and personal lives. WA is VERY different in all of these respects.

[Tundra dweller]

I'm sorry, but I respectfully don't really agree that those are dominate issues for the vast majority of North Dakota residents.

Washington has 30% women legislatures.
North Dakota has 17%.
The national average is 23%.
Women in State Legislatures 2013

Heidi Heitkamp is one of our two US senators. We only have 1 representative and I don't recall any women ever running for that office off hand in my lifetime.

I have worked with dozens of openly gay people over my lifetime of living here and I've never heard one say they were discriminated against seeking the job they desired based on their sexuality. One of my friends is openly gay, has worked for areas colleges and private businesses and is currently a state representative and a gay rights advocate. He has helped organize the FM Pride parade which runs every year in Fargo. He is encouraged by all the changes he has seen in the past few years.

I also have friends of mine who have picketed the abortion clinic, and I have other friends who have volunteered to escort patients inside from their cars. They seem to coexist just fine and I've never heard them threaten to leave the state because of their personal views.

What I tend to agree with is this recent poll from earlier in 2014 that says North Dakota is the happiest state in the country.
Top 10 Happiest States: Did Yours Make The List? - Forbes

What I do see is tremendous state pride wherever I go.

[MidwestNative]

Originally Posted by fourwinds

At the U of Washington and Seattle, the drug culture runs things so there's free sex and abortion. Kids love the promiscuity associated with the druggies.

Sex is free everywhere, only in a few areas in Nevada do you have to pay for sex. : )