Shenandoah Valley - is it a place liberals can live? (Winchester: homes, transfer)

[sydneyfrak]

I might be getting transferred to the Front Royal area. I was initially excited because it is such a beautiful area, but then I heard disparaging comments about the entire Shenandoah Valley and was told by another coworker that, with my "liberal views", I would be miserable there. Is it a backward area? I can't imagine being an hour from DC that it's that bad, especially since I grew up in the rural Midwest.

[Denton56]

No, it's not the least bit backwards! They are normal Americans who support the Constitution, love America, work hard, love their families, and don't make judgments about how other people live! Plus it's beautiful country out there! You will find that country people are much more tolerant than city folk. Just ask my gay hairdresser who lives with his partner in Front Royal! They say people out there are much more ''live and let live'' than the judgmental folks in the suburbs.

[Stephen 81]

Front Royal isn't a liberal area by any stretch of the imagination, but you won't be the only liberal there, either (McCain carried the county 55-43 in '08). As a liberal, it wouldn't be my ideal place to live, even for rural Virginia, but I don't think it'd be that different from the rural Midwest, politically. And it'll be a hell of a lot prettier with the views of the Blue Ridge!

I'm sure this was unintentional, but your post kind of sounds like the opposite of liberal is backwards. Backwards places can be found everywhere on the political spectrum.

[Alicia Bradley]

Originally Posted by Stephen 81

As a liberal, it wouldn't be my ideal place to live, even for rural Virginia, but I don't think it'd be that different from the rural Midwest, politically. And it'll be a hell of a lot prettier with the views of the Blue Ridge!

Stephen, given that the 'Midwest' (I'll humor you and pretend the definition of 'Midwest' doesn't vary each time it's discussed) is the largest geographic section of the United States, don't you think you might be generalizing a bit, here? I LOVE the Shenandoah Valley (in fact, I'd far, far rather live there than on the Potomac, for instance), but to say something silly like it's 'prettier than the Midwest,' without even specifying what area of the 'Midwest' you're talking about (I'm thinking a cornfield in central IL or something like that, right?) is just, well, a good example of the kind of thing that reeeeally annoys me. Also, there are rural areas in several of the Great Lakes states that are quite blue - more so than most of rural VA, to be sure. I suppose we should find out where specifically sydneyfrak is from before making any conclusions about how it would compare culturally/politically/scenically/etc. to the Shenandoah Valley.

To the OP, Front Royal is a pretty shabby little town, which is sad, since it's one of those places with a generous handful of gorgeous old homes and a downtown area that looks like it might've been very cute back in the day. I think there are some subdivisions of McMansions that are considered to be part of Front Royal, too.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by sydneyfrak

I might be getting transferred to the Front Royal area. I was initially excited because it is such a beautiful area, but then I heard disparaging comments about the entire Shenandoah Valley and was told by another coworker that, with my "liberal views", I would be miserable there. Is it a backward area? I can't imagine being an hour from DC that it's that bad, especially since I grew up in the rural Midwest.

Damn. I didn't know I was "backwards" due to my conservative views. But I'll humor you. Don't move here or we'll eat you up.

[goozer]

Moderator Cut

As for the OP's question, most of the larger towns in the Shenandoah region tend to be more republican-oriented, but there is a pretty decent mix of political leanings. Front Royal itself is only about an hour from Washington, D.C., and the area is populated by many second homes of well-to-do folks from the city, as well as others who have opted to move out that way for retirement or a slower pace of life. It's not exactly a hardcore appalachian mountain town, stricken by poverty. That said, if you are looking for a slightly more liberal vibe in the same general region, I might also check out Warrenton and Winchester, although they are about 20-30 miles away from Front Royal and they are not really "in" the mountains to the same extent.

[car54]

I'll never understand questions like this...who cares if an area is liberal or conservative? Just keep your political views to yourself, don't put political bumper stickers on your car...and you'll be fine!

NEVER discuss politics (or religion) with strangers, co-workers, or acquaintances...it's pointless. Just live your own life and don't try to "convert" anybody to your way of thinking.

That's why there's a curtain on voting booths!

PS: If you simply must discuss politics....do it online with people you'll never, ever meet!

[normie]

Originally Posted by sydneyfrak

I might be getting transferred to the Front Royal area. I was initially excited because it is such a beautiful area, but then I heard disparaging comments about the entire Shenandoah Valley and was told by another coworker that, with my "liberal views", I would be miserable there. Is it a backward area? I can't imagine being an hour from DC that it's that bad, especially since I grew up in the rural Midwest.

I guess it all depends on whether or not you need to be surrounded by people who think exactly the same as you do. I'm a person with liberal views who is proud to live in a diverse neighborhood... and that includes diversity of political points of view.

[normie]

Originally Posted by car54

I'll never understand questions like this...who cares if an area is liberal or conservative? Just keep your political views to yourself, don't put political bumper stickers on your car...and you'll be fine!!

I agree with this 100%.

I'm actually fairly active in politics, but you'd never guess it to look at my car or my front yard. I DESPISE political signs and bumper stickers. The two things I volunteer for during elections are to register voters and to pull those damn signs out of the medians on the day after elections. Signs along the highway median make me especially annoyed and I have been known on occasion to vote against a particular politician if I don't really care about the issues and I see too many of his signs all over the place.

Bumper stickers and signs are a waste of paper, make our beautiful green spaces look trashy, and cause neighbors to fight.

[Stephen 81]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

Stephen, given that the 'Midwest' (I'll humor you and pretend the definition of 'Midwest' doesn't vary each time it's discussed) is the largest geographic section of the United States, don't you think you might be generalizing a bit, here? I LOVE the Shenandoah Valley (in fact, I'd far, far rather live there than on the Potomac, for instance), but to say something silly like it's 'prettier than the Midwest,' without even specifying what area of the 'Midwest' you're talking about (I'm thinking a cornfield in central IL or something like that, right?) is just, well, a good example of the kind of thing that reeeeally annoys me. Also, there are rural areas in several of the Great Lakes states that are quite blue - more so than most of rural VA, to be sure. I suppose we should find out where specifically sydneyfrak is from before making any conclusions about how it would compare culturally/politically/scenically/etc. to the Shenandoah Valley.

When the OP said "I can't imagine being an hour from DC that it's that bad, especially since I grew up in the rural Midwest," with bad meaning backwards/conservative, it's a pretty safe assumption that the OP is not from a blue rural area of the Midwest, like upper Wisconsin.

I understand why you don't like it when people make blanket statements about the Midwest. Like every region of the county, there is almost as much internal diversity there as there are differences between the Midwest and other regions of the country. That said, how would you recommend that we use terms like Midwest, South, East Coast and West Coast? All of them get used on C-D on a regular basis, and they are equally generic.