Is picking a place to live by political leanings a new thing?

[VoxTerra]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaGal

Don't move to our area - very LIBERAL/Young Progressives and I have had a touch of their nastiness. When you are on Nextdoor you find out just exactly what your neighbors are like and political leanings. Should you give a description of an individual who has robbed in your neighborhood - you are labeled a racist. It's just crazy.

My husband and I want to move but have decided to just mind our own business - don't talk to anyone but our immediate neighbors who are great and that's it...Our block is diverse BUT the people are kind w/ good hearts. We love them. We will stick it out until he can retire and than move to Prescott, AZ

It's the young people who are bad.

EXACTLY. We love in SoCal and are looking forward to getting out ASAP for these reasons. (that and the ridiculous taxes)

[emptynest52]

"I've never actually seen or heard of a place where you're ostracized or ridiculed for politics or religion"

Someone posted,"Then you've never lived in Texas."

I say, "Then you've never lived in Oregon."

[pvande55]

Good schools and Propinquity to employment or rail transit are key. Some place a premium on shopping, especially grocery. I know some who drew a mile radius circle centered on their church and only looked there. These are all way ahead of political beliefs.

[Elna Rae]

Originally Posted by pvande55

Good schools and Propinquity to employment or rail transit are key. Some place a premium on shopping, especially grocery. I know some who drew a mile radius circle centered on their church and only looked there. These are all way ahead of political beliefs.

This "rail transit" which you speak of... what is that?

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by VoxTerra

EXACTLY. We love in SoCal and are looking forward to getting out ASAP for these reasons. (that and the ridiculous taxes)

We get a lot of people fleeing CA for more conservative TX--
I think there are plenty of people in TX who are not happy with the GOP--especially Trump---but they feel they don't have lot of options
The National DNC doesn't really support on local races and there often are no Democrats to run for judges or other state/county slots and gerrymandering has helped to cut the voting power of Democrats in some precincts from a mixed group of voters to a shape that guarantees a GOP winner (court cased heard by Supreme Court earlier this year)

We -who are Democrats --will vote in the Republican primaries to vote for the BEST option among GOP candidates--
And moderate Republicans often are voted down in favor of more alt-right candidates...because of the conservative (alt-right) attitude of some of people in my precinct and county and state...

Teachers in my state are seeing what voting for long term GOP legislatures and Governors is doing to their Teacher Retirement system health care coverage...while the state's employee health coverage --which covers legislators and other state employees, and teachers in state schools like UT or local community colleges--offers better coverage and more fair premiums...because the legislature votes to support that plan with more money.
For the TRS plan it pays the bare minimum it can legally escape with...unless special circumstances put pressure/public scrutiny on it to up the ante---like this past legislative cycle--but it was still a bandaid vs a real solution...
Many teachers are finally complaining about the lack of support by the legislature for educators but this didn't start last year--and I imagine most of them voted for the GOP members who sold them down the river
It will be interesting to see if this issue with health insurance makes a real difference in the voting booth...

You can put any kind of sign in your yard to blend in--but it is how you vote that really matters...

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by pvande55

Good schools and Propinquity to employment or rail transit are key. Some place a premium on shopping, especially grocery. I know some who drew a mile radius circle centered on their church and only looked there. These are all way ahead of political beliefs.

I would say if someone is looking within a mile radius of their church that says a lot about their political beliefs...
I would be surprised if those people were Catholics--or even Baptists--more likely evangelical Christians type churches...
And I had someone buy the house across the street from us (before we bought ours) because it WAS closer to their church than the house they moved from about 10 miles further south..(and in less $ neighborhood with less upwardly mobile neighbors---which I am sure played a part in decision. They moved from that house to neighborhood MORE upwardly mobile and $$$ a year or so ago)...

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by loves2read

We get a lot of people fleeing CA for more conservative TX--
I think there are plenty of people in TX who are not happy with the GOP--especially Trump---but they feel they don't have lot of options
The National DNC doesn't really support on local races and there often are no Democrats to run for judges or other state/county slots and gerrymandering has helped to cut the voting power of Democrats in some precincts from a mixed group of voters to a shape that guarantees a GOP winner (court cased heard by Supreme Court earlier this year)

We -who are Democrats --will vote in the Republican primaries to vote for the BEST option among GOP candidates--
And moderate Republicans often are voted down in favor of more alt-right candidates...because of the conservative (alt-right) attitude of some of people in my precinct and county and state...

Teachers in my state are seeing what voting for long term GOP legislatures and Governors is doing to their Teacher Retirement system health care coverage...while the state's employee health coverage --which covers legislators and other state employees, and teachers in state schools like UT or local community colleges--offers better coverage and more fair premiums...because the legislature votes to support that plan with more money.
For the TRS plan it pays the bare minimum it can legally escape with...unless special circumstances put pressure/public scrutiny on it to up the ante---like this past legislative cycle--but it was still a bandaid vs a real solution...
Many teachers are finally complaining about the lack of support by the legislature for educators but this didn't start last year--and I imagine most of them voted for the GOP members who sold them down the river
It will be interesting to see if this issue with health insurance makes a real difference in the voting booth...

You can put any kind of sign in your yard to blend in--but it is how you vote that really matters...

As I've told you before, what happens or is legal in Texas does not necessarily transfer to the rest of the country no matter what you Texans may think.

I live in a deep blue, Democrat dominated state and the immediately prior Governor, Martin O'Malley, and the Democrat dominated Legislature almost bankrupted the teacher portion of the State Retirement System, as well as the highway user fund, during his eight years by spending on every feel good program that you can think of.

[loves2read]

And I agree--what happens in TX doesn't always happen in other states--
In my state the teacher retirement fund is not accessible by the legislature--it is controlled by the Teacher Retirement system and is not part of the general fund nor can the legislature withdraw any monies from it
It is rated as better performing and has better longevity than the state's own employee plan..the legislature would LOVE to take over our retirement annuity program and use it for other purposes
The state's employee retirement system is not in as good a shape as recent article shows---
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08...rying-workers/

Note the reference to the state's persistant underfunding of this employee retirement plan as one reason it is underfunded and likely to stay that way...
Of course most cities and states' employee pension funds are underfunded because of the accounting rules which allow them to project a higher rate of return than they actually achieve...and allowed them to seem viable after they fell into underfunded status...

The article also cites the head of the employee pension board who blames a "national recession" as part of the problem---when Texas was one of the few states that saw a better reaction during the 08-09 recession than most other states--
PS the governor in 2000--was Rick Perry (GOP/friend of business) who served longer than any govenor...and we have had GOP governors since Bush won before 2000--and the legislature has been GOP that long as well--there was even heavy GOP presence when Ann Richardson was govenor...

Our housing industry was more resilient than most states, oil which was big part of economy was in full swing with lot of shale drilling and production which gave income on state-owned royalty interests to the state coffers...we had people moving TO Texas from other states with floundering economies--and believe me this state doesn't offer lot of benefits to those who can't support themselves...we also had many industries/businesses moving to Texas because of the no-income-tax status--it is a very friendly state to business--sometimes too friendly for its own good...

And article in today's FTW paper about how people in the DFW area are becoming incensed about the toll roads they are forced to use which are controlled by private companies now that the state abandoned most of its role in building/enlarging roads for public use...

[ACWhite]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

As I've told you before, what happens or is legal in Texas does not necessarily transfer to the rest of the country no matter what you Texans may think.

I live in a deep blue, Democrat dominated state and the immediately prior Governor, Martin O'Malley, and the Democrat dominated Legislature almost bankrupted the teacher portion of the State Retirement System, as well as the highway user fund, during his eight years by spending on every feel good program that you can think of.

The evidence cited in this article does not support your assertions. Maybe you have other evidence.

Underfunded state pension system will be challenge for Hogan team - Baltimore Sun