Trying to gauge if I’m going crazy or a little too much “online.”
I currently live in Texas, and moving has been on my mind a lot lately as the Republican party and Texas itself seems to be slowly moving toward fascism. I don’t know when the slide toward fascism will stop, and how much more authoritarian the state will get. I do not feel very good about my tax dollars going to support this state.
I am a middle-aged cishet white man; middle to upper middle class software engineer. I have leftist opinions (libsoc/ansoc), but I’m not an activist (I am very introverted, probably a little bit on the autism spectrum, and pretty much a hermit right now). I do seldom indulge in marijuana consumption, which is illegal here.
I really don’t have much tying me down here. I have no close friends, no family in the state, and no current romantic partners. Last year, I moved within the state for a job, but the company was bought out, and everyone was layed off. I have very high autonomy at my current job, and could probably work fully remote if I wanted. Moving would be expensive (I am in an upside-down mortgage), but I have enough savings to take the hit.
I am personally feeling very isolated here (Texas suburb), at this point in my life, and am thinking about moving into some sort of intentional community (eco-village, cohousing, or land trust; not a commune) in a blue state (or even in Canada if I could pull that off).
Also, the weather in the last 2 years has been absolutely oppressive, and I have a hard time keeping anything alive in my veggie garden :)
Am I being over dramatic? Should I just stick it out here, and try to rebuild my life in a state that doesn’t align with my beliefs?
Also, I’ve heard arguments that libs should stay or even move to red states, but I’m not convinced. The state rules with an iron fist, and pre-empts anything progressive Texas cities try to do. And the district I live in is already pretty solidly blue. Not to mention, red states put families that contain females or lbgt people in danger.
You seem to not be enjoying your current situation anyway so I’d vote for a change. We are all very small fish in a big sea when it comes to changing states whereas you can make a big change in your own life.
You can only choose what’s right for you. I’ve often said that if I was able to work remotely with a high paying job that I would buy a big house in a small town.
This is something that I think about often. There is an argument that progressives should try to stay and change things for the better where they are. I think to some extent, though, that only works if everyone is operating in good faith. The government there is essentially conducting a full assault on any progressive measures. Just recently, Texas passed a law that automatically overrules any city ordinances that they dont like. More progressive cities like Austin can try to pass laws to protect tenants or workers, but it won’t do anything. It’s hard to make a positive impact in those circumstances. You also have to balance out the fact that by living there X% of your paycheck will go to that govt via property/sales tax.
On the other hand, where do you move to? There are lots of communities with skyrocketing real estate prices that they blame on remote workers (not sure how legitimate that is), so people are getting priced out of the communities they’ve been in for ages.
In the end, I think it’s impossible to make a complete moral determination either way. The only thing you can do is just try your best at whatever you do. Whatever you do, I’d definitely recommend trying to build a community wherever you are. You might not be able to get the local laws around you to reflect your values, but you can do your best to help those around you.
There’s plenty of things going on in Texas that affect everyone. The biggest one in my opinion is the horrible electric grid and refusal to connect to the rest of the nation.
I just moved from NC to the Pacific Northwest for very similar reasons. Remote work in tech and no close family ties back in NC. My partner and I moved here a few months ago and while the cost of living is definitely an adjustment, it has been a positive change in every other way. The weather is great and the people are wonderful. I no longer get nervous or anxious going out in public. I actually enjoy restaurants and farmers markets here. You only get one life. Be happy.
If you have to ask, it might be best if you move. But you’d most likely fall into the same habits and become isolated again. Have you tried joining a club or something?
Gotta go with what works for you. But as a fellow cishet middle-aged white engineer, you could not pay me enough money for me to want to move to Texas. Or Florida. Or most of the middle of the country. If I were in your shoes, I’d be out as soon as I had the means to leave.
Isn’t the weather alone enough of an argument against TX or FL? What will it be like there in 10 or 20 years?
I mean, I’m a fuckin’ weirdo who loves both heat and humidity. So I’m not really the target audience for that particular argument. But I get that I’m a weirdo, and most people don’t like living in the desert or a swamp. Personally, I’m much more turned off by their politics than I am their weather.
i’m not you, but i can only recommend you to get out. As far away from the fascists as possible.
I made the move 15 years ago.
I’m certainly glad to be in a society that isn’t hostile to females, LGBTQ, etc.
Does it affect my day-to-day? Eh, probably not. I certainly could live in a regressive state without any personal risk or penalty.
One of the reasons red states are so shitty is the people that disagree with Republicans keep leaving, so republicans keep winning elections.
I’m progressive but live in a red state, I might not live long enough to see shit get better, but if I leave…
It’s going to take even longer and fuck over people who can’t leave.
So I’m staying put.
Since you have the means and nothing to tie you down, I’d say go for it. It would be interesting to try living somewhere different. You only have so many years to experience life. Any sort of rural area further North should still be affordable and be kinder to your vegetable garden.
I was born and raised in Texas and left over a decade ago for all the reasons you mentioned. I do think Texas will eventually turn purple. The Republicans are going more fascist because they know this too and are having to get even more aggressive to try and stop it.
I simply refuse to live in a red state. Only negative is a higher cost of living esp housing where I landed and further from family. But I feel more at home even tho I’m not where I was born.
Texas population is purple, we just need more people to vote. My work and social circle are 85% blue and 15% moderate red. You’re going to find people who agree and disagree with you in any situation and that’s how it should be. You have to do what’s right for you, but wherever you are, vote and encourage people around you to vote. That’s the only way anything gets better.
“people who […] disagree with you and that’s how it should be” I mean… except for human rights. Like there’s a ton of crap that no decent human should agree with going on in states like Texas, Florida, and more. Some of that is inexcusable, even if the person is uneducated and easier that way. Plenty of knowledge freely available on the internet. Many of the social positions of conservatives simply cannot be excused, even as a “we need differing opinions”
Yup it’s getting harder and harder to have that conversation. Like the video posted yesterday of the guy who went to a Trump rally, had civilized conversations with some of the people there, and found out they mostly had the same thoughts the the left had (i.e. the rich shouldn’t be as rich as they are, we’re living in an oligarchy, everything shouldn’t be owned by 6 big corporations, etc.). That’s nice and all, but at the end of the day, who are these people voting?
Therein lies the question. Stay and fight the good fight, get out while the getting is good, or ignore the sensational headlines because overall most of these people are actually pretty nice besides their hard coded habit to vote R.
I left Texas many years ago and you couldn’t pay me enough to move back. Get out. Go experience other communities, cultures, and locations. Go somewhere where any future romantic partners have actual human rights and healthcare. Go somewhere that doesn’t have a state flag as part of its identity. It will be an adjustment, but change can be good.
Yes, moving from FL to DC has been a huge change in terms of the people I meet and the culture. Would definitely recommend
The whole DMV area is amazing, congrats on the move! I’d live there in a heartbeat if it were in the cards.
I’m in a similar situation to you. I feel that staying here and voting blue is better for helping than leaving to a blue state.
With the huge influx of people moving here from elsewhere (especially California), I really thought we had a chance to start tipping blue, but unfortunately it seems like no one that has a liberal mindset is interested in voting, at least in my area. Our voter turnout in my area is just abysmal. So despite living in a very blue city. Everything I voted for this last midterm election lost. Even things specific to my county.
With the huge influx of people moving here from elsewhere (especially California), I really thought we had a chance to start tipping blue
Weren’t a lot of people who moved from blue states conservatives who wanted out from there? I mean, I do know some people who moved for CoL reasons and not because of political views, but some people also moved because of the latter.
I can’t say for sure because I don’t have the data, but anecdotally, I moved here from California because I couldn’t afford California anymore, not because of my political views. I live in a highly tech area of Texas. As far as I can tell, it seems like other folks that I have met that also moved were in the same situation as me. Just couldn’t afford California anymore, wanted to move to another tech city.
Unless we have data, I don’t think we can really do much other than speculate, unfortunately.
