Where can I move that is warmer, slightly cheaper, somewhat liberal with good schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Charlotte

charlotte is khaki country club purple at best, and the suburbs all voted trump. It’s also a famously bland city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Liberal
Warm
Low cost of living.

Pick 2. You can't have all 3

Yup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest either St. John's County (St. Augustine) or Sarasota County (40 min south of Tampa) which have the top two FL school districts according to Niche, they also appear on other top schools lists.

The price of housing is skyrocketing in FL because so many people, both red and blue, are moving there. However, relatively cheap housing can still be found in these areas if you are comparing to the DC area.

Despite many ignorant opinions to the contrary on DCUM I find FL to be a delightful place to live and I am staunchly democrat. Like other states (Virginia for example) the rural areas are almost completely red and the urban areas are almost completely blue. Registered Republicans in FL just recently started to barely outnumber registered Democrats after many years of the opposite. So it's pretty purple basically.

With the warm climate, decent schools in certain areas, and lower COL it's not too tough to ignore or tolerate whatever politics or political opinions you have a problem with and just live your own life.

Funny you should suggest that part of Florida. I recently met new neighbors who moved back to Bethesda after retiring to the same area you recommend. They said they were sick of being mocked for wearing masks in stores, and even had some scary moments on the roads when Trumpsters saw their Dem bumper stickers. This couple bought an old, pre-war bungalow in walking distance to downtown Bethesda and metro.

So they came back and took a house that someone like our family could have used. They should buy a condo and leave houses for young people who need them.

“Took a house” LOL. I think the word you’re looking for is “bought.”

[Anonymous]

We moved from DC to the Atlanta area and absolutely love it here. It's definitely purple politically which is a big change from DC. However, most people won't talk about politics unless they know you well.

Here's an anecdote about the lower COL - it took me a long time to notice the ongoing inflation because prices for goods are still the same or less than when we left DC 2ish years ago. Housing is going up quickly, but still way cheaper than DC. There are lots of nice suburbs that are still close to the city - just don't get too far from I-285. Everyone talks about the traffic being bad here, but in my experience DC was worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suggest either St. John's County (St. Augustine) or Sarasota County (40 min south of Tampa) which have the top two FL school districts according to Niche, they also appear on other top schools lists.

The price of housing is skyrocketing in FL because so many people, both red and blue, are moving there. However, relatively cheap housing can still be found in these areas if you are comparing to the DC area.

Despite many ignorant opinions to the contrary on DCUM I find FL to be a delightful place to live and I am staunchly democrat. Like other states (Virginia for example) the rural areas are almost completely red and the urban areas are almost completely blue. Registered Republicans in FL just recently started to barely outnumber registered Democrats after many years of the opposite. So it's pretty purple basically.

With the warm climate, decent schools in certain areas, and lower COL it's not too tough to ignore or tolerate whatever politics or political opinions you have a problem with and just live your own life.

You must be white and cisgender. Living in these purpling states that are still gerrymandered to death to ensure GOP hold on the state works only for straight, white progressives. As a Black woman, I was entirely unsurprised that Youngkin won VA, and you can't blame it on the rural parts of the state. As MLK said, white moderates are the problem. It is easy to ignore or tolerate the politics of others when they aren't causing direct harm to you.

[Anonymous]

If you haven't- highly recommend this https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/23/opinion/sunday/best-places-live-usa-quiz.html

[Anonymous]

Mt pleasant, sc

[Anonymous]

We are moving to Huntsville, AL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Feeling the need to branch out from DC and find somewhere warmer and with a lower COL and better quality of life. Would love to be near the water. Every idea I have turns out to be very trumpy, and we're too liberal for that. Where would you suggest?!

For those of us with a more conservative bent can you please share some of your too trumpy ideas?

[Anonymous]

Decatur. Hands down. We have lots of friends who live there. Super liberal, great schools, great restaurants, affordable homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeling the need to branch out from DC and find somewhere warmer and with a lower COL and better quality of life. Would love to be near the water. Every idea I have turns out to be very trumpy, and we're too liberal for that. Where would you suggest?!

For those of us with a more conservative bent can you please share some of your too trumpy ideas?

Is it wrong that I always read these threads but never share where I am hoping to escape to one day? I feel a bit guilty but I do not want to contribute to it becoming more popular and inhabited by DC exiles. Yes, I am aware that this is hypocritical. I wish you all the best (conservatives and liberals)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeling the need to branch out from DC and find somewhere warmer and with a lower COL and better quality of life. Would love to be near the water. Every idea I have turns out to be very trumpy, and we're too liberal for that. Where would you suggest?!

For those of us with a more conservative bent can you please share some of your too trumpy ideas?

Is it wrong that I always read these threads but never share where I am hoping to escape to one day? I feel a bit guilty but I do not want to contribute to it becoming more popular and inhabited by DC exiles. Yes, I am aware that this is hypocritical. I wish you all the best (conservatives and liberals)!

Don’t worry, we wouldn’t want to move to a place will soon be underwater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liberal
Warm
Low cost of living.

Pick 2. You can't have all 3

Unfortunately this.

Sadly, true. If you can accept three months of serious winter (Jan-March), Rochester, NY would be great. The suburb of Brighton, in particular, is very liberal with excellent public schools, and minimal pressure/drama. Housing prices are ridiculously low compared to the DC area (though higher property taxes eat some of that savings.)

yea the weather is opposite of warm-- but this is my hometown and my partner and I frequently discuss moving there. We could buy a house in cash for the price that our home has increased since 2020. Quality of life is excellent-- everything is just easy and close.

You’ve intrigued me.

I grew up there. No, just no. It is not as liberal as you think. The reason Brighton is liberal is bc of the large Jewish population, otherwise, the area is really conservative, NRA and gun -toting, and super cold in the winter with lots of lake-effect snow. I could say lots of positive things (real estate prices, good schools, the HOG, stable-ish economy) but the snow and the gun mentality are deal breakers for me ever moving back there.

The cold that we have here Jan-Feb lasts from Halloween to mid-April in Rochester. Loads of massive storms in March. The main other complaint that I have about the area is that no one ever leaves; meaning, lots of monotony and homogenous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suggest either St. John's County (St. Augustine) or Sarasota County (40 min south of Tampa) which have the top two FL school districts according to Niche, they also appear on other top schools lists.

The price of housing is skyrocketing in FL because so many people, both red and blue, are moving there. However, relatively cheap housing can still be found in these areas if you are comparing to the DC area.

Despite many ignorant opinions to the contrary on DCUM I find FL to be a delightful place to live and I am staunchly democrat. Like other states (Virginia for example) the rural areas are almost completely red and the urban areas are almost completely blue. Registered Republicans in FL just recently started to barely outnumber registered Democrats after many years of the opposite. So it's pretty purple basically.

With the warm climate, decent schools in certain areas, and lower COL it's not too tough to ignore or tolerate whatever politics or political opinions you have a problem with and just live your own life.

You must be white and cisgender. Living in these purpling states that are still gerrymandered to death to ensure GOP hold on the state works only for straight, white progressives. As a Black woman, I was entirely unsurprised that Youngkin won VA, and you can't blame it on the rural parts of the state. As MLK said, white moderates are the problem. It is easy to ignore or tolerate the politics of others when they aren't causing direct harm to you.

Well, if I had a choice between living in a basically purple state run by a whacko Republican governor (and I do) then I choose Florida for a multitude of reasons. If I decide to work for or against some issue there are plenty to choose from both in Florida and in the DC area. There is no other state I want to live in so I am choosing to be happy here. As a Black woman where do you live that gives you a better life? I am truly interested.

[Anonymous]

A school administrator from Florida once told me that people don't move to Florida for the good schools. That is not their priority. The schools are very inferior. I worked in Brevard county close to Melbourne. Also, Tampa and Gainesville and the schools did not have adequate funding or parent participation. Compared to DC or NOVA schools you'll he shocked. They also can't afford to attack great staff with very low pay and now extremely high real estate prices (compared to 2 years ago). When I lived there I flew back to DC to see my doctors. Also, Florida has a terrible health care system. If you move to Florida you may need to budget private schools or private tutors.