by Jonathan Rawles, Survival Blog:
(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)
Red State Prospects
It seems almost redundant to try to list the benefits and advantages of “red state living.” Red America is vast and offers opportunities for every climate, lifestyle, regional culture, and personal preference or situation.
Red State America includes something of everything of America:
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– Mountain West logging and mining towns. Lakeside resort towns. Ranching country. Vast empty spaces. Arizona sunshine.
– Midwest and Plains Americana, from small farming towns to prospering cities. The Great Lakes. America’s historic manufacturing and agricultural heartland.
– Texas, a nation to itself. The economic center of Red America, in the Texas Triangle.
– The Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their many tributaries.
– Eastern mountains and farmland. Appalachia and the “Eastern Redoubt.”
– The South. Florida. The Gulf Coast and Southeastern Coast.
Red State Realities
While the prospects are great, you should consider relocation with a mind towards the realities as well.
Regional Culture and Mindset
Outside of the cosmopolitan metros, local cultures are much more distinct and pronounced. If you’re accustomed to the range of services and the openness found in a major coastal city, life in a smaller town or simply in Red America can come as a shock.
Distrust of Outsiders
In areas where few people have moved in over the last decades are attractive for their intact culture and rural character. But you should realize that these have only stayed this way by maintaining a healthy distrust of outsiders. Many have a strong aversion to newcomers, change, or “progress”.
This can come as a surprise for new arrivals from more cosmopolitan areas. Between coming in with “big city” expectations and local defensiveness, it’s common to see newcomers find themselves shut out from the local community. If you’re moving to a relatively insular community, it’s essential that you approach it sensitively and patiently.
Set your expectations realistically. Don’t be the guy who’s disappointed by his new “backwards and intolerant” neighbors. Be thoughtful and choose an area that’s going to work for you culturally rather than an area that you might come to resent.
Hicklibs and Small-Town Conservatives
Many blue states refugees have become highly attuned to culture war topics. They’ve lived through all the worst of it and are on high alert to the subtle schemes of progressives.
Attitudes in the Red States are often surprising. You’ll find a variety of “conservative” political views, which may or may not be all that conservative.
“Chamber of Commerce conservativism” is typical of most small to midsized communities across the United States. While nominally conservative, local government tends to be run by an insiders’ club made up of local developers, real estate agents, Rotary Club members, or the like.
These communities tend to have little interest in liberty or right-wing politics as such. City or county government may be primarily a route to personal and community success, not an ideological exercise. Political activism tends to be met with skepticism.
Smaller towns and rural communities are more apt to adopt a libertarian-flavored live-and-let-live mindset, generally opposed to any form of civic organization. In a small community made up of Baptist preachers, biker bar owners, hippies, and the occasional big city refugee, there is sometimes little commonality except the desire to be left alone and not be interfered with.
A third variety of community is the wealthy liberal enclave. This is typical of lake and ski towns. These communities are often quite prosperous and well-run, though expensive to live in. However, the local political scene often has a distinctively left-leaning flavor. There is typically a marked difference in outlook and worldview between liberal city residents and the more conservative surrounding suburbs and rural areas.
