Thursday, May 28, 2015

States I Won't Reside In (And Neither Should You) - Part II.

Yesterday, I wrote about the states within America that I would and would not choose to reside, based solely upon climate and potential for natural disasters. Today, I'll do the same thing, but base my selections upon only social factors -- population size, overarching poverty, predominant political conservatism, lack of progressiveness and religious extremism. Here's that map again, but it certainly looks different from yesterday.

(Part III of this series is available here.)


Each color symbolizes the following:
Blue - Too Populated
Brown - Would Only Consider Living In Certain Specific Areas
Green - No Major Reason Not To Live There
Purple - More Than One Reason Not To Live There
Red - Too Conservative

As you can see, the entire country is awash in brown. When it comes to selecting a state to reside, social factors are a much more specific qualifier to choose against. Most states harbor tangled social climates that are both ultra conservative and progressive - these are typically representative of rural and metropolitan areas, respectively.

I'll explain further, by color and the associated issue.

Too Populated (Blue) - Only one state occupies this color - California. There are simply too many people living in the Golden State for me to feel comfortable residing there.

Only Specific Areas (Brown) - This is the vast majority of the United States. More often than not, it boils down to living in a rural area (typically conservative) versus a metropolitan area (more progressive). One state that exemplifies this perfectly is Kentucky. Your major cities in Kentucky and their surrounding communities are fairly moderate and accepting of people from all walks of life. Yet, the rural parts of the state are highly conservative in nature. Other states like Michigan, Virginia and New Mexico represent a conflict of economics -- some parts are highly impoverished with little opportunity for growth, while some parts are full of chances for success.

No Major Reason Not To Live Here (Green) - These are states where the political and social climates are just predominately right. Such examples include Nevada and Vermont.

More Than One Reason Not To Live Here (Purple) - Such states where multiple factors would deter me from ever residing there. Places like Florida (highly populated, conservative, impoverished in areas) and Alabama (too religious, too conservative, impoverished) hold little to no interest for me.

Too Conservative (Red) - Two states fall into this category -- Utah and Arizona. I would not want to live here because their prevailing political attitudes are vastly different from my own. I'd be constantly annoyed by my fellow citizens, and that's no way to live.

With tomorrow's article (Part III), I will compile the data from my two maps and reveal the states where I'm most (and least) likely to choose for a residence.

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