I know that my question sounds very political, but I don’t mean it specially! It’s not about parties, votes or activism – I’m only interested in “conservative”/”liberal” in a social and cultural way and how it affects every day life. Of course everyone is different everywhere and it really depends on the particular area, but is this really true that most places outside big cities even in very “liberal” states like New York or California are as conservative as the South and Midwest? And, in reverse, big cities even in the Deep South look quite “progressive” (at least, in comparison to the states they’re in). Is this a generalization?.. I know that there’re exceptions indeed
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Not always, but generally…if that makes sense.
Vermont is mostly rural but has a reputation for being liberal. Same with parts of other states like northwest Michigan or the islands in Washington.
Some cities that lean conservative include Mesa, Oklahoma City, Jacksonville, and Colorado Springs
Pretty much. Not all the time, but usually. Look up voting outcome maps, it’s usually the case where a rural (not city) area will be more republican and conservatives vote republican.
Most cities in Florida are pretty conservative except for Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
As a generalization, yes. Some exceptions of course, but generally
That’s the trend but yes there’s exceptions. For example, Loma Linda in Southern California tends to be quite conservative. It’s not a metropolis like LA but essentially a suburb of LA as it’s all densely packed homes out from LA. Unique due to being a main site for the Seventh Day Adventist Church on the west coast. Also why it’s considered a blue zone. They take health very seriously.
Like everyone said, generally yes. Another exception is the state of Alaska where it’s flipped entirely, the cities like Anchorage vote red but the rural parts are usually blue
A better corresponding stat should be education. There tend to be more democratic voters from areas with higher average education levels/higher percentage of college grads, and there tend to be more Republican voters in areas with lower average education levels/lower percentage of college grads:
https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-are-the-most-educated/
Areas of lower population density don’t get much benefit from the social programs that benefit the cities. So they look at the news and say “my tax dollars are paying for this?!?” At the same time ignoring that they are getting other subsidies. Nobody in the cities cares if a few farmers get paid to keep the farms running.
That’s an overly simplified explanation, but that’s a part of it.
pretty much, I’ve meet several people from upstate New York and out side the major cities of California who lean conservative and then Take my home state for example – Texas goes red every presidential election, but if you zoom in to the district state map it’s got four giant blue dots (Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas) Houston and Austin have Democrat mayors, San Antonio has an Independent mayor and Dallas’ mayor was a democrat but switched to republican in 2023. Which all actually describes those cities to a tee
Edit: I should add, not to say there’s not other left leaning areas of the state, I’m just saying the big 4 really stick out on the map
Not always, but it’s often the case.
Bigger cities corrospond to better education
Education often prevents people from becoming republican
In general, that’s largely accurate. Tensions between urban centers and the surrounding rural areas are as old as civilization and a global phenomenon.
Not always. My hometown in California is definitely more conservative than a place like the Bay Area, but it leans purple. It’s definitely more liberal than one of the smaller towns about 15 minutes northeast, where that town is 100% conservative/MAGA.
A town that’s about 30ish minutes north of my hometown is still relatively rural compared to places like Dublin, CA, but it’s a very liberal city.
There are websites that show how every area in America votes using color and you can zoom in
Yes, but what political positions the population holds might not be apparent. Rural life requires discipline and tradition. The occupations and tasks of living tend to be done best in a specific way that was figured out a hundred years ago. Rural life can be dangerous, if for no other reason than access to an emergency room, so people have to plan and take care. Rural life is also monotonous, the people you are born with are the people you get, not subscribing to the way things are done can cause a lifelong relationship feud. These, and thousands of other factors of rural life makes for a conservative character, but not necessarily politics. Colorado high country is a good example. Lots of “cowboy hippies” who are pretty cool with whatever, and have ideas for government intervention in the rural scene. They still get very upset with tomfoolery and wasteful behavior because regardless of who you vote for, that’s dangerous, don’t do it. Urbanites generally face the opposite of rural life and need to be accepting of novelty and willing to find a more efficient way to success. Again, this creates a liberal character, but urbanites hate taxes as much as ranchers.
I think it’s hard for people to conceptualize government. So we project our local experience onto it. People who live in rural areas need less government.
After all, what does it matter what you do when your neighbor is a half mile away.
People in cities need more government. Some even have a governing board in their building.
I think we then project that onto the federal government.
Cities are forced to rely on collective government for things like water, utilities, trash pickup, and roads. You’re forced to live in community with your neighbors