For Americans, every major election seems to come with folks from either side saying that they are going to move, either out of state or, in extreme cases, to another country if their side doesn’t win. More often than not, this is all talk, but a few people have actually done it.
A woman went viral on TikTok after posting a video comparing her previous life in a red state after moving to a blue state. We reached out to her via email and will update the article when she gets back to us.
More info: TikTok
Americans tend to refer to different states as “red” or “blue” based on how the majority of its inhabitants vote
Image credits: Courtney Hedger / unsplash (not the actual photo)
One woman shared the differences she discovered after moving to a blue state
Image credits: officialnancydrew
You all really have some blue state privilege, because I live in Minnesota. I feel like I live in, like, communist Cuba right now. Because I’ve only lived in red states.
Image credits: officialnancydrew
I was recently living in the South, where I was terrified if I got pregnant again because I had a high-risk pregnancy. Also, my husband couldn’t get a ‘snippy snippy’ done cause it wasn’t on his insurance. Because they don’t play that way.
Image credits: aljazeera
And people here will be like, if you go to the rural area, it’s so conservative. If you go to the suburbs, it’s so conservative. No, it’s not. Not compared to the rest of the [freaking] country.
They’ll be like, ‘oh, but there are Trump signs out there’. There are like twelve. There are like twelve. Have you ever driven in a rural area in a red state? Have you ever been to Texas, y’all? And I’m not trying to sound better cause I lived in Texas, but it was scary.
Image credits: officialnancydrew
And people do not understand the meaning of actually being in a place with a bunch of scary a** people. Because you would be driving around rural areas and you would see signs that are far worse than Trump signs. Far worse. And these people would like, ‘pew pew’ you. Like, they… they will.
And then you would get aggressively yelled at in the gas station. I would get yelled at all the time. And I had a newborn baby. And I’m white. I just have tattoos, and I would just dress differently. I have never, ever felt unsafe in a rural part of a blue state. Are you [freaking] kidding me? There’s so much (I’m not trying to be the privilege police) privilege here. Like, so much.
Like, everybody’s nice here. It’s crazy, and people don’t get it. Oh, my God, I think- you know what I think? And this is crazy. You need to live in a red state for a while because you need to understand how the rest of the country lives.
Image credits: officialnancydrew
You can find the full video here
@officialnancydrew sorry for the rant but i recently moved to a blue state for the first time in my life and y’all have it soooo much better here 😅 it is so different and everyone is really lucky to have the access they have – but not saying it is enough, just saying it is way better than i have ever had and many others do #bluestate #redstate #poltics ♬ original sound – lindsey louise
Humans love simple categorizations
It’s very common to reduce complex questions of economy, voting and living standards into truisms, because people like simple answers, particularly ones that confirm what they already believe. The common stereotype is that “blue” (Democrat leaning) states tend to have a higher quality of life than “red” states (Republican leaning.) However, every place has its own unique local “features” that potential new residents need to keep in mind because the grass isn’t always greener.
For non-Americans who might be unfamiliar with US politics, there are actually more than two parties in theory, but in practice, it’s always the same two. This is one reason it’s actually possible to even refer to states with millions of inhabitants as just “red” or “blue.” While in broad strokes, it might be hard to compare one place to another, it’s also worth noting that, for this woman, the specific topic of abortion is something she needs to be in a blue state for.
So to discuss specific things, it’s important to turn to statistics, which do not paint a pretty picture. Of the top ten states in economic opportunity, infrastructure and education, the majority are “blue” states, although there are notable exceptions, for example, Florida and Utah, both as different from each other as can be.
In a country as large as the United States, it’s hard to make sweeping generalizations
Image credits: Wesley Tingey / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
If health is important for you, then red states are also not the best option. The bottom four, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wyoming are all very red. Even the “best” red state, Utah, is still only number 14 in the entire union. Of course, in the United States, healthcare is generally something you pay for yourself, so it’s possible to argue that economic policies can offset issues with a state’s overall health outlook.
Here, it’s more of a mixed bag. When measuring affordability and economic opportunity, Vermont and Maine rank first and second. These are both Democrat-leaning states. However, the remaining states in the “top 10” are red, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. It’s important to note that affordability and economic opportunity do not necessarily reflect the actual size of an economy, as California (blue), Texas (red) and New York (blue) tend to dominate on sheer size.
The comments were overwhelmingly supportive of her observations, which highlights the important point that sometimes you can’t as easily capture people’s preferences with simple data. Take the question of economic opportunity. North Dakota scores very highly there, yet the average American would never just move there for this reason. If they wanted to they would have, however, the state has a population of just 783,926 people (2023), in a nation of millions. New York, conversely, ranks very poorly on this question, yet NYC is a very common place for people from across the globe to move to.
However, at the very least, her video (she shared some follow-ups, which can be found below) is a good reminder that Americans can actually move if they don’t like where they are currently living. This might seem like such a simple and logical concept, but the truth is that most people end up living and staying in their home state forever. While it’s never that easy to just get up and leave, America was for the most part founded by people who did exactly that.
Netizens shared their thoughts and experiences
She later made some more videos on this topic
@officialnancydrew Replying to @slomjh2 we have to stop demonizing the south the people in red states do not deserve what oppressors have inflicted on them. while living in a blue state might be nice for health care etc, they are far from perfect and far from being safe for everyone. i lived in a small conservative town in texas, which yes was often scary at times, but i was still able to find comrades and we held radical zine readings together and did a few demos. there is community everywhere, there are issues everywhere, this country is far from perfect. #bluestate #redstate #poltics ♬ original sound – lindsey louise
Woman Moves To A Democratic-Leaning Area In The US And Is Shocked By The Difference Bored Panda@officialnancydrew Replying to @🐊 this is my experience, i am not speaking for others, this is from a PERSONAL account lol. anyway now that it is stated, yes living in a blue state for me has been extremely different and quality of life has been better. things do feel easier in a blue bubble, that’s why it’s called that lol. a blue state is still a cop state tho, bc it’s still in a country built on yt supremacy. no where is perfect here, someplaces just have easier dmvs to navigate #thisisamerica #election2024 ♬ original sound – lindsey louise
