Someone mentioned in another thread that "America is Balkanizing at an increasing rate". I believe this to be the case, and recently moved based primarily on politics - I was in Charlottesville, VA and I moved back to where I grew up, in the Arkansas Ozarks.

Yes, economics were a part of our decision to move back. Charlottesville is very expensive compared to the Ozarks, but I also realize that by moving and working exclusively remotely I'm limiting my earning potential. The real reason was that my wife and I were tired of being surrounded by people who despised us because of our traditional values. I'm not talking about "social conservatism", either; we're extreme libertarians and couldn't give a shit less about what other people do. No, this was about being called a Nazi in public because I was walking down a pedestrian mall with my sidearm visible. It was about seeing signs in windows of area businesses advertising "this business supports socialized healthcare". It was about hundreds of people showing up to protest for the removal of statues of our ancestors and desecrating the graves of soldiers.

Where we are now is far from ideologically consistent with us. There is a billboard that I can see out of my kitchen window advertising "White Pride radio". Truth be told, we share no more in common with the people that put up that billboard than we did with the out-and-out socialists in Virginia - but these racists are willing to coexist with us and leave us alone. I can let my daughters play outside in our yard without undue concern. They can go hang out with the neighborhood kids without my fearing that one of their parents is going to freak out if my kids mention guns, or decided they need to be "educated". The neighbor kids stop where their yard ends and ask permission before coming into ours. Hell, I was at a "natural foods" store last week and overheard the cashier and another customer discussing "Q". There are effectively no "progressives" here, and the few liberals that are around rarely open their mouths and are openly mocked when they do.

I'm curious - how many others on Arfcom have uprooted their lives to move somewhere more hospitable because of politics?

Planning on moving hopefully within the next year or 2. Will be checking out Utah this fall and Idaho some time this summer. Would love to move to outside Reno as it's close to family in Cali but I only want to do this one more time in my life and think Nevada is going to fall to the Cali horde in the next 10 years or less. We are moving mainly due to politics.

I willingly left my home state of Maryland because of their gun laws, high taxes and politics. I didn't agree with them so I left. I have also lived in VA, MT, TN, CA, WA and now reside in Memphis, TN....again. Although  I despise being in Memphis, I like Tennessee overall however and when I get the chance to leave Memphis, we will probably remain in TN. I agree with most of their politics, their gun-friendly culture and generally their pro-Constitution and pro-Christian conservative mind-set.

No.

I was born in Texas, lived in Texas, and wish to hell everyone not born here would balkanize to some other fucking state.

Or country.

Sorry.

Nope. Fuck those who want the fall of America

I'm a native Hoosier but I moved with my family back to our family farm in Illinois... I don't plan on staying.  Either the wife and I are moving back to Indiana or out west.  Socialism sucks.  Illinois politics sucks.  High taxes suck.  I fucking hate this place but I'll fight like hell while I'm stuck here.

There's a big difference between wanting something and merely seeing it happening.

My family is too important to me to leave them where they're an extreme political minority in a time of increasing unrest.

You do realize that, ideologically speaking, you could have gone 20 minutes up the road and have been in completely different territory?

That's why the country will never "balkanize" easily like everyone jacks off to around here.

No, but things are getting crappy where I live.  Seems to have coincided with the city assembly and mayor being both controlled by liberals for the first time in my life 4 years ago.  By crappy I mean skyrocketing taxes and crime.

When I retire in 5 years I plan on moving out of NY to be around people who
have the same morals and conservative beliefs that I have , so if that's considered
balkanization than so be it.

I used to live in Colorado.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/2088645_Project-Ambivalent-Epilogue-Accepting-Preparing-for-Balkanization-Could-Save-Our-Way-of-Life-.html

lol, this. You don’t know Virginia. Sorry you felt a 2000 mile move was needed, instead of a 20 minute drive further south.

Born in Louisiana, as coonass as coonass gets, but I married a Texas girl, transplanted, and am not leaving.

I turned down a job that carried a rather hefty increase in salary because it would have required me to work in Bethesda, MD, and live either there or someplace around there like Northern Virginia.

No thanks...I'd be like Daniel in the Lions Den up there.

God Bless Texas.

I've moved a couple times, but only related to job changes.

Used to live in upstate NY.  About as rural redneck as they come, but the taxes, laws, and politics drove me out. Moved the family to somewhere where small town Christian community values are strong and the laws are more conservative minded.

We are thinking about it. What I'm concerned with is moving and in 20 years what we escaped from catches up to us again. I really believe what we see now in all of the big cities and blue states is going to be everywhere in the not far off future. At that point might as well get comfortable where we are.

I don't know

I'm retiring to Valparaiso, Chile.

ZFG

I'm there mentally but the money hustle has me stuck in central NC.  This place has plenty of both progressive anarchist and libertarian conservatives. Its so densely populated as to make one nervous if the grid went black. My family's been in NC since the 1800's and has turned into a real mess.

I rejected San Francisco values and politics and fled to the Midwest.  Does that count?

I moved from Chicago (only there 4 years for work!) to Phoenix in 2003. I think that fits the criteria.

I ejected from NJ

If you think about it, the U.S. is already balkanized generally speaking, the leftists control the cities and conservatives the rural areas.

Your concerns are valid. I believe that Balkanization is inevitable, that we should embrace it and concentrate our numbers within a geographic region. Create laws that make our states as hostile to Liberals as California and New York are to Conservatives. Take away the incentive for them to invade, make it hell by passing laws that legalize autoweapons and allow citizens to open carry them in-state. Make it illegal for businesses to discriminate against Open Carry (our own "protected class.") I've got nothing against weed, but If California can put a middle finger to federal law, then why can't we do the same?

If we vote ourselves in to complete control of an area like that, then we need to use the opportunity to it's fullest. We've got to have more children and harden our locality against civil unrest and the inevitable collapse that will befall those states which surround us. I believe that conflict will eventually happen under those circumstances, as the states around us become more desperate, apocalyptic and lawless. In line with that, I believe that a strong "State Guard" or "State Militia" could help to insulate us against what's coming. If we mass-migrate and "own" a few neighboring states we will have the advantage of our own Government and strength of numbers. Better to have one strong red block than a bunch of scattered red dots in a great "blue" sea. Especially when SHTF.

I'm staying close to where their will be plenty of targets if the shit goes south.

Red state Oklahoma.

The ONLY state in the union that went every-frikkin'-county AGAINST BARRY BOTH TIMES and then AGAINST sHillary too.

That's something to be proud of.

I support the Balkanization of the Republic.

Fuck the coasts.

Fuck the liberal desert states overran with non-Americans.

I'm a goddamn Missourian.

I grew up in Maine and lived there and NH for most of my life. The place has changed and I don’t recognize it much anymore. I still love to visit my friends and family there, but our move was heavily influenced by politics.

Moved to Tx 42 years ago, so I’ll just say when I came it was “Not Texas born but got here as soon as I could “.

This but replace Texas with Florida

We considered some property in Scottsville and in Greene County but at the end of the day we'd still have been in a state that's turning increasingly blue, and surrounded by the local news reporting on the shit happening in Charlottesville and Richmond.

That said, rural Virginia and rural Arkansas have completely different cultures. There are some places in SW VA and along the WV border I'd feel at home... until the legislature passes some ridiculous laws that made me a felon.

Unless you live in Austin, I bet the increased cost of living would have made up for the pay raise.

I grew up in MD.  Been in Texas 2.5 years.  Fuck Maryland

Among other things, my wife and I have a house under contract here that would cost more than double what we're paying if it were in the DC or Baltimore areas

First, it's 1,000 miles to Arkansas. 2,000 miles would have put me in Arizona.

Second, the Democrats gained fifteen seats in the House of Delegates in 2017. Last I checked, the House went from a healthy GOP majority to a tie. Arkansas's GOP gained twelve seats (now 76/24), and has been steadily trending more and more red since 2011.

No number of Virginian conservative neighbors can make up for the political climate in the rest of the state.

I think that's more a natural consequence of urban v. rural culture, actually.

What I'm seeing is that people are polarizing according to political district - states are getting more red or more blue, but so are individual counties. I believe that consciously or not, people are beginning to feel uncomfortable and perhaps even unsafe being in the political minority.

I stayed close to where I was born. AZ. I'm in Utah, my parents are natives, descendants of pioneers. I'm  about 11 miles from AZ.

Do you have a shop, barn, wood shed or dog house?

If so, what would you charge for rent?

I moved primarily for politics and more freedom.

Florida is a little difficult.  I live in Northern Florida where most people are conservative but South Florida is completely different... and there is a lot more of them.  So where I live is conservative but our State Government is getting assaulted by liberals.

Grew up in rural Western NY (disowned).  Did college in VA and lived there for 14 years.  Moved to TX 3 years ago and married a Texan girl.  No way in hell will I move my family out of a conservative state.

I've seriously been considering moving east to Idaho lately since Washington is starting to go full gun control. Deep down I'm hoping they don't get too crazy for at least the next 16 years, then I can retire and move without worrying about finding a job. I would be taking a huge pay cut going from working in Seattle to Idaho.

Land here is cheap enough, just buy something.

Be sure to bring a job with you, though :)

What do you do? I have some contacts in the tech community in Boise...

I've moved around a lot over the years, some for the military, some for family reasons. I thought coming to Oregon would be my last move but my reason for being here no longer exists. And now with this state's government on a fast track to destroying our freedoms, I'm planning to make one more move. But not for the reasons I've always moved before.

If you want to call it contributing to balkanization, I don't care. I'm just reacting to the circumstances I've found myself in.

Yes. I would say its more like the split of the Roman Empire into the eastern and western empires.

The Balkans are a much smaller and ethnically fractious region.

Conservative America is much more ethnically unified and much much larger than any of the Balkan nations.

Yes.

Left California, making my way to Idaho via Washington.

Not looking back and hoping I never have to visit.

Yes, I moved to the Dakotas when I graduated high school. Don't move here it's terrible.

Ask me in June.  I will have balkanized.  FUNY.