I like Philadelphia, but someday will need to move from this area. One of the many factors I consider important in picking a new place to live is how easily I can avoid the followers of the Invisible Cloud Buddy. Fortunately, maps have been published that show their concentration around the country. The lightest-colored areas have the smallest numbers of religious people:
Northern California, Oregon and western Washington, circled in blue, look promising. Northern Arizona could be good, but I wonder whether there are urban areas there I would find appealing. (Of course, that could be true of most of the circled area, too - I am aware of only Portland and Seattle in there.) Other places have large swathes with low-bunkum concentrations, but either are again probably not populated (West Virginia, southern Ohio) or are too cold for me (Michigan, Maine). Nevertheless, grist for the mill.
(Via Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing.)
I'm a proponent of liberals purposely living in conservative strongholds, which usually means religious.
We considered living closer to Denver city limits or south Aurora, which have more liberals and minorities, but settled in Centennial, which used to be Littleton. It's a huge Republican stronghold (Crazy Tom Tancredo is our Rep). I feel like I'm a small part of helping turn this district purple (blue is a long shot).
Posted by: Julie O. | April 19, 2006 at 01:39 AM
Have you considered Canada? Vancouver's only slightly colder and wetter than Seattle, anyway.
Portland: you'll run out of things to do after you've lived there for a year.
Flagstaff: there's a university there, and you'd get real winters.
Seattle: serious, serious infrastructure problems, including a major freeway that will collapse in the next Big One and incredible traffic issues. Not to mention the lack of good pizza. However, the air is clean, the summers are just brilliant, and the Mexican and Asian restaurants are great. Plus, you can go camping!
Posted by: Michele G. | April 19, 2006 at 10:20 AM
chroist. the bible belt looks like it rotated 90 degrees to stick up as a boner straight from texas with one nut in utah
Posted by: albert | April 19, 2006 at 11:09 AM
julie-
I'm a proponent of liberals purposely living in conservative strongholds, which usually means religious.
Bad for my health. I am allergic to tree pollen and stupidity.
Michele-
Have you considered Canada?
Me? Sure. Other concerned parties have ruled it out.
albert-
Spring making you a little horny, or what?
Posted by: Mithras | April 19, 2006 at 09:12 PM
Just remember, in many of those light-colored areas you'll be trading religious nuts for hippies, self-righteous vegetarianism, and/or new-age shenanigans. I'm not sure which is worse, honestly.
Posted by: Karen | April 20, 2006 at 07:28 AM
Have you noticed that you will be living in areas of the US where almost NO Black people or Hispanics live? The areas that have the least number of religous people living in them are also the whitest areas of the country.
I guess you wouldn't want to live near me either. I might be a left-wing Democrat, and I am pro-choice and pro-gay rights, and yes, I believe in evolution, but I am religious. I know a lot of people like me. We are quite capable of thinking for ourselves.
There are religious people of all faiths who are not fundamentalists. I'm not sure there would not be much of a left in this country without the reigious left. Certainly the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s whould not have happened with the Black Churches. You wouldn't want anyone as awful as Martin Luther King, for example, living near you would you?
Posted by: Susan | April 25, 2006 at 01:19 PM
I think you've just been attracted to the biggest blank spot -- the real story is elsewhere.
First, there are other areas you've not pointed out -- Maine, California, Nevada 00 and EVEN West Virginia, Southern Ohio, and Eastern Kentucky.
Go figure.
More important, didja notice that Georgia and Tennessee are lighter in color than Wisconsin and Minnesota.
This red state stuff and all the moral values rhetoric among political advisors is just crap.
That's the story.
Posted by: SombreroFallout | April 26, 2006 at 10:36 PM