Woman Moves To A Democratic-Leaning Area In The US And Is Shocked By The Difference

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

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.

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.