"A big difference I noticed was that you encounter many more veterans and active military personnel in scarlet red counties. Another big difference is that underemployment is common in navy blue counties. In the red areas, people would graduate high school and work at Walmart, a restaurant, a police station, a university, or do manual labor, etc. Others would enlist in the military and serve long enough to receive a pension."
"I have met many highly educated baristas, janitors, Uber drivers, bartenders, and more in NYC and DC. I once had an Uber driver who held a JD and passed the bar exam; I met a cashier who completed a PhD in art history while living in NYC, and several of my classmates from my state school worked in retail for their careers."
"I was raised outside of NYC and moved to LA at 21. I felt right at home, politically. Then, I had to move to a red county, and I feel like, in order to protect my very safety, I can't be outspoken or even tell anyone my beliefs, spiritually or politically. My town is mostly white, which, as a white person who always"
People who moved between politically red and blue areas describe sharp cultural and practical contrasts. Some newcomers express discomfort or dislike when local norms feel more conservative or restrictive, especially regarding moral issues and personal expression. Red counties often show higher visible military and veteran presence and more direct transitions from high school to manual or service jobs. Blue urban areas often display higher rates of underemployment, with highly educated residents working service-industry roles. Several movers report feeling unsafe or unable to voice spiritual or political beliefs openly in more conservative, predominantly white communities.
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