Late Night Demographics

Probably a touchy subject, but I have often wondered the age breakdown of my fellow Kossacks. I make my age pretty well known: I am 18-years old and a Senior at Old Mill High School in Millersville, MD.

I have had a running theme in my Diaries of late in that I have been trying to build a stronger sense, at least for myself, of the character and personality of the dKos community. Tonight I want to learn more about our demographics...

So where are you from? How old are you? Have you always lived there, or have you moved around? Obviously the responses will probably be a bit biased because of the Time of Day, but I think there will still be a decent amount of East Coasters on (if they are at all like me).

•  Hey

  Ian,

  I'm 24, live in Alaska, but have lived all over (including CA (born), FL, VA, and your state, MD!).

  I'll tell you, dKos has been a fresh air, considering a lot of the air up here in the last frontier is a touch on the conservative side . . .

  Kudos to the community-building efforts; it's a nice change-of-pace from the usual social-political wrangling that goes on here. :)

  by nonce on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:10:45 PM PDT

•  near Portland, OR here

  40 years old. Grew up in the Bay Area in Menlo Park, then did undergrad and master's time in northeast L.A., then up to Berkeley for doctoral work (am now and probably forever will be ABD), then up to Oregon City, just south of Portland, to rear a family and settle down.

  And I. Love. This. Community.

  by sheba on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:16:05 PM PDT

•  Santa Cruz Mountains, CA

  Age 47. Sitting here watching the Giants lose to the Dodgers. Thankful for all you youngsters on the east coast who can't sleep on a Friday night.

  by easong on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:19:15 PM PDT

•  I'm

  34, married, 2 kids, I've only ever lived in Connecticut (except for 6 months or so when I was 3 and we went back to Ireland, where my dad grew up), but I've lived in the following towns:

  Hebron (rural), Meriden (depressed urban), Moodus (uber rural - no traffic lights), Wallingford (fully suburban), Amston (rural), Yalesville (suburban), Hebron again, Portland (suburban), Glastonbury (upscale suburban) and now Manchester (fully suburban).

  by maurinsky on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:19:41 PM PDT

•  Hello from NM

  39, Hispanic, I'm at work (and should be working :)

  Been in NM for a long time, but grew up as an Army brat, lived in a lot of different places (and was born in Germany).

  I used to be a Republican. My whole family bought into the whole Republicans are better on defense thing. My Dad being Army I guess that's somewhat understandable. My Mom was an East German refugee (her family was persecuted by the Communists before they managed to flee to West Germany, losing everything they owned in the process). So I was also a strident anti-Communist.

  Kossacks will be happy to know that my whole family (including my Dad who served 20 yrs in the Army and spent a year in Vietnam) have all gone left of center, and none of us can stand Bush.

  by lanshark on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:30:00 PM PDT

•  For demographic data on the Kos community

  You should check out the diaries of poster JMS.

  For me, I'm 48, from western Massachusetts, USAF vet, divorced no kids, community college grad, work as a real estate title searcher, and play in a punk rock band Chicken McHead.

  I'm also active in launching a post-Dean local organizing project, Western Mass for Democratic Change.

  by Dancing Larry on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:34:47 PM PDT

•  24, grad school

  by Mike from NJ on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:38:26 PM PDT

•  outlandish

  24, male, lately of Brooklyn, originally of Oregon, now in San Francisco.

  by Outlandish Josh on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:41:30 PM PDT

•  Me...

  27, Male, Chicago.

  Finishing Grad School (only my thesis left) in Mass Communication Theory and Research.

  Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps (not-active or reserve anymore).

  Joining Congressional campaign the first week of May in the great state of Ohio.

  Tim

  by ttagaris on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:53:40 PM PDT

•  21, Engineering Undergrad

  in Montreal, Canada

  by Scipio on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:55:11 PM PDT

•  Brooklyn in da house

  34 yrs old.  10+ in Brooklyn, before that CT for grad school, NC for College, UK for a couple of years in high school (nothing like seeing the U.S. from the outside to gain the proper perspective), grew up in the 'redneck riviera' - Pensacola, FL, but was born in IL.

  Voted Nader in '96 & 2K, will vote either Green TBD or Kerry in '04.

  by green in brooklyn on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 09:55:32 PM PDT

•  Los Angeles here

  39 years old. Have lived in San Diego, L.A., Seattle, DC, Provo UT, Paris France, Kansas City MO, and back in L.A. Have visited every state except the Dakotas. I have been a writer, creative director, story editor, new business development guy and now am designing and building green communities and affordable housing for working families.

  I didn't vote until I was 27, and I cast my first vote for Bill Clinton. I think I felt about his candidacy like the Deaniacs I've read here felt about Dean. Clinton fired up my imagination and got me excited, energized. I'm wretchedly pragmatic now, so am ABB.

  by cvcobb01 on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:18:18 PM PDT

•  User Info

  Kos has a biography section in the User Info.  I find it interesting.  I wish more users would complete it.

  by rusrivman on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:18:47 PM PDT

  •  Okay, rusrivman,

    I copied what I just wrote about myself here into the "bio" box under User Info.  You're right--I've gotten good insight into more than one Kossack by viewing that myself.  

    Part of the reason I snapped-to is because I respect your postings.

    by arlam on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:57:52 PM PDT

    •  Thank you :)

      by rusrivman on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 11:38:29 PM PDT

•  nice to meet you

  i'm jd.

  age 30 guy living in portland, oregon.  lived here for five years after living in vermont and wandering the east coast.  i go to PSU, and work with special needs children.

  i'm relatively new to dailykos.  but i appreciate the great deal of knowledge shared here.  there are some truly talented posters.  i even like some of the testy elements.

  by madetoorder on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:22:00 PM PDT

•  Portland, OR

  24. Self-employed as a web programmer, but I'm trying to decide whether I want to apply to grad school, law school, or the Peace Corps next year.

  Grew up in Honolulu, HI, lived in Vancouver, BC for 3 1/2 years while I was attending UBC (English Lit degree, do you want fries with that?), then moved out here to Portland after a couple more years in Hawaii. Not sure where I'm going next.

  by cyclopatra on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:25:22 PM PDT

•  Born in a USAF dispensary in 1953.

  Lifelong democrat spawn of republican parents (Mom Southern Baptist, Dad a Catholic from a small PA steeltown).
  As a military brat, I lived in Tacoma, WA, Bedford, NH and Corpus Christi, TX--but grew up for the most part in Sacramento, CA.  Graduated from UC Berkeley (German/Linguistics).  Left grad school to fly internationally for what turned out to be 9 years; actually met my husband on one of my flights coming home from Europe 25 years ago next month.  Carried art supplies with me and painted everywhere I could.

  Now I paint full time, which means very limited time at dKos--which I consider my ongoing US Government 101 for grownups with a working conscience coursework.

  Ian, the wee jolly lantern you're waving around the streets of dKos is charming.  Wish I'd been that astute at 18.

  by arlam on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:45:58 PM PDT

•  Now in San Diego

  Nearly 35, stay-at-home mother married to a former Air Force officer, born and raised in Florida, subsequently lived in Alabama, Texas and Illinois. Now in San Diego--quite the conservative bastion!

  by bunny on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:50:52 PM PDT

•  28, Toronto Canada

  Born in Christchurch New Zealand to Canadian Parents. Have lived in Toronto 16 years. I do web design for a magazine publishing company. I've been involved in Politics since about the age of 13 (when Ontario elected it's first NDP government).

  by RationalBias on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:55:13 PM PDT

  •  yes i do web design

    and I can't properly format an anchor tag...

    NDP

    by RationalBias on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:57:55 PM PDT

•  Viva, Nashvegas!

  41, single female, forgot to have children. Born and raised in the great state of Maryland, but moved to Tennessee to go to college and forgot to go home. Renounced my yankeedom about ten years ago, though it wasn't really necessary—Gaithersburg was still pretty Southern and rural when I grew up.

  I'm co-owner of a publishing company that produces a screening test for children, but in the past I've worked in the music industry and as a magazine editor.

  by hamletta on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 10:55:27 PM PDT

  •  On forgetting to have children

    It ain't for everyone. I'm an accidental mother, myself, and not a very good one, at that. My 4 year old son is wonderful, fabulous, amazing, beautiful, the best thing that ever happened to me...

    But I can't say I'd do it again if I had the chance to go back to the moment I decided to have the baby. (Keeping the reality of my son out of this hypothetical, of course -- I wouldn't erase him now he's here).

    My favourite relative, the only truly sane person in my family and my aunt, chose not to have children. She is 50 this year and doesn't regret it for a second.

    Even when I was still childless, I never bought that crap about life being nothing without children. First, there are plenty of them to go around. Second, unless you're prepared to completely alter everything about your life (or have it done for you), it's a baaaad idea to have a kid. And third, while the trade-off has been lovely, in terms of the actuality of this new human being on the planet and everything wonderful he has brought to my life -- it's a trade-off and no one can ever tell me you can have it all. You just can't. There are several options in life that are forever unavailable to me now, unless I'd be willing to sacrifice his good for my own -- which I am not.

    Every young woman yearning for children should be required to read some Gloria Steinem before making the leap. I'd mention some others, but it's 5:45 am and I can't think.

    by Maryscott OConnor on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 05:44:45 AM PDT

    •  Me, also no kids

      I'm childless by choice, kind of. Got married 3 years ago and we talked about kids, leaning against. Then I got diagnosed with cancer (a year and a half ago), which gave me a convenient excuse to decide for good not to have kids. And a really quick way to shut people up when the nosily ask why when I'll be pregnant.

      I'm 36, married to an Irish man, and in the process of applying for Irish citizenship. I lived in every major IBM bastion in NYC (Endicott, Poughkeepsie/Kingston, Armonk areas), then San Diego, W. MA for college, SF, SLC UT, and now Ann Arbor. Used to be in business writing, then got a PhD in CompLit, taught for a while, decided academics sucks, so now I'm back in business writing/training.

      With things going on in this country, it's looking increasingly likely I will be moving to the EU next year...

      by emptywheel on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 07:50:25 AM PDT

•  Keystone Stater

  36, male, married, two kids (daughter born this January, son 4), environmental attorney, Pennsyltuckian all my life - my growing up hometown was very rural (last school district on I-70 heading west into West-by-god-Virginia and Ohio). Now live in Capital City, Harrisburg and work for the "grey" hats (aka state govt).  Lifelong union household Democrat - Kos (specifically), blogs (generally) and the Simpsons (televisionally) are my sanity savers!

  by gpclay on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 11:22:45 PM PDT

  •  Congratulations

    On your new daughter.

    At least we know why you might be up at all hours online.  : )

    by Maryscott OConnor on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 05:33:13 AM PDT

•  Arizona gal

  I'm a single female, 45, living in Flagstaff, AZ.  I'm a third-generation Arizona native.  My great-great-grandfather led the Mormons into the Phoenix area back in the 1860s or 70s. I run away from any organized religion, though the LDS church seems to keep finding me no matter where I move.  The CIA should use them.  If Osama Bin Laden was Mormon, the church would know what cave door to knock on on a Saturday morning.

  I've lived in Arizona all my life, except for my stint in the Air Force (there's a lot of us with military backgrounds, aren't there?).  Got to live in the UK for two years back in the late 70s.

  I work at Northern Arizona University, helping faculty develop web courses.  Because of the university, Flagstaff has a pretty liberal community.  In my department we only have one Republican and I think we're slowly wearing him down.  He may vote for Kerry.

  A life-long Democrat, from a Dem family, I began to get actively involved before the 2002 elections and since then I've become very involved and an officer in the county party.  Dean got me excited and I was the Dean coordinator in Flagstaff.  Got to meet him!  Whoo hoo!  Now I'm a disgruntled Kerry supporter (yeah, I'll canvas neighborhoods, make phone calls, and do whatever I can to support him, but that doesn't mean I have to like it).

  We're doing a canvassing campaign the next four Saturdays to help get out the vote for the city elections.  They're non-partisan elections, but...yeah...I'm feeling partisan about the city council choices.

  Okay, is that enough demographics from me?  Jeez.  Oh, but wait, there's more! I began working on a graduate-level political science degree at NAU, but I'm just not a good student.  I'd rather read all the diaries at DailyKos than do a paper.  I'm not attending a class this semester, but need to get my butt in gear in the fall.  

  by Erin in Flagstaff on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 11:28:02 PM PDT

•  Another

  San Diegan. 45, male, married, kids.

  I've lived all over.  CO, NE, CA, UT, TX... Australia, Belgium... and traveled much more widely.

  Write, edit... homeschool (kids, see above), and spend far too much time online (here, largely, right now).

  by ogre on Fri Apr 16, 2004 at 11:45:35 PM PDT

•  Washingtonian

  I'm in Vancouver, Washington.  Don't think Canada, think the bottom of Washington state.  I'm right on the Columbia River, right across the state line from the wonderful city of Portland, Oregon.

  I'm 23 years old and attending junior college.  Almost done with that.  I'll be going from there onto the local branch of WSU, where I'm looking to study to become a high school english teacher.  Love to write and hope, ultimately, to make my living writing fiction.

  I was born in California and my parents moved up into Washington when I was around . . . four years old, I believe.  I lived for about three years in Portland, though I continued to work in Vancouver and never really made Portland my home, even though it is a great city.

  I also spent a year living in Arizona, running a coffee shop with my mother.  That was a great year.

  by aimlessmind on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:01:57 AM PDT

•  from dallas tx (almost all my life)

  my name is jim, im 21, and im a student at oberlin college. im doing my honors research in politics right now, and i might work in DC up until the general.

  by jkennerl on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:04:41 AM PDT

•  I'm Stone Aged (as opposed to stoned age)

  I'm an older than the hills contemporary fine artist.  I've had 27 years of marital negotiation...er uh...bliss.  No children. Didn't forget, just didn't happen.  I've lived in various cities and towns in Oregon and Idaho.  Life long insomniac, which is why I'm answering your questions at 12:09 am.

  by pacifica on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:12:08 AM PDT

•  Vancouver Canada

  Nice place to live.  You should all consider moving up here if Bush is reelected :)

  by Adam T on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:27:08 AM PDT

•  35, Chicago

  Moved here in 1986 to go to college and never left.  Seriously.  I still work for my alma mater.  It's sad, isn't it?

  Grew up in Michigan.  Born in California.  Spent a summer living in Florida working for the mouse.

  by hyperbolic pants explosion on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:36:27 AM PDT

•  I'm 38

  married, two kids, two dogs, six cats.

  Moved around a lot between Texas, Hawaii, Northern California & Western Washington as a kid. Spent much of my adult life behind "The Orange Curtain" in Southern California where I worked on my BA & MA, and then headed to Columbia MO where I worked on my Ph.D. (and boy was I happy to get that dissertation finished!) and my wife completed her MSW. Currently live and teach at a small state university in the Oklahoma panhandle.

  I'm an unrepentant liberal in the middle of Bush Country, love an eclectic mix of music (jazz, hip-hop, 70s/80s punk, industrial, minimalism), am a semi-active poet and haiku writer, am addicted to tie-dye shirts and Birkenstocks, would drive a Volvo if I could afford one, and consider coffee and Guinness to be the elixirs of life. I'm also a fool for love.

  by James Benjamin on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:39:30 AM PDT

•  Now in Seattle

  (Seattle U), but lived down Oregon way for awhile (OSU).  Grew up in LasVegas(UNLV), did some research in Chicago(Northwestern).  Married to my wonderful husband for 20 years, two sons, 12 and 16, born in 1953.  Currently teach mainly math and science, a little Philosophy and some US History with a pinch of English.  The school is a bit eclectic, suits me very well.

  by SME in Seattle on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:52:22 AM PDT

•  Older than dirt

  Actually, I'm not, I just feel like it. I'm 27 (people online usually tell me I "sound" much older), and currently between jobs. My father was in the military and moved us around quite a bit due to his job; we wound up living in just about every other Southern state at one time or another (my favorite was North Carolina -- we lived near Greensboro; least favorite was Texas, where my teachers told students that Jesus approved of homosexuals being beaten to death...boy that did my psyche a LOT of good) but have lived in the lovely paradise of Macon, Georgia for the past 10-12 or so. Do yourself a favor and never come anywhere near this state...once it grabs you it never seems to let go.

  My mother and I are recovering Republicans. My relatives in various states range from a few lifelong Democrats who wheeze out "every word Bush says is a lie" in-between their 3rd pack of the day to many Southern Baptists who give me the evil eye and say everyone should vote for Republicans because Monica Lewinsky damaged our reputation with the world far more than Bush and Iraq ever could (I'm not kidding here) to pseudo-intellectual elitists who maxed out their credit cards on solid-gold bathroom faucets (I'm not kidding); they voted for Bush in 2000 but now pretend that they voted for Gore (back in 2000 they thought he was "too reminiscent of the old establishment"). I've spent way too much time this year trying to get some of these people to see the light (or to register to vote to begin with...so many don't even vote).

  by JamesB3 on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 12:53:14 AM PDT

  •  Eeps

    I hope no one thinks I meant that people in their 30's or upwards are older than dirt. That isn't it. What I meant is that I've always been an old soul, never really that "young" on the inside.

    by JamesB3 on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 01:12:36 AM PDT

•  I feel like I'm doing a personals ad

  35, now living in San Francisco but originally from the deep South--grew up just north of New Orleans. Divorced, one child who unfortunately has a name very similar to a undertalented pop diva also from south Lousiana. She lives with her mom. Currently a Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford. Been with my girlfriend for over 3 years. Ummm. Broke. Anything else?

  by incertus on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 01:11:35 AM PDT

•  none

  Mid 40's  Atlanta --> SF -->London-->NY-->retired to very rural Hawaii 5 years ago.

  Educated as an engineer (oxymoron?) but ended up a commodity trader.  Don't much care for political parties as I don't like the "koolaid" aspects of voting for the inevitable lousy candidates that parties throw out from time to time.  Can't vote for an R for national office though on general principles.

  I like this site because the news is 2 days ahead of the tube.

  by HiD on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 03:11:48 AM PDT

•  49 in WI

  Make my living getting arrested for exercizing free speech rights, and winning the subsequent civil suits., with occaisional expert witness stints for the defence in marijuana trials.

  by ben masel on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 05:18:57 AM PDT

•  I'll be 36 on April 29th

  Los Angeles; married; husband is 41; a 4year old son; underemployed, both of us -- went from solid middle class income to teetering over the poverty scale since Bush took office, result of a combination of the economy and its effect on my husband's work and a couple other unavoidable variables.

  Both caucasian and college educated (University of Michigan for me, University of California Berkeley for him -- no radical leftists in our household).

  He's a Los Angeles native. I was born in Michigan, raised in Europe )Spain and Portugal, mostly), returned to Michigan for high school, moved to L.A. after college.

  We're both recovering alcoholics (13 years for him, 7 for me); both perpetual underachievers; both cigarette smokers -- though I keep quitting for significant periods of time, I keep starting again.

  Turn ons: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; Daily Kos
  Turn offs: Long walks on the beach at sunset

  I got to the Internet late in the game -- found AOL in 1996, stuck with chat rooms for a while, moved on from AOL, became moderately computer literate -- and the rest is history.

  by Maryscott OConnor on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 05:21:44 AM PDT

•  Update on the smoking

  Been smoking again for 3 weeks. I know, I know...
  

  by Maryscott OConnor on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 05:53:37 AM PDT

•  Politically speaking...

  A radical left wing Democrat from a family of right wing born again Christian Republicans.

  More frightening, my mother was a left wing feminist agnostic Democrat until I went to college.

  Then she found Jesus. She's voted Republican ever since.

  And she doesn't understand why I don't believe in God.
  

  by Maryscott OConnor on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 07:37:13 AM PDT

•  58, male, N. European potpouri...

  ...son of an immigrant mom; born in NYC, in New Mexico a third of a century. A master of true adobe construction (that's mud bricks, the oldest man-made building material). Veteran of the sixties culture wars.  Pragmatic ultra-left Democrat.

  by claude on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 09:01:45 AM PDT

•  skippy

  i am 50, live in los angeles,  i am a writer and actor by trade, and you have seen me on television all the time, i usually play man#2.

  i am married, i am originally from denver colo, but have been in calif over 20 years, so, for california, that makes me a native.

  my wife is originally from ny, she hates bush too but thinks i am obsessive about it.

  by skippy on Sat Apr 17, 2004 at 03:04:03 PM PDT