My screen name is ApauledinNJ and has been for the 3 years I have been on Daily Kos. I grew up and spent most of my life in New Jersey. However I moved to North Carolina about 6 months ago but did not want to change my screen name after all this time.
I moved to what is a pretty solid red district (#7 in the map in the Wilmington area) but the thing is, there are a lot of New Yorkers, Connecticutians (sic), Jerseyites, and Pennsylvanians, and other traditional blue staters that are moving here in growing numbers.
Now to be sure there are a lot of people who are moving who are not liberal nor progressive but there are many friends we have made who share our values and beliefs and maybe if enough of us move here maybe we can turn the district at least purple and eventually blue.
The thing is that as more and more of us retire we need to decide where we are going to spend our retirement years. Let me suggest that we spend time looking at districts that are slightly red or maybe purple and consider those districts as places to retire.
Those who wish to retire to NC should not necessarily chose Raleigh or Charlotte (1 or 12) in the map above but try some of the other districts. Those two districts probably hold 70% of the democratic voters in the state which is how they were gerrymandered into existence.
If you want to retire in Florida try the panhandle or the areas around Orlando rather than the Miami or Palm Beach areas which are already Blue. We need to put more progress people into these other districts. There are some advantages to moving to these areas. Education is not one of them but hopefully if you are retired that will not be a big concern. But taxes are lower, there is less traffic and being more rural the air may be cleaner. You won’t have access to the culture and shopping of the big city but online shopping, as my wife has found, can make things a lot easier.
We need to put out mouths and our bodies where they are needed. The huge number of baby boomers entering retirement and relocating can make a difference. Go on line and look at the state you are considering. Find districts where the vote was rather close, say 45 to 55 or closer in favor of the conservatives. If we can over the next 4 years or so get a few thousand people of like persuasion as us to move to those new districts it can have an impact when redistricting occurs after the 2020 Census. Especially if you call and volunteer to help other progressives and maybe join the local Democratic committee.
Just food for thought. Something positive to do in your retirement.