Best Democratic states to live or retire?

[Marius25]

I just noticed that Massachusetts went entirely blue this election. It's obviously a very blue state, but even in 2016, a few counties went for Trump. Not this year.

What do you think are the best Democratic states to live or retire that have good quality of life and aren't astronomically expensive? I realize Democratic states and expensive usually go hand in hand, but are there any that are better than others?

I live in Maryland right now which I'm kinda bored with, so looking to move. And my parents are retired and want to move next year some place really blue. They're leaning towards Massachusetts or New Hampshire, but New Hampshire isn't super blue - it's more purple.

What states do you all like the best?

[Dream Girl]

1. I'm in Cali, blue but expensive. I've been wondering about New Mexico myself. I'm looking forward to

Responses to this thread as I look towards retirement

[Marius25]

5. Yeah, I probably wouldn't mind Cali.

Just not sure I will ever be able to afford it and my parents are scared of wildfires/earthquakes.

[Mr.Bill]

9. Not all of California is expensive.

I live in Lake County which borders Napa and Sonoma counties on their North. Now we don't have that wonderful weather like San Diego, and we are not as blue as other places, but in recent years Democrats win here and we are trending more blue every year. Triple digit temps are not unusual during the summer, and a light dusting of snow once or twice during the winter sometimes happens.

What we do have is the largest natural lake in California, Clear Lake, with world class bass fishing. The lake is 44,000 acres and very uncrowded. Great place for sailing, too. We live in a very nice senior mobile home park one mile from the shore of that lake and we paid in the low five figures for the home and our space rent is less than $500 a month. Very little traffic and noise and a low stress level. Clean air to breath. Yes, there is a risk of fires, but some areas are relatively safe.

Now we don't have world class shopping and dining and the nearest international airport is 100 miles away in Sacramento. San Francisco is also about 100 miles away. Close enough for overnight trips to a ball game or other events. We go there several times a year. Costco is about 50 miles away, convenient enough for semi-weekly shopping trips. Medical care is very good with two small hospitals.

In short, we are living quite comfortably on a mid five figure income. I'm sure not everyone wants to live in a trailer park, but you can buy a nice house around here for 300K or even less. I sold my last house here for 260K and it was on a golf course.

[Dagstead Bumwood]

18. Fifth lowest cost of living

and very pretty country in NM. I'm sold, but now I just have to convince the wife. She's already on board with getting the hell out of Ohio.

[Dream Girl]

28. Have you researched the water situation there? Don't know much about but it seems dire.

[evemac]

2. Very happy in blue Colorado

[Polly Hennessey]

3. Very happy in expensive, blue California. 🥰

[Thunderbeast]

4. My urban Portland zip code...

In 2016, Trump came in 3rd behind Clinton and Stein.

Contrary to press reports, city IS NOT burning down. Proud Boys and ANTIFA ARE NOT locked in battle.

I also have a nice house for sale on a very blue street!

[Binkie The Clown]

6. Anywhere along the I-5 corridor in Oregon is wonderful.

From Ashland to Salem is all great. I've lived at both extremes of that range, but I haven't lived north of that, so beyond that I can't say.

[we can do it]

7. Pretty nice here in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

[abqtommy]

8. We've lived here in New Mexico since 2005. I'm happier here than I've ever been in many

of the other places I've lived in.

[Dream Girl]

29. Where are you? ABQ?

[Dream Girl]

30. Where are you? ABQ?

[Fla Dem]

10. With Massachusetts you're surrounded by Blue, RI, CT, NH, VT and NY. Oh ya and the Atlantic Ocean.

So yes Massachusetts is the place. Also home of 4 Presidents, John F Kennedy, Calvin Coolidge, John Quincy Adams and John Adams.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

11. There's communities around the country that I like.

One of my favorite visits was the Flagstaff AZ area years ago. The Navajo around there exuded peacefulness, as did much of the other locals.

[flotsam]

12. New Hampshire is my adopted state

While not pure blue were certainly not blue hostile. Trump lost here by 7%. On the one hand real estate taxes are stiff but we have no sales or income tax. Unless you insist on waterfront real estate prices are relatively modest. The ocean is 2-2 1/2 hours to the mountains with the lakes region in the middle. Food costs are modest. I'm happy here. All I'll say about Massachusetts is Lots of their residents are moving here. Be sure to bring a snow blower...

[mopinko]

13. i live on the north side of chicago.

lots of areas here are spendy, but not mine.
rogers park is the ne corner of the city. property values here an insanely low.
nobody ever sells. the rents are pretty low for the same reason. even the renters dont move around.
most of the buildings are on a lot and a half, so we actually have yards up here.
lovely old buildings. well built, and mostly well maintained.

we have everything. great public transit. you can get to literally anywhere in the world from here.
we have the lake, parks, artists, musicians, restaurants.

our nickname is- the people's republic of rogers park. our sister republic- hyde park- is much the same. their bldgs are prettier, tho. this was built as a working class hood, but hyde park was the home of the rich.

the only other place i would live is ireland.

[North Shore Chicago]

23. +1

[NewJeffCT]

14. Arizona is trending blue

you could continue building the Democratic base there. Same with Georgia.

Still a ways to go, but I remember a former DUer trying to recruit people to move to her state of Virginia to turn that state blue - and that was 15-16 years ago. Now, VA is a solid light blue. So, it can take a little while.

[smirkymonkey]

15. I live in MA (Boston) and it is expensive here, but I really like living here.

Very high standard of living, and there are places in the state that not as expensive once you get out of commuting distance of Boston. However the further west you go, the less liberal it gets. Anywhere in New England that isn't too rural would be a good choice.

Vermont is a very blue state and the Burlington area is really nice. You aren't near the ocean, but you are on beautiful Lake Champlain and only about 3 1/2 hours or so from Boston.

The southern Maine coast is very nice as well, although the further instate you go, the more backwoods/right-wing it gets. A lot of old time Mainers call the southern Maine coast "northern Massachusetts". Very pretty towns on the way up to Portland and beyond and you are pretty much right on the ocean.

[Marius25]

16. Berkshire county is very liberal. Comparable to the Boston area.

Biden got over 70% of the vote in Berkshire county. Actually, the entire state of Mass. just went entirely blue. Even the counties that Trump won in 2016 flipped blue. It's the only state in the country I think that happened in.

We're just worried Massachusetts, even far from Boston, will be too expensive.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. I'm happy in Minnesota, which is very blue as long as you don't leave

the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, but not everybody appreciates the weather. Even so, it's usually listed among the best states for all-around quality of life, especially wrt education and the environment.

[MyMission]

19. I hear Georgia may be on the list

The climate in the south is appealing, but the political environment is not.
Georgia is showing promise. I live in red region of purple NC, was considering moving to MA after last election, now considering Georgia, but still really like the idea of Massachusetts.

I hear Arizona and New Mexico are great states for retirees. A friend is considering Colorado.

[DFW]

20. If I ever move back to the USA

It will be either to Massachusetts (I've worked my ass off for 45 years to be able to afford it), New Mexico (know little about it, but a friend moved there after a nasty episode with Cheneybush, and she never regretted it), or back to Virginia, where I was born, and my brother still lives.

And if not, I'll just stay here, wasting away again in German Rheinlandville.

[Harker]

21. Looking for your lost shaker of Salz? n/t

[DFW]

24. Lost Streuer, but you got the idea!

Being Germans, they mash it into one word anyhow: Salzstreuer.

When my younger daughter was in law school in the USA, her class was asked to read aloud and comment on some case involving VW. Her passage happened to include the full name of the corporation: VolkswagenAktiensgesellschaft. She just read right through it as if it had been the word "car." Both her professor and the class all said WHOA! How did you do that? She looked at them as if they had lost their minds. "I'M GERMAN!" she scolded them. By then, her English had lost all traces of a German accent, and they tended not to even remember that she was born and bred here. They said, oops, we forgot," and they all had a laugh.

[Harker]

26. Nobody does compound nouns and complicated verbs

like Germans.

My in-laws are from Kassel. If we liked each other better we'd probably talk more.

[DFW]

31. Is one of them a Berufsmeisterschornschorsteinfeger?

That even beats the formal name of VW

(It means professional chimney sweep, and they still exist here)

[Harker]

32. Regrettably not...

Retired delicatessen owner and wife.

Big family for schnibbels.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. This might be a made-up word but I remember it from a German class

many years ago: Eisenbahnzugwagenfensterplatz - seat on a train by a window.

[Harker]

34. Ooh. That's a nice one.

For some sad reason, I remember Reichsicherheitsdiensthauptamt, the headquarters of the Nazi SD (Security Service.)

I like yours better. It should be a song title.

[Marius25]

25. I'm jealous you get to live in Germany.

I really want to move to Europe, but I still haven't found a way to do so. Pre-Covid I worked in luxury hotels, but no country that I'm aware off gives a work visa for hotel work unless you're like General Manager.

[DFW]

27. At least you are aware of the hurdles

Some people think all they have to do is pack a suitcase, buy a one-way ticket, get off the plane and be welcomed by free everything, courtesy of the German taxpayer.

It helped that I married one of the friendlier natives. But even with that, when it came to requesting a residence and work permit, even though we had already been married for 30 years, I needed to furnish proof of steady (and continuing) employment, health insurance, financial security (including pension fund), and prove language proficiency.

Hotels here are having a rough time of it right now anyway. Down in Bavaria, they just gave all hotel guests three days to clear out and go home. The Covid-19 second wave is even more severe than the first, it seems.

[Niagara]

22. I live in Democratic New York.

Unfortunately the county that I live in turned red in 2016 and 2020.




I've been looking at this map for 2020, although we know it's not complete just yet. [link:https://www.bing.com/search?q=democratic%20counties%20map%202020&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&pq=democratic%20counties%20map%202020&sc=1-28&sk=&cvid=98B5685D2F9042DDAB0AC07A43CD6C58|

If you click on the state, it'll show you how red/blue each county is. I believe at this point I would rather live in a blue county compared to a blue state.