Livability.com Names the Best Places for Liberals, Conservatives & Moderates, 2016
It’s hard to imagine that America could become a more politically polarized nation, but if this election cycle has proven anything, it’s that party lines are running deeper than ever. Whether on social media or with our news sources, we’re gravitating towards people who think like us.
As a result, more than half of us now live in counties where the presidential vote is essentially predetermined. In light of this, Livability.com has named the Best Places for Liberals, Conservatives and Moderates, 2016 — and Bend ranked on the Best Places for Moderates 2016.
To find these moderate oasis, Livability.com crunched election data looking places that didn’t swing too far to the right or left in 2012, and data on where moderates live and take part in political activities from Esri. Then they worked with Simmons Research to identify a TV Network, Car brand, restaurant, retailer and magazine that moderates tend to gravitate towards.
For moderates, the basket consisted of Freeform (formerly ABC Family), Kia, Little Caesar’s Pizza, Victoria’s Secret and Maxim.
“Politics is one of those things we all hear about, but never really consider when choosing a new place to live,” said Livability Managing Editor Christopher Pilny. “Yet, it’s as important as affordability, the quality of schools, walkability and other traditional measures of a community’s livability. We like to think we’re open-minded and receptive to other ideologies, but the fact of the matter is, we tend to surround ourselves with people who think like us.”
Bend actually has the average number of Democrats relative to the rest of the country, but above-average numbers of Republicans and nonaffiliated voters. Romney won in Bend, too—although by a much narrower margin than the other cities before. It’s probably no surprise, then, that while Bend tends to vote Republican, locals lean towards the liberal regarding certain topics like the environment and like to seek the middle ground in general. In fact, this is nothing new; Bend is one of three cities to make a repeat appearance on this list.
10 Best Cities for Moderates, 2016
Chattanooga, TN
Pocatello, ID
Avondale, AZ
Bend, OR
Warren ,MI
Chillicothe, OH
Gainesville, FL
Vicksburg, MS
Spokane Valley, WA
Greenville, SC
10 Best Cities for Liberals, 2016
St. Louis, MO
Berkeley, CA
Hoboken, NJ
Cambridge, MA
Bethesda, MD
Evanston, IL
Alexandria, VA
Boulder, CO
Ithaca, NY
Kailua, HI
10 Best Cities for Conservatives, 2016
Bullhead City, AZ
Enid, OK
Alabaster, AL
Asheboro, NC
Burleson, TX
Bristol, TN
Benton ,AR
Slidell, LA
Brandon, MS
Columbus, NE
