Livability.com Names the Best Places for Liberals, Moderates and Conservatives, 2014
(PRWEB) October 20, 2014 -- We have become a more polarized nation, living in areas heavily concentrated with people who think, or at least vote alike. Today, more than half of us live in counties where the presidential vote is essentially predetermined. With this in mind, Livability.com has named the Best Places for Liberals, Moderates and Conservatives, 2014.
Our editors, working with advisory board member Kevin Stolarick, Ph.D, (the founding research director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management) and using data from several geographies, gauged the ideological skew of the congressional representation of a city. They utilized nonpartisan watchdog GovTrack’s analysis of the members of the House of Representatives on a conservative/liberal spectrum. Then, using data from Esri, editors looked at how residents of each city self-report their own political leanings on a five-point scale from very liberal to very conservative. The last piece of the political puzzle was the splits in the vote during the 2012 presidential election.
In addition, our editors asked Experian Marketing Services to help create a basket of goods -- one restaurant, one automotive brand, one magazine, one retailer and one TV show – that are heavily favored by one end of the political spectrum or another. They then backtracked and found areas where people uses those goods and services to a high degree.
“Research has shown that we increasingly live in areas with people who vote the same way we do,” says Matt Carmichael, editor of Livability.com. “A best place to live is about more than just politics, so we expanded our scope a little. We found cities where people not only are likely to vote together, but drive the cars, shop in the stores, watch the shows, and read the magazines that liberals, conservatives or centrists most love. Whatever your politics, you should be able to find a city on one of these lists where you’ll feel completely at home."
10 Best Cities for Liberals, 2014
Berkeley, CA
Hoboken, NJ
Somerville, MA
Boulder, CO
Evanston, IL
College Park, MD
Ann Arbor, MI
Mercer Island, WA
Alexandria, VA
Newport, RI
10 Best Cities for Conservatives, 2014
Alabaster, AL
Crestview, FL
Clinton, UT
Bristol, TN
Odessa, TX
Yukon, OK
Slidell, LA
Olive Branch, MS
Peachtree City, GA
Benton, AR
10 Best Cities for Centrists, 2014
Spokane Valley, WA
Bend, OR
Indio, CA
Gainesville, FL
Albany, GA
Boise, ID
Muncie, IN
Sparks, NV
Oregon, OH
Wildwood, MO
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Matt Carmichael, Livability.com, http://livability.com, +1 (847) 969-5483, [email protected]
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