What are some liberal/atheist cities in the U.S.A.?
Offline Another whiny rant on my part, just skip to the last part if you don't want a giant text wave of man-tears.
I am from Austin and I have heard from some online who believe it is an atheist/liberal city, and I guess it kinda is, but sadly the area I am in is not, and once you leave Austin, you are quickly reminded you are in the South. 
And I have nothing against it. I think the South has some great beauty and history, and some interesting characters....I just wish it could be a region I go to on vacation, not have to live in.
It seems everywhere I go....in my family....my job....everyone is a straight, white, Conservative, homophobic, racist, judging, sexist, jerk who is really into being what they think is "normal", likes country music and is stuck hundred years behind the times.
Now I realize there are Christians/Rude and judging pricks everywhere, and the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side, and knowing me, I'd be just as miserable if I was a Yankee, but it just seems overall that in places like NYC, Philly, etc....folks will stand you in the front and not care what your skin color is in the process. I've never been up North in all my life, so I wouldn't know. All this Jesus stuff, and redneck nonsense is a way of life in the South. *sigh* 
And again, I am thinking it's not just shoved in your face up North, or England or out West or wherever.
I am almost 30 and I've hated it since I was a child. I have soooooo much self-hate cause I loath the south overall. I don't mean to offend all those here, because I know we're not ALL like that, but we are outnumbered it seems. AND AGAIN, if I didn't have to live here, I'd be alright with it because after a few days, I could go back home. I also wish I could for once have some regional pride and I have very little for Texas/the South. I do for the city of Austin, but for the most part I am preaching that Austin is the one city in the South that is not full of hicks. I am trying to convince readers that Austin is a hip city and diverse.
Anyhow, I can't move anytime soon, but I think having a dream/goal is heathly.
So yeah, what are some cities where it's the Christians who have to feel like social outcasts? And wouldn't it rule if the U.S.A. was more like Russia where it insults those who believe in a talking snake?
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I'm not sure you could find any city that is atheist we are a minority pretty much everywhere and Christians are not really outcasts anywhere in the country (as much as they like to scream that they are oppressed). But the cities that are better than most I would have to say Minneapolis, MN which is rather liberal socially but also remains mostly fiscally conservative and business friendly so you can actually make money. The downside is that outside of the city you can quickly find yourself in fundy land.
San Francisco of course is renowned for its liberalism but is also a dump. I wouldn't want to live there.
If you are going the California route Santa Rosa is a great area but you have to be prepared to live with California economics. I wouldn't suggest moving there unless you are well off enough that you don't have to actually work.
Denver didn't seem too bad but I wasn't there for very long.
If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X
I disagree, it's worse than useless if you never follow through with it- an impossible dream can be down right harmful to the present.
I grew up near Houston (which is actually better than Austin, but not by very much), and went to university for four years in a much smaller and even more conservative town- and many of my atheist friends there dreamed of leaving, but have never managed to because it was always too inconvenient today, and might be easier tomorrow.
The grass *is* greener elsewhere. As somebody who left Texas I can tell you that. There is not a single day I regret it, and rarely a day goes by when I don't find pleasure in how much more interesting and inspiring my life is due to my choices and the assertive actions I took in realizing them.
You are making a severe error, though- because while the grass genuinely is greener elsewhere, you only imagine that change tomorrow will be more convenient than it will be today.
"I'll get in shape one of these days, I just need a home gym"
-Know what bucko? There's a floor, drop down and do some pushups.
"I'll move out of my parents basement one of these days, just waiting for a raise"
-Rent isn't that expensive if you stop blowing it on pizza and beer- you can move get a demotion and move.
"I'll be an assertive human being who makes something of his life one of these days, just need to get me some assertiveness!"
-Sensing any of the irony here? Just a little?
Fuck that.
Tomorrow, next month, next year is *not* easier, and by pretending it is you are defining yourself by the habit of procrastination. You choose to put it off for later because it might be more convenient, and later you'll choose to do the same thing.
It doesn't matter where you go- NY, SF, Seattle, Portland even- hell, even go to a shit hole like LA- you're in the pits from not only a location standard, but a motivational and emotional one, and the most essential action you can take is unsticking yourself from where you are and doing something about your situation. Not tomorrow, today.
Why can't you move anytime soon? Do you have any actual evidence that moving will be substantially easier a few weeks or months? Because FYI, it usually only gets harder to uproot yourself. More shit. More attachments. More obligations. You're just sinking deeper into the muck, and imagining that some day it'll all fall together.
I'll tell you right now that nobody I've ever met has ever had a legitimate reason to put off moving for more than a few months. If you don't want to die there, you need to get your shit in gear, otherwise daydream about something more interesting and realistic- like colonizing mars.
Make assertive actions towards your goal *every* day, and keep a time line.
Take inventory. What do you have? What are your assets? What can you sell? How much do you need monthly? How long can you float? If you aren't calling about job openings in the city of your choice daily, you aren't making progress. If you aren't searching for an apartment daily, you aren't making progress.
If you can't decide, go to Portland.
+Cheap rent (the cheapest of any highly secular city I know of in the states)
+Walkable city with reasonably good transit.
If you have a car, sell it- they're too expensive. Check car sale prices between Austin and Portland and drop it off at the place that's the best seller's market and take the bus the rest of the way. Unless you can sleep in it and you're otherwise broke, in which case keep it to save on rent in case you're in a pinch finding a job- you could be substantially happier sleeping in your car and searching for a job every day in a new city than you can be stagnating where you are.
If you don't have too much crap to lug around, or you can trash and sell it, you could even go to China, Japan (skip Korea), or Eastern Europe- After the plane ticket you can live for next to nothing in the right place.
Seriously though, get out of there. Not at some hypothetical future time of "later", which will be forever delayed and pushed back, and which will NEVER become now, but NOW now- the actual present which is here and in which you can redefine your habits with a simple assertive self affirming choice.
San Fransisco is odd; it's both a very nice city, and swarming with crack-heads and some fair share of urban youth gangs. Not as bad as LA, but economically speaking it definitely has some serious issues. It's mostly a matter of knowing where to go, and where NOT to go. If you're geographically gifted, it can be a great city.
Here's a convenient map and list:
http://friendlyatheist.com/2009/01/30/top-10-mostleast-religious-states-in-the-country/
There is actually quite a bit to be said for Alaska.
I am not sure about cities or even states, i think all major cities will have an equal chance of harboring a lot of different types of individuals. The one thing you might want to check out is out of country and look at their law systems and laws to see if it has any of the things you like and do not like but if you are just limiting yourself to the U.S.A i say stay around the cities in the west coast or east coast. Just my opinion not an actual fact as far as i know sorry
I grew up in Yuma AZ. I was 29 before I got out for good. Hated it - the weather, the attitude, the winter visitors. I finally wound up in Portland, OR.
I have also lived in central Washington state. They are pretty redneck there. What I have observed is the larger cities closer to the coast are more likely to be liberal and have more atheists. So, Portland Metro or Seattle Metro (definitely urban sprawl) are more liberal and with more tolerance for different religious beliefs or lack thereof. I thought about moving to Seattle instead, but I like the "Keep Portland Weird" bumper stickers with all the people determined to follow that directive around. And downtown Portland is much prettier than downtown Seattle. Though I do miss frequent visits to Pike Place Market in Seattle. I think being independently wealthy so I wouldn't have to work and living within walking distance of the market would be best, but I have to work. So I'll take the Willamette River running through Portland as being over all better.
Rent is not bad as long as you are satisfied with a funky apartment in a funky part of town. There are rentals that are as expensive as just about any other big city. Jobs are tight. For everyone. Scan www.jobdango.com or Craig's list for local openings - in Portland and elsewhere. The local newspaper website is www.oregonlive.com.
Seattle has two newspapers, though both are now owned by the same conglomerate. Seattle Post Intelligencer (or Seattle PI) and the Seattle Times.
Weather is wet, the days get short in the winter. Early January can be a trial for locals and implants like me. But it doesn't rain here as much as New York. I looked it up - Portland 36 inches a year, New York 42 inches a year on average. The difference is Portland gets almost all of their rain after October and before the 4th of July. And, very often, it isn't rain, it is not much heavier than a mist, so it seems to be wet constantly all winter though it really isn't all that bad. Maybe an ice storm, maybe an inch or two of snow that melts off pretty quick. Summers are gorgeous, days of sun, maybe a week of temperatures around 100F, but mostly not over 90. We have lovely springs and autumns as well.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
None, really.
I live in Seattle. This is one of the most secular, if not the most secular city in the U.S. But, by far, the majority of the population is theist, and there are more than enough churches for everyone to have somewhere to go on Sunday morning.
I wouldn't go for Russia. Try Western Europe or Japan.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
Love or leave it, yankee!
I have plenty of pride for Texas and the South. Heck if you are going to drop all pride for an area because of the current religiosity of its inhabitants, then you are forced to drop all pride for the United States of America in its entirety.
Yeah, there are a lot of idiots in Texas. But you can find a lot of idiots everywhere on the planet.
And, yes, Texas is a conservative state. But the reasons for that harken back to the Civil War and I believe it is in response to a defensive mindset against anything the Northern states say. Hell if the North formally stated the sky was blue then Texas would write a new state anthem calling it green. Texas has a lot to be proud of. Look at all the industry and high technological development in this state. The airline route between Austin and the Silicon Valley used to be nicknamed Geek Air. Look at all the extremely impressive cutting edge scientific developments based right here. Our state has more land and a higher GDP than the vast majority of countries on this planet. Texas isn't some backwater, inbred, uneducated state that a lot of northerners like to say. Hell we have some of the finest higher education institutions in the entire country. Austin was listed as one of the top 5 most educated cities in America a few years back. Hell, probably still is.
Even through this "Great Recession" the triangle between Austin, Dallas, and Houston was repeatedly proven to be the best place in all of America to weather the storm. Our cities are consistently listed as among the best of a very short list of the cities in the country to get a job.
Our ancestors fought very bravely to win this land from Mexico, we fought beside our fellow states valiantly in that ultimately futile war against our brothers in the North, we live in the only state that was ever its own country. I mean, crap, dude. Just because we have some hillbillies and a lot of conservative Republicans doesn't negate all of that.
Right now Austin is considered oddly liberal in a very conservative state. I just think Austin is a few decades ahead of where the rest of the state is heading.
"I am an atheist, thank God." -Oriana Fallaci
NZ is more than 40 per cent atheist and its dollar is worth about 9 US cents. NZ also has the highest proportion of Jedi in the world, which is perfect in the event of an alien attack.
Additionally, because so many US servicemen lived in NZ during World War II, every third person there is called Duane, so you'll feel right at home.
Funny that white, straight, conservative, homophobic, racist, etc, slot together so well. I know a few people like this, including some long term friends who have solidified into these creatures in their mid-40s. Listening to them talk is bizarre.
Atheists definitely tend to lean to the left, even if they vote conservatively. Perhaps they have a broader sense of the context of good and evil. I've often thought this might be true.
"Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." Max Planck
New Zealand is awesome if you're into oppressing women by denying them basic bodily autonomy.
"Did you get raped? Oh well, it was your own fault for dressing like that, now have a baby you stupid whore!"
Yeah, New Zealand is just a bastion of liberty and secularism. I guess we'll see how the recent attempts by sane people to decriminalize fare later this year.
There are two important considerations for a place- one being the people, and the other being how medieval the government is.
I would say either Chicago or Minneapolis(but I'm not biased). I love the Midwest, won't ever move from here. The only thing that I would consider a problem is snow, and for me, that just is not enough reason to leave. I can easily remove snow if I have to go anywhere.
All that I know, there was no god for me - Fear Factory - Resurrection
http://theoracleofjames.wordpress.com/
I am a NYC boy born and bred... I am a vocal Atheist...people here tend to tell one another "fuck You" as a way of saying "Hi, I vehemently disagree with you, but think you're interesting, and I;d like to engage you in conversation"
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
Hello,
Step into one of the many Public Universities, and you should feel right at home. Since virtually all of them are liberal and hate conservatives. The Universities are the pawn soldiers for the big atheists of the world.
Also, find the city with the most violence, gangs, murders, theft, rapes etc, and logically you will find yourself also a consistent liberal city. Remember, Liberalism is the decay of goodness, values, truth, beauty, justice. So where you see chaos, you should feel right at home. Consistent Atheism has no moral code, so the more consistent ones lets loose, and allow their wickedness to let it all hang out, the more liberal, that place will be.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
A Rational Christian of Intelligence (rare)with a valid and sound justification for my epistemology and a logical refutation for those with logical fallacies and false worldviews upon their normative of thinking in retrospect to objective normative(s). This is only understood via the imago dei in which we all are.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
OK. We've established that you're frightened of:
1. Liberalism
2. Education
3. Atheism
4. Truth -telling
What aren't you afraid of?
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html
http://www.religionandpoliticstoday.com/religion-and-lower-crime-rates.html
I know, you think all universities are nasty, that's because you have never attended one, and if you had, you flunked out. This is obvious from your posts.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Citation, please?
Citation, please?
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
Hello Nigel,
Not sure what you mean by citation. Since the papers are owned by liberals, they are hardly going to be honest. But I am arguing via logic. My valid argument is sound because when you go out into the real world, what you expect to find is there.
Not to mention the history of liberalism. It started like this:
Philosophy (1700s higher criticism)
Theology (Mid late 1800s, Theological scholars when to Germany for Bultmann LIKE teachings.)
Art (In 1913, the art show made art into modern art. And thus the death of art soon followed
Cinema (we see movies like "Blow Up." The death of philosophy, No ethics, No Being, Nothing. Among others
Culture (soon, all this exploded unto the culture. This happened via the explosion of the 1960s sex cult.).
Theology (This is mentioned twice because the first is when it started, but then it exploded also in the seminaries as a whole
Culture (Our culture then became stuck with all this garbage. This is why we are in Post-Modernism. The consequence of this crap).
A good book via citation for history would be Francis Shaeffer, "How should we then Live." Also Machen's book on liberalism is good. He wrote about it in the middle of the landslide, so it's incomplete, but good.
You see, liberalism is the death of philosophy, art, beauty, goodness, and right and wrong. It is a jump into secular atheistic Existentialism. A kind of ego-centric thinking that says I am selfish, deal with it. This is why we have a Muslim President, and why so many kids on here are looking for answers.
And the #1 target/enemy of the liberal. Is the family. Citation can be found in Crowley's writings. The ends justify the means. And thus, you have wickedness. But the most liberal city of all time, will be in hell, where liberals will enjoy torment, forever.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
A Rational Christian of Intelligence (rare)with a valid and sound justification for my epistemology and a logical refutation for those with logical fallacies and false worldviews upon their normative of thinking in retrospect to objective normative(s). This is only understood via the imago dei in which we all are.
Respectfully,
Jean Chauvin (Jude 3).
He means back up your claim with evidence and tell us where we can see this evidence for ourselves. Otherwise, we have no choice but to believe that you pulled these facts from your hindparts.
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
This is what I mean by citation: I mean that, if you actually do find this stuff in the real world, there is evidence of it. There will be a correlation between the "liberalism" (whatever the fuck that means) of a city, and the crime rate in the city. There will be studies that have actual numbers in them, numbers you could then verify (the strength of empiricism).
However, simply finding a correlation does not constitute a discovery of cause. For instance, assuming a correlation between "liberalism" (whatever the fuck that means) and the crime rate of a city may indicate a common cause. In general, there are two classes of cities that tend to be more liberal: big cities, and poor cities. These are the same two things that would contribute to crime rates.
Secondly, more conservative cities tend to be more affluent. This is because conservatism is generally associated with those who have something to lose (such as money). So, more conservative cities (generally smaller, affluent cities) would both have more money available for essential services like police and education (another indicator of crime rate). They would also tend to less crime, because there will be fewer poor.
Again, you are simply making assertions with no logic or evidence to back them up. That, and an outright lie: Obama isn't Muslim. He is, at best, a liberal Christian. All evidence supports this, rather than the insanely stupid lie that he's a Muslim. Let me guess -- you watch a lot of Fox News, right?
In what way is liberalism the death of philosophy? In what way is it the death of goodness? In what way is it the death of right and wrong?
Wait. Back up just a second. What is liberalism? Can you give me a definition?
How is the family the #1 enemy of the liberal? I am a liberal, and my family is very important to me. If the family is the enemy of the liberal, why is the divorce rate lower among atheists than most faith groups? Why are the divorce rates among conservative Christians higher than any other faith group, including atheists and agnostics? Seems to me that conservative Christianity is the enemy of the family.
So now you are not only making assertions, but you are making assertions that are demonstrably false.
"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers
Yah, the north as far as upstate NY is pretty much over-run by the church crowd. My 14 year old and I had an interesting discussion about our lack of belief and her school friends being mad at her for not believing in God. I have encountered that myself here-the 'you don't believe in God, gasp'-it is a reason I don't just tell people right off about my lack of religion. It has me searching the internet for atheist and agnostic friendly cities. I hear Ithaca is relatively progressive, full of hippies and atheist/agnostics. What a breath of fresh air to read someone posting about atheism. Thanks...
Universities are more liberal because it is reality. Straight conservatism is stagnant and does not inspire learning.
"Ok people, today we will learn how to regress and if we can't do that we will at least stay right where we are"
As far as "moral code" I haven't been to jail or committed any crimes lately and would consider myself to be a decent citizen. A large portion of prison innmates however claim to be christians.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
Except that there are plenty of conservative universities...
“A meritocratic society is one in which inequalities of wealth and social position solely reflect the unequal distribution of merit or skills amongst human beings, or are based upon factors beyond human control, for example luck or chance. Such a society is socially just because individuals are judged not by their gender, the colour of their skin or their religion, but according to their talents and willingness to work, or on what Martin Luther King called 'the content of their character'. By extension, social equality is unjust because it treats unequal individuals equally.” "Political Ideologies" by Andrew Heywood (2003)