Unpleasant Demographic News

Poor old DonDiego and his wife, teechur, moved to the Nashville, Tennessee greater metropolitan area this year.  The primary motivation was to take advantage of the variety and opportunities offered by bigger-city-life, . . . like entertainment venues, plentiful restaurant options, available senior medical care, shopping options, etc., etc., etc..

So far, so good. (The ongoing corona-virus is impacting some of the above opportunities negatively, but ever-hopeful poor old DonDiego foresees happy-times will return some time.)

Unfortunately someone apparently noticed poor old DonDiego's activity, . . . and now the influx into the Greater Nashville area is snowballing.

On the other hand, The Hill suggests other reasons, than following poor old DonDiego, for the sudden popularity of Nashville, . . . 

quote

. . . What developed this year is a cascade of residents leaving large cities in blue states. Among the biggest losers this year, in terms of total population loss, were New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and the District of Columbia. New York lost at least 300,000 residents this year. San Francisco saw 90,000 postal changes of address out of the city, while its median apartment rent took a nosedive of 20 percent in 2020. Los Angeles recorded more than 25,000 moves out of the city, while Chicago logged over 20,000. Even the District of Columbia lost 15,000 residents. 

. . . Residents who fled large cities in blue states overwhelmingly relocated to red-state cities, mostly in the Sun Belt or the West outside of California. Phoenix, already booming before the coronavirus, retained its spot as the fastest growing city in the country; its metro population now displaces Boston. The other overall winners in the demographic game this year are Nashville, where home prices continue to surge while real estate inventory is down 40 percent; Las Vegas, which tempted Bay Area techies to follow the Raiders to Sin City; Charlotte, which now has a larger population than San Francisco; and the greater Charleston area, which is likely the home of Boeing’s next expansion and has benefitted from manufacturing jobs moving south.

. . . Mega-cities that have been traditionally led by the Democratic Party face the steepest loss in population while mid-level cities either stemmed the decline or have booming populations. For young people leaving college, or those entering into the middle of their careers, there is little allure left in these concrete jungles. The safe cities inspired by Rudy Giuliani that emerged in the 1990s are no more, with surging poverty and violent crime.

endquote

The Democrat Party policies are driving citizens out of the "mega-cities", . . . and they are seeking safe haven where poor old DonDiego has chosen to live!

Poor old DonDiego hopes they don't ruin their new chosen locales, as they have already ruined the places they are leaving.

All those liberals with their good education from Blue states and their six digit salaries now have free license to live anywhere they want thanks to the expedited work-from-home technology rolled out with COVID.    And many of them indeed are opting for lower tax havens (like Nashville...and Phoenix....and even Las Vegas).    

And if "ruining their locales" means they will drive up real estate prices, create demand for more restaurants/strip malls/ yoga studios/ and Whole Foods....then yes -   They will "ruin" Nashville.   I doubt local econmists will complain.       If ruining their locales means they dont have any tolerance for the alt-right George Wallace platform of the local good-ole-boys running the state government....then yes, they will ruin that too.  

As for California, I'm not too worried.    The parts that aren't on fire are still the most beautiful places to live in the country and with the best weather.    They need fewer people living there...just like 20 years ago when they all moved to Colorado.    Its like Yogi Berra says....nobody goes there anymore - its too crowded.

Colorado is now a blue state.   Arizona, Georgia and Texas aren't far behind.    Tennessee will probably keep electing Republicans for years to come....but the era of Marsha Blackburn Republicans is coming to an end.   And thats a good thing.

In large part they are moving to heavily Democratic cities like... Nashville!

DonDiego, you know those things you like about Nashville like great entertainment venues and high quality medical care? Those things happen when you have a better educated populace. i.e. Democrats.

I've just got to add that DonDiego is amazingly lacking in self-awareness.

He gloats that folks are moving from big Democratic cities to less big Democratic cities, while he himself moved from a rural (Republican) city to a Democratic city - and benefiting from it.

Poor old DonDiego does not reside within Nashville; he resides in an adjoining significantly Republican county [aboutl 3-to-1 Republican-to-Democrat], likely benefitting even more than had he moved "to a Democrat city".

Interestingly, Don Diego claims his move to a liberal urban area doesn't count because he is living in an outlying suburb and he merely exists as a bottom feeder living off the detritus of the big Democratic city. Of course, I am speaking in metaphoric terms. 

Demographically speaking people have been moving away from rural conservative areas for the last several decades for largely the same reasons Don Diego did.  The Democratic cities have better healthcare, better shopping, better entertainment, better restaurants and so on. For the younger folks, there are better job and educational opportunities. All in all, living in or in an area surrounding a Democratic city simply offers a better quality of life. 

I can't blame Don Diego for wanting to get away from the open sewers and economic desolation of the blood-red area he came from. Drinking a pint of a mad dog and getting high on fentanyl at the local trailer park every weekend isn't everyone's idea of enterianment. 

I have always said the conservatives elites can't stand living near the grassroots of conservatism.  

The statistics DonDiego cites about supposed outmigration from those Democratic cities that he hates so very much are wildly inaccurate and misleading. In short, he ignores inmigration. The only thing that's significant is NET gain or loss in population--and all of those cities have continued to grow at an annual rate of 1-2%, as they have for decades. (San Francisco has been growing more slowly than that, but it cannot physically expand due to geographical boundaries.)

The continual conservative narrative about "people fleeing from Democratic cities" is pure, unadulterated horseshit. For instance, why would Portland have had a less than 1% housing vacancy rate for the last five years running if everyone was fleeing?

There has been some outmigration from the more expensive cities due to the increase in work-from-home and the consequent lack of a need to pay the high rents there. But that isn't political--it's economic.

The truth of the matter is that people want to live in those big Democratic cities that DonDiego hates so much. Not directly because of their politics--though that certainly enters into it--but because large Democratic cities have better schools, parks, libraries, public transit, health care, shopping, food, entertainment, restaurants, etc. etc. etc. Life is better in those liberal snowflake SOOOOOCIALIST sanctuary full-of-darky-rioters cities. That's why they're so crowded. That's why people are willing to pay the high rents there!

DonDiego, if he sticks to his principles, will never travel from his safely red suburb to enjoy the amenities of filthily Democratic Nashville. He will also no doubt enjoy mingling with the no-maskers, vaccine deniers, and Trump-won-the-election MAGA morons that so heavily infest his chosen destination.

Well, demographic change is--and has been--coming, but it isn't the one Don is referencing.  

Old white men < everybody else.

Idiots and assholes who support people like Trump < everybody else.

People who use racism and bigotry as their mother's milk < everybody else

People who fondle their GUNZ and fantasize about shooting people of color < everybody else

People who wear MAGA hats and attack people < everybody else

And the numbers on the left are decreasing every day! They're dying off, and no one is replacing them.

As YOU said, you live in the greater Nashville metropolitan area. And your little suburb wouldn't have anything to suburb to if Nashville didn't exist. 

Or maybe you should just stick to your solidly Republican suburb when it comes to entertainment and dining. What's the most exciting thing going on there these days? Red Lobster?