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This is just a re-telling of a well known fact. Rural areas tend to be red and urban areas tend to be blue. Only this is retold with the connotation that republ
by johngalt 13y ago
This is just a re-telling of a well known fact. Rural areas tend to be red and urban areas tend to be blue. Only this is retold with the connotation that republicans are somehow antisocial.
I'd just like to point out that proximity is not equivalent to interaction. In my experience social interaction was higher in rural settings. In a small town you will know all your neighbors, and probably half the people at your local stores. In a city it's the opposite, strangers abound.
- smtddr 13y agoAgreed, in my mind I like to picture republican areas like the "King of the Hill" cartoon. All really nice & sociable people, just have a few opinions that differ from my own only because of different life experiences. Also, the areas that see the most foreigners will give more points of view to consider. I'd like to see political-affiliation related to distance from a major airport.
- tomkarlo 13y agoWe tend to know the same number of people total, so when you're in a more densely populated area, you're dividing the same number (or even a larger number) by a much, much larger number of people around you. Maybe it's not that people in small towns are more social; they just have a smaller pool.
- johngalt 13y agoExactly, the smaller number of total people results in meeting people you know more often. This is exactly what happens. I wasn't trying to imply that rural people are different, merely that the setting creates more opportunities to have social interaction.
- tomkarlo 13y agoHaving fewer places in town results in meeting people you know more often. Having fewer people doesn't - your probability of meeting someone is the number of people you know (which is arguably larger in a city) divided by the number of places they could be. The number of people you don't know in a place is mostly irrelevant.
- presidentender 13y agoIt's anecdotal, but I went to high school in a town of 1300 people, and I'm comfortable having friends of all ages. My friends from Denver, Seattle, and DC tend to associate exclusively with people closer to our ages (mid-20s).
- jacobwcarlson 13y agoIt may be that coming in contact with many people you don't know builds a different outlook than dealing mainly with people you do.