Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

OT: anything goes!

Moderator: Edi

User avatar
Crossroads Inc.
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9233
Joined: 2005-03-20 06:26pm
Location: Defending Sparkeling Bishonen
Contact:

Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Because it is good to remember that there are inviting and welcoming areas of America that foster openenss, that not all the small towns are 'backwards and full of rednecks'.

Recently I have beeing using google Earth to take "tours" of several mor liberal small towns, (as I plan to vacation one of them later this year). Of what I have read and seen, my favorites are:

Ithaca New York
Northampton, Massachusetts
Burlington, Vermont
and..
Prescott, Arizona

Because since a kid, I have loved "small towns" I lvoe being able to walk through a downtown, I LOVE the Turn of the century and victorian Architecture, and all of the old brick buildings. The use of "shops on the first floor, homes on the second floor" mixed buildings that you virtually don't see at all any more in modern cities (well in many American cities in anycase).

And most of all, to know that there are places that buck the "smalltown = Conservative" trend. Burlington after all was voted the second most gay frinedly city in the US (by Advocate Magizine).

I am curious how many on the bored are from "small towns" or have visited other well known progressive areas of the US that are worth mentioning.
Praying is another way of doing nothing helpful
"Congratulations, you get a cookie. You almost got a fundamental English word correct." Pick
"Outlaw star has spaceships that punch eachother" Joviwan
Read "Tales From The Crossroads"!
Read "One Wrong Turn"!
User avatar
Bob the Gunslinger
Has not forgotten the face of his father
Posts: 4760
Joined: 2004-01-08 06:21pm
Location: Somewhere out west

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Bob the Gunslinger »

Prescott Arizona is not liberal. I don't even know where you got that idea. The only thing liberal in Prescott is meth use.
"Gunslinger indeed. Quick draw, Bob. Quick draw." --Count Chocula

"Unquestionably, Dr. Who is MUCH lighter in tone than WH40K. But then, I could argue the entirety of WWII was much lighter in tone than WH40K." --Broomstick

"This is ridiculous. I look like the Games Workshop version of a Jedi Knight." --Harry Dresden, Changes

"Like...are we canonical?" --Aaron Dembski-Bowden to Dan Abnett
User avatar
Night_stalker
Retarded Spambot
Posts: 995
Joined: 2009-11-28 03:51pm
Location: Bedford, NH

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Night_stalker »

I would hardly call Burlington small. Given about 33% of Vermont's total population lives there, I believe that disabuses it of the title of small.

I will not however, argue that it is a VERY progressive city, in a very progressive state. *sigh*, God, I miss Vermont. Best state I've ever lived in.
If Dr. Gatling was a nerd, then his most famous invention is the fucking Revenge of the Nerd, writ large...

"Lawful stupid is the paladin that charges into hell because he knows there's evil there."
—anonymous

"Although you may win the occasional battle against us, Vorrik, the Empire will always strike back."
rapidsquirrel
Youngling
Posts: 80
Joined: 2008-09-12 11:18am

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by rapidsquirrel »

Night_stalker wrote:I would hardly call Burlington small. Given about 33% of Vermont's total population lives there, I believe that disabuses it of the title of small.

I will not however, argue that it is a VERY progressive city, in a very progressive state. *sigh*, God, I miss Vermont. Best state I've ever lived in.
I don't think I would call any of those town small. I wouldn't call them towns either. Small cities maybe. You want a small Vermont town, look at my former hometown Peru, VT.

Though since you seem to be looking for slightly larger progressive towns, my current hometown is quite nice, Decorah, IA. Small, massive amounts of progressives, a nice organic food coop and lots of old Victorian-era buildings.
User avatar
Crossroads Inc.
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9233
Joined: 2005-03-20 06:26pm
Location: Defending Sparkeling Bishonen
Contact:

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Bob the Gunslinger wrote:Prescott Arizona is not liberal. I don't even know where you got that idea. The only thing liberal in Prescott is meth use.
Well to be fair, I am thinking of what is usually called "historic Prescott" which is a 'town' of about 8,000 or so. What most of the rest of the country thinks of as Prescott is "Precott Valley" which is much more modern and indeed rather rednecky. But the older Prescott is a haven for Progressive, art shows and new agey shops.
rapidsquirrel wrote:Though since you seem to be looking for slightly larger progressive towns, my current hometown is quite nice, Decorah, IA. Small, massive amounts of progressives, a nice organic food coop and lots of old Victorian-era buildings.
Thanks for that one as well. Iowa is a bit of a surprise to me, Iowa city is also listed as a very progressive and Gay friendly city and I would love to visit both if give the chance. Really what I want to plan is a good old fashion road trip, take a month or so visiting many of these places.
Praying is another way of doing nothing helpful
"Congratulations, you get a cookie. You almost got a fundamental English word correct." Pick
"Outlaw star has spaceships that punch eachother" Joviwan
Read "Tales From The Crossroads"!
Read "One Wrong Turn"!
User avatar
LadyTevar
White Mage
White Mage
Posts: 23338
Joined: 2003-02-12 10:59pm

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by LadyTevar »

Lewisburg, WV. Voted "Coolest Small Town" for 2011. or, just an hour's drive away, Fayetteville, WV, voted "Coolest Small Town" a few years back :)
Image
Nitram, slightly high on cough syrup: Do you know you're beautiful?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.

"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
User avatar
Bob the Gunslinger
Has not forgotten the face of his father
Posts: 4760
Joined: 2004-01-08 06:21pm
Location: Somewhere out west

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Bob the Gunslinger »

Arcata is a nice, liberal small town. As a bonus, it probably has more used book stores than Alaska.
"Gunslinger indeed. Quick draw, Bob. Quick draw." --Count Chocula

"Unquestionably, Dr. Who is MUCH lighter in tone than WH40K. But then, I could argue the entirety of WWII was much lighter in tone than WH40K." --Broomstick

"This is ridiculous. I look like the Games Workshop version of a Jedi Knight." --Harry Dresden, Changes

"Like...are we canonical?" --Aaron Dembski-Bowden to Dan Abnett
User avatar
Alyeska
Federation Ambassador
Posts: 17496
Joined: 2002-08-11 07:28pm
Location: Montana, USA

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Alyeska »

Missoula, Montana

Most progressive town in Montana. The state legislature saw fit to pass a state law specifically to prevent Missoula from recognizing anyone beyond the approved Federal protected persons list when it comes to racism and bigotry. Missoula passed a law allowing transgender to use the bathrooms that are appropriate to their mental sex as opposed to forcing them to use bathrooms of their biological origins. Conservatives get up in arms about predators staking out bathrooms to rape children. State legislator passes a law to prevent any local government from recognizing anyone not on the Federal protected persons list.

What was that about government interfering with the will of the people? Oh, right, it only counts when its against Conservatives.
"If the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. If the law is on your side, pound on the law. If neither is on your side, pound on the table."

"The captain claimed our people violated a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding us to develop hyperspace technology. Extermination of our planet was the consequence. The subject did not survive interrogation."
User avatar
irishmick79
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 2272
Joined: 2002-07-16 05:07pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by irishmick79 »

Night_stalker wrote:I would hardly call Burlington small. Given about 33% of Vermont's total population lives there, I believe that disabuses it of the title of small.

I will not however, argue that it is a VERY progressive city, in a very progressive state. *sigh*, God, I miss Vermont. Best state I've ever lived in.
I live in the Burlington area, and I wouldn't classify Burlington as very big. At most, it's a mid-sized city. That being said, there are quite a few towns around Burlington which certainly fall into the 'small' category. Colchester, St. Albans, Essex, all pretty little satellites.

Vermont definitely earns its stripes as progressive. Currently, we're getting ready to establish a single payor health care system in the state, and Chittenden county (according to a Pew research poll) is the least religious county in the least religious state in the United States. Most of the churches here are actually quite liberal in their outlook, at least comparatively.
"A country without a Czar is like a village without an idiot."
- Old Russian Saying
User avatar
Sam Or I
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 1894
Joined: 2002-07-12 12:57am
Contact:

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Sam Or I »

Davis California
User avatar
Rogue 9
Scrapping TIEs since 1997
Posts: 18670
Joined: 2003-11-12 01:10pm
Location: Classified
Contact:

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Rogue 9 »

Huntingburg, IN has the art shows and historic shopping district and so forth, and the population is majority Democrat, but I don't know that you'd call the politics "progressive" in the sense that you probably mean. I wouldn't pick a vacation spot based on the political situation, personally, but to each their own. I'd say Bloomington (again, IN), but thanks to the presence of Indiana University, that's really stretching the "small" part, though it doesn't really feel like it.
It's Rogue, not Rouge!

HAB | KotL | VRWC/ELC/CDA | TRotR | The Anti-Confederate | Sluggite | Gamer | Blogger | Staff Reporter | Student | Musician
User avatar
Mothman
Redshirt
Posts: 1
Joined: 2011-04-15 11:48pm
Location: West Virginia

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Mothman »

LadyTevar wrote:Lewisburg, WV. Voted "Coolest Small Town" for 2011. or, just an hour's drive away, Fayetteville, WV, voted "Coolest Small Town" a few years back :)
These are nice towns to visit. So is Point Pleasant. Lot's of history there.
User avatar
Raptor 597
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3338
Joined: 2002-08-01 03:54pm
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Raptor 597 »

Sam Or I wrote:Davis California
Davis seems like a great place to live. I'm an avid cyclist and would to be in a town that has more bikes and more people traveling on bikes than cars.
Formerly the artist known as Captain Lennox

"To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me." - Sir Isaac Newton
User avatar
LadyTevar
White Mage
White Mage
Posts: 23338
Joined: 2003-02-12 10:59pm

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by LadyTevar »

Mothman wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:Lewisburg, WV. Voted "Coolest Small Town" for 2011. or, just an hour's drive away, Fayetteville, WV, voted "Coolest Small Town" a few years back :)
These are nice towns to visit. So is Point Pleasant. Lot's of history there.
Heh... you just want them to come visit your statue :angelic:
Amusingly enough, while I've been *through* Point Pleasant, I've never had the chance to stick around and see the sights.
Image
Nitram, slightly high on cough syrup: Do you know you're beautiful?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.

"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
Jaevric
Jedi Knight
Posts: 678
Joined: 2005-08-13 10:48pm
Location: Carrollton, Texas

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Jaevric »

My stepmother is from Ithaca, NY, and I've been there a few times. While it's certainly progressive, especially with Cornell University, I don't remember being terribly impressed with the town -- admittedly, that was 15 years ago and I was 14-15 at the time so my standards may have improved since then. There's some pretty scenery, with Cayuga Lake and various waterfalls in the area. The economy isn't great, as I vaguely recall, but my parents are both hardcore Republicans and at the time I was drinking the Kool-Aid so I may have believed them too much about how the Evil Liberals destroyed the town's (and state's) economy and left PhDs pumping gas at the corner store.

Most of what I remember is lakes, waterfalls, some decent fishing, and a lot of T-Shirts in stores around Cornell extolling the virtues of alcohol abuse.
User avatar
Crossroads Inc.
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9233
Joined: 2005-03-20 06:26pm
Location: Defending Sparkeling Bishonen
Contact:

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Well, seeing quite a few members in some of these towns leads me to ask.
What is life like there?

What do you think you miss from a big City? What do you find is better/worse?
What do you go to a "big city" for when you need to, and what do you, for the most part, find you have close at home?

Part of the reason for my Interest is, and part of why I am planning this trip, is small towns are kind of a "hobby" for me. Some people do bonsai trees, some people do boats in bottles, I (using SimCity4) try and recreate small towns as accurately as possible.

Naturally I find myself limited by game mechanics most of the time, usually in balancing jobs out (the engine for SC4 has a very short tolerance for commute times, while in the real world people don't mind commuting up to 30miles or more to work)

Sor for me, It is nice to get a run down from inside these places and see how I can use it to more accurately do my own maps :)
Praying is another way of doing nothing helpful
"Congratulations, you get a cookie. You almost got a fundamental English word correct." Pick
"Outlaw star has spaceships that punch eachother" Joviwan
Read "Tales From The Crossroads"!
Read "One Wrong Turn"!
User avatar
irishmick79
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 2272
Joined: 2002-07-16 05:07pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by irishmick79 »

Burlington, vt
nice - Lake Champlain is goregous. Mountan views of the Adirondacks across the lake to the west, and the Green Mountains to the east can be spectacular. The Winooski River snakes its way southeast from Mallett's Bay just north of Burlington, limiting development and expansion to the north, which is dominated by the town of Colchester anyways. Essex sits just to the northeast of Burlington, Williston to the southeast, and Shelburne sits just to the south. A lot of the towns have been around since the 1780's.

Burlington is a city of about 40k. Chittenden county, according to a pew poll, ranked as the least religious county in the least religious state in the entire United States. There are lots of parks and bike trails, and there are some major ski resorts about 45 mins to the southeast in Waterbury and Stowe. Consequently, Burlington residents spend a lot of time out doors and Vermont ranks as one of the healthiest states in the country. The terrain here is definitely rugged.

I89 is the major highway which serves the Burlington area, approaching from the Southeast and turning Northwards towards the Canadian border. Most every other road is a smaller two lane highway or street. Montreal is the closest major city, and it's an hour and a half away. Boston is about three and a half hours away, and New York City is about 7 hrs away.

Hope this is a good start. If you want to know anything else, let me know.
"A country without a Czar is like a village without an idiot."
- Old Russian Saying
User avatar
Panzersharkcat
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 1705
Joined: 2011-02-28 05:36am

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Panzersharkcat »

Raptor 597 wrote:
Sam Or I wrote:Davis California
Davis seems like a great place to live. I'm an avid cyclist and would to be in a town that has more bikes and more people traveling on bikes than cars.
It's a decent enough place to live. A public transportation system (Unitrans) that actually functions helps. It's run by the students at UCD, if I remember correctly. The fares are affordable. A single ride is just a dollar and undergrads ride free. If you're looking for a place to eat out, I highly recommend Burgers and Brew on the corner of C and 3rd.

EDIT: Contrary to what you may have heard, the place does not smell like cow unless you're near Tercero during late summer/early fall.
"I'm just reading through your formspring here, and your responses to many questions seem to indicate that you are ready and willing to sacrifice realism/believability for the sake of (sometimes) marginal increases in gameplay quality. Why is this?"
"Because until I see gamers sincerely demanding that if they get winged in the gut with a bullet that they spend the next three hours bleeding out on the ground before permanently dying, they probably are too." - J.E. Sawyer
User avatar
Losonti Tokash
Sith Devotee
Posts: 2916
Joined: 2004-09-29 03:02pm

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Losonti Tokash »

Ashland, Oregon deserves a mention. It's a great little college town with things like an effective bus system, lots of arts programs, and a fantastic park downtown.
rapidsquirrel
Youngling
Posts: 80
Joined: 2008-09-12 11:18am

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by rapidsquirrel »

Crossroads Inc. wrote:What is life like there?

What do you think you miss from a big City? What do you find is better/worse?
What do you go to a "big city" for when you need to, and what do you, for the most part, find you have close at home?
I'm not sure how to describe life in Decorah. It's fairly quiet. Probably not a lot different then most places. There are probably less controversies then large cities, but they get more coverage. Less traffic and less noise then a large city and travel around town takes less time.

What do I miss from a large city.... not much though I haven't lived in a large city for any length time past a college year. I guess it would be nice to have a larger chain stores in Decorah. Still La Crosse, WI and Rochester, MN are both less then a hour and half way and they both have a Menard's and Home Depot along with large malls. Otherwise, there isn't a lot you can't get here, it some times just takes longer as you have to order it in, but shops around here are perfectly happy to do that for you. Maybe I'm a bad person to ask as I'm very used to small town life and don't think I really want to live in a city.
User avatar
Crossroads Inc.
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9233
Joined: 2005-03-20 06:26pm
Location: Defending Sparkeling Bishonen
Contact:

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Crossroads Inc. »

Not at all Rapid, you and Irish's feed back are most welcome :)

Really you sort of confirm something that was a bit of realization to me. For a while I always assumed all aspects of a big city had to be somehow mirrored in a small town, but in a smaller fashion. The truth I find, is that the aspect of living in a small town makes many of these simply not needed at all :)

Traffic is something I try and wrap my head around. I live in Phoenix, and the idea of having a city with roads LESS the 5 lanes seems unthinkable. Looking at maps of places like Burlington and Decorah, I'm amazed the towns can function with mostly 2 lane roads :D of course as you say, if traffic is really that low, it isn't a problem.

I actually just started a new city based on Decorah's road map. Don't suppose the town has a map for tourists or something that shows individual shops and such I could use for recreating it :)
Praying is another way of doing nothing helpful
"Congratulations, you get a cookie. You almost got a fundamental English word correct." Pick
"Outlaw star has spaceships that punch eachother" Joviwan
Read "Tales From The Crossroads"!
Read "One Wrong Turn"!
User avatar
irishmick79
Rabid Monkey
Posts: 2272
Joined: 2002-07-16 05:07pm
Location: Wisconsin

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by irishmick79 »

rapidsquirrel wrote:
Crossroads Inc. wrote:What is life like there?

What do you think you miss from a big City? What do you find is better/worse?
What do you go to a "big city" for when you need to, and what do you, for the most part, find you have close at home?
I'm not sure how to describe life in Decorah. It's fairly quiet. Probably not a lot different then most places. There are probably less controversies then large cities, but they get more coverage. Less traffic and less noise then a large city and travel around town takes less time.

What do I miss from a large city.... not much though I haven't lived in a large city for any length time past a college year. I guess it would be nice to have a larger chain stores in Decorah. Still La Crosse, WI and Rochester, MN are both less then a hour and half way and they both have a Menard's and Home Depot along with large malls. Otherwise, there isn't a lot you can't get here, it some times just takes longer as you have to order it in, but shops around here are perfectly happy to do that for you. Maybe I'm a bad person to ask as I'm very used to small town life and don't think I really want to live in a city.
How long have you lived in Decorah? My wife went to Luther College for two years.
"A country without a Czar is like a village without an idiot."
- Old Russian Saying
Alphawolf55
Jedi Knight
Posts: 715
Joined: 2010-04-01 12:59am

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Alphawolf55 »

I'm trying to decide if Portsmouth, NH should be considered a small town or not.
Duckie
Sith Marauder
Posts: 3980
Joined: 2003-08-28 08:16pm

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Duckie »

Alphawolf55 wrote:I'm trying to decide if Portsmouth, NH should be considered a small town or not.
Portsmouth the city itself is about 20,000, which is damn big for New Englanders but is pretty small in comparision to everything else. Go a few miles north and you'll see York, which is 40k but still indubitably a small town. So I'd say "Yes". (As for how small town varies across areas, I'm told by a New Yorker that anything under 100,000 is 'small' and that mayor or not, you can't be a city until you reach a million).

Add pretty much everywhere in a straight line between Portsmouth and Portland to the list of nice small towns. I grew up somewhere in that range and it's nice- though granted it's kinda "Live here if if you like Boston but are terrified of large buildings".
Pelranius
Sith Marauder
Posts: 3539
Joined: 2006-10-24 11:35am
Location: Around and about the Beltway

Re: Your Favorite Progressive Small Towns in America.

Post by Pelranius »

Does Brunswick Maine count? It has about 27,000 people (I least from what I remember, must change my location someday) but you wouldn't really know given the population density.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Post Reply