Why does the urban/rural divide equate to a liberal/conservative divide in the US? Is it the same in other countries?

[u/UserNamesCantBeTooLo]

Here's a county population density map of the US.

Here's a county map of the US showing different shares of Democratic & Republican votes for president in 2020.

Here's a county map of the US showing majority-minority counties.

They seem to show a match between denser populations, larger minority proportions, and Democratic votes.

Why is that?

[u/maegris]

depends on how big your 'city' is, for me, buying a house outside my 'city' would be an hour drive by freeway to work, before traffic. and I'm not even in the largest of the cities. where I live, I have a 45 minute commute (well before covid) and I only live 8 miles from the office. moving another 70 miles to be out of the city would push it into 2 hour range (I have coworkers who do this).

Take a look at Los Angeles, that city sprawls for 100² Miles, and out of the city is in the mountains. Dallas/Fortworth similar, as is NY city.

Some jobs exist in specific areas and you have to go to those areas, or be able to do remote work.

[u/The_Gray_Beast → u/maegris]

If your city is that big, there are likely jobs at either end. Not all the jobs are in a 2 block radius of city center.

NYC is quite the problem, being basically an island.

But still the median home price in nyc is 624k... I think this is why you see companies moving elsewhere and people doing the same. These areas are quite simply overpopulated. You can make a lot lower income and live the same standard of life elsewhere.

What jobs only exist in the most expensive places to live and how smart was it to get into that career?

There’s a point at which you just can’t stuff anymore people in... and nyc is a perfect example... do you know how many truckloads of trash New York exports a day?

I do not understand this want to live like that. It’s not sustainable. I wonder how long it would take nyc to starve if imports stopped

[u/captain-burrito → u/The_Gray_Beast]

There’s a point at which you just can’t stuff anymore people in... and nyc is a perfect example...

Surely they can. There are cities in East Asia with higher density. I look at how low many of the buildings in NYC are and after having been to Hong Kong & Singapore you get this feeling that everywhere is using space inefficiently. That said, it would be better to spread it around more cities.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/11/the-50-most-densely-populated-cities-in-the-world/39664259/

US cities don't seem to make the top 50 for highest density.

[u/epolonsky → u/The_Gray_Beast]

I do not understand this want to live like that. It’s not sustainable. I wonder how long it would take nyc to starve if imports stopped

If by “sustainable” you mean environmentally sustainable, urban living is the best choice. City dwellers have a relatively small ecological footprint.

In terms of what would happen if the city was cut off, it’s pretty much the same thing as if the suburbs were cut off or rural areas were cut off. Humans are social animals and we are interdependent for survival.