Are people in Red (Republican) states treated better than citizens living in Blue States (Democrats)?

[sage2021]

Would you please give examples of how different red and blue States treat their citizens? Unfortunately I live in a blue state, and we are having a big problem with electricity and were told to conserve it. Are Red States doing this as well? And again, besides what I just mentioned, what else is different?

[BeMuse]

I suppose you want to know about environmental restrictions… Red states care about our environment as well, we just are a little more common sense about it I guess... This is pretty much the extent of it here in Florida.

If there is a major hurricane that hits your city in Florida and you still have power, there will typically be recommendations to conserve electricity with the warning that excessive use could force power companies to impose rolling blackouts. This is due to grid damage that needs to be repaired, fallen trees that need to be cleared, etc. Typically the grid will be completely repaired within a week. Commercial areas will usually be back online within a day so that basic services are available and business can go on as usual where as residential might takes several days until power starts to come on. That said it is just a recommendation to be considerate of your neighbors so that things run more smoothly and everyone has the basics back up as soon as possible. People usually come together and make it work for the short term before getting back to our normal lives. Plenty of people have solar panels and/or home generators to keep the lights on if the power does goes down. That said, getting hit by a strong hurricane is rare. You can go a decade without experiencing anything major.

Otherwise you can use whatever electricity you can afford to pay for. That said, Florida Power & Light (FPL) is constantly expanding their number solar farms and partnering with developers to make self sustainable communities. They also do net metering and offer optional plans to place solar on your roof, but nothing is mandated. The majority of power plants are still natural gas followed by nuclear. It’s commonly understood that fossil fuels work well, but natural gas tends to be better for air quality than say coal. It also happens to be readily available here in the south on the gulf coast so logistically it makes sense.

Occasionally there are lawn watering restrictions in highly populated counties (blue counties) in the dry season if a drought occurs. Generally it’s something like you can only water your grass on even days if your address is an even number and odd days if your address is an odd number. That said, average annual precipitation is something like 150% of what the grass actually needs to survive in those counties. So it’s kind of a pointless restriction when it does occur. Most of the time you are thinking, man if it keeps raining like this I’m going to have to mow the grass twice this week.

Generally there is some sort of chemical fertilizer restrictions during the rainy season to protect wetlands and estuaries from water pollution. These sorts of regulations are put in place to mitigate red tide, reduce damaging effects to marine ecosystems like coral reefs and sea grass that manatees depend on. That said you are exempt if you are a legitimate farmer, scientist, golf course owner, athletic field maintenance crew, or home gardener growing edible fruits and vegetables. It mainly applies to lawns and ornamental plants. More natural nutrient scrubber facilities utilizing species like water lettuce are being built to manage that water pollution so that less restrictions get in the way. They suck up the nutrients and then get mixed with other green waste to compost down at landfill facilities.

When there are very dry conditions there will typically be a temporary burn ban to prevent forest fires. They update the status once a week generally, so if you couldn’t burn stuff this week, you might be able to next week.

Of course there restrictions for hunting seasons, bag limits when hunting, and catch and size limits when fishing for various species to manage populations properly...

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

Oh my gosh,

I want to start by saying I used to be a Bernie Sanders supporter.

But now I'm an over the road truck driver. We see a lot. We live in a different state every night.


It is UNBELIEVABLE how much better the red states are doing than the blue ones. NYC is a mess. Impoverished women stand in between completely stopped traffic on the interstate breathing diesel fumes and desperately trying to sell fruit and Gatorade all day in the heat of a thousand idling engines. My AC broke, thermometer hit 100 degrees and it was overcast.

People in Texas drive brand new teslas 85mph on smooth roads, live in nice houses and have money left over. One time there was a big snowstorm, the power went out... and it was a national news.

Gas prices are less in red states. There is food on the shelves. People are happier. I was stunned when I almost crashed my shopping cart into a middle aged lady with purple hair in Iowa and she just... smiled at me like we were good friends. I'm from Charlottesville VA. I fully expected to be cussed out or at least get a death stare and a staff member to come tell me someone felt threatened.

But Walmart on long Island. Man... it was the most tense and uncomfortable situation I have ever been in. There was no love there. There was no acceptance. There was no community or society. There wasn't even common courtesy or etiquette. Too many people in not enough space and they all hated each other. And I got it. Being there made me stressed. Angry. Hostile... it's a terrible environment.

But in Iowa, Mississippi, Texas, Florida... people are walking around smiling and enjoying life and that rubs off just as fast.


The short answer is yes. The difference is shocking. You should try to see it for yourself. I was so relieved to find out the whole world isn't like central VA. And man, NYC, Baltimore, Atlanta, the whole north east... they are so much worse than where I'm from.

The fact is people in red states aren't treated better. They treat each other better. They have more courtesy, ediquette and respect for each other. They have enough space to breathe so they aren't always stepping on each other's toes. And the legislation reflects that.

It's an upward spiral or a downward one. I didn't expect the red states to be happier and more successful, I'm just telling you what I see out here every day.


There's a lot more racism in Maryland and New Jersey than there is in Mississippi or Alabama. At least from what I have seen. Walk into a black buisness in a black neighborhood in Mississippi, clearly not from there... and they treat me like family. Walk into any buisness in New Jersey and they treat you like a pest, but man it's worse if you aren't the same color they are. New Jersey is the first time I saw racist graffiti in a bathroom stall and I only use public restrooms.

You wouldn't know this stuff from watching left wing news. They want people to think red states are full of violence and hatred and selfish jerks. But in reality, it's so much better there. It's the blue cities that are so dangerous my company automatically warns me of a theft risk on the GPS every time I drive into one. And that's not an agenda, they just track where their freight gets stolen because they lose a lot of money that way. I get a warning in their home city. But not out in the sticks in Alabama.

It's actually beautiful there. I can't wait to save up and move. I'm working on a map to help me choose where to go.

Red is states I have been to and hated.
Green is states I liked.
Yellow is states I could see myself living in but aren't ideal, mostly because there aren't enough trees for my cat to be happy.

Blue is blue states I haven't been to and white is red states I haven't been to. I hate to say it, but that really does matter to the overall quality of life.

*With the one exception. The three most northern states. I have not been to them but they are colored red because I'm a truck driver and I can't get to them without going through NY and PA and MA. And those are my least favorite states to drive through. Maine might be fantastic, but I don't want to drive through a nightmare to get there, so it's out for me.


The roads too. Wow. Red states have 70 and 80mph speed limits and no traffic. Blue states have 55mph speed limits but it doesn't matter because we are all stuck going 30 half the time and stopped the other half. People don't know how to merge, people don't get the left lane right lane thing, they drive around in torrential rain with no headlights, they pull right in front of loaded semis, it's really hostile and danger and miserable. People are so much angrier in blue states and I get it. It sucks to live there.

Again. I was a Bernie Sanders supporter. I grew up in VA which was red and I campaigned for Obama to help it go blue.

I was shocked by what I saw. It really changed my perspective and I found out I was being lied to. And man, once you see that you start to actually listen to what the Republicans are saying. And you start to actually watch what the democrats are doing... and you see things so differently than you did before.

But hey, dont just take my word for it.

https://youtu. be/nf1XJnr-U-A
https://youtu. be/diJg95rok9M
https://youtu. be/iVkHkp8PXY0
https://youtube. com/shorts/C2z3j8d3f84? feature=share

[BeMuse]

There are lots of trees in Florida. You might like North Florida with all the pecan groves, giant live oaks, and Ocala National Forest... There are even a couple major industrial parks/logistics hubs being built at that end of Florida (North Florida Mega Industrial Park/Hawthorn Industrial Park) near the I-10.

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

Bro, I just want California to collapse so they have to ship through Panama into Florida.

We get some loads going into Florida, but you can't haul oranges on a flatbed so it's hard to get something going back out.

Descent place to be stuck tho. I'm stuck in Massachusetts now and I hate it.

My only concern about Florida is it's pretty hot and it rains a lot. I love both. My cat hates both and has asthma so she struggles to breathe if it's over 75 degrees.

[BeMuse]

I guess most of our physical exports leave by ship to Brazil and Mexico. A lot is also shipped to supply the Caribbean Islands, but I know a lot goes north to Canada as well. Most of our exports traveling north tend to be via dry van truck or train. The big exports are aircraft & parts, electric machinery, heavy machinery, medical & optical instruments, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics & perfumery, plastics, fertilizers, and chemical products.

[888theGreat]

Indiana is the most conservative state in union

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

Yeah, Florida is awesome, it's just not a great place for flatbed drivers unless you're trying to get some time off.

And I dunno, Utah has had a republican trifecta for the longest.

I like farmers. But I have a bone to pick with corn growers, and more specifically their union and lobbiests.

Still gotta do the my take about how ethanol is a scam. It's actually more expensive, worse for the environment, nets an energy LOSS, and drives up food prices.

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

Really though, Florida should be green. The main reason it isn't is that they actually inspect trucks which I support, but my current company doesn't maintain their trailers so I fear every weigh station.

Three more months and I'm out. Gonna get a real job.

[Msputiton]

I lived in a huge red state growing up.

And we were treated horrible, and my parents still are.

I go to college in a blue state and am surprised how much better i am treated.

Not sure if it has anything to do with red or blue.

But that's my experience

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

What states?

And is your experience in the blue state pretty much just being in school?

[OlderAndWiser]

I have lived in Florida my entire life, and my family has been here since 1790, so I really don't know what it's like anywhere else. We are not having a problem with our electric supply. And we LOVE our governor!

[Sixgunsound]

Parents make decisions about their children not teachers, you don’t have to join a union to be able to work, you can choose whether or not you want to own something to defend yourself with, there tend to be better systems in place for election integrity, taxes are lower, people are more hospitable and polite, etc.

[exitseven]

I think that places like California are much more expensive and much more restrictive that states like Florida. Where I live, all state employees who refused the vaccine were fired. It is one of the most expensive places to live and the crime rate is through the roof.

[FilmGuy93]

Republican states have experienced a massive amount of people moving in from states like NY and CA, specifically because of how much better the quality of life is.

[AviatorTom]

I've lived in both red and blue states, there's really not much difference, save that there are more rules in the blue states.

[Guy13]

Democratic cities are flooded with billions of taxpayer monies

[Andres77]

Not “treated better”, living better because they don’t vote in socialist idiots who tax and spend their states into oblivion

[joeldalton]

lol, no we're not conserving electricity. I just turned my AC down to 70. We're freer in the red states.

[888theGreat]

not criminals , they do whatever they like. Rape , murder, drugs, see someones car they like , they just take it. No one does anything because they will kill them when they get out of jail in two hours

[Anonymous]

Red states statistically have more freedoms, cheaper cost of living, and less crime.

[Anonymous]

Nope, just look how well the Bible belt states are going 😃

[Anonymous]

yes they are for sure

[Dargil]

I only wish.