I am one of the people doing the counter-intuitive move. My partner and I relocated from CO to FL earlier this year. Our specific intent being to establish permanent residency in a battleground state.
I’m under no illusion that our two meager votes will turn the tide in 2024 or 2026…or 2028, but watching Colorado evolve from the state it was when we were kids to what it is now? It’s possible.
We came in with eyes wide open. We picked a specific county based on historical gerrymandering trends and political party splits. Both of us got electively sterilized before leaving CO. The state of Colorado’s contraception coverage mandate requiring private health insurance to at least match Affordable Care Act coverage helped with that. It made for a smooth process; when considering both likelihood of approval and zero out of pocket cost.
I recognize that there is a lot of privilege at work here, such as the economic stability of having remote jobs that can cross state lines, not to mention a lot of passing privilege at play. But like, that’s kind of the point, right? If not us, who?