Pandemic Migrations Bring New Neighbors

Family policy matters, and engaging in weekly radio show and podcast produced by the North Carolina family policy Council hi this is John Ralston, presidency, family, and were grateful to have you with us for this week's program is our prayer that you will be informed, encouraged and inspired by what you hear on family policy matters that you will fold better equipped to be a voice of persuasion for family values in your community, state and nation, and now here's our house to family policy matters Tracy Devitt greetings, thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters has to tell you that Americans have faced a torrent of challenges and changes in recent years about our culture and our geography have been somewhat reshaped. Not only are Americans shifting politics, but many of us are physically moving to new locations. North Carolina is one of the states that is experienced unprecedented growth, including a lot of new people moving from cities in the small towns.

All of this brings a host of challenges and opportunities for communities and individuals with Dr. Brad Littlejohn joins us today to talk about this and his recent article loving new neighbors.

He is the president of the data in an Institute and a fellow in the ethics and Public policy Center's evangelicals in civic life program. Dr. Brad Littlejohn, welcome back to family policy matters start off by telling us what do we know about the population trends of Americans over the last few years. As far as where they are choosing to live and work will be dated. We all have anecdotal knowing people who moved from big urban metropolitan areas to smaller towns of been moving from perhaps blue state to read date during or after the pandemic and is not anecdotal. UW numbers really do show the California and New York actually thought the wind and population and if you drill down and look at it from the big urban centers like them but to go were New York City declines are really quite natural and on the other hand, we do see you before moving out of their tickle people moving to California to Florida felt quite effective for New York to Florida.

That's real. More often though, what's happening there is movement in the southern states. Particularly, you know, state the breath left pandemic restriction immigrants of expensive states that stricter pandemic restrictions, but more often it people moving within the state or within a week than a couple hundred mile radius from expensive urban core to Western suburbs or indeed rural areas affect charts that basically the more densely populated.

A ZIP Code was the more population lost, percentagewise in the West simply copulated the code was the more percentage again. It was a really what it's moved from Morgan Weston. We can make some guesses as to why Americans are doing that but are there some statistics that tell us why the dramatic lifestyle changes. The obvious factor of during the period of stricter lockdown in urban areas in a group of polity dream and you agree to the policy, but you'd rather not be living in an apartment building when you're locked up your apartment. Those didn't say we might as well do it without a country where you can read out of it right so there was a natural movement from urban cores with strict pandemic restrictions and higher rates of virus transmission rural areas. Part of that is a political reaction to those conservatives perhaps oppose some of those restrictions, but of course right on the field that you also have the process the riots which are again concentrated many same more liberal urban cores and so people just didn't want to live in a neighborhood that's being looted. One thing or they might particularly frustrated the fact that maybe the Democratic mayors seem to be encouraging the riots. So you've got these urban centers were more liberal begin with. But even those conservatives were still there are more likely to move out right so that's a big factor, but of course another thing were doing what is simply economics right more expensive to live in urban cores was met with New York and California and previously you may have had to do that for your job with the move to remote work. All the sudden lots of people work from anywhere you can work from anywhere.

Why not have the house twice the size within price so a big part of the factor is just people moving from more expensive.

What areas because they now can't and I think that is going to do some of the reverse known the near term, but I think in many industries is been a chip to remote work that isn't going to change and what we were to continue moving to those lower-cost areas we can work remotely interesting's do you think it's also possible that people are seeking a different kind of community and we we changed it.

The root of who we are. That is true to some extent with the pandemic.

Is it made us realize being separated from physical community made us realize the importance of physical community and by public and people moving from more densely populated areas selectively popular areas. The truth is Weston's the populated areas are more likely to actually have real community often write him if you live in a high-rise apartment block in Manhattan, you don't. If you have a think on a community life that you do small count right so I think people valuing the face-to-face relationships and saying how country the lifestyle that actually enables me to invest in those more if you're working remotely on zoom been all the more so that you have a rich context of in-person relationships listening to family policy matters weekly radio show and podcast of the North Carolina family policy Council. This is just one of the many ways in seizing and educating citizens across Mr. Lana about policy issues that impact a lot of families.

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We also look for you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We can just imagine the challenges that there would be for people who are moving from high density areas like New York City, San Francisco to some of our small towns across America. They can be a culture shock for the people who live in small towns to have these limiting in men come in from the city talk little bit about that, what's going on with those two communities are they clashing you have some taps for how we can have maybe productive conversations over some of our differences yeah what my article is really two distinct trends that can cut a point opposite direction. Depends what community you're in.

Which trend is more dominant when I called it a political refugee trend right to the person who say leaving Sam to door leaving California altogether because they're tired of lockdown. They're tired of the lack of policing and then thought they want to go to red state that shares their more conservative values struggle with political refugees, people seeking a more like-minded cultural and political environment and so what happened with that is connected to the increased polarization that you have a conservative small town community and then you have people coming in from out of state or come to because they want to live near people who share their values and politics. And of course that brings with one third of dangers right. It brings the danger that you already very polarized and people are sorting out geographically more on the political line and increase the polarization to make us less able to the fact the matter is reduced ought to share country and you with people that are put persuasion so if neighbors are sorting themselves out so only live near neighbors agree with them there some advantages that the some disadvantages in terms of our ability to work through our differences on on a national scale.

Talk more about that, but the other trend is the economic refugee trend as I call it right which people who are mainly moving just because they'd rather live somewhere less expensive and I think this is really the more significant trend because it affected your thinking about you know we have the kind of idea of the conservative family trying to raise kids in a liberal city like they've added writer to go to Texas or something harder to move. If your family bunch of kids and if you're just you know single in your 20s and will be seen as the dominant demographic that's been making these moves are like single individuals in the 20 who are going it anymore politically liberal so that trend exit tends to take liberal people and dump them into conservative communities, whether just moving there, not because they want to know what more guns, but because it is one of cheaper housing is left to create a culture shock is the top of the phenomenon rightly you have conservative communities that are suddenly having to grapple with summary for Manhattan in about told him values in their backyard and so that the force upon us conversations going on.

Otherwise, it had okay so do you have some suggestions or places that we can go when were confronted with this, as far as how to have those kind of conversations I think, although it can be disorienting for many.

You know, small town rural communities suddenly faced with these outsiders think quite differently.

I think it is a valuable opportunity for us to learn to have conversations around critical cultural issues that "we have to deal with these of the nation. We have a difference of the national level. I might as well learn how to deal with them in our local communities and a lot of it is just about learning the art of real conversation around disagreements with most of us are good it I think it is a small sliver of us that we encounter somebody you have told them political views were not just like weighing them in it up just argue the right of the bat. Most of us actually we might get online it online but the face-to-face we we shy away from confrontation and my just kind of go to sit there and let them tater thing and you know not say a word and will be we don't how to do is to disagree constructively and lightly I would say the way to do that yet. It begins with listening. You don't just barge in and start contradicting someone through a different view say about the recent Dobson Supreme Court decision what you do if you would let them talk. Let them share in and what's gonna happen very often people just assume that the people are talking to a group that right.

That is gonna notice like it because their customs talk to people group them and so what you have to do is find a way of disagreeing obliquely write what you do it you say will why do you think that right go to say to make assertions notice assume that you agree with them but the wind you think that Maple might not about that before they actually have to give a reason for their views beside the bed that will, of course, everybody thinks the Nobel well because this is such that and then and then you can say wall, what would you say to somebody who doesn't agree with those reasons you just get right you have to signal right away that you are that person, but I know that there are people in the country who don't share those beliefs right to give them opportunity say well I mean what I would say rotator pro-lifers and then you get them get them out into the boys on their own.

Perhaps why someone might disagree with their position and then you can say what I actually have some those disagreements right and then you can kind of you to have a concerted conversation with you. Give them space to articulate their views rather than simply contradicting them as believers, as Christians, these cultural differences in these kinds conversations can actually be a good thing as far as us having opportunities to share why we think the way we deal and share our faith. Yeah, I think absolutely I'm I mean, to the extent of what were saying is you know yuppies for Manhattan moving into Bible Belt communities because it's cheaper housing then it's an opportunity for those of us in Bible Belt community to share the gospel. But not just to the gospel but share the fact that whatever they may have heard on MSNBC or whatever were not bunch of three-headed monsters right and so I think partly by just being hospitable entering into relationships with your neighbors and showing them that we love and respect them as human beings, even if we have political differences that would create the opening to share the gospel and and to model what it means to be a Christian right and I think so many people are conditioned to think that conservative Christians are you just intolerant have no use for them.

But if you can show them that you respect them and are happy to have a real conversation around disagreements thickly really disarming right that you still expect that unfortunately just about out of time, but where can people go. If they are listening and they would like to get more information about your work and also read your article loving new neighbors right column every week or so@worldopinionwng.org/opinion and you find that column of mine a few weeks ago there. I also do a lot of work through definite DAV NAND Institute.org and then of course@epc.org at the public policy center Teva paid for everything you have written of last year's Joseph there. I thank you so much Dr. Brad Littlejohn thanks for being with us today on family policy matters. Thank you letter you been listening to family policy matters. We hope you enjoy the program and plaintiff to do it again next week to listen to the show online insulin more about NC families work to inform, encourage and inspire families across poster a lot of our website it NC family.award that's NC family.org. Thanks again for listening and may God bless you and your family