Most of the Bay State’s conservatives might be thinking about ditching the east coast, a new poll shows.
A new University of Massachusetts Amherst/WCVB poll shows that 60% of poll respondents who identify as conservative said they’ve contemplated moving out of the state in the past year.
Comparatively, 31% of respondents who identified as liberal have contemplated moving and 40% of moderates have thought the same.
The poll also shows a slight increase in those who’ve considered making an out-of-state move, ticking up to 39% of total respondents in April compared to 35% in October. Conversely, 61% of April’s respondents said they did not think of moving, which is a few points down from the 65% polled in October.
This poll gathered data from 700 people surveyed between March 28 and April 5, with a 4.7% margin of error.
A word cloud attached to the survey featured the names of red and blue states that respondents said they would move to. The largest state name in the cloud was Florida, followed by “Any/Other” and New Hampshire.
Those polled also provided answers for why they felt inclined to move. Topics ranged from the cost of living, taxes, “looking for a change,” “feeling left out” and “complaints about progressive politics.”
“The politics of this state has gotten insufferable,” one respondent said. “The elitism, the high education nonsense, the spiritual-like belief in science and left causes. The people of this state are blinded by their politics and have no idea what reality is going on.”
“I only moved here temporarily to be with family due to health/finances,” another respondent said. “(Massachusetts) is not ideal for my lifestyle, lacks racial diversity compared to the urban hubs I am used to/is very homogenized and lacks arts/music/nightlife/cultural experiences that other cities have to offer.”
Concerns about taxes were narrowed down to a variation of listing high taxes, inflation and “corruption” by two respondents.
Another word cloud featured what respondents thought was the most important issue facing the state. The largest word was “housing.”
___
© 2023 Advance Local Media LLC
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
