In the fall, Patrice Douglas was looking for a change. She decided to move from Philadelphia to Austin, Texas, a modern-day mecca for liberal-minded young professionals like herself. She started working in the gaming unit of a technology company and soaked up the city’s youthful energy.
But on Monday, after Politico published a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Douglas felt “appalled.” She is a strong supporter of reproductive rights, and she was shaken by the idea of living in one of the 23 states that could ban abortions if the 49-year-old landmark decision is reversed.
“I am questioning my decision to move,” said Douglas, 29, “but it also makes me want to be more involved in local politics.”
She is one of an untold number of progressive-leaning Americans who, faced with the stark possibility of a post-Roe world, find themselves second-guessing having settled in liberal enclaves or academic sanctuaries in otherwise red states.
“I’d always had my eye on the city because of the growth of the tech industry. It’s been listed as one of the top places for people in their 20s and 30s,” Douglas said.
“The culture of downtown Austin, around the University of Texas — that’s not the stereotypical Texas,” Douglas said. “But as soon as you get outside the city limits, that’s where you experience more of the conservative perspective.”
New residents grow fearful
The rapidly shifting political environment is especially jarring for the many young people and restless professionals who moved during the height of the pandemic, seeking solace in rural communities or new opportunities in thriving blue-tinted cities like Austin, Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee.
Exactly a year ago, Theresa Francisco and her husband, Sean Curtis, packed their bags and drove from Los Angeles to Greenbackville, Virginia, a rural seaside community near the Maryland border.
They enjoy their new small-town idyll. The rustic peace is a welcome…
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