What is it with Anaheim and lists these days? Earlier this summer, Conde Naste Traveler, in spite of Mayor Tom Tait's 'Year of Kindness' initiative, ranked it as the ninth-unfriendliest city in the U.S.. Then, a few months later, Livability lauded Anaheim as the 28th best place to live in the country.
Now the national real estate search site Estately is getting in on the act. They've just named the home of Disneyland as the third-best city out of a list of thirteen for urban conservatives to reside. POUND SAND, NEWPORT!
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In introducing the list, Estately laments the isolation of city dwelling conservatives in the nation. “We scoured the country for large cities with populations over 200,000 that offer a combination of conservative values, a high quality of life, and plenty of big city activities to enjoy,” the website writes. Apparently, Anaheim has all of that and more:
Most conservatives view Southern California as a liberal hellscape, a land of porn stars, pricey social programs, and Hollywood elites who shovel cash into Democrats' coffers. However, it's also the state that brought the country President Ronald Reagan, and there's still Orange County, a Republican stronghold filled with republican cities and towns like Anaheim. While Anaheim's residents must endure both a state income and sales tax, the financial blow is lessened by perpetual sunshine and the happiest place on earth–Disneyland.
Under things to do in Anacrime, Estately boasts that conservatives can enjoy the theme park, take in a baseball game at Angel Stadium and even go to Knott's Berry Farm! (Hey pendejos, that's Buena Park!) They also give a nod to Mayor Tait for being the Republican with the gavel that he is.
And while the list is ultimately silly, Anaheim IS a conservative paradise. Even though the city has undergone tremendous white flight over the decades and has seen its number of registered Republicans tumble downward in more recent times, the GOP has been able to keep its hold on power. The current city council is all-white and Republican save for corporatist Democrat Jordan Brandman whose puppet strings are pulled by Dark Lord Curt Pringle anyway.
Anaheim is a haven for greedy developers with its subsidy giveaways, bows to the NIMBYs every whim and even has a park in the hills named after the Gipper Ronald Reagan himself. And, historically, the city's GOPers have done everything from go after the children of illegal immigrants to derailing sex education–and ol' Ollie North likes it here! So despite the weak salsa third-place write up, Estately might actually be on to something…
Full list: http://blog.estately.com/2013/11/13-best-u-s-cities-for-conservatives-to-live/
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Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!