Although I am not a frequent poster on this board, I have followed with some interest and pleasure the postings of another popular diarist, who has a post up about moving on, as in leaving his current city (Tulsa) and state (Oklahoma) because of our backwardness. Based upon his previous posts, it seems that he is a generation or so younger than I, with young children. Good questions he asks. I faced much the same choices a quarter century ago, and did not leave. As I live in the same city and state, perhaps my musings can be of benefit.
First, my children are grown, mostly grown, and half-grown. I am a native Okie, raised in one of the most rural and racist parts of this state. I have lived nowhere else, other than for three years out of college when I had a job in another state. I moved back.
It is not for me to tell the good gentleman where to live, or raise his family. Those are intensely personal decisions. I can say that in my experience, location may not be as important as parental involvement. I hope I am neither an apologist nor a chauvinist for my State. Based upon the recent election returns, we are the reddest state, more so than Utah, Idaho or Wyoming. I had hopes for better, but they were dashed. The legislature has now gone completely Republican, James Inhofe was easily reelected, and any sort of progressive policies seem but a faint dream. So why do I stay? It is home. Since before Statehood, both sides of my family, both sides of my wife's family. I have lived away, I have traveled away. Traveling is better for me. When I lived away, I missed family and friends. I missed the color of the sky, and of the sunsets. I missed ordering iced tea any time of year. I missed delightful dishes such as black eyed peas and fried okra. Here is a simple test to determine if you are hard core Okie. When the tornado sirens sound, do you a) seek shelter, or b) go outside to look for it. If you are native, there is only one answer!
Raising your children is daunting, if for no other reason than you don't get do overs. We don't have great museums, but in my experience, few places do. It is just as easy to go to Chicago for the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, or the Shedd Aquarium as to move there. Unless you are particularly connected to such things, your children may not want to go more often than periodically anyway. At least mine did not. They do, however, want to go to amusement parks as often as possible. Can you determine now which they will prefer?
All three of my children have been raised here. We did not raise them to be Democrats, but we did try to raise them to think for themselves. They have attended a mixture of public and private schools in the area. Private schools in this area being particularly right wing, I am pleased that they all supported Mr. Obama (now President elect Obama!), in spite of the peer pressure.
In summary sir, it would be sad to see you go, but only you and your family can decide. We need you here, as there are so few of us. But I understand. If you go, just remember those left behind.