Earlier this week I wondered what was up with Brewster County, Texas -- waaay down on the Mexican border, which according to the census has 8.2 same-sex couples for every 1,000 households. While that doesn't approach the numbers you find in some of the more famously gay-friendly regions, that's almost as high a density as Dallas County (8.7), although not quite as many as Austin (11). Why?
Texas expat @AmandaMarcotte was kind enough to tweet me her answer (in six parts):
I'm from Brewster County, TX. I can probably fill you in on why it's become a gay couple mecca. It's a combo of Western MYOB attitudes and that the biggest employer in the one town there, Alpine, is a university. Also, nearby Marfa, TX (Presidio County) has an art colony, and it's had a liberalizing effect on the whole area. It was a conservative place when I lived there, but they went for Obama in 2008. It's a good place for non-city liberals to live.
