James Freeman:

There’s been an entertaining media campaign to explain heavy migration from blue states to places like Texas and Florida in ways that do not highlight low taxes and competent governance. It sometimes seems as if the first rule of California flight club is: Do not talk about limited government. Now the New York Times offers what may be a fresh contribution to the genre with an essay by an opinion writer who has made his way to North Carolina. Can you guess why?

Before attempting to answer this challenging question, let’s consider his new home. North Carolina is not a red state but a swing state, and it enjoys a far more affordable and less intrusive government than the Empire State. CNBC’s Scott Cohn recently noted:

Powered by an economy that has hit its stride, and turbocharged by a long track record of innovation, North Carolina is America’s Top State for Business in 2022.

The Tar Heel State has always been a contender in CNBC’s annual competitiveness rankings… But 2022 is the first year it has been able to climb to the top.

What made the difference this year? For one thing, state leaders keep managing to put aside their very deep political divisions to boost business and the economy.

CNBC is not the only one impressed with the Tar Heel State. In April the American Legislative Exchange Council released its latest economic competitiveness ranking and noted:

North Carolina has now achieved its best ranking to date, landing at 2nd overall for economic outlook. Since the passage of historic tax reform in 2013 when the state ranked 22nd, North Carolina has continued to lower taxes and foster economic growth.

The Tax Foundation is perhaps not quite as bullish but still ranks North Carolina’s overall business tax climate 11th in the country, compared to New York’s dismal 49th-place finish. (Only the Garden State has a worse ranking, which may explain why many New Jersey taxpayers believe they were born to run.)

As for Times opinion contributor Frank Bruni, readers at first may wonder why he would ever leave the friendly confines of progressive Manhattan. The headline over the story about the place where he decided to live reads, “One of America’s Most Seductive States Is Also One of Its Scariest.”

Now why would someone voluntarily move to a place he regards as one of the scariest places in the country?

Many readers will also naturally wonder what could be so scary about North Carolina. Mr. Bruni mainly seems to fear the state’s Republicans, even though they must compete for votes against a vibrant Democratic Party that currently holds the governorship and other important state offices.

Mr. Bruni describes his reporting visit to the state’s 13th congressional district and then adds:

But I also toured the district as part of my acclimation to North Carolina, to continue testing my belief that this state — my new home — is as accurate, illuminating and alarming a political mirror of the country as any other. A year after moving here from the People’s Republic of the Upper West Side, I realize that I didn’t so much turn my back on New York City as turn my gaze toward a broader, truer portrait of America right now.

So there wasn’t anything in particular driving him away from New York, and he moved to one of America’s “scariest” states simply to see more of the country? Finally in paragraphs 23 and 24 the reader is given additional clues about why Mr. Bruni managed to overcome his fear of Republicans enough to live among them:

In a chilling article in The Atlantic this month, James Piltch called the state’s combination of partisan judicial elections and practiced gerrymandering a “democratic doom loop,” potentially abetting a degree of Republican dominance divorced from, and unaccountable to, the will of the state’s people. The article’s headline: “North Carolina Is a Warning.”

That hasn’t stopped an influx of newcomers, many of them lured, as I was, by gentler rhythms, more space and a lower cost of living than in many areas in the Northeast or on the West Coast. It’s a beautiful state, bracketed by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a sophisticated state, with nationally renowned universities and fast-growing cities like Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham. It’s a changing state, with new jobs in tech replacing old ones in manufacturing.

Will it ever occur to Mr. Bruni that conservatives advocating for limited government in a competitive political arena might just have something to do with North Carolina’s low costs and vibrant economy?

While Mr. Bruni moved to a state with a good number of conservatives, he chose a neighborhood where they are especially rare. Located near his new employer, Duke University, the place might have reminded him what a burden progressive governance can place on the daily routines of life:

A blotch of deep blue is where I ended up, 20 minutes from Duke, on the border of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Front yards near mine showcase “Black Lives Matter” and “We Believe” signs. Several neighbors’ first conversations with me were about how to follow the county’s recycling rules correctly.

Let’s hope that more New Yorkers and even former New Yorkers will appreciate—and even admit—that one-party progressive rule has not led to gentle and affordable living.

• US politics