How many of you in the BB&W Crew have packed up your trunks and moved across town, across the state, out of state or even out of the country for a job? Some company offers you the right salary, benefits and retirement package, and ya’ll are willing to say “sayonara” to friends and Mommy and Daddy for the right price and opportunity. But when it comes to your love live–your PERSONAL happiness–you know, all the time outside of work that you spend LIVING, all of a sudden, moving to greener swirling pastures is suddenly unreasonable, and even viewed by some of you as desperation. I mean, the mere SUGGESTION can cause all kind-sa snorts and scoffs from some of ya’ll.

The Pew Research Study, “The Rise of Intermarriage,” which was released earlier this month, revealed what I already knew–most of the mixed dating and marriage done in the United States is taking place in the West, specifically in these states:

Hawaii (Aloha, baby)

Oklahoma (what??)

Nevada (Vegas, baby!)

New Mexico (Hola, chica)

Alaska (really?)

California (yup!)

Arizona (Shout out to Eliss and Joseph!)

Washington (the state, that is)

and Oregon.

Basically, all the states west of the Mississippi River seem to be much more open and enlightened about dating and interracial marriage. What…is there something in the water?

Coincidentally, the majority of these ‘swirl states’ are also thriving in educational and professional opportunities. I can’t really speak for Oklahoma or New Mexico…that’s just weird. I wouldn’t really recommend black women move there for swirling. Just keep heading west on the 10 Freeway until you get to…someplace else.

Seriously guys–I’m super tired of hearing how some of you all are languishing in regions less evolved about your pursuits to date a rainbeau, and you simply CAN NOT wait for your regional world to change. Your ovaries simply will not stand for it.

It’s a good thing that I cover the best swirl-friendly cities in “Swirling.”

Benefits of a ‘Swirl-Friendly’ Environment

Not only is the pool in which to fish from more vast, but you encounter much less societal pressure, whether overt or covert. There’s also much more opportunity to find friends and peers who look like you and your family, thus giving your offspring plenty of opportunities to have friends and families that look like them. When you go to the store with you babies, nobody will assume you’re the nanny, or that you’ve kidnapped some white woman’s child. Normalized interracial relationships also means less work discrimination and blocked opportunities for advancement because someone has their underpants in a bunch, too.

NOTE: You might notice, as I’m sure many of you will, because you all are a bunch of smarty pants, that the Pew study says that black intermarriage has the highest concentration in the south. And that’s probably true. FOR BLACK MEN. By as large, the western states are the best-dern states for black women who are interested in interracial relationships.