Fascinating blog post over at The American Enterprise Institute site about migration patterns in the United States. The chart above is just one of several–this one showing where recent movers to the Houston area moved from in 2008 (black lines) and Houston residents moved to (red lines).

It paints a striking picture of a mass exodus from blue states like California, New York and Michigan to the relative economic health of Texas. Keep in mind, these pictures are all based on moves in 2008, before the economic crisis really got cranking. These trends have surely accelerated since.

Here’s a similar snapshot of the Austin area.

And my home of Tarrant County:

I am reminded of a conversation I had last year with a friend who works for JPMorgan Chase. He mentioned that he had a new coworker who had just moved to Dallas from Manhattan. The new arrival had mentioned that the word among the Wall Street banking community is that Texas was the best place to ride out the recession.

Of course, there is a reason for that. It is because a majority of Texans don’t vote for the kinds of policies and politicians that are so highly favored by the more enlightened folks in California and New York.

Many of these refugees from liberalism are liberals. Having fouled their own nests with high taxes, unionization, and anti-business regulation, they are fleeing en masse.

By the way, these maps are built with an amazing interactive utility over at Forbes.com. Check it out.