I hear on you social connections, which is why this must be a coordinated effort. Moving slowly in will not be that appealing, but having everything set up ahead of time and then moving en masse would work.

RE: politics, the governorship isn't elected by land. Take out the governor and you can fix political gerrymandering (or wield it to your benefit).

End of the day, the vision as I see it isn't to build a new city or to make a small town feel like a city. It's to enjoy the benefits of large plots of land and large houses, but to do so with a modern, youthful population and great restaurants and entertainment.

I'm envisioning Bend, OR but all across the country. Or Los Alamos, etc, the examples above. These towns didn't happen by accident. Someone had a plan, and then a tipping point was reached that cemented the place as a modern small town.

That can be reverse engineered and purposefully carried out. Not saying it's easy, but it's 100% doable. And I want to know who's trying, because I want to help.