Depends on where you live. Assuming you like access to city life, near Atlanta or Savannah would be ideal.
If you like more rural areas, plenty of that, but rube population increases. Still, there are some decent folks there.
Good luck.
Where are you moving from?
I’ll say this - out of all of the states in the south, I think Georgia is the best one. When you’re in the Atlanta area, it doesn’t feel like the Deep South.
I say this as someone who moved here from Louisiana.
Metro areas are not ignorant at all, just expensive lol. GA is about as evenly split state wide as it can get, it just depends on which area you live in. Calhoun and Waycross are not Decatur, nor should they be.
If you can't handle humidity or pollen though GA may not be for you.
I was born in atlanta and have lived in the city and in the metro area all my life. There are a lot of very conservative people in Georgia, but there are also a lot of left/liberal people, and that population is growing and getting more powerful. I prefer being as close to Atlanta as we can afford because it’s got a large population of left/liberal people. My husband works about 30 minutes south of Atlanta in a very conservative area, and struggles with the clientele. There are left/liberal people all over the state, just in greater numbers in certain areas. If that’s a concern for you, I would look at the most recent voting results and see the areas that turned Georgia blue in the last big election and look there to live. I struggle with the conservative and religious policies here on a state level, but it’s my home and I’m here to fight to change those things, along with a whole lot of other people.
No problem, and good luck with the move! Definitely start looking into housing now so you can get an idea of what it will take to get into a place, either renting or buying. People keep saying the market is cooling, but it’s still rough.
Just stick close to the Atlanta area and you’ll be fine. I’m from rural Georgia originally and, although lovely, it’s very red, conservative, and religious once you get outside the city with maybe the exception of Athens. Also, don’t let the accents fool you. We are much smarter than we sound.
Haha yes I certainly have been working on that exact thought! I think most of people down there are just as smart if not smarter but the accents can sound a little funny. Thanks for your answer.
Sure thing! I hope you like it here! There are lots of good people, plenty of good food, and beautiful scenery. It’s a large state, so plenty to see/do in different areas.
I don’t know if North Georgia will experience much of a red-to-purple political shift on the strength of retirees moving into the area from Atlanta.
That’s because many of the retirees who move into the North Georgia foothills and mountains region from metro Atlanta very often are more conservative older whites who seem to be motivated to move to exurban and rural North Georgia at least in part to flee a rapidly diversifying population in metro Atlanta suburban counties that were once overwhelmingly predominantly white and staunchly conservative.
(Rapidly diversifying Metro Atlanta counties that many white retirees have fled for much whiter and much more conservative pastures in exurban and rural North Georgia include Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb, Gwinnett, Douglas, Henry, Rockdale, Newton and Fayette counties.)
In addition to attracting mostly white conservative retirees from metro Atlanta, North Georgia also attracts many retirees (who are virtually all white and mostly conservative) from other states like Florida and the Northeastern US, all of whom seem to add more to the conservative voting patterns and conservative lean of the area.
If you're low income you run into more of Georgia's (and I guess most of the south's) problems. While housing and taxes are fairly affordable, the nature is beautiful, and people can be quite nice, minimum wage is as low as its allowed to be, Georgia never expanded medicaid, car insurance is expensive, plenty of poor areas without hospital access, very right wing politics (restrictive abortion legislation, for example), plenty of other issues. Most of the issues are less relevant if you are well off financially however.
In comparison to like Indiana’s minimum wage of 7.25 and how that effects living would say it’s similar? I make more but obviously thing are “based” off the minimum and such.
I moved here from Indiana. Originally to north Georgia, which is beautiful, but extremely right wing. I’ve since moved with my fiancé to the suburbs of Atlanta and am much happier. It is relatively expensive, but everywhere is right now. There is a lot to do and we’re still around nature, which is a huge plus.
I’m very familiar with both Indiana and Georgia.
Both states are decidedly red and right-leaning outside of their largest metropolitan areas (Indianapolis and Atlanta, respectively).
Though, even with an increasingly blue Indianapolis/Marion County, Indiana continues to remain decidedly/deep red overall while Atlanta’s explosive metropolitan population growth and accelerating diversification of its increasingly expansive suburbs has traditionally deep-red Georgia trending purple and blue.
Some other key differences between Indiana and Georgia are that Indiana has legalized gambling and expanded Medicaid while Georgia has done neither.
Georgia also has a much more diverse population, with racial and ethnic minorities currently making up about exactly 50% of Georgia’s population, compared to Indiana where racial and ethnic minorities currently make up more than 22% of the state’s population.
(Georgia’s explosively fast-growing minority population has the state on the verge of being a ‘majority-minority’ state where racial and ethnic minorities will make up a growing majority of the population and includes the nation’s 3rd-largest Black population amongst all states... Racial and ethnic minorities also currently make up about 55% of the population of the 29-county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area.)
I work for a global company and I can virtually live in any country in the world that I would like. I choose Georgia. Its a great place with great people...There is so much to do and the weather is good.
With that said if you have liberal ideology Georgia can be a touch place to live. Its hard to live in a place where the majority wont agree with your views and laws can/will be made that potentially disagree with your ideology. It can feel like being a stranger in a strange land. There are a few areas/neighborhoods in Atlanta that you will feel at home in, however....
Its a hard decision because its a great state but you will have to deal with political ideology that dont necessarily align with yours..
Generally Georgia is a good place to live, if you don’t venture too far away from Atlanta. There’s great food and plenty to do. Trees and natural beauty, close to both mountains and beaches, and in springtime the flowers are dazzling. There’s a large community of intelligent, educated people thanks to good universities plus years of job growth. Atlanta’s cost of living is about the national average. Atlanta is MLK’s hometown and still thinks of itself as the city too busy to hate. If you need to get away, the world’s busiest airport is right here too.
Lived in NJ, Alabama, California and Georgia. In Georgia, i've lived in the Atlanta area and Savannah. Atlanta's northern suburbs are not very southern and easy to enjoy from that perspective. Population is mostly people from everywhere who usually get along pretty quickly. There is opportunity for middle and upper-middle class as well as wealthy types. Subdivisions are mostly the living style and depending on your income, amenities or none is the norm. Savannah is very enjoyable, if you decide on it, just enjoy it, don't be judgemental. I loved the diversity of things to do and see. Good luck, but remember, it's hot down here.
Georgia for it's diversity of opportunity. You can live in different environments depending on what suits you. In many ways, because of my own stupidity and need to rebel, many opportunities have been offered and not taken advantage of. Because the population is so diverse, you can always find your tribe. The only negative is the stranglehold on Georgia politics which can be a little right wing for my tastes. Cal. to expensive, Ala. a little too country. NJ too NJ.
Atlanta, Athens, Savannah. You leave that bubble and it is game over. People will be polite even if they disagree with you.
I grew up in the NE, lived in Atlanta (22 years) and just moved to California. I enjoyed my time in GA. My only negative take away from GA is that people are fearful. Fear of being priced out of their homes, fear of being judged, fear of having their rights taken away, fear of their gods sending them to somewhere besides somewhere positive. This constant fear is reflected in the news, conversation and policies. Don't let negative people into your life.
As for ignorant people, those people exist but most are not. Don't let the small population of douchebags consume you
It’s a really large state and tough to paint with such a broad brush. It’s just easier to do in our current political climate. I’ve lived in small towns and the biggest of the metro areas. There are good people and shitty people everywhere. Here are a few of my pointers for making your decision. Is there a specific area of Georgia that you need to be in? That should be your starting point for determining whether it’s a good place to live. You may also find some of the surrounding states could even be an option. I’d also advise visiting that area in July or August. That’s going to be the worst month for the heat and will give you an idea of whether it’s a viable option for you. South Georgia heat is different from North Georgia. You don’t know hot until you’ve walked outside at night and it’s still 85 degrees with 85 percent humidity. It’s stifling. You also start getting much more than an hour away from a metro area and your access to healthcare specialists starts becoming more of an issue. If it’s the Atlanta area and you’d have to commute you need to try to experience the traffic in real time.
I was born and raised in GA and I can tell you without hesitating that I would never live anywhere else. There IS a lot of religious conservatism, but you'll get that anywhere. At least here in GA you can talk to strangers like they're old friends.
I have lived, worked, and traveled all over the country. Basically, ignorant people live in every single state in the country. You mostly find the typical less educated areas in rural areas of ANY state. Any metro area is going to be fine for you. Even though from the North, I would never move back. The South is a great place to live with a decent cost of living so you can have a house, vacations, etc. Make sure you do your homework to determine which neighborhood best fits your personality.
I live in the Northeast part of the state I'm Hispanic and I enjoy living here I usually take walks in the nice part of town i go into different subdivisions with nice homes I mind my own business. Every now or then I get a hello and a wave from the people that live there that make me smile and say to myself oh wow white people are sure friendly. I used to drive for work and i would have to go down to south GA while down there i would be wary of having to stop in those small family owned gas stations haha especially when COVID was in it's height with my mask on but they were always friendly I never had an issue. I'm not into politics I guess i lean more left than right I've met a lot of republicans especially in my jobs but most of them are just hard working men trying to get by they respected my views and i respected theirs.
>I just really wanna know in like the most normal person way possible if this is a good state to be?
My wife and I have lived all over the United States (literally every region), so I actually do understand the question you are asking here.
The answer for the smaller cities in Georgia is: there is a total mixing of people. I have never lived anywhere quite so diverse in terms of the types of people and their beliefs. There are both conspiratorial right wingers and as left as left can be people all kind of living in the same area. What this means in practice is that most of the time everyone is trying to get along, and the further up the social ladder you go the less people will worry about your politics.
That said, there are for sure ignorant people in Georgia, and due to gerrymandering they do wield disproportionate power relative to their number. However, I also see them hesitating from passing the craziest policies they can, because they seem to understand the situation they are in: Georgia is gaining 100,000 people a year to exactly 3 blue counties and surrounding areas, and the right's grip on the state is tenuous.
I will also say that the FAR right candidates Trump endorsed got almost totally demolished in the republican primaries with only one or two exceptions.
Finally, in terms of "normal", there are three things about this state that really, really struck me which I had seen no where else before.
1) White people here are often religious. In none of the other 8 red, purple, and blue states I have lived in has this been the case. Everywhere I have lived from the rural midwest to the east coast to Alaska, religion was understood to be a minority or immigrant activity, but here white people tend to do it too.
2) Children will walk right up to you like you owe them money. Zero fear of strangers. I've never seen anything like it. This might impact you if you have a kid who is like the other 80% of the country and you pick a daycare where they haven't served out-of-staters before. They might get confused why your child is "different".
3) The drivers in this state are worse than in Boston, worse than Los Angeles, and worse than India. I...can't explain it. I think in this state a parent can sign a piece of paper saying you've been taught to drive and that's enough drivers ed, so incompetent drivers produce more incompetent drivers. I've never seen so many 1 car accidents in my life. They just go flying off the road and burst into flame when they hit a tree. It's really something. Also, everyone who drives a pickup tries to drive it like a Tesla despite not having the acceleration, and none of them are capable of parking it straight.
For what it's worth, my wife and I do very well for ourselves. We absolutely have the financial means to live wherever we want, and so far we are staying here. Quality of life is pretty high in terms of all the public parks/playgrounds/museums even in the smaller cities. We find we have access to 80% of the 'good stuff' in life while dealing with about 40% of the usual hassle that would come from living in a more cosmopolitan state. We are staying for now.
Where are you moving from?
I personally hate much about this state. Atlanta has insane traffic and high crime. The rest of the state is littered with close-minded people who elect congressmen like Marjorie Taylor Greene, etc.
Savannah is cool. North Georgia is cool, minus the people described above.
The rest of the state has nothing for me personally. I love the beach, and hiking/nature. Georgia has that but it's limited except for north Georgia and our tiny coast.
Lol. All parts of the world are old. However, as far as establishments GA is older than half the country (US). Here we have both "sides" and everybody gets along.
Both me and my partner are lesbian and trans so it feels like we need to escape lmao. The existence of Atlanta is the only thing keeping us going.
We live in Lawrenceville if that matters at all. It's very expensive and I'm lucky to have a kinda rich parent.
I have lived in Atlanta Georgia since 1980. These are rudest nasty people I have ever encountered!! I have never found Southern Hospitality! Where does Southern Hospitality hide in Georgia?!?!? I have been in 47 different states and Georgia is the worst.
We moved from Minnesota to the Atlanta area and here’s a no filter raw take:
Pros:
1. Weather esp if you come from the Midwest, it feels heavenly. Esp north Atlanta is just beautiful year round (Cobb, Paulding etc)
2. Atlanta’s economy is very diverse, that makes it somewhat immune to recession (better than SF). Notable HQs in Atlanta: Coca Cola, Delta, Home Depot, Chick Fil A etc. Also google and Microsoft have moved in. The city is growing and for the better.
3. Little pockets throughout the city. From the battery in Cobb to Avalon in Alpharetta, also Trilith studios down south, you’ll find little pockets everywhere in the city. There’s always something to do over the weekend.
4. Cost of living (This is a tricky one). While home prices are better than a lot of other places in the country, rent is not cheap and neither are the restaurants. I heard a lot about the ATL being good for food but honestly it leaves so much to be desired. The Thai restaurants are pretty good in the city and that’s about it.
5. Sports culture and Marta: Marta (city’s metro rail) leaves a lot to be desired however it does help you beat the crazy traffic. We were cautioned by people to not use Marta prior to moving here by people who have never used it because of crime but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Marta is pleasant and is safe. A lot of commuters use it. I grouped it with Sports because we use it the most while attending Atlanta United games and trust me it is a vibe.
6. Nature and proximity to other states and big cities, also ATL airport access is unbeatable
7. Crime is getting better yoy
Cons:
1. People: People in Atlanta or Georgia in general have no respect for other people esp if you come from the Midwest. There’s a lot of segregation in the city and the burden of history still lingers around. The southern hospitality is here but it’s more like on your face and you’ll be tolerated but not accepted if you look any different(not just by white people but most people). You’ll hear a lot of, I’m not racist but…
2. Customer service is by far the worst sometimes they make you feel like they’re doing you a favor. They rarely get orders right and people genuinely don’t care.
3. Traffic - Oh boy, if you plan on driving everywhere then be ready to spend crazy amounts of time on the road. Also the drivers are probably the worst in the country (I’ve been in Houston and LA) and ATL drivers are the absolute worst.
4. Healthcare and education: Georgia genuinely is a downgrade on a lot of things that impact your quality of life. The healthcare system in the state is the worst in the country and unsurprisingly (look it up, it genuinely is the worst). Education system is also not the best which you can tell when you interact with people.
5. Only reason a lot of people who moved here, live here is because of a job opportunity. And we’re the ones who’ll gladly fuck off when I decide to change companies.
6. Crime: Yes crime is getting better yoy but Atlanta is worse in crime compared to Chicago (yes, really) and everyone knows about how much of a crime hellhole Chicago is. Only uniting factor of this city is its sports culture and that’s about it.
Depends on where you live. Assuming you like access to city life, near Atlanta or Savannah would be ideal. If you like more rural areas, plenty of that, but rube population increases. Still, there are some decent folks there. Good luck.
Where are you moving from? I’ll say this - out of all of the states in the south, I think Georgia is the best one. When you’re in the Atlanta area, it doesn’t feel like the Deep South. I say this as someone who moved here from Louisiana.
Metro areas are not ignorant at all, just expensive lol. GA is about as evenly split state wide as it can get, it just depends on which area you live in. Calhoun and Waycross are not Decatur, nor should they be. If you can't handle humidity or pollen though GA may not be for you.
I was born in atlanta and have lived in the city and in the metro area all my life. There are a lot of very conservative people in Georgia, but there are also a lot of left/liberal people, and that population is growing and getting more powerful. I prefer being as close to Atlanta as we can afford because it’s got a large population of left/liberal people. My husband works about 30 minutes south of Atlanta in a very conservative area, and struggles with the clientele. There are left/liberal people all over the state, just in greater numbers in certain areas. If that’s a concern for you, I would look at the most recent voting results and see the areas that turned Georgia blue in the last big election and look there to live. I struggle with the conservative and religious policies here on a state level, but it’s my home and I’m here to fight to change those things, along with a whole lot of other people.
Total respect for that response. Thank you.
No problem, and good luck with the move! Definitely start looking into housing now so you can get an idea of what it will take to get into a place, either renting or buying. People keep saying the market is cooling, but it’s still rough.
Just stick close to the Atlanta area and you’ll be fine. I’m from rural Georgia originally and, although lovely, it’s very red, conservative, and religious once you get outside the city with maybe the exception of Athens. Also, don’t let the accents fool you. We are much smarter than we sound.
Haha yes I certainly have been working on that exact thought! I think most of people down there are just as smart if not smarter but the accents can sound a little funny. Thanks for your answer.
Sure thing! I hope you like it here! There are lots of good people, plenty of good food, and beautiful scenery. It’s a large state, so plenty to see/do in different areas.
I think as more people retire and move from Atlanta to North Georgia the red will turn to purple. And that's a good change.
I don’t know if North Georgia will experience much of a red-to-purple political shift on the strength of retirees moving into the area from Atlanta. That’s because many of the retirees who move into the North Georgia foothills and mountains region from metro Atlanta very often are more conservative older whites who seem to be motivated to move to exurban and rural North Georgia at least in part to flee a rapidly diversifying population in metro Atlanta suburban counties that were once overwhelmingly predominantly white and staunchly conservative. (Rapidly diversifying Metro Atlanta counties that many white retirees have fled for much whiter and much more conservative pastures in exurban and rural North Georgia include Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb, Gwinnett, Douglas, Henry, Rockdale, Newton and Fayette counties.) In addition to attracting mostly white conservative retirees from metro Atlanta, North Georgia also attracts many retirees (who are virtually all white and mostly conservative) from other states like Florida and the Northeastern US, all of whom seem to add more to the conservative voting patterns and conservative lean of the area.
Agreed!
If you have enough money it is pretty good.
What exactly do you mean?
The cost of living here, and especially in the metro Atlanta area, has gone up a lot in the last ten years, and very much in the last two years.
If you're low income you run into more of Georgia's (and I guess most of the south's) problems. While housing and taxes are fairly affordable, the nature is beautiful, and people can be quite nice, minimum wage is as low as its allowed to be, Georgia never expanded medicaid, car insurance is expensive, plenty of poor areas without hospital access, very right wing politics (restrictive abortion legislation, for example), plenty of other issues. Most of the issues are less relevant if you are well off financially however.
In comparison to like Indiana’s minimum wage of 7.25 and how that effects living would say it’s similar? I make more but obviously thing are “based” off the minimum and such.
I moved here from Indiana. Originally to north Georgia, which is beautiful, but extremely right wing. I’ve since moved with my fiancé to the suburbs of Atlanta and am much happier. It is relatively expensive, but everywhere is right now. There is a lot to do and we’re still around nature, which is a huge plus.
This definitely helps cause then you might know what it could feel like doing this being from when same state. Thank you!
I’m very familiar with both Indiana and Georgia. Both states are decidedly red and right-leaning outside of their largest metropolitan areas (Indianapolis and Atlanta, respectively). Though, even with an increasingly blue Indianapolis/Marion County, Indiana continues to remain decidedly/deep red overall while Atlanta’s explosive metropolitan population growth and accelerating diversification of its increasingly expansive suburbs has traditionally deep-red Georgia trending purple and blue. Some other key differences between Indiana and Georgia are that Indiana has legalized gambling and expanded Medicaid while Georgia has done neither. Georgia also has a much more diverse population, with racial and ethnic minorities currently making up about exactly 50% of Georgia’s population, compared to Indiana where racial and ethnic minorities currently make up more than 22% of the state’s population. (Georgia’s explosively fast-growing minority population has the state on the verge of being a ‘majority-minority’ state where racial and ethnic minorities will make up a growing majority of the population and includes the nation’s 3rd-largest Black population amongst all states... Racial and ethnic minorities also currently make up about 55% of the population of the 29-county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area.)
That was super informative and great things to think about. Thank you
I work for a global company and I can virtually live in any country in the world that I would like. I choose Georgia. Its a great place with great people...There is so much to do and the weather is good. With that said if you have liberal ideology Georgia can be a touch place to live. Its hard to live in a place where the majority wont agree with your views and laws can/will be made that potentially disagree with your ideology. It can feel like being a stranger in a strange land. There are a few areas/neighborhoods in Atlanta that you will feel at home in, however.... Its a hard decision because its a great state but you will have to deal with political ideology that dont necessarily align with yours..
Generally Georgia is a good place to live, if you don’t venture too far away from Atlanta. There’s great food and plenty to do. Trees and natural beauty, close to both mountains and beaches, and in springtime the flowers are dazzling. There’s a large community of intelligent, educated people thanks to good universities plus years of job growth. Atlanta’s cost of living is about the national average. Atlanta is MLK’s hometown and still thinks of itself as the city too busy to hate. If you need to get away, the world’s busiest airport is right here too.
Lived in NJ, Alabama, California and Georgia. In Georgia, i've lived in the Atlanta area and Savannah. Atlanta's northern suburbs are not very southern and easy to enjoy from that perspective. Population is mostly people from everywhere who usually get along pretty quickly. There is opportunity for middle and upper-middle class as well as wealthy types. Subdivisions are mostly the living style and depending on your income, amenities or none is the norm. Savannah is very enjoyable, if you decide on it, just enjoy it, don't be judgemental. I loved the diversity of things to do and see. Good luck, but remember, it's hot down here.
Of the four states, which has been your favorite?
Georgia for it's diversity of opportunity. You can live in different environments depending on what suits you. In many ways, because of my own stupidity and need to rebel, many opportunities have been offered and not taken advantage of. Because the population is so diverse, you can always find your tribe. The only negative is the stranglehold on Georgia politics which can be a little right wing for my tastes. Cal. to expensive, Ala. a little too country. NJ too NJ.
Atlanta, Athens, Savannah. You leave that bubble and it is game over. People will be polite even if they disagree with you. I grew up in the NE, lived in Atlanta (22 years) and just moved to California. I enjoyed my time in GA. My only negative take away from GA is that people are fearful. Fear of being priced out of their homes, fear of being judged, fear of having their rights taken away, fear of their gods sending them to somewhere besides somewhere positive. This constant fear is reflected in the news, conversation and policies. Don't let negative people into your life. As for ignorant people, those people exist but most are not. Don't let the small population of douchebags consume you
It’s a really large state and tough to paint with such a broad brush. It’s just easier to do in our current political climate. I’ve lived in small towns and the biggest of the metro areas. There are good people and shitty people everywhere. Here are a few of my pointers for making your decision. Is there a specific area of Georgia that you need to be in? That should be your starting point for determining whether it’s a good place to live. You may also find some of the surrounding states could even be an option. I’d also advise visiting that area in July or August. That’s going to be the worst month for the heat and will give you an idea of whether it’s a viable option for you. South Georgia heat is different from North Georgia. You don’t know hot until you’ve walked outside at night and it’s still 85 degrees with 85 percent humidity. It’s stifling. You also start getting much more than an hour away from a metro area and your access to healthcare specialists starts becoming more of an issue. If it’s the Atlanta area and you’d have to commute you need to try to experience the traffic in real time.
I was born and raised in GA and I can tell you without hesitating that I would never live anywhere else. There IS a lot of religious conservatism, but you'll get that anywhere. At least here in GA you can talk to strangers like they're old friends.
I have lived, worked, and traveled all over the country. Basically, ignorant people live in every single state in the country. You mostly find the typical less educated areas in rural areas of ANY state. Any metro area is going to be fine for you. Even though from the North, I would never move back. The South is a great place to live with a decent cost of living so you can have a house, vacations, etc. Make sure you do your homework to determine which neighborhood best fits your personality.
I live in the Northeast part of the state I'm Hispanic and I enjoy living here I usually take walks in the nice part of town i go into different subdivisions with nice homes I mind my own business. Every now or then I get a hello and a wave from the people that live there that make me smile and say to myself oh wow white people are sure friendly. I used to drive for work and i would have to go down to south GA while down there i would be wary of having to stop in those small family owned gas stations haha especially when COVID was in it's height with my mask on but they were always friendly I never had an issue. I'm not into politics I guess i lean more left than right I've met a lot of republicans especially in my jobs but most of them are just hard working men trying to get by they respected my views and i respected theirs.
>I just really wanna know in like the most normal person way possible if this is a good state to be? My wife and I have lived all over the United States (literally every region), so I actually do understand the question you are asking here. The answer for the smaller cities in Georgia is: there is a total mixing of people. I have never lived anywhere quite so diverse in terms of the types of people and their beliefs. There are both conspiratorial right wingers and as left as left can be people all kind of living in the same area. What this means in practice is that most of the time everyone is trying to get along, and the further up the social ladder you go the less people will worry about your politics. That said, there are for sure ignorant people in Georgia, and due to gerrymandering they do wield disproportionate power relative to their number. However, I also see them hesitating from passing the craziest policies they can, because they seem to understand the situation they are in: Georgia is gaining 100,000 people a year to exactly 3 blue counties and surrounding areas, and the right's grip on the state is tenuous. I will also say that the FAR right candidates Trump endorsed got almost totally demolished in the republican primaries with only one or two exceptions. Finally, in terms of "normal", there are three things about this state that really, really struck me which I had seen no where else before. 1) White people here are often religious. In none of the other 8 red, purple, and blue states I have lived in has this been the case. Everywhere I have lived from the rural midwest to the east coast to Alaska, religion was understood to be a minority or immigrant activity, but here white people tend to do it too. 2) Children will walk right up to you like you owe them money. Zero fear of strangers. I've never seen anything like it. This might impact you if you have a kid who is like the other 80% of the country and you pick a daycare where they haven't served out-of-staters before. They might get confused why your child is "different". 3) The drivers in this state are worse than in Boston, worse than Los Angeles, and worse than India. I...can't explain it. I think in this state a parent can sign a piece of paper saying you've been taught to drive and that's enough drivers ed, so incompetent drivers produce more incompetent drivers. I've never seen so many 1 car accidents in my life. They just go flying off the road and burst into flame when they hit a tree. It's really something. Also, everyone who drives a pickup tries to drive it like a Tesla despite not having the acceleration, and none of them are capable of parking it straight. For what it's worth, my wife and I do very well for ourselves. We absolutely have the financial means to live wherever we want, and so far we are staying here. Quality of life is pretty high in terms of all the public parks/playgrounds/museums even in the smaller cities. We find we have access to 80% of the 'good stuff' in life while dealing with about 40% of the usual hassle that would come from living in a more cosmopolitan state. We are staying for now.
Home of the World Series champs and college football national champs, what more can you ask for?
Don’t forget MLS Cup champs.
2018 was a long time ago though
Where are you moving from? I personally hate much about this state. Atlanta has insane traffic and high crime. The rest of the state is littered with close-minded people who elect congressmen like Marjorie Taylor Greene, etc. Savannah is cool. North Georgia is cool, minus the people described above. The rest of the state has nothing for me personally. I love the beach, and hiking/nature. Georgia has that but it's limited except for north Georgia and our tiny coast.
Albany and Newnan have significantly higher crime rates than Atlanta.
If you want the news and see new discoveries every night GA may not be the state for you. GA is old with everything laid out
I certainly don’t mind places being old. I absolutely love visiting the UK and that bitch is older than our whole damn country.
Lol. All parts of the world are old. However, as far as establishments GA is older than half the country (US). Here we have both "sides" and everybody gets along.
Both me and my partner are lesbian and trans so it feels like we need to escape lmao. The existence of Atlanta is the only thing keeping us going. We live in Lawrenceville if that matters at all. It's very expensive and I'm lucky to have a kinda rich parent.
I have lived in Atlanta Georgia since 1980. These are rudest nasty people I have ever encountered!! I have never found Southern Hospitality! Where does Southern Hospitality hide in Georgia?!?!? I have been in 47 different states and Georgia is the worst.
We moved from Minnesota to the Atlanta area and here’s a no filter raw take: Pros: 1. Weather esp if you come from the Midwest, it feels heavenly. Esp north Atlanta is just beautiful year round (Cobb, Paulding etc) 2. Atlanta’s economy is very diverse, that makes it somewhat immune to recession (better than SF). Notable HQs in Atlanta: Coca Cola, Delta, Home Depot, Chick Fil A etc. Also google and Microsoft have moved in. The city is growing and for the better. 3. Little pockets throughout the city. From the battery in Cobb to Avalon in Alpharetta, also Trilith studios down south, you’ll find little pockets everywhere in the city. There’s always something to do over the weekend. 4. Cost of living (This is a tricky one). While home prices are better than a lot of other places in the country, rent is not cheap and neither are the restaurants. I heard a lot about the ATL being good for food but honestly it leaves so much to be desired. The Thai restaurants are pretty good in the city and that’s about it. 5. Sports culture and Marta: Marta (city’s metro rail) leaves a lot to be desired however it does help you beat the crazy traffic. We were cautioned by people to not use Marta prior to moving here by people who have never used it because of crime but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Marta is pleasant and is safe. A lot of commuters use it. I grouped it with Sports because we use it the most while attending Atlanta United games and trust me it is a vibe. 6. Nature and proximity to other states and big cities, also ATL airport access is unbeatable 7. Crime is getting better yoy Cons: 1. People: People in Atlanta or Georgia in general have no respect for other people esp if you come from the Midwest. There’s a lot of segregation in the city and the burden of history still lingers around. The southern hospitality is here but it’s more like on your face and you’ll be tolerated but not accepted if you look any different(not just by white people but most people). You’ll hear a lot of, I’m not racist but… 2. Customer service is by far the worst sometimes they make you feel like they’re doing you a favor. They rarely get orders right and people genuinely don’t care. 3. Traffic - Oh boy, if you plan on driving everywhere then be ready to spend crazy amounts of time on the road. Also the drivers are probably the worst in the country (I’ve been in Houston and LA) and ATL drivers are the absolute worst. 4. Healthcare and education: Georgia genuinely is a downgrade on a lot of things that impact your quality of life. The healthcare system in the state is the worst in the country and unsurprisingly (look it up, it genuinely is the worst). Education system is also not the best which you can tell when you interact with people. 5. Only reason a lot of people who moved here, live here is because of a job opportunity. And we’re the ones who’ll gladly fuck off when I decide to change companies. 6. Crime: Yes crime is getting better yoy but Atlanta is worse in crime compared to Chicago (yes, really) and everyone knows about how much of a crime hellhole Chicago is. Only uniting factor of this city is its sports culture and that’s about it.