relocating to Gwinnett County Atlanta GA (Lawrenceville, Dallas: trip , salary, job)

[loveydovey1]

looking to relocate to georgia (gwinnett county) from nyc area (brooklyn)...everyone from nyc seems to be relocating to GA for better quality of life and inexpensive housing....I am currently a RN and the GA salaries are scary..seem to be really low..but hoping cost of living will make up for lower salary..Ive visited and liked it but am really a city girl...bottom line I am alittle scared but looking to move to give kids a better quality of life....any suggestions???????????????

also I am alittle worried about racism in the south...the folks seem friendly but it appears to be only on the surface...I was raised in a diverse brooklyn neighborhood and am very tolerant of all cultures and backgrounds.........alot of southern folk have the confederate flag flying and it reminds me of slavery in the pre civil war era...........

help........is Atlanta GA the place for me.............oh forgot to mention looking for low crime also................

[nyxmike]

Atlanta (and Charlotte) both make the top of the list for African Americans in the South. There are a lot of middle class and wealthy African Americans in the Atlanta area. Have you ever been to Atlanta? In the metro area you really shouldn't be seeing confederate flags and most people do not "fly them" or post them on their car or whatever - maybe if you go out into the middle of nowhere in GA?? If your a city girl, why don't you look into Fulton or DeKalb counties? Gwinnett has a lot of people but it is more suburban.

[loveydovey1]

thankx, nyxmike

I have been to the metro area, not to look at properties, but have visited to take the kids to the aquarium and to sight see...housing in downtown atlanta is lot pricier than Gwinnett.......I though that Fulton and Dekalb had more of the not so nice area's????? I went out with a realtor in gwinnett and walton counties and that's where I noticed the confederate flags on homes and vehicles..coming from NY that was like culture shock for me...but still didnt break my spirit becuase I still liked GA overall....Thanks for the feedback...

[dallas76]

I currently live in Dallas TX, but I lived in Lawrenceville for 4 years. The area around discover mills and sugarloaf parkway is pretty cool. Look down highway 316. The only problem is traffic coming out of Gwinnett county
(I-85). It is brutal. So keep your commute to work in mind when making you choice.

[GAisGreat]

First you should probably get over the confederate flag thing. It's just part of the history and heritage in the South. Granted, I'm sure some people are into it because of the klan/racism issue. But, from my experiences, most are not. If it really bothers you, then you should stay north. Not to be rude, but it's just part of the culture, most people don't find it offensive because they don't look at it as 'racist' the way most northerners do. You move here and first thing you're complaining about how 'the flag bothers you', 'back in New York', etc. etc. THAT will get you treated 'badly' faster than any race, etc. you may be.

Please don't take the comments the wrong way, but the last thing people here want to hear is how 'this, that, offends me...back north we did this, that' etc.

Having been born/raised in the north, I saw 10 times the racism up there than I've ever seen in the South.

[lastminutemom]

First, you need to get a job -- as an RN you shouldn't have any problem, but once you have a job, then you can figure out where to live. In New York, do you use public transportation to commute? In Atlanta, will you drive to a job or will you want to use public transportation? Traffic can be a bear here -- but there are hospitals in almost all parts of the metro area, so you should be able to plan well.

Most hospitals are always recruiting, don't know what your speciality is, but start making inquiries, there is the possibility that one or two of them will spring for a trip down here to househunt in earnest.

[loveydovey1]

Thanks GAisGreat...since you were raised in the north and you love the south I will take your comments to heart...and no you were not offensive

Ive also considered the commute to work as well..when I visited I didnt meet a lot of traffic but thats only because I did most of my driving while everyone was at work

I was thinking that I should secure the job first..Ive been out of the hospital for a while and not looking to go back to the hospital..my nursing specialty is home care, leadership and case management......but was thinking maybe I wouldnt want to work for the first month or so after I relocate so that I could sort of get acclimated and get the kids settled..of course it ultimately depends on finances....

Thank you everyone for all of your insightful advice, greatly appreciated

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by GAisGreat

First you should probably get over the confederate flag thing. It's just part of the history and heritage in the South. Granted, I'm sure some people are into it because of the klan/racism issue. But, from my experiences, most are not. If it really bothers you, then you should stay north. Not to be rude, but it's just part of the culture, most people don't find it offensive because they don't look at it as 'racist' the way most northerners do. You move here and first thing you're complaining about how 'the flag bothers you', 'back in New York', etc. etc. THAT will get you treated 'badly' faster than any race, etc. you may be.

Please don't take the comments the wrong way, but the last thing people here want to hear is how 'this, that, offends me...back north we did this, that' etc.

Having been born/raised in the north, I saw 10 times the racism up there than I've ever seen in the South.

Outstanding Post, I lived in NJ for 10 years and handled the NYC area
You are correct about the division. I always found everytime I worked the Brooklyn, Bronx, the City, and the Island folks never talked about others unless it was it was in reference to ethnicity. "The Irish section, don't go north of 86th, Alphabet, etc., etc., etc.," I think it goes back to the certain realm of superiority complexes you find in the NY/NJ area, the ole liberal addage that it's ok for me to be a bigot while I accuse others. In short, two faced.

You will find your cliques in the South, from the Blueblood "old money" to those who just do not like the flood of refugees coming into their once peaceful back yards.

Unlike the North, my neighborhood and town are mixed and we just refer to each other as neighbor.

A Confederate Flag lesson. You will see the old south in my home for example, my great grandfather was a Col. in the Stonewall Brigade and being from WV my other great grandfather fought as a enlisted soldier in the Pennsylvania. You will find the flags as historical and heritage not overall as racist, however, you will find bad segments who use the flag as hate, similiar to going into Harlem and seeing the Black Nationalist Flag. In the south the bad is easy to spot, it is the Moron riding down the road with the Confederate Flag on his/her car with many attached NASCAR stickers, and the darn flag is upside down. Then again, you won't need the flag symbol to figure them out. As Jeff Foxworthy states Rednecks are everywhere, not just the south. Plus they are mostly free of all prejudice since they seem to hate everyone equally.

As far as being an RN, for now steer clear of Grady Hospital in Atlanta, if they fail to make payroll this month they will be out of business. Good hospitals in the area are Gwinnett Medical (top 5 rated in the nation) Emory and St. Joe.

Good Luck on your search

[grover]

There is a pretty nice size hospital in Cumming GA, I think it is called northside. They just built an expansion. It is about 40 minutes north of Atlanta. Exit 14 off of GA 400

[loveydovey1]

LOLOL Thank You SO much GEORGIA STAR...Ive really enjoyed these message boards...everyone has been extra helpful!!!!

Your thread left me laughing hysterically...nothing like a good hearty laugh before rushing off to work (yup the NY rate race thing )....I am so looking foward to the South..I think I am just a little scared becuase its something new and change is hard..............

P.S. thanks for the tip on Grady..a friend of mine told me the same thing