North Ga. mountains home to high concentration of gay couples (Atlanta: live in, suburbs)

[arjay57]

This is interesting.

Almost 30,000 same-sex couples live together in Georgia, according to data released Thursday from the 2010 Census, and more than 28 percent are raising children. The total numbers show a sharp increase from the 19,288 same-sex unmarried partners reported in the state in the 2000 Census.

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Not surprisingly, the Williams Institute found that Atlanta's Fulton County had the highest total of same-sex couples at 5,554. DeKalb County, also part of the heart of the Atlanta metro area, ranked second at 5,006 couples. The two traded places for first and second when tallied based on the concentration of gay couples: DeKalb cited 18.42 same-sex couples per 1,000 households, while Fulton cited 14.76 per 1,000.

Apparently, lesbian and gay couples are also finding a haven in the North Georgia mountains. The next three counties with the highest concentration of gay couples per 1,000 households are all in the region: Fannin (10.32 per 1,000), Gilmer (10.24 per 1,000) and Rabun (10.21 per 1,000).

The five cities that the Williams Institute found to have the highest concentration of gay couples are all eastern suburbs of Atlanta: Avondale Estates (49.30 per 1,000 households), Decatur (39.37 per 1,000), North Druid Hills (36.87 per 1,000), Scottdale (32.36 per 1,000) and North Decatur (30 per 1,000).

North Ga. mountains home to high concentration of gay couples

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by arjay57

This is interesting.

I hope that this goes a ways in refuting some people's view that the folks in small towns are all racist, homophobic and unwelcoming of folks that are not just like them. Folks in small towns are just as accepting, and yes just as unaccepting, as folks in the big city.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

I hope that this goes a ways in refuting some people's view that the folks in small towns are all racist, homophobic and unwelcoming of folks that are not just like them. Folks in small towns are just as accepting, and yes just as unaccepting, as folks in the big city.

Very true, Ansley. I think fear and hatred are mainly based on ignorance. When people live in the same place and get to know and trust each other, that usually goes away. That's one of the good things about small towns.