Smyrna: Transplant city? (Atlanta, Vinings, Dallas: cul-de-sac, transplants, 2014)

[Black_Sheep3]

So I've lived almost all around ATL, but here in Smyrna, I cant help but feel there are much more transplants than usual. And yeah we have alot of people moving here aat the moment but still.. Im in a apartment community and literally almost half the cars parked outside all have out of state plates and/or College alumni plate decors. I have not seen this so concentrated in any other area of ATL I've lived in before. And a New Yorker also just moved in my building block a couple weeks ago, and I also met another one who moved here last month, 2 NYers in a row within about a month, just here in this community I live in. Along with his car from NY.

Not only that I also notice things like uncommon sports team attire is seen being worn by more people here in Smyrna. Ive mainly only saw UGA/GT as usual in other Atlanta areas Ive lived in, but now Im here in Smyrna Im actually seeing people wearing OSU, WA, Oklahoma State, VA, Cal & Colorado and even saw a Utah guy at Publix. Never seen this many different College/Alumni attire all in just one city here before. And it's even more people here, I hear speaking foreign languages than usual. So many of them, actually gives the whole city a different kind of feel, feels different than places Ive been in in Fulton or Gwinnett. Like, a transplanty feel? I guess?

It seems alot of transplants are concentrated here, why?

[netdragon]

Smyrna transplant here: From Connecticut and New York, 2005.

Yes, as you said just look at the vast array of state license plates almost indefinately streaming into Smyrna :-) It used to be Michigan and Ohio after motown went belly-up, but now New York, Colorado, Utah, Maryland, Virginia, Oregon and Cali are the hot ones, it seems. A little Texas, too.

I haven't heard a Southern accent for years in the Smyrna area, except when out of town contractors come to do work on my house. When I first moved here in '05, it was a lot more common to hear a Georgia accent.

Many transplants follow their friends or relatives here. My father followed me here, for instance. Many transplants that come for other reasons don't want to settle into more conservative, typical Georgia communities. They want to be somewhere progressive, but maybe not as congested and busy as midtown. Smyrna is also very convenient, and that makes it attractive just by pure odds (think drawing circles from where people work and see where more of those circles converge). Furthermore, Cumberland "Vinings" has a lot of apartments that are around a highway interchange and a natural place to settle into. Then, later on, they may move into Smyrna.

[DawgPark]

Our Smyrna cul-de-sac has 6 homes/families and not 1 native Atlantan. New York, Chicago, Germany, China, south GA, and 1 older lady nobody knows where she's from.

A drive thru our subdivision on fall Saturdays shows about every college flag and only 1-2 UGA/GT flags.

[cwkimbro]

--scratches head--

I don't think so.

It isn't that I'm doubting the number of transplants, it is that this is much much more wide spread than you think.

Atlanta was one of the fastest growing metros in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 00s. Most of this was fed from in-migration. In Gwinnett most of the kids in my class were from all over and I graduated in 2001. The only thing I noticed was some of the churches has a slightly higher rate of locals vs transplants.

Today out of the entirety of Gwinnett County, the second most populous county in the state, over 25% of people were not even born in this country... not to mention domestic in-migration. ... And that is out of an entire county... not just local area where there is more variability in the data.

The region in 1980 had 2.2 million people, 1990 had 3 million people... all the way until today with over 5.5 million.

That also doesn't account for the fact that Atlanta is a very white collar town. We have a great deal of out-migration too. As people switch jobs they move around a bit. Our in-migration is just stronger.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by Black_Sheep3

And it's even more people here, I hear speaking foreign languages than usual. So many of them, actually gives the whole city a different kind of feel, feels different than places Ive been in in Fulton or Gwinnett.

Also, one glaring detail I must pick over a bit...

I know you probably meant that second sentence to be about a broader subject, but to pair foreign language use compared to Gwinnett in this way... you don't know Gwinnett well enough.

[Gilah G.]

Texan here looking at a possible move to Atlanta.
I'm in panic mode here.
While looking up paces to live fitting our description Smyrna
Comes highly recommended.
(Sorry)?

I think we will stick out like sore thumbs with our Dallas Cowboy, and San Antonio Spur
Shirts.

As far as college, we'll have to wait and see about that one!!!

[netdragon]

I wouldn't worry about the cowboys and spur shirts.

What I would recommend against is a stetson and texas style belt buckle (not saying you wear that). That would stick out like a sore thumb and make people think you are a tourist even if no one would probably bug you about it. There's texans passing through on the highway all the time. Most don't wear stetsons and belt buckles but I see enough from time to time with stetsons.

[Black_Sheep3]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

--scratches head--

It isn't that I'm doubting the number of transplants, it is that this is much much more wide spread than you think.

Well yeah that's why I said concentrated and the topic to begin with, I was specifically talking about Smyrna. I was just wondering why it was so concentrated here. And it already seems other people see this too so my curiosity has been cured. Asked around here and other people think the same way.

It's quite interesting to be honest, I was in the city vs city section and a few people are actually specifically mentioning Cobb now, its really getting dynamic over here. It almost feels like im not really in Atlanta anymore its so many people from other areas, I feel kind of like Im in the middle of this post-grad/transplant project or something, it's kinda cool. I saw a guy literally DECKED out in Cincinnati Bengals attire at Burger King, haven't seen that since I went to the preason game when the Falcons played against them here at the GA Dome last year. I mean he was suited up, hat, jersey and his car has a Bengals plate lol

[HeyEng]

Originally Posted by Gilah G.

Texan here looking at a possible move to Atlanta.
I'm in panic mode here.
While looking up paces to live fitting our description Smyrna
Comes highly recommended.
(Sorry)?

I think we will stick out like sore thumbs with our Dallas Cowboy, and San Antonio Spur
Shirts.

As far as college, we'll have to wait and see about that one!!!

Oh lord. Please...no "GO SPURS GO" stickers on your car! When I lived in San Antonio, you would have thought that half the town had some sort of ownership in the team for all the damn stickers!

As for all the out of state tags, I think a LOT of people are not wanting to get Georgia tags because of the title tax. Lots of scamming going on with that.

[Black_Sheep3]

Originally Posted by HeyEng

Oh lord. Please...no "GO SPURS GO" stickers on your car! When I lived in San Antonio, you would have thought that half the town had some sort of ownership in the team for all the damn stickers!

As for all the out of state tags, I think a LOT of people are not wanting to get Georgia tags because of the title tax. Lots of scamming going on with that.

Texas fans period.. please..
Not to sound hostile but 75% of Texan sports fans, college or pro I have meet have all been obnoxious. Especially the Cowboys ones, how some still think the Cowboys are Americas team in 2014 is beyond me.

We're already struggling to be truly passionate about our own pro teams here, excluding the Braves. But after the Falcons 2012 season, everyone was on the wagon, literally being a play away from the superbowl against the 9ers and then after they did so bad last year, it shell shocked me how fast I saw every dropping their Falcons attire..

And its ashame we don't have much more support for the Hawks despite how stable their performance is. Hopefully the slight boost in hype from this years NBA playoffs will kinda help a bit. However I am aware its mainly a Georgia Bulldogs scene here/college sports, but we could do better than this.

And this is the first Ive heard of this title tax scam, elaborate?