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B2R, I keep seeing you mention the senate races as being a big deciding factor for people moving here. What have you been hearing that's convinced you that the races have had that much influence on migration-- and do you believe the outcome of the races will lead different people to move here than before?
The reason I'm asking I guess is that I didn't consider the possibility of demographic changes being a result of the election news.
Here’s an entire thread in the Georgia forum back in November that discussed the issue of the US Senate runoff elections suddenly making Georgia an even larger destination (or target, I guess depending on one’s viewpoint) for migration and relocation by affluent Californians:
And here is a link to the (partially paywall-restricted) article in the San Francisco Chronicle that reported that many progressive-minded affluent Californians had been motivated by the US Senate runoffs to either temporarily move to Georgia to volunteer on behalf of the Democratic Senate candidates during the runoff election and possibly even permanently move to Georgia to help affect the outcome of future statewide elections with national implications in favor of Democratic candidates:
In addition to reporting on affluent progressive Californians who had been motivated to move to Georgia by the very high-profile US Senate runoff election, the article also reported on affluent progressive New Yorkers (starting with multibillionaire Democratic former presidential candidate Andrew Yang) who had been motivated to at least temporarily move to Georgia to participate in the US Senate runoff election showdown.
It probably should be noted that the US Senate runoffs did not just make Georgia even more of an attractive relocation target for affluent progressive Californians and Northeasterners, but also appeared to make Georgia even more of an attractive relocation target for affluent conservative Californians and Northeasterners as well.
The US Senate runoffs basically served as a two-month long infomercial advertising the financial benefits of living in a lower-cost state like Georgia when compared to higher-cost areas like California and the Northeast.
The fact that Georgia appears to be much more competitive for Democrats in statewide elections than a more typical massive relocation destination for affluent Californians like Texas also seems to be making Georgia an attractive relocation target for affluent progressive Californians.
B2R, I keep seeing you mention the senate races as being a big deciding factor for people moving here. What have you been hearing that's convinced you that the races have had that much influence on migration-- and do you believe the outcome of the races will lead different people to move here than before?
The reason I'm asking I guess is that I didn't consider the possibility of demographic changes being a result of the election news.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll
Here’s an entire thread in the Georgia forum back in November that discussed the issue of the US Senate runoff elections suddenly making Georgia an even larger destination (or target, I guess depending on one’s viewpoint) for migration and relocation by affluent Californians:
And here is a link to the (partially paywall-restricted) article in the San Francisco Chronicle that reported that many progressive-minded affluent Californians had been motivated by the US Senate runoffs to either temporarily move to Georgia to volunteer on behalf of the Democratic Senate candidates during the runoff election and possibly even permanently move to Georgia to help affect the outcome of future statewide elections with national implications in favor of Democratic candidates:
In addition to reporting on affluent progressive Californians who had been motivated to move to Georgia by the very high-profile US Senate runoff election, the article also reported on affluent progressive New Yorkers (starting with multibillionaire Democratic former presidential candidate Andrew Yang) who had been motivated to at least temporarily move to Georgia to participate in the US Senate runoff election showdown.
It probably should be noted that the US Senate runoffs did not just make Georgia even more of an attractive relocation target for affluent progressive Californians and Northeasterners, but also appeared to make Georgia even more of an attractive relocation target for affluent conservative Californians and Northeasterners as well.
The US Senate runoffs basically served as a two-month long infomercial advertising the financial benefits of living in a lower-cost state like Georgia when compared to higher-cost areas like California and the Northeast.
The fact that Georgia appears to be much more competitive for Democrats in statewide elections than a more typical massive relocation destination for affluent Californians like Texas also seems to be making Georgia an attractive relocation target for affluent progressive Californians.
And here is a link to another thread in the Georgia forum that recently (just a couple of days before the January 5th runoff Election Day) discussed the issue of newcomers bringing their Democratic politics with them when they move to Georgia for other parts of the country:
B2R, I keep seeing you mention the senate races as being a big deciding factor for people moving here. What have you been hearing that's convinced you that the races have had that much influence on migration-- and do you believe the outcome of the races will lead different people to move here than before?
The reason I'm asking I guess is that I didn't consider the possibility of demographic changes being a result of the election news.
I think a lot of moderate/left leaning people from the west coast and northeast have always had this misconception of Georgia, being in the deep south and the bible belt, as a "hostile" area towards liberals and dems in general.
Now with the recent election, and the state essentially going "blue", I think it has peeked their interest and they are now thinking "hey, there are clearly a huge number of like minded people that live down there! Maybe I should give GA a second look..." or something along that thought process. Georgia probably doesn't seem as "hostile" anymore in their eyes.
I think a lot of moderate/left leaning people from the west coast and northeast have always had this misconception of Georgia, being in the deep south and the bible belt, as a "hostile" area towards liberals and dems in general.
Now with the recent election, and the state essentially going "blue", I think it has peeked their interest and they are now thinking "hey, there are clearly a huge number of like minded people that live down there! Maybe I should give GA a second look..." or something along that thought process. Georgia probably doesn't seem as "hostile" anymore in their eyes.
I think this is spot on. And to be fair, for a long time GA as a whole was very conservative and with the way the EC works and the whole state voting on 2 senators (vs districts for HoR), it certainly appeared GA was very conservative. Especially when you throw in the Governors we've had recently.
But the truth is that a lot of areas had more left leaning (so maybe not San Fran/Portland/Seattle level liberals) voters than met the eye. Cities like Atlanta, Savanah and others but also rural areas with significant numbers of black voters and even the suburban areas. The results of this election (prez+senate) was really a long time coming. Diversity here continues to increase. You have people moving from other states and while a lot lean conservative and want to leave liberal areas, some still lean left or just are more moderate Rs and the southern brand of conservatism with strong ties to evangelism just doesn't appeal to them. (I don't think Bernie was ever gonna win GA, Biden was the only one who had a chance IMO)
So really this past result just kinda showed people that these people did exist in GA already. Maybe not so much in a place like Banks County which was almost 90% for Trump. But definitely in metro Atlanta and other spots. We already knew that but now it's getting noticed.
I think this is spot on. And to be fair, for a long time GA as a whole was very conservative and with the way the EC works and the whole state voting on 2 senators (vs districts for HoR), it certainly appeared GA was very conservative. Especially when you throw in the Governors we've had recently.
But the truth is that a lot of areas had more left leaning (so maybe not San Fran/Portland/Seattle level liberals) voters than met the eye. Cities like Atlanta, Savanah and others but also rural areas with significant numbers of black voters and even the suburban areas. The results of this election (prez+senate) was really a long time coming. Diversity here continues to increase. You have people moving from other states and while a lot lean conservative and want to leave liberal areas, some still lean left or just are more moderate Rs and the southern brand of conservatism with strong ties to evangelism just doesn't appeal to them. (I don't think Bernie was ever gonna win GA, Biden was the only one who had a chance IMO)
So really this past result just kinda showed people that these people did exist in GA already. Maybe not so much in a place like Banks County which was almost 90% for Trump. But definitely in metro Atlanta and other spots. We already knew that but now it's getting noticed.
Cherokee County went around 68% for Trump this time around, and construction there is booming. While politics might have an effect it’s also likely due to price and value. Either people moving out from Atlanta or people moving to Georgia from other states for a better QOL at lower COL.
If anyone wants to move to Georgia, regardless of their political slant, and wants to buy a home and spend money here, welcome.
I don’t want a repeat of what’s going on in Portland, Seattle or San Francisco right now here in the Atlanta area but most people aren’t like that anyway.
In addition to the recent US Senate runoffs appearing to generate even more interest in Georgia relocation from Californians and New Yorkers than before, the increased activity in Georgia’s burgeoning Film and Television production industry also seems to be generating increased interest in the state from TV and Film entertainment interests whose production activities continue to be hampered by COVID-19 restrictions in traditional TV/Film production hubs like California and New York.
Here is a link to post about that situation that I made on another thread about the stunning growth of Atlanta’s TV and Film production industry:
Like has been pointed out by other posters on this and other threads in the Atlanta forum, Atlanta’s Northern suburbs and exurbs often seem to get much (if not the most) attention in this forum, like is often the case in real life in metro Atlanta society.
But the stunning rise and continuing growth of the Television and Film industry in Georgia appears to be greatly benefiting Atlanta’s Southern Crescent suburbs and South metro Atlanta as a whole.
Over the last several years in the aftermath of the late-2000’s Great Recession economic downturn, an affluent South metro suburban jurisdiction like Fayette County appears to have been the beneficiary of an economic boom generated by the county’s status as a major hub for Television and Film production industry activity.
The real estate markets of Southern Crescent suburban counties like Fayette and Coweta appear to have been made more competitive due in large part to TV/Film production industry personnel moving into those areas to work on productions at major facilities like Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Atlanta Studios) in Fayetteville and in local jurisdictions like Senoia proper (where the hugely popular “The Walking Dead” TV series is produced) and Newnan proper (where dozens of movies and TV shows are produced in and around the city’s historic downtown).
Right or wrong, people have tied politics to COVID, which is a very emotional topic. So I think a given family's propensity to move based on politics has been amplified by COVID and WFH.
Many people feel that either their current government is doing too much, or too little in response to COVID, an issue that has effected most people even if they've never contracted it, via school, store, and work policies. And I think there is a general sense that whatever "it" is that one doesn't like, it's not going to go away for the next few years. So a family can either fuss about it, or move to an area that aligns with their values, and I think we're seeing that.
Cherokee County went around 68% for Trump this time around, and construction there is booming. While politics might have an effect it’s also likely due to price and value. Either people moving out from Atlanta or people moving to Georgia from other states for a better QOL at lower COL.
Your comment about Cherokee County raises what appears to be some important points...
While an outer-suburban jurisdiction like Cherokee County clearly continues to be a decidedly red county where more than 68% of its votes went to Donald Trump and the GOP in the 2020 Presidential Election, the margin-of-victory and the percentage of vote that went to the GOP appears to have trended noticeably downwards between 2004 and 2020 in traditionally deep-red outer-suburban metro Atlanta counties like Cherokee, Forsyth, Paulding and Fayette.
In Cherokee County, the GOP margin-of-victory declined from nearly 59 percentage points (79-20, R+59) in 2004 and nearly 58 percentage points (78-20, R+58) in 2012, down to about 39 percentage points (69-30, R+39) in 2020.
In Forsyth County, the GOP margin-of-victory declined from 67 percentage points (83-16, R+67) in 2004, down to 33 percentage points (66-33, R+33) in 2020.
In Paulding County, the GOP margin-of-victory declined from 53 percentage points (76-23, R+53) in 2004, down to about 29 percentage points (64-35, R+29) in 2020.
And in what is perhaps the most striking example of a downward trend in the percentage of votes earned by the GOP from 2004 to 2020, in Fayette County, the GOP margin-of-victory declined from 43 percentage points (71-28, R+43) in 2004, down to only about 7 percentage points (53-46, R+7) in 2020.
With a GOP advantage that has declined from 43 points (R+43) in 2004, down to only 7 points (R+7) in 2020, Fayette County possibly appears to be the next metro Atlanta county to swing towards Democratic control joining Cobb, Gwinnett, Newton, Henry, Douglas, Rockdale, Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton as majority-Democratic counties.
The common factor in all of the aforementioned metro Atlanta counties where GOP support has noticeably trended downwards over time is the noticeable increase in the minority population in each county over the last few decades.
Gwinnett, Newton, Henry, Douglas, Rockdale, Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton are all ‘majority-minority’ counties where racial and ethnic minorities make up a majority of the county’s population, while Cobb County appears to be on the very verge of becoming a ‘majority-minority’ county.
Cherokee County has seen its non-Latino white population decline from nearly 97% in 1980, down to just under 90% in 2000, down to just under 79% in 2019.
Forsyth County has seen its non-Latino white population decline from 99% in 1980, down to 92% in 2000, down to under 69% in 2019.
Paulding County has seen its non-Latino white population decline from just under 95% in 1980 and 1990, down to just under 90% in 2000, down to 68% in 2019.
Fayette County has seen its non-Latino while population decline from over 94% in 1980, down to 82% in 2000, down to just over 62% as of 2019.
I think a lot of moderate/left leaning people from the west coast and northeast have always had this misconception of Georgia, being in the deep south and the bible belt, as a "hostile" area towards liberals and dems in general.
Now with the recent election, and the state essentially going "blue", I think it has peeked their interest and they are now thinking "hey, there are clearly a huge number of like minded people that live down there! Maybe I should give GA a second look..." or something along that thought process. Georgia probably doesn't seem as "hostile" anymore in their eyes.
Indeed. In New England and the West Coast in particular, Georgia was incorrectly lumped with Alabama and Mississippi in a lot of people's minds.
They never realized that Georgia is actually more like Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida in political make-up.
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