Can a California Liberal be happy in Georgia? (Atlanta, Gainesville: mortgage, relocating)

[Yahoobaloo]

Hello everyone. I have basically lived in California my whole life and am considering relocating to Georgia because the company I work for is opening up a manufacturing facility in Gainesville. I am a family man with a lovely wife, 2 daughters, (15 and 17), and a son who will be 20 soon,(who is staying in California where he is attending college). I am the son of immigrants, (Dad was Dutch, mom was Indonesian), who raised their large family to be polite, respectful, hardworking and socially accepting of all people. If we decide to relocate my daughters will be saying goodbye to a rainbow of friends, (black, white, Hispanic, Asian, middle eastern, gay and straight).

I have tried to raise them to be free of prejudice although I fully realize that we all carry prejudice inside of us and maybe that is what this post is about. I want my family and myself to feel comfortable in Georgia and I feel that I carry prejudice in my heart about that area of the country. I feel that the average person in Georgia will be more intolerant of that rainbow I wrote about than the average person in California. I have been having crazy dreams at night, (seriously), that I would encounter people in Georgia that spout racial and gender epithets like n***er or f***ot. I know that dreams are exaggerations but they must be coming out of a place of fear that is inside of me. Fear stemming from not living in the south. It is not like I expect Georgia to be a state that votes for Obama, (by the way- I am an independent - have liked McCain in the past but supports Obama- right man for the right job at this present time)- but is Georgia overall a tolerant place that thrive on healthy debate as opposed to name calling.

Is the feeling in Georgia overall a feeling of all inclusiveness or of separation? What sections of Georgia will I feel most comfortable in? will my kids feel more comfortable in and not encounter intolerant people?
I am looking forward to reading your responses and I apologize for rambling all over the place.
Thanks!

[ZGACK]

If you live in Atlanta proper you should feel pretty comfortable. While Georgia is a red state Atlanta is definitely blue. I don't think the same can be said for Gainesville and surrounding environs but don't quote me. I think you might want to consider Decatur, GA. It's very 'progressive' and abuts Atlanta but it's definitely separate and distinct.

Regarding the overall feeling in the state. Georgia is very rural and for many Atlanta is seen as a moral cesspool. The rest of the state dislikes Atlanta for it's influence, money and perceived lack of morals and Atlantans look down on the rest of the state as ignorant rubes.

Final note: you can't protect your kids from everything. Teach them well as the man said, that's all you can do.

Good luck.

[ramblinwreck17]

One word- Decatur
Two words- De catur

[uncle_el]

you'll be surprised how many "transplants" you'll run into in/around atlanta. while there are plenty of people from georgia and the south, there are plenty of people from all over the country.

with that said, it may be a bit of a shock to you. my parents moved from so cal (thousand oaks) to alpharetta in 1998, and my mom still has some complaints. my dad, not so much. but my mom's from so cal, and my dad's from arkansas, so that may play a role!

for myself, i lived in atlanta from 2000-2005 while attending medical school. as said above, georgia is a red state, but atlanta itself is liberal. overall, i thought atlanta was ok, but i missed being on the west coast, and decided to leave once i finished medical school.

as far as where to live, the above 2 posters are recommending decatur, but that's about 50 miles one way from gainesville! the area around suwanee, johns creek, duluth is a good area, puts you about 25-30 miles from gainseville.

side note, my parents feel that their expenses, outside of a mortgage, are not that different from their friends' who still reside in california. for instance, property tax is higher in georgia than it is in california.

[Yahoobaloo]

Originally Posted by ZGACK

If you live in Atlanta proper you should feel pretty comfortable. While Georgia is a red state Atlanta is definitely blue. I don't think the same can be said for Gainesville and surrounding environs but don't quote me. I think you might want to consider Decatur, GA. It's very 'progressive' and is in many respects part of Atlanta but quite separate.

Regarding the overall feeling in the state. Georgia is very rural and for many Atlanta is seen as a moral cesspool. The rest of the state dislikes Atlanta for it's influence, money and perceived lack of morals and Atlantans look down on the rest of the state as ignorant rubes.

Final note: you can't protect your kids from everything. Teach them well as the man said, that's all you can do.

Good luck.

I like your final quote. I have visited your state about a month ago to scout out locations for our plant. I stayed at Lake Lanier and spent most of my time in the Gainesville area viewing commercial real estate but also saw areas in Buford, Sugar Hill, Hall county and such. I only stayed 3 days as this was really not a vacation but a business trip. I did not have a chance to visit Atlanta and while it looks like a nice city I am not a city person. Here in California I rarely venture into Los Angeles. We do venture into popular areas in and around Hollywood as I am into music but large cities in general are just to congested for me. Also, any large metropolitan area whether it be in New York, California, Chicago or Georgia are going to have those areas where you do not feel safe at night but it is startling if you compare crime stats - Atlanta versus Los Angeles:
Crime Rate Comparison: Atlanta Vs. Los Angeles
which is another piece of the pie.
I will research Decatur - is it close enough to Gainesville?

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by Yahoobaloo

but it is startling if you compare crime stats - Atlanta versus Los Angeles

Just bear in mind that even though the stats are based on per 100K people, the City of Atlanta has a much smaller area (1/4) and population (1/10th). If you included most of the 10 county Atlanta metro area to get you to a comparable population and area, and then compared by 100K people, I would guess the stats would be closer.

[ZGACK]

Also, consider Athens, GA. It's a college town, home of UGA and about 30 miles from Gainsville.

[georgiaguy08]

Decatur is 50 miles from Gainesville and Athens is about 40 miles from Gainesville.

[uncle_el]

Originally Posted by Yahoobaloo

I will research Decatur - is it close enough to Gainesville?

it'd be like driving mission viejo to burbank. you could do it, but would you really want to?

[Yahoobaloo]

Originally Posted by uncle_el

you'll be surprised how many "transplants" you'll run into in/around atlanta. while there are plenty of people from georgia and the south, there are plenty of people from all over the country.

with that said, it may be a bit of a shock to you. my parents moved from so cal (thousand oaks) to alpharetta in 1998, and my mom still has some complaints. my dad, not so much. but my mom's from so cal, and my dad's from arkansas, so that may play a role!

for myself, i lived in atlanta from 2000-2005 while attending medical school. as said above, georgia is a red state, but atlanta itself is liberal. overall, i thought atlanta was ok, but i missed being on the west coast, and decided to leave once i finished medical school.

as far as where to live, the above 2 posters are recommending decatur, but that's about 50 miles one way from gainesville! the area around suwanee, johns creek, duluth is a good area, puts you about 25-30 miles from gainseville.

side note, my parents feel that their expenses, outside of a mortgage, are not that different from their friends' who still reside in california. for instance, property tax is higher in georgia than it is in california.

Thanks for responding, it is very helpful. Could you expand on your mother's complaints? Speaking of your mom an dad, I was born in Holland but really have lived here in California nearly my entire life and I am much more hesitant to make the move than my wife who is from Texas. My wife also harbors much more prejudice than I do and it has been kind of a source of education, (not what to do), and humor to our children and myself. I mean she was raised by a redneck father who used to refer to me as a fairy as I played in an alternative rock band back in the day- (long time ago in 80's) so my wife is part of him and his culture and old habits die hard. To this day I can still be shocked at what comes out of my wife's mouth!
Another reason to make the move is the ability to get a much better value in housing although the prices are dropping in California due to that whole sub-prime fiasco.