Hangout for Californians in Atlanta? - Georgia (GA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

ArthursChoice · 05-12-2009, 10:41 PM

I believe you and all I do. I never been there myself...but if what you say is true, 9 years? Why do you stay? Serious I hear people make these statements about a place and yet they stay? And they always give a hundred excuses; my job, my house; If you really want to leave you can leave anytime, right? So again I ask, (not a put down, I really want to know) why do you stay...9 years?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

I'm from California and have lived here for the past 9 years and you can't find anything here to replicate what you had back home. Simple as that...I just came back from a long weekend in LA and I find myself missing it more and more as I get older. I usually visit home at least six times per year so that usually can quench my thirst because I travel so much to other places...There is no place like home. The attitudes, diversity, climate and people make it all so worth it If you live in the RIGHT area.

Atlantasfinest · 05-13-2009, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArthursChoice

I believe you and all I do. I never been there myself...but if what you say is true, 9 years? Why do you stay? Serious I hear people make these statements about a place and yet they stay? And they always give a hundred excuses; my job, my house; If you really want to leave you can leave anytime, right? So again I ask, (not a put down, I really want to know) why do you stay...9 years?

Actually I'velived here off and on for 9 years...Undergrad for 4 years, then back home for Grad School for 2, then back here so there ya go.

I like Atlanta but it still can't hold a candle to the California lifestyle...it's not an excuse it's a reality. I have a house here and several investments and a career where I have to be based here and I fly out of Atlanta 3 times per month. In this economy and my line of work I'm not going to just get up and move because I'm California Dreaming...In the meantime my quarterly visits back home to West LA will have to do.

atlantagreg30127 · 05-13-2009, 07:59 AM

I remember a list someone posted a while back that broke down the housewives of each area of Atlanta, and when they did John's Creek it said something like, "California transplant who has to go back several times a year for a fix", or something similar.

If you are raised and live in a region of the country and move to a different region, it's going to be extremely difficult to completely assimilate to that new region - unless in your old region you were literally always a fish out of water, mentally. California is California. The Northwest is the Northwest. The South is the South, and New York City is in itself it's own world. Each region has their own lifestyles and general way of thinking that's unique to that area for the most part, and may or may not "jive" with other regions of the country if your brain is entrenched with that old regional way of thinking.

I've known people who came to Atlanta from both Northern and Southern California over the years. They either loved it or completely hated it here. Those who came here just looking for "something different" wound up always going back to California. Those who were literally just "completely OVER California" wound up staying. I dunno.. if you're looking for places where you can feel like you're in California here, maybe you don't like it here as much as you want to and are trying to (but never will).

nerak31 · 05-13-2009, 08:38 AM

I grew up in the Bay Area and went to college there. I wanted to try living in the Northeast, so I went to graduate school in Connecticut, then spent a few years in DC. I've been in Atlanta for close to two years now, and I'm desperately trying to like it. It's grown on me, and I think it still is growing on me. As with all other cities, Atlanta has its pros and cons. A friend recently asked if I'd recommend her moving here with her husband and 5-month-old daughter, and I honestly told her that I think it's a great place to raise a family--and it is. You can buy a home, there are lots of other young families out here, decent schools.

To me, California will always be home, since that's where my family is and that's where I grew up. Maybe I'll end up back there eventually, but for now, I'm trying to make Atlanta feel more like home.

plessthanpointohfive · 05-13-2009, 08:52 AM

I don't have this problem. I grew up around New Orleans and I love the culture there. And ALL of my family and my husband's family is in Louisiana.

But I love Atlanta and I am here to stay. It's home now.

Windu · 05-13-2009, 10:48 AM

Thanks for all the ideas. Sad to hear that there's no established spot, but that means there's an opportunity to start something I guess. I like the suggestion of looking for Cali college alumni groups, very wise idea.

My experience has matched Greg's assertion that the suburbs (and suburban mentalities) can be very homogeneous. I'm finding that people make assumptions about what I think, like, do, etc. based on appearances, and that's really bumming me out. A lot of "funny vibe," a lot of well-meaning but off-base assumptions too. I'm from here originally, so I expect it, but still, I need a break from it every now and then to make this move work.

Thanks again for your input!

OctoberMoon · 05-17-2009, 02:55 AM

It makes me sad to hear as well!

I was born and raised in West Los Angeles. I'm currently living in Phoenix with my husband, who is from Georgia. He moved out to California while in the Navy and loved it, but it's just gotten to crowded and too expensive for us (although I really do miss it! If I was rich, I'd be back there in a heartbeat!).

We're hoping to have kids in a couple years, and I've toyed with the idea of moving to Georgia with him to be near his family (he really doesn't mind where we live. He loved Cali, he likes in here in Phoenix, and all his family is right outside Atlanta). Each time I've gone back with him to visit family, I've really, really enjoyed it. And being near his family (I don't really have much family of my own), would be great for our future kids to have grandma and grandpa around.

I don't know though. Both him and I are very liberal (as is his family, but still...) and non-religious, I love sushi and the whole West Coast vibe. I'm very much a California girl (who likes Phoenix a lot). But would I be able to get by in Georgia?

This thread saddens me because I feel like I too would never get over my longing for Cali. At least now I'm only an hour plane ride away...

atlantagreg30127 · 05-18-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OctoberMoon

We're hoping to have kids in a couple years, and I've toyed with the idea of moving to Georgia with him to be near his family (he really doesn't mind where we live. He loved Cali, he likes in here in Phoenix, and all his family is right outside Atlanta). Each time I've gone back with him to visit family, I've really, really enjoyed it. And being near his family (I don't really have much family of my own), would be great for our future kids to have grandma and grandpa around.

Ask yourself this.... you know how much you enjoy visiting Disney Land, right? Would you want to LIVE there?

Visits are nice because you get to experience a whole different environment, but try to imagine being there full time. It MIGHT be appealing, but then, the vacation might be over after a while too - something to think hard about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OctoberMoon

I don't know though. Both him and I are very liberal (as is his family, but still...) and non-religious, I love sushi and the whole West Coast vibe. I'm very much a California girl (who likes Phoenix a lot). But would I be able to get by in Georgia?

Well, we DO have sushi here in Atlanta.

And within Atlanta you do have somewhat of a mix of folks due to the transplants. Once you're in some of the 'burbs though, it does get a little more conservative, religious, etc (depending on burb). If you are "very much a Cali girl", who's not specifically looking to get away from that Cali vibe, you MIGHT not have a great time here.

Ok, bluntness - my family are like Vulcans, so personally I don't get into "I have to live within 5 miles of the folks" thing like a lot of folks do here. Others are completely different. But I would not move somewhere that I had any questions about JUST to be close to the inlaws and grandparents. Plane and train rides are cheap these days and if you already really like where you live now, think of the old, "If it 'aint broke don't fix it" saying.