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I think Georgia has more in common with North Carolina, moreso than Georgia has with Alabama. Each state has it's different attractions when it pertains to outdoor enthusiasts; With Blue Ridge in GA/NC, there's also the Gulf Beaches in AL/FL, which North Carolina doesn't have in comparison. Also, while NC is definitely thriving more than Alabama is several areas, I don't think it has that urban, edgy, or cultured feel that Georgia has with Atlanta/Savannah, and Alabama with Birmingham/Mobile.
I have to disagree; NC has Asheville, Durham, Winston-Salem, and Wilmington when it comes to that.
SC wasn't brutal on the same level as AL and especially MS during the Civil Rights Movement, that's true. I do recall reading somewhere that Edgefield County, SC was known as the "most violent and racist county in the South" during the movement, but that's about it. Racially motivated murders weren't as common.
I disagree that AL has an "urban/edgy/cultured feel" and NC doesn't. Just visit Asheville and Wilmington. Asheville especially fits this category on Friday nights during the summer when they have that drum circle downtown and whatnot.
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thedudewiththeplan
Alabama. A good chunk of the southern half of GA is much more Deep South than anything in NC (not saying some areas like Lumberton don't have a Deep South vibe, but not on the level of places like Appling and Bacon counties in GA, which might as well be in rural Mississippi). Heck, even some of the outer suburbs of metro Atlanta are that way (I'm looking at you southern Fayette county)!
Agreed with you up until the example you used of a suburban ATL county that "may as well be in rural Mississippi." Fayette is still suburban with desirable places such as Peachtree Cities.
Counties like Butts, Lamar, and Jasper fit the bill though. There technically suburbs but there's nothing suburban about them at all. I view those and and a couple others as the rural counties that really separate the Atlanta area from the Macon area.
Georgia has a lot more resemblance to North Carolina than Alabama on most statistical measures. The states have roughly the same total population, are growing at comparable rates and have very similar income levels and educational attainment. Alabama is far less populous with slower growth and has a lower socioeconomic standing as a whole. North Carolina and Georgia are both light red states politically, whereas Alabama is dark red.
Atlanta in some respects is like adding Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, and Greensboro/Winston-Salem into one metro area. In both states, this metropolitan hub (unifocal in GA, multi-focal in NC) is substantially different from most of the rest of the state - although Athens and Savannah in Georgia, and Asheville and Wilmington in North Carolina tend to be more cosmopolitan than other outlying places.
There is definitely a historic Deep South connection between Georgia and Alabama that is less evident in North Carolina, but in recent years the divisions in America seem to be trending towards midsized and larger metro areas vs. small city and rural areas. The former group is far more prevalent in Georgia and North Carolina than in Alabama, and is correlated towards the two Atlantic coastal states being a more dynamic environment.
I do think Alabama has a lot of assets and great potential, and the Huntsville and Birmingham metros plus the Gulf Coast are doing very well. But objectively the state as a whole is pretty far behind Georgia and North Carolina on key indicators.
Agreed with you up until the example you used of a suburban ATL county that "may as well be in rural Mississippi." Fayette is still suburban with desirable places such as Peachtree Cities.
Counties like Butts, Lamar, and Jasper fit the bill though. There technically suburbs but there's nothing suburban about them at all. I view those and and a couple others as the rural counties that really separate the Atlanta area from the Macon area.
South Fayette County has some of the richest real estate in all of Metro Atlanta if not the United States. It's incredibly white and affluent. And the schools are ranked among the top in the state and nation as well.
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