Georgia to become 8th most populous state in the nation. Growth or hinderance?

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by rorqual

Metro Atlanta is definitely not just black and white. Perhaps you missed the Asian and Indian population in Gwinnett?

Agreed! Someone mentioned Sandy Springs before... All I could think is... forget that. Look at Johns Creek and unincorporated Duluth.

[workaholics]

Originally Posted by ChefRamsey

Ok. Is diverse codename for black? Because diversity does not mean black people. And "diversity" has not helped Atlanta that much. It has not helped Atlanta. Atlanta is NOT diverse. It's black, white and gay.

I would like to see more Asian and hispanic representation. Especially Asian since Asians are the highest earners, invent the most technology, develop the coolest things, are the most educated, the most well rounded, those who commit the least amount of crime, hold honor and family values high and still participate in organized religion and old-country culture. Plus the food and Donnie Yen movies.

We won't become like Cali or Washington, but if that population grows then it'll be a plus for Georgia. Less redneck trailerparks, more international students. Please and thanks.

You're kind of painting Asians with a broad brush. We're talking about people in America with roots in many different Asian nations, all different, all with unique people, cultures and values. An immigrant family from India will be different than one from South Korea. Many asian immigrant groups still suffer from low income and low education levels, like Vietnamese- to give you an example.

I'm glad Georgia is diversifying with new Asian citizens, but don't expect all of them to conform to your narrow standards.

[rashadi]

Originally Posted by ChefRamsey

Ok. Is diverse codename for black? Because diversity does not mean black people. And "diversity" has not helped Atlanta that much. It has not helped Atlanta. Atlanta is NOT diverse. It's black, white and gay.

I would like to see more Asian and hispanic representation. Especially Asian since Asians are the highest earners, invent the most technology, develop the coolest things, are the most educated, the most well rounded, those who commit the least amount of crime, hold honor and family values high and still participate in organized religion and old-country culture. Plus the food and Donnie Yen movies.

We won't become like Cali or Washington, but if that population grows then it'll be a plus for Georgia. Less redneck trailerparks, more international students. Please and thanks.

I agree with some of your post but not about diversity. Metro Atlanta is dedinitely not just white and black. There many Hispanics and Asians in the area, and don't forget that "white" also means any person from the Middle East and North African origin, even though not everyone sees it that way. It's obviously not as diverse as NYC or Chicago but definitely more than other areas in the south. I agree with everything else. Lol @redneck trailerpark. I had some friends visit me from western Europe and they were totally shocked that people would live that way in America. They thought this was a third world country.

[testa50]

The thing about the deep south is that there is essentially NO history of international immigration to the region. Zilch. So whatever international populations we have are entirely a result of our economic growth during that last few decades, not any historical immigrant groups that exist in the northeast/midwest/west coast.

That fact is a continuing drag on international immigration draw across the region.

Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2011 | Homeland Security

Supplemental table 2 shows the top 50 metro areas for new legal permanent residents. Notice that only a handful of cities from this part of the country make the list: Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville. That's pretty much it--plus the Florida cities which are basically a result of Miami's massive hispanic draw.

With that said, Atlanta does pretty well to at least punch in its weight class. We're the 9th largest MSA and the 10th largest international immigration draw. Four of the five largest contributors to new permanent legal residents are Asian countries (India, China, Korea, and Vietnam). And this doesn't count domestic relocation of existing immigrants.

We're about 3 times larger than Charlotte, but draw 4.5 times more immigrants; we're 3.5 times larger than Nashville but draw 5.5 times more international immigrants. So we're drawing well above the pace of our regional peers. We're ahead of Philly, which is a larger city but draws fewer international immigrants. Heck, Chicago is 80% larger than Atlanta but draws only 60% more international immigrants--you could argue that pound for pound we're gaining on them in terms of international draw.

So I see what the complaining is about but I think patience is in order. A history of discrimination and lack of economic opportunity has left us with very little international base, but we're doing pretty well at making a comeback.

[arjay57]

testa, thank you so much. That is a great link.

And as usual your comments are right on target.

[ChefRamsey]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Agreed! Someone mentioned Sandy Springs before... All I could think is... forget that. Look at Johns Creek and unincorporated Duluth.

We were talking about Atlanta, not metro Atlanta.

I'm not saying ALL Asian/Indians are gunner tiger mom and dads. I'm saying on average they are more educated, higher earners, smarter, safer etc.

In every nationality and race you have the bottom 10% and the top 10% you need to look at the median or the average or be deceived.

[SW30303]

It is of my opinion, that the state of Georgia has not handled the population growth very well in many areas, especially within the metro (ATL).

From my own perspective, I like statistics and so on and take interest in population numbers, but if I were not from Georgia, and I had to guess the ranking of GA's population to those of the other states, I would probably think it would not be in the 10.

I have lived in other areas of the country and outside of the US, and GA really isn't as "well known" as some of the states in the Top 10 of population. Atlanta really has drawn a lot of attention to itself since the 1990s and that timeframe is somewhat recent. I still think Georgia is stuck in some very regionalist attitudes particular with politicians and the powers that be (TPTB), despite the changes to the metro area in the past 20 years or so where we now have significant numbers of people who are not either black or white.

I wanted to add this as a Pro to some efforts of Georgia:

The Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV) is celebrating its 50th birthday. I think efforts like these do draw international business and activity to the GA area.