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Are people from up north really concerned that they will be threatened /uncomfortable if they move down here and have opposing views?
Give me a freaking break :rollseyes:
Someone else addressed the stereotype thing and the fact that they become stereotypes because there is some grain of truth in them. As someone who relocated down here (DOWN HERE!) from metro NYC nine months ago--and who is a liberal--I wasn't afraid of anything, and certainly didn't think I'd be threatened for my political and social views. However, I DID expect that there would be fewer people who shared my opinions here. It's not like it was going to shut me up or scare me, but it was there.
And, driving around in October/November/December, when I lived in Buckhead, didn't exactly disabuse me of my thoughts: a Romney sign on every yard! I moved to Inman Park in late December. I see a lot more liberal bumper stickers/magnets/etc. here.
But either way? Doesn't bother me. Politics are polarizing no matter where you are. I grew up in NJ, as did my parents and my sister. They're Republicans, my sister is a Republican, I'm the lone Democrat. I've had more arguments with them over political issues than I have with anyone in Atlanta. LOL. (It helps that they're socially liberal. But we still manage to get into it over other issues.)
The problem with stereotypes is that they tend to be half-truths. There is a grain of truth to the claim that New Yorkers tend to be rude, that rural Southerners tend to be ignorant, etc. However, they tend to paint a misleading picture. New Yorkers can be nice, and rural Southerners can be open-minded.
I do need to address the "up North" stereotype, however, because it paints way too broad a brush. Saying that the Midwest and the Northeast are basically the same is like saying Atlanta and rural Georgia are basically the same. The Midwest and the Northeast are two very different parts of the country. In truth, culturally the Midwest is not all that different from the South. But there are some differences, such as a more Catholic population, higher support in general of labor unions, and lower population densities outside the major metro areas.
What I don't like about what you are saying there is that rural folks in the South are more likely to be ignorant than anywhere else. I spent most of my life in the rural South and I take serious offense to that. Does it exist, oh yeah. But I imagine that it is the same in any rural area, anywhere in the US. Honestly, I would bet that there are more low IQ / ignorant people in urban areas than rural.
At what point was a stereotype brought up about "up north"?
I don't mean to be so aggressive, but I just hate, I mean HATE with a undying passion, the idea that the South is some sort of land of idiots. Some backwards place where racism and ignorance rule the land. And I have no respect for "intellectuals" that think the South is some sort of special case scenario worthy of a one of a kind sociological study.
Someone else addressed the stereotype thing and the fact that they become stereotypes because there is some grain of truth in them. As someone who relocated down here (DOWN HERE!) from metro NYC nine months ago--and who is a liberal--I wasn't afraid of anything, and certainly didn't think I'd be threatened for my political and social views. However, I DID expect that there would be fewer people who shared my opinions here. It's not like it was going to shut me up or scare me, but it was there.
And, driving around in October/November/December, when I lived in Buckhead, didn't exactly disabuse me of my thoughts: a Romney sign on every yard! I moved to Inman Park in late December. I see a lot more liberal bumper stickers/magnets/etc. here.
But either way? Doesn't bother me. Politics are polarizing no matter where you are. I grew up in NJ, as did my parents and my sister. They're Republicans, my sister is a Republican, I'm the lone Democrat. I've had more arguments with them over political issues than I have with anyone in Atlanta. LOL. (It helps that they're socially liberal. But we still manage to get into it over other issues.)
Sounds like you are actually open minded or "progressive". I love being in places where there is no one like me. It is healthy to do so.
Yea. I had heard some bad things about Dawsonville.
I don't care if every one of my neighbors is conservative though. As long as it doesn't come to harassment or their views being shoved down my throat day in and day out; and like I said I might not exactly want the guy across the street flying the Stars and Bars but I'm pretty sure most of the HAs in the subdivisions I'm looking at wouldn't let someone fly a flag like that anyway (and if they do you can bet I'm going to have an even bigger flag to represent THE Ohio State University Buckeyes).
If that be the case, you're probably gonna be okay with the suburbs then. East Cobb, Alpharetta, parts of Gwinnett aren't too bad. They're largely conservative, but as long as you can deal with ten Romney stickers for every one Obama one, you'll be fine. (Rural Georgia, however, is a different story...)
Maybe you could rent for awhile to scope things out, and then buy when you know the area a little better? Yeah the housing market may be more expensive by then, but hell, it may be worth the wait.
BTW, I gotta compliment you, you're going into more depth than about 99% of the "where is a good place for me to live" threads that we see. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would want to let one or two posts influence a life decision. I think others who post that kind of stuff here should take note.
What I don't like about what you are saying there is that rural folks in the South are more likely to be ignorant than anywhere else. I spent most of my life in the rural South and I take serious offense to that. Does it exist, oh yeah. But I imagine that it is the same in any rural area, anywhere in the US. Honestly, I would bet that there are more low IQ / ignorant people in urban areas than rural.
At what point was a stereotype brought up about "up north"?
I don't mean to be so aggressive, but I just hate, I mean HATE with a undying passion, the idea that the South is some sort of land of idiots. Some backwards place where racism and ignorance rule the land. And I have no respect for "intellectuals" that think the South is some sort of special case scenario worthy of a one of a kind sociological study.
Don't misinterpret me--idiots are everywhere. But just as you dislike the stereotypes about the South, I dislike when rural Southerners just won't address the grains of truth in those stereotypes. Pretending that all is cool and there is little to no remaining racism and ignorance is just as big a mistake as assuming that every Southerner fits the stereotype.
The south has problems, but so do all other regions of the US. It just gets old that everytime the South is mentioned, it's "problems" must be brought up, seemingly to bring it down a peg. There is no denying that there is sense of elitism coming from other regions towards the South.
Even if you pick out a suburban area that seems more conservative on the outside, you can easily find like-minded people with similar politics in most areas of Atlanta. You will encounter people of all political stripes along with many apolitical people as well. I would not let that factor alone be an issue. If you pay a visit to Atlanta first, you can look for yourself first hand to see how you like it. Generally speaking, Decatur/Dekalb county and areas like that might be more in line with having more Democrat residents than some other areas of the metro.
It's true that some areas lean more right or left. However, I'll echo a lot of the other posts and say nobody really cares. In fact, you'd probably be judged more harshly for just having a bumper sticker or yard sign rather than for it's content.
Don't forget to include commute time in your decision-making process. 400 and it's feeder roads can get pretty frustrating at peak hours. But, I'm not one for traffic/long commutes.
If you're a liberal who is moving to Metro Atlanta and wants to move to Gwinnett County, you've actually probably picked an excellent time to move into a traditionally very-conservative suburban county like Gwinnett, and I'll tell you why.
The reason why you've likely picked a very-good time to move into a traditionally conservative enclave like Gwinnett County in a conservative state like Georgia is because of demographics.
With a population of just over 842,000, according to the latest census estimates, Gwinnett County is the second-most populated county in the state of Georgia (second only to Fulton County and its 978,000 residents) and the largest suburban county in the Atlanta region.
Because of its large population and because of Georgia's traditionally conservative political bent, Gwinnett County also has more voters who vote Republican in statewide elections than any other county in the Republican-dominated state of Georgia.
Where it gets really interesting is with the fact that in fast-growing Gwinnett (a county which by all appearances looks to be heading towards the 1 million inhabitant population mark likely sometime later this decade or in the next decade, economy permitting) minorities make up 57% of the county's fast-growing population, a number that is up nearly six-fold from 1990 when minorities comprised only 10% of Gwinnett County's population.
Traditionally-conservative Gwinnett County may have the largest number of Republican voters in a thoroughly Republican-dominated state (Republicans occupy all statewide political offices and hold a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of the Georgia state legislature), but Gwinnett County also has a population that is increasingly dominated by minorities who tend to vote Democrat.
Likewise, minorities comprise roughly 45% of the population of the state of Georgia, a number which surprisingly is not too dissimilar from the Democrat Party-dominated Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern state of Maryland where minorities comprise roughly 46% of the state's population.
With Black, Hispanic and Asian populations all growing much faster than the White population in Georgia where nearly 57% of all public schoolchildren are minorities (with minorities making up 63% of the schoolchildren population within a 20-county area around Metro Atlanta), the general consensus is that Georgia is poised to become a "majority-minority" state (a state where non-Hispanic whites make up a minority of the population) sometime in the next decade.
Besides the aforementioned county of Gwinnett and the increasingly-urban Metro Atlanta minority-dominated core counties of Fulton (59% minority population), DeKalb (70% minority population...up from 48% in 1990) and Clayton (85% minority population...up from 29% in 1990 and 9% in 1980), other traditionally predominantly white and conservative suburban Metro Atlanta counties that are "majority-minority" or are on the verge of becoming "majority-minority" are:
Rockdale County, in the East Metro suburbs off I-20, where minorities are now 59% of the population, a number which is up nearly six-fold from 1990 when minorities only made up 10% of the county's population...Rockdale County went for Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election.
Douglas County, in the West Metro suburbs off I-20, where minorities are now 51% of the population, a number which is up five-fold from 1990 when minorities only made up less than 10% of the county's population....Douglas County went for Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election.
Newton County, in the East Metro outer suburbs off I-20 (just east of Rockdale), where minorities are now 48% of the population, a number which is up from 23.7% in 1990....Newton County also went for Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election.
Henry County, in the South Metro suburbs off I-75, where minorities are also now 48% of the population, a number which is up from 21.8% in 1990.
Cobb County, one of the five core counties of Metro Atlanta, where minorities are now 44% of the population, a number which is up from 14% in 1990 and 6% in 1980.
(...Cobb County has historically been widely considered to be one of the most proudly-conservative counties in the entire nation in the post-World War II era and is thought by many to be one of the birthplaces of the modern Conservatism movement both in Georgia and the U.S...
...Cobb County also has the second-highest number of Republican voters in the Republican-dominated state of Georgia, with more Republican voters than any other county in the state besides Gwinnett).
Last edited by Born 2 Roll; 06-01-2013 at 01:27 AM..
Hi guys,
I know that this has been discussed a few times on this forum but a lot of what I was finding online came from a few years ago so I was hoping for some new info.
I am hoping to move to the Gwinnett/Forsyth county areas. Specifically the towns of Dacula, Buford, Alpharetta, Roswell, Lawrenceville, Flowery Branch, Snellville, Suwanee, Decatur and Dawsoneville are all in consideration. I plan to work in areas of Atlanta, Norcross, Roswell, Marietta etc. I hope to take advantage of the currently depressed housing prices and get in while interest rates are low.
I grew up in CT/VT and have had a pretty liberal upbringing. Since conservatives aren't really discriminated against up here I assume that the same is true in GA for liberals. However, some of my family have voiced some concerns and thus I figured I'd do a bit more research.
My parents actually lived in the Louisville area of Kentucky for awhile before I was born and said that they constantly had to swallow their tongue on a number of issues or suffer forms of harassment (Twice at gun point). At work, my father said his job as a manager was threatened when he hired a black man over a white man for a prominent position within the company. My mother said she was once told she didn't receive a promotion that she was in line for because she was a woman and since men are the bread winners and thus need the money more, a less qualified man was promoted.
Will I run into some of the same issues my parents did: Being threatened with violence for their views, racism in the work place, sexism in the workplace?
Will my job be at risk because of my political views? For example, if I have a Clinton sticker on my car.
I have no problem with opposing views and actually welcome them; but will I feel like an outsider or be verbally harassed for my opposing views?
In general, will it be difficult to fit in?
Finally, the number one concern I had myself was how will the politics of this area effect my (not born yet) children? I'm not saying they have to share my views but will they feel peer pressure at school to have conservative views or to bully classmates of different races? Will they be taught creationism over evolution? This may all sound silly but I didn't grow up in the area so I have no idea what the school environment is like compared to my school in CT (My school was actually pretty crappy while I know a lot of the schools in GA are new and better equipped than mine was).
In short, as a liberal, will I have a problem living in this area? I tend to keep my politics to myself unless I'm already friends with the person to begin with.
All thoughts are appreciated. Also if there are any of the areas I listed that I should avoid or some that I didn't list but should consider. Thanks in advance.
...It's interesting that you named Dacula as an area that you are considering moving to.
I've got some friends out that way that are what one could call "superconservative" as they are very active in the Tea Party movement, a movement which is likely more politically dominant in Georgia and the Southeast (most particularly the states of the Old Confederacy) than it is in any other part of the country.
While the Tea Partiers are often looked down upon in many other parts of the country, in Georgia the presence of the Tea Party has actually been a good thing as they have acted as a very-effective counterbalance against a state government that has historically and as of late had quite a few ethical issues.
The Dacula area, an area of rapidly-increasing diversity, happens to be home to a cluster of strong arch-conservatives.
As a liberal, you likely won't have many problems as much of the population of Metro Atlanta region is becoming increasingly moderately-conservative to even progressive.
Though as a liberal who has lived much of their life in Northeastern states dominated by liberals and progressives, you will likely be surprised at just how conservative some of the conservatives are that you encounter.
That's because you are likely to encounter in some people a level of conservatism that you likely never knew existed with levels of archconservatism that range from superconservative to ultraconservative to uberconservative.
I'm talking hard-core red meat and potatoes-eating, Red-Dog Republicans that you likely may not have ever encountered up North.
I'm talking people so conservative that they don't just want to shrink government, but they want to ABOLISH as much government as they can.
I'm talking people that want to abolish "government schools" (a term that you will hear in reference to public schools), property taxes, libraries, parks, mass transit, etc.
I'm talking people who think that mass transit (trains, buses and high-density development) is part of an evil marxist plot by the United Nations to destroy the American way-of-life and install a one-world government.
I'm talking people that want to abolish driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and (especially) gun licenses.
I'm talking people who want Georgia (and/or the rest of the South) to breakaway from the United States and form its own country.
I'm talking people who don't want dirt roads paved because they think that paving dirt roads (and having fuel taxes or any kind of taxes) is a major government overreach.
Arch-conservatives (superconservatives, ultraconservatives and uberconservatives), while still dominant in Georgia politics, make up a steadily-shrinking part of the population due to Georgia's rapidly-changing demographics that are being driven by continued high-growth rates in the Atlanta region.
But even though arch-conservatives makeup a steadily-shrinking part of the population and don't necessarily have the dominance over the political scene that they once had, they are still very-dominant on the Georgia political scene and are probably the loudest group in Georgia politics.
As a liberal moving to the Southeastern U.S. for the first time you will likely find a lot of people with views that are not necessarily too dissimilar from yours because of the number of Northern transplants that have relocated to Georgia over the past several decades.
But just be prepared to encounter in some people you meet a level of conservatism that you likely never knew or even dreamed existed, a level of hard-core, hard-line conservatism that is unique to many Southeastern and Midwestern states.
It is in some instances, a level of conservatism that is so far to the right of the political spectrum that it almost wraps completely back around and meets far left of the political spectrum at virtual anarchy.
...You've been warned.
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I moved to Inman Park in late December. I see a lot more liberal bumper stickers/magnets/etc. here.
