Microsoft expansion (Atlanta, Columbus, Savannah: chapel, tech jobs, luxury)

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Now, Matt, Ingles and Publix are far better stores than Kroger... :-)

This comment raises an interesting point, which is that Ingles generally does not really seem to like to operate stores inside or seemingly too close to the I-285 Perimeter in the Atlanta region.

There are no Ingles grocery stores inside the I-285 Perimeter and, with the exception of the Ingles along GA-141 in Peachtree Corners, there also are no Ingles stores in the most affluent areas on the Northside until one gets to outlying areas like Cumming, Acworth, Canton, Dacula.

Ingles appears to seem to prefer that their stores be located in middle-class outer-suburban and exurban areas and even working-class rural areas, so that particular grocery chain (even with as well-liked as they be with many shoppers) probably would be very unlikely to open up a store in an urban area like Intown Atlanta, even in a new development in a gentrifying area that might attract growing numbers of tech employees with high incomes.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by architect77

I believe that sometimes decisions are based solely looking at maps without learning about an area.

I wonder if any of the CEOs of companies that moved their HQs here have any regrets because I contend that they don't yet know fully about how the state and city of Atlanta perform on average compared to where they left.

So you actually believe that the CEO of Microsoft, one of the most spectacularly successful and transformative corporations on the face of the planet, which ranks 21st among the Fortune 500 and is the world's third most valuable brand, makes corporate expansion decisions only after playing around on Google Maps and Streetview for a few hours?

I say all that because just like with Ponce and Old Fourth Ward, the ambiance might not change even with the development and though I don't know it well, I would say the West side has some ambiance that's not good and might not ever change.

You think Atlanta is the only city with said 'ambiance'?

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by ronricks

The children that live off Boulevard attend Hope Hill which is very nice the brand new state of the art Howard Middle and the in progress of being renovated and expanded former Grady High School. $17,000 per child is spent in APS which is far higher than any of their suburban peers. The schools have every technology and innovation available. Teachers and Administrators are paid on average considerably more than their peers. But we as Atlanta tax payers need to pay more money? No thanks.

That was a pretty big leap in logic on your part.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by demonta4

When I speak about regional universities, I’m mainly speaking about the ones outside the Atlanta metro area. Our state is very top heavy and doesn’t invest enough in South Georgia education in general. I’m currently in South Georgia and I’m very active in the politics and community here. Rural Georgia needs extreme investment that our state just isn’t investing in.

That is an excellent point that Georgia state government does not seem to invest enough in South Georgia and rural Georgia.

But it is understandable that a part of the state like South Georgia might would get less investment than North Georgia because South Georgia (which in many areas has either a slower-growing, stagnant or shrinking population) has significantly less population than North Georgia, where the population has been growing so fast that the demand for services (like education) has sometimes seemed to outpace available resources.

But even with the obvious disparity between the larger state educational investments in faster-growing North Georgia and slower-growing South Georgia, it probably should be noted that South Georgia is not completely bereft of educational resources.

The USG (University System of Georgia) has state-funded campuses in the following South Georgia (from the Gnat Line on southward) locations:

> Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia

> Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia

> Middle Georgia State University, Macon, Georgia

> Georgia College, Milledgeville, Georgia

> Augusta University (a major research university and one of the largest continuing public education investments in the state), Augusta, Georgia

> Georgia Southern University (a regional comprehensive university), Statesboro, Georgia

> Valdosta State University (a regional comprehensive university), Valdosta, Georgia

> East Georgia State College, Swainsboro, Georgia

> Georgia Southwestern State University, Americus, Georgia

> South Georgia State College, Waycross, Georgia

> Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton, Georgia

> Albany State University, Albany, Georgia.


While the TCSG (Technical College System of Georgia) has state-funded campuses at the following South Georgia locations:

> Albany Technical College, Albany, Georgia

> Augusta Technical College, Augusta, Georgia

> Central Georgia Technical College, Macon, Georgia

> Coastal Pines Technical College, Waycross, Georgia

> Columbus Technical College, Columbus, Georgia

>Oconee Fall Line Technical College, Sandersville, Georgia

> Ogeechee Technical College, Statesboro, Georgia

> Savannah Technical College, Savannah, Georgia

> South Georgia Technical College, Americus, Georgia

> Southeastern Technical College, Vidalia, Georgia

> Southern Regional Technical College, Thomasville, Georgia

> Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, Valdosta, Georgia.

Are the state investments in postsecondary education outside of North Georgia perfect?

No. They are far from perfect, but the state investments in higher education outside of North Georgia at least seem to be adequate, if not largely competent and seemingly acceptable for a part of the state with many areas that are slow-growing, stagnant and shrinking as is the case throughout much of the country and the world right now.

A largely slower-growing, stagnant and shrinking area like South Georgia just simply is not going to generate the same level of investment as a much-faster growing area like North Georgia.

But it should at least be recognized that South Georgia has not been completely ignored as some might would have us believe and has even received a decent and even good amount of investment in postsecondary education despite a slower-growing, stagnant and shrinking population in many areas.

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

That is an excellent point that Georgia state government does not seem to invest enough in South Georgia and rural Georgia.

But it is understandable that a part of the state like South Georgia might would get less investment than North Georgia because South Georgia (which in many areas has either a slower-growing, stagnant or shrinking population) has significantly less population than North Georgia, where the population has been growing so fast that the demand for services (like education) has sometimes seemed to outpace available resources.

But even with the obvious disparity between the larger state educational investments in faster-growing North Georgia and slower-growing South Georgia, it probably should be noted that South Georgia is not completely bereft of educational resources.

The USG (University System of Georgia) has state-funded campuses in the following South Georgia (from the Gnat Line on southward) locations:

> Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia

> Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Georgia

> Middle Georgia State University, Macon, Georgia

> Georgia College, Milledgeville, Georgia

> Augusta University (a major research university and one of the largest continuing public education investments in the state), Augusta, Georgia

> Georgia Southern University (a regional comprehensive university), Statesboro, Georgia

> Valdosta State University (a regional comprehensive university), Valdosta, Georgia

> East Georgia State College, Swainsboro, Georgia

> Georgia Southwestern State University, Americus, Georgia

> South Georgia State College, Waycross, Georgia

> Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton, Georgia

> Albany State University, Albany, Georgia.


While the TCSG (Technical College System of Georgia) has state-funded campuses at the following South Georgia locations:

> Albany Technical College, Albany, Georgia

> Augusta Technical College, Augusta, Georgia

> Central Georgia Technical College, Macon, Georgia

> Coastal Pines Technical College, Waycross, Georgia

> Columbus Technical College, Columbus, Georgia

>Oconee Fall Line Technical College, Sandersville, Georgia

> Ogeechee Technical College, Statesboro, Georgia

> Savannah Technical College, Savannah, Georgia

> South Georgia Technical College, Americus, Georgia

> Southeastern Technical College, Vidalia, Georgia

> Southern Regional Technical College, Thomasville, Georgia

> Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, Valdosta, Georgia.

Are the state investments in postsecondary education outside of North Georgia perfect?

No. They are far from perfect, but the state investments in higher education outside of North Georgia at least seem to be adequate, if not largely competent and seemingly acceptable for a part of the state with many areas that are slow-growing, stagnant and shrinking as is the case throughout much of the country and the world right now.

A largely slower-growing, stagnant and shrinking area like South Georgia just simply is not going to generate the same level of investment as a much-faster growing area like North Georgia.

But it should at least be recognized that South Georgia has not been completely ignored as some might would have us believe and has even received a decent and even good amount of investment in postsecondary education despite a slower-growing, stagnant and shrinking population in many areas.

I’m a student at one of these South Georgia universities and the level of education here just doesn’t stack up to North Georgia. I’m glad I chose to use my Hope here, and I love the community, but the schools just don’t stack up.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Ideally they would get a Kroger or Ingles in there. All too often developments like this say "grocery" and go for the Trader Joe's, or Whole Foods or even Publix. All places that have prices too high for the area. But by gosh, by golly, the developer can say they were providing a grocery store in a food desert.

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Now, Matt, Ingles and Publix are far better stores than Kroger... :-)

Love Ingles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingles?wprov=sfti1

[MattCW]

Hmm, I don't remember Ingles being on the same level as Publix. I always considered them to be more on the level of Kroger.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by demonta4

I’m a student at one of these South Georgia universities and the level of education here just doesn’t stack up to North Georgia. I’m glad I chose to use my Hope here, and I love the community, but the schools just don’t stack up.

I understand that the level of education in much more sparsely populated South Georgia often may not match the level of education that is provided in more heavily developed and faster-growing areas in North Georgia.

But disparities in education quality between faster-growing more heavily-populated metropolitan regions and slower-growing more sparsely-populated rural areas are a problem all over the country and the world.

And even with as lacking as the educational system (including the postsecondary educational system) may seem in a largely rural area like South Georgia, South Georgia still has received postsecondary educational investments that seem to as competitive or possibly even more competitive than largely rural areas in other large populous states like New York (Upstate New York), Illinois (Downstate Illinois), rural California, etc.

In more sparsely-populated slower-growing areas like South Georgia, the access to educational resources is not going to be perfect and is not going to match the access to educational resources that will often be available in much more populous and faster-growing areas like metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

But at least a decent, if not good, level of access to postsecondary educational resources exists throughout much of a sparsely-populated slower-growing area like South Georgia, maybe even more so than in many other rural parts of the country.

While not perfect and with room for growth and improvement, Georgia seems to have a relatively fairly extensive system of postsecondary education, including throughout largely rural South Georgia from the Gnat Line/Fall Line southward.

The world of postsecondary education is far from fair, but rural Georgia’s postsecondary education system does seem to be at least a little less unfair than in many other rural areas.

[TealD]

Well hopefully they attempt to hire Americans rather then significantly abuse the H1b1 visa program or hire a bunch of foreigners. Tech companies hiring a crap ton of foreigners is what ruined the Bay Area. After the hordes of foreigners started to pour in the bays prices jumped exponentially. If they moved to Atlanta to hire for “diversity” let’s actually see it. They also need to build the housing necessary.

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

That was a pretty big leap in logic on your part.

It wasn't. The children that live off Boulevard have access to the newest, most innovative, and technologically advanced school cluster that APS offers. They have the opportunity to attend the same public schools that the 'rich' kids in Atlanta do. No expense is spared at these schools and the administrators and teachers are some of the highest paid in the state. So, his comment about not investing in schools was incorrect.