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Yup that's true, but a lot of blacks out in the west don't have a huge desire to move to Atlanta like the other poster stated. My dads family moved from Houston to Long Beach and Oakland and I have family members who have moved from the LA area back to Texas.
Yeah. Atlanta is probably as popular for Cali as East Coast is for Texas. I also have family out there though in the Bay Area.
hmmm I don't really find that to be true....most black people I've meet in LA don't really talk about Atlanta in a desirable light. I find that many act like it's low-key country and I've even had a lot of people tell me they don't want to move there because it seems " too ratchet". I actually have a huge soft spot for Atlanta and whenever I tell any of my black friends or cousins in LA that I wouldn't mind leaving LA and moving to Atlanta one day they sort of laugh at me/give me major stink face. This isn't to say that EVERY black person in LA has no desire to move to ATL, that would be absurd, but I don't really think that Atlanta is on a lot of peoples mind out here.
Yeah, this is pretty on the money. I used to live in Atlanta, and lived in Los Angeles for about a year or so before I relocated to where I currently live. My Aunt and Uncle in Carson and my cousins in Long Beach and Ladera Heights were very "meh" about Atlanta. My Uncle in Fontana doesn't have a high opinion of it either. One my Aunts moved to College Park from Michigan (lots of Michiganders in ATL nowadays) and many of my relatives have visited in the past. Keep in mind they are middle class and got theirs, so there was no desire to move to Atlanta for cheaper housing and one of cousins is really grand and made some disparaging comments about Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza not being up to the standards of Beverly Center or Century City. Hell, a lot of my relatives in Southern California would rag on me about my accent I picked up in Georgia or some of the colloquialisms that I adapted when I lived there.
Also, I made a few friends in Los Angeles when I was there, one of whom lived in Atlanta for a few years, but wound up on the West End. While she missed some aspects of ATL, she didn't have a desire to move back. Others regarded Atl with mild curiosity or indifference for the most part. My Uncle in Fontana/Inland Empire is retired and wants to move out of California. Atlanta was not an option, but Las Vegas is - like many other blacks in Los Angeles.
The most visible connections that I've observed between Black Atlanta and Black LA were mostly in the context of the Entertainment Industry. And for the record, most Black transplants I knew of who moved there from outside the South were overwhelmingly from (1) New York/Northern New Jersey; (2) Michigan (particularly from the Detroit Area); and (3) The DMV Area. Black Chicagoans and St. Louisians were a distant fourth (they, like Californians seem to prefer Texas when it comes to relocating South). California transplants were a distant fifth - and that includes those from both Los Angeles and the Bay Area. I know there were blacks from Philly, Pittsburgh, and Ohio in the mix down in ATL, but didn't seem to be as high in number.
Obviously, this is all anecdotal, but that was my experience from living in Atlanta for about a decade or so. Like many others have observed, most Black Californians seem to prefer Dallas or Houston instead of Atlanta if they move down South. Considering the huge connections between Blacks in Texas (Louisiana and Oklahoma too) and California, it makes the most sense. I could see how blacks from the Northeast would seem to prefer Atlanta or North Carolina as opposed to Dallas or Houston as well. Two totally different sides of the country, different ancestors, etc.
Last edited by biscuit_head; 06-28-2016 at 10:39 AM..
And for the record, most Black transplants I knew of who moved there from outside the South were overwhelmingly from (1) New York/Northern New Jersey; (2) Michigan (particularly from the Detroit Area); and (3) The DMV Area. Black Chicagoans and St. Louisians were a distant fourth (they, like Californians seem to prefer Texas when it comes to relocating South). California transplants were a distant fifth - and that includes those from both Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
I agree with NJ/NY and MI, but I actually encountered a good bit of Black St. Louisians in the Atlanta area when I lived there, more than Blacks from the DMV (many of whom aren't originally from the DMV, unlike Blacks from NJ/NY, MI, STL, etc.). But yeah, Black Californians are more likely to move to Vegas, Phoenix, or Texas if they are looking to get out of the state altogether.
I agree with NJ/NY and MI, but I actually encountered a good bit of Black St. Louisians in the Atlanta area when I lived there, more than Blacks from the DMV (many of whom aren't originally from the DMV, unlike Blacks from NJ/NY, MI, STL, etc.). But yeah, Black Californians are more likely to move to Vegas, Phoenix, or Texas if they are looking to get out of the state altogether.
Yeah, I met several Black St. Louisians when I lived in ATL, but a lot of them said that they had increasing numbers of relatives moving to Dallas and Houston rather than Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised if Texas was slightly more popular for them or if its a 50-50 split.
DMV is interesting because although there are a lot of Black natives from Washington and PG County out in Maryland, it's a very transient metro area overall, and a there are a lot of black transplants who moved there moved from other parts of the South or from NYC, Philly, or Baltimore. I'm in the DC area now, and I know quite a few who moved here from Atlanta, or they lived there for awhile and came back.
Yeah, I met several Black St. Louisians when I lived in ATL, but a lot of them said that they had increasing numbers of relatives moving to Dallas and Houston rather than Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised if Texas was slightly more popular for them or if its a 50-50 split.
DMV is interesting because although there are a lot of Black natives from Washington and PG County out in Maryland, it's a very transient metro area overall, and a there are a lot of black transplants who moved there moved from other parts of the South or from NYC, Philly, or Baltimore. I'm in the DC area now, and I know quite a few who moved here from Atlanta, or they lived there for awhile and came back.
Chicago too. Black Chicagoans for some reason like DFW more than Houston. Probably because of the more diverse economy. Texas has become more popular as of late over the last few years, though.
Black Chicagoans for some reason like DFW more than Houston.
Chicago and Dallas' economies are a 95% match with each other. They overlap (to nearly the same extent) on the same industries and functionally, the two cities serve a similar role to the United States from an economical point of view. Only actual difference is that Chicago has the stronger financial industry while Dallas has the stronger energy industry but in either case, that's a negligible difference between them. Chicago is the #1 city for freight rail traffic in America, Dallas is #3, soon will be #2. Chicago is the #1 city for logistical movements of resources and supplies via NAFTA superhighways and/or trucking, Dallas is #2. Chicago is a major distribution and cargo hub, as is Dallas. United Airlines is based in Chicago, American Airlines is based in Dallas. Both cities serve similar roles as airport hubs and both have among the busiest ones on Earth. They both have similar tech economies, similar healthcare economies, similar trends in the legal field, both serve the same logistical role for the United States/North American continent, so on and so forth. Their suburbs are identical, almost to a T. I see absolutely zero differences at all between a Plano and a Naperville. So on and so forth.
Also, if you've noticed, going beyond just economics, Chicago and Dallas also share immigration and demographics with one another. Again, they are two of the closest big cities to each other in this regard in the entire country. Dallas is actually much more demographically like Chicago than anywhere else in the Midwest is, the key difference is that Dallas has superior integration than does Chicago.
For a lot of people in Chicago, moving to Dallas is easy because the Metroplex suburbs and industries are easy to transfer into or out of coming from Chicagoland, due to the overlap of commonalities.
Atlanta is another that shares these kinship values and characteristics with these two, however it is culturally more different than the other two due to its "Black Mecca" reputation, different infrastructural layout (no grid, suburbs are less cohesive, lower in density).
Yeah, I met several Black St. Louisians when I lived in ATL, but a lot of them said that they had increasing numbers of relatives moving to Dallas and Houston rather than Atlanta. I wouldn't be surprised if Texas was slightly more popular for them or if its a 50-50 split.
Yeah I can see more St. Louisians opting for Texas over Atlanta due to proximity, but it just seems like I ran across more St. Louisians in Atlanta than "DMV'ers."
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DMV is interesting because although there are a lot of Black natives from Washington and PG County out in Maryland, it's a very transient metro area overall, and a there are a lot of black transplants who moved there moved from other parts of the South or from NYC, Philly, or Baltimore. I'm in the DC area now, and I know quite a few who moved here from Atlanta, or they lived there for awhile and came back.
I'm in the DMV now as well and I know a few people here who, like myself, used to live in Atlanta. Within the past year or so, I've known of a couple of people who have moved from the DMV to Atlanta which makes sense given the timing of Atlanta's economic recovery, which has lagged.
Chicago and Dallas' economies are a 95% match with each other. They overlap (to nearly the same extent) on the same industries and functionally, the two cities serve a similar role to the United States from an economical point of view. Only actual difference is that Chicago has the stronger financial industry while Dallas has the stronger energy industry but in either case, that's a negligible difference between them.
Also, if you've noticed, going beyond just economics, Chicago and Dallas also share immigration and demographics with one another. Again, they are two of the closest big cities to each other in this regard in the entire country. Dallas is actually much more demographically like Chicago than anywhere else in the Midwest is, the key difference is that Dallas has superior integration than does Chicago.
I figured the economy had something to do with it. DFW is more popular for Midwesterners period as a matter of fact.
Yeah I can see more St. Louisians opting for Texas over Atlanta due to proximity, but it just seems like I ran across more St. Louisians in Atlanta than "DMV'ers."
I'm in the DMV now as well and I know a few people here who, like myself, used to live in Atlanta. Within the past year or so, I've known of a couple who have moved from the DMV to Atlanta which makes sense given the timing of Atlanta's economic recovery, which has lagged.
I've had co-workers transfer from DMV down to Atlanta within the past year. One actually came from Atlanta and then went back. A big part of it is the COL. One of my co-workers said the DMV COL is a big turn off for her on staying here long term and a couple months later, moved to Atlanta.
True, but he left Galveston as a teen and built his lavish home and millionaire lifestyle in Chicago, so his name is pretty synonymous with Chicago.
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