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The tax breaks were the only allure. To think otherwise is delusional:
"Georgia is now competing with Canada and the United Kingdom in the film and television industry, something that would have been unheard of years ago.
Some industry leaders believe tax breaks are the main reason for the $2.2 billion year-to-year growth the industry has experienced.That level of growth translates to more than $1 billion in tax incentives and more than 30,000 jobs.
As much as I would like to say it’s the quality of 'everything here [in Georgia], the crew base, the diversity, it’s the incentives that are the most crucial to the industry’s growth,” said Rosenfelt, also the former president of Third Rail Studios.'"
It takes more than tax incentives to lure productions. “It’s not enough to just get us here,” says Walking Dead producer Tom Luse, a Georgia native who began his career as a production manager on the Georgia-based film Glory. “The mayor [of Senoia] and state are eager to help, allowing us to shut down bridges and streets and take over towns.”
Quote:
Los Angeles has the beach. New York City is a concrete jungle. But Atlanta can be Everytown—even a fictional 1980s Indiana suburb. Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer originally wanted to set their eerie show on coastal Long Island in honor of Jaws but rewrote their script after visiting Georgia.
“We lost our beach and lighthouse, but we gained this American heartland aesthetic which now defines the show,” the brothers told TIME. “We needed suburban neighborhoods that look unchanged since the ’80s—Atlanta had them. We needed urban streets and skyscrapers for a Chicago set piece—Atlanta had those. We needed a quarry with a steep cliff—Atlanta had it, less than 10 miles from our soundstages.” They’re not the only creators who rewrote a script to fit the setting: Edgar Wright revised his 2017 hit, Baby Driver, to highlight Atlanta restaurant Bacchanalia, coffee shop Octane and famed music store Criminal Records.
Yeah we can all nitpick certain quotes from articles to push a narrative. Nobodies denying the impact the generous tax incentives have on the film industry in Georgia. It's clearly the driving force but it's not the sole or ONLY force. Again the film industry see's perks in filming in Atlanta beyond the tax incentives.
I hate to break up film industry pi$$ing match, but Ill try to give my opinion to the OP: there isn't an Atlanta of the north.
New York City is not comparable to any other city in the US. It needs to immediately be excluded from the conversation.
Washington DC and Atlanta both have large upwardly mobile black communities, but DC is the capital of the worlds most powerful nation. That isn't my way of saying its better than Atlanta (I would much rather live in Atlanta than DC) but the two aren't comparable.
Boston centers around technology and its massive number of universities and lacks Atlanta's upwardly mobile minority communities.
Baltimore is simply too small to be comparable to Atlanta.
Detroit depends too heavily on one industry and Atlanta's economy is very diverse. While Detroit is very much coming back and downtown Detroit is becoming one of the best downtowns in the country, it still has a ways to go. Atlanta on the other hand is booming.
Chicago is kind of similar to NYC and DC where its hard to compare to another city. It's a lot bigger and more international than Atlanta, but its stagnating where as Atlanta is improving on its stature and international flavor. Chicago is just much more urban and walkable than Atlanta. I dont think any city in the South is going to come close to matching Chicago on that front.
Philadelphia might be the closest of the bunch since its similar in stature to Atlanta, but the layout of the cities is different, Atlanta's economy is more diverse, Philadelphia is a lot more urban, and Atlanta is a lot more prominent in its region.
The city most comparable to Atlanta isnt in the north. IMO its Dallas.
Boston centers around technology and its massive number of universities and lacks Atlanta's upwardly mobile minority communities.
Do you have data to back this up? Anecdotally, I work with a number of Dominicans from Lawrence and our job pays well enough for them to be considered middle class afaik. Not to mention the growing minority population in many suburbs is (I think) an indication of economic mobility.
Doesn't Atlanta have something of a tech presence?
Big "Google" building finished in Midtown, Atlanta in the past year. Mixed use building but there's a big Google logo on it and they're going to occupy 19 floors, so that's not nothing.
Do you have data to back this up? Anecdotally, I work with a number of Dominicans from Lawrence and our job pays well enough for them to be considered middle class afaik. Not to mention the growing minority population in many suburbs is (I think) an indication of economic mobility.
Doesn't Atlanta have something of a tech presence?
I should have said on the same scale as Atlanta. It doesn't lack them completely. I should have also specified African Americans.
New York City is not comparable to any other city in the US. It needs to immediately be excluded from the conversation.
Philadelphia might be the closest of the bunch since its similar in stature to Atlanta, but the layout of the cities is different, Atlanta's economy is more diverse, Philadelphia is a lot more urban, and Atlanta is a lot more prominent in its region.
The city most comparable to Atlanta isn't in the north. IMO its Dallas.
Is there a study showing Atlanta has a more diverse economy than Philadelphia? I would say they are about even.
And agree with New York, not sure why anyone voted NYC in the poll, besides ego.
Also agree with Dallas, and I would say Charlotte is #2.
I should have said on the same scale as Atlanta. It doesn't lack them completely. I should have also specified African Americans.
I actually had some times, so I gathered a little data. These numbers are based on 5 year ACS estimates.
From Table 17001B:
Decrease in Black alone % in poverty in Boston's MSA: -3.66%
-(was 20.69% now is 17.02%)
Decrease in Black alone % in poverty in Atlanta's MSA: -2.69%
-(was 18.29% now is 15.60%)
From Table 17001D:
Decrease in Asian alone % in poverty in Boston's MSA: -1.48%
-(was 13.45% now is 11.97%)
Decrease in Asian alone % in poverty in Atlanta's MSA: -0.95%
-(was 10.38% now is 9.43%)
From Table 17001I:
Decrease in Hispanic % in poverty in the Boston MSA: -5.17%
-(was 25.07% now is 19.90%)
Decrease in Hispanic % in poverty in the Atlanta MSA: -7.82%
-(was 26.06% now is 18.24%)
From Table 17001G:
Decrease in 2+ races % in poverty in Boston's MSA: -4.67%
-(was 17.91% now is 13.24%)
Decrease in 2+ races % in poverty in Atlanta's MSA: -0.68%
-(was 14.44% now is 13.76%)
There are some clear issues with this way of looking at it. First and foremost, there's no way to tell to what degree a decrease in % in poverty is due to poor people "moving up" versus new, wealthier people moving in. The only instance where the total number of people in poverty went down between 2010 and 2020 between these two was for Hispanics in ATL (from 129,347 in 2010 to 114,872 in 2020). Though Boston's # of Black alone in poverty stayed almost perfectly even over the decade going from 64,520 in 2010 to 64,690 in 2020 despite a total increase of ~70k.
Another issue is that moving out of poverty isn't exactly the same as "making it". If I have more free time later I'll try to look for actual income data.
I actually had some times, so I gathered a little data. These numbers are based on 5 year ACS estimates.
From Table 17001B:
Decrease in Black alone % in poverty in Boston's MSA: -3.66%
-(was 20.69% now is 17.02%)
Decrease in Black alone % in poverty in Atlanta's MSA: -2.69%
-(was 18.29% now is 15.60%)
From Table 17001D:
Decrease in Asian alone % in poverty in Boston's MSA: -1.48%
-(was 13.45% now is 11.97%)
Decrease in Asian alone % in poverty in Atlanta's MSA: -0.95%
-(was 10.38% now is 9.43%)
From Table 17001I:
Decrease in Hispanic % in poverty in the Boston MSA: -5.17%
-(was 25.07% now is 19.90%)
Decrease in Hispanic % in poverty in the Atlanta MSA: -7.82%
-(was 26.06% now is 18.24%)
From Table 17001G:
Decrease in 2+ races % in poverty in Boston's MSA: -4.67%
-(was 17.91% now is 13.24%)
Decrease in 2+ races % in poverty in Atlanta's MSA: -0.68%
-(was 14.44% now is 13.76%)
There are some clear issues with this way of looking at it. First and foremost, there's no way to tell to what degree a decrease in % in poverty is due to poor people "moving up" versus new, wealthier people moving in. The only instance where the total number of people in poverty went down between 2010 and 2020 between these two was for Hispanics in ATL (from 129,347 in 2010 to 114,872 in 2020). Though Boston's # of Black alone in poverty stayed almost perfectly even over the decade going from 64,520 in 2010 to 64,690 in 2020 despite a total increase of ~70k.
Another issue is that moving out of poverty isn't exactly the same as "making it". If I have more free time later I'll try to look for actual income data.
This doesn't factor in COL though.
By most people's standards minorities live better in ATL than BOS. Add to this other cities have larger minority communities doing well so it lacks the same scale for sure. No question about that. In general, the living conditions of Black Bostonians seem good to me. Better than any other truly northern city tbh. Arguments could be made for some smaller cities like Albany or New Haven.
But Hispanics and Asians in Boston are poorer than blacks there, and far more ghettoized than you see in Sunbelt metros. They both exhibit incomes well below- and poverty well above- their counterparts in cities nationwide.
It's a fair knock against the Boston area but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Outside of the demographic, you have to somewhat similar MSAs. The biggest difference after demography IMO is Boston's coastal position. Which I also dont see as too major.
By most people's standards minorities live better in ATL than BOS. Add to this other cities have larger minority communities doing well so it lacks the same scale for sure. No question about that. In general, the living conditions of Black Bostonians seem good to me. Better than any other truly northern city tbh. Arguments could be made for some smaller cities like Albany or New Haven.
But Hispanics and Asians in Boston are poorer than blacks there, and far more ghettoized than you see in Sunbelt metros. They both exhibit incomes well below- and poverty well above- their counterparts in cities nationwide.
It's a fair knock against the Boston area but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Outside of the demographic, you have to somewhat similar MSAs. The biggest difference after demography IMO is Boston's coastal position. Which I also dont see as too major.
Due to American s immigration system Asians tend to be very two track though. There are the Hb-1/Harvard Student Visa Asians and the Refugee/family reunification poor Asians. LA is similar. While the Asian poverty rate is higher than the Black poverty rate I’d bet the median Asian is wealthier.
I think Asian Americans have the highest inequality because of the overall recency of their immigration.
Due to American s immigration system Asians tend to be very two track though. There are the Hb-1/Harvard Student Visa Asians and the Refugee/family reunification poor Asians. LA is similar. While the Asian poverty rate is higher than the Black poverty rate I’d bet the median Asian is wealthier.
I think Asian Americans have the highest inequality because of the overall recency of their immigration.
Sure. Boston itself gets "too much" of the refugee/reunification type compared to just about every city I can find. the metro is different though with more upwardly mobile Asian for sure. Albeit it does have notable pockets of lower to middle-income Asians (Revere Quincy Lowell).
As for upwardly mobile black communities they exist but not in primarily black towns like in Atlanta they exist in racially integrated areas mostly south of the city and predominately black neighborhoods of Boston (small) and probably only to 1/10th the degree of Atlanta...
Cant think of any middle-class/upwardly mobile Hispanic places in Massachusetts save for maybe Methuen or like...Salem?
In Atlanta Id imagine there is less of a noticeable gap between whites and minority communities in terms of world possessions and residential settlement.
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