non-progressive areas of Georgia (Atlanta, Savannah: real estate, job market, neighborhoods)

[danielle252]

I know that there are plenty of other places to move to in Georgia,but i warn you not to move to ELBERTON,GA. you have no future here,I made the big mistake by moving here with my family,i was told that they have plenty of job and fun things to do with my kids and that it had good schools all was a LIE,but THANK GOD I will be moving soon,this place is a joke and so is some of the people in this town.just remember STAY AWAY FROM ELBERTON,GA if u decide to move to georgia bypass this place.

[Peachylibrarian]

Its funny: with the white flight in Henry County hitting Spalding, Butts, Pike Lamar, and Upson, other white folks are pointing north to Toccoa and that area... I'm hunkered down in Griffin! As I speak Southern, "I ain't going anywhere!"

[Tdiddy0027]

i don't see why it matters if an area is culturally diverse. Why does it have to be all white?

PS: Could anybody elaborate more on the white flight in Henry County? I wasn't aware of this

[Southern Soul Bro]

Originally Posted by pickleswanson

Lets see, most of the eastern side of GA fits; mostly south of I20 between HWY 301 and HWY 441 but north of I20 it isn't as wide of an area. Also south of Griffin following 19&41 and spreading out more to the west the further the go south. Stay west and south of Albany and you should be fine. Look pretty intensely into these areas though, some of them are so behind in times you could find yourself struggling to make a living unless you're creative enough to make a true country living work for you. Some of these places may even require up to an hour drive to get to a true grocery store. Examples are Wrightsville, Tennile, Willacoochee & Mora (I really like cause one of the family farms are there), Sparta, Royston, Toomsboro, McRae, Alamo, Denton, West Green, Homerville, Fargo,Pavo, Iron City, Norman Park, plus there are to many to mention along GA's side of Lake Eufaula and some of the cheapest land in the state is found there too. Most of the small towns along this lake don't even show on a map.
Good luck and if you need more specifics just ask. I know most of these places pretty well.

Hey the guy who made the thread is a white guy lookin for white towns. Half or more of the towns you are mentioning are no where near "small conservative white towns"
Wrightville I know is atleast 50% black or around that, and did you say sparta? Sparta is around 90% black and as a matter of fact the county Sparta is in "Hancock County" is among the TOP COUNTIES IN AMERICA for having the highest % of its population being black with it being around 85%+
I don't think that's what this guy is looking for. I'm black myself and I hope his reasons aren't simply racially motivated but hey thats not what he's looking for.

[Southern Soul Bro]

Originally Posted by Tdiddy0027

i don't see why it matters if an area is culturally diverse. Why does it have to be all white?

PS: Could anybody elaborate more on the white flight in Henry County? I wasn't aware of this

I was wondering the same thing. I hate to say it but when I read things like that it makes me wonder about the person.

I mean I can understand if someone wants to be around people of their own color, but you don't necessarily have to be in a "WHITE TOWN" for that.

I mean I'm black but I wouldn't have a problem staying in a town as long as I know it has some people with similar interest as me there. I wouldn't care about the town being majority white and living around white people as long as it had a enough people of my own kind so I wouldn't feel 100% out of place.

[Criss1956]

The fact of the matter is that people want to be with their own race, for the most part.
When blacks move in, whites move out. It's just a fact.
Call it white flight or whatever but that's the way it is.

Blacks are now voicing their displeasure with the Mexicans moving into their "historically black" communities - communities that were white, back during the 1960s when the blacks started moving in and the whites started moving out.

When a black family moved into a white neighborhood, the whites used to say (or maybe they still do, I don't know) "Well, there goes the neighborhood".
Now, when a Mexican/Hispanic family moves into a black neighborhood, many of the blacks are saying "Well, there goes the neighborhood".

[otoatlanta]

Originally Posted by Criss1956

The fact of the matter is that people want to be with their own race, for the most part.
When blacks move in, whites move out. It's just a fact.
Call it white flight or whatever but that's the way it is.

Blacks are now voicing their displeasure with the Mexicans moving into their "historically black" communities - communities that were white, back during the 1960s when the blacks started moving in and the whites started moving out.

When a black family moved into a white neighborhood, the whites used to say (or maybe they still do, I don't know) "Well, there goes the neighborhood".
Now, when a Mexican/Hispanic family moves into a black neighborhood, many of the blacks are saying "Well, there goes the neighborhood".

For people who lack exposure, this may very well be the case. No, it is in fact the case. But for educated people(many of whom do NOT live in the backwoods of Clayton) this is not typically the case. I have found that the more educated, the more outwardly interested they become. Narcissim(a natural human desire to see one's own reflection in EVERYTHING) seems to be more prevalent in small towns, and in less educated parts of the world.

I also think that people tend to use racially homogenous areas to highten their sense of security. We have been socialized this way, but ignorance keeps it going. People believe that they are "safer" around people who have their same "skin color". This is ridiculous. There are "blacks" who are whiter than some "whites". What neighborhood should they live in? Many Mexicans are direct descendants of Spainards(Europeans)-meaning they are white. Where should they live? There are many deeply tanned "whites" who look Middle Eastern. Where do they go? Most of the time when people talk about "racial" differences, what they really are talking about is "cultural" differences; but cultural differences transcend racial differences.

A Mexican of European descent would likely feel more comfortable around Mexicans of any race, than around white Americans of European descent who hated immigration. A lot of black Africans don't feel comfortable around American blacks who dislike immigration. Hello. It is political and cultural differences shaping these issues, not racial, and that's usually the case. Racism(and looking to race to make life decisions) is just ignorance imo, as it is extremely superficial. It may be a preference, but it is a preference that "ignores" reality.

So "people" may used to have said "there goes the neighborhood", but in short, that's not a neighborhood that most educated and peaceful people would ever have wanted to live in the first place. The "neighborhood" was "gone" to begin with, but it's inhabitants were unaware.

[willbravo]

bonedawgmatt and anyone else:

Clearly you're all responding to exactly what Mr. 'matt asked, but I'd also love to hear from 'matt and others what kind of work you do and if this has much or anything to do with the living recommendations that y'all made. (Rooted in my own dilemma of city / country live / work choices

[Ollie1946]

I understand what bonedawgmatt is saying and in this day and age it takes courage to say something like that without having your head handed to you or losing your job. i congratulate Mac for not going off on this matter. We are all wanting to live in a crime free area but apart from moving to one of the Dakotas or to the moon, it just isn't going to happen. I live in Athens, GA and frankly we have had several black families to move into our neighborhood and those properties are looking great. I wish one of those families would move next door to me given that my white neighbor's yard looks like the place is vacant. It is the character of the person, not their color. My opinion.

[deja-zebbie]

Otoatlanta,

I agree wholehearted with you that when a lot of people are talking about racial differences it sure seems TO me that they are talking about cultural differences.

Please don't sell small towns short. The people in some small towns in Georgia are open, inviting and happy to meet and get to know people who are "different". And, small towns actually have a substantial number of HIGHLY educated people.

zebbie