Is Georgia a good place for low income citizens? (Nashville: best cities, 2013)

[demonta4]

So would you consider Georgia to be a good place for low income citizens? What are the best cities for them to live?

[neil0311]

This probably doesn't answer your question, but if you're a low income parent with a child who wants to go to college, they can do so with the HOPE or Zell Miller scholarships.

Georgia is one of very few states that offers a free ride to college for high school students who earn it, regardless of income.

[ellie]

Originally Posted by demonta4

So would you consider Georgia to be a good place for low income citizens? What are the best cities for them to live?

I'm going to say no, Georgia is not particularly good because what low income citizens need are more opportunities to earn higher wages. If you have no better option than poverty due to a disability or lack of education, I'd say Georgia is still a bad place to be poor because there aren't many people willing to help you and you're likely to be treated like scum of the earth.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by demonta4

So would you consider Georgia to be a good place for low income citizens? What are the best cities for them to live?

I'll let this map speak for itself.

[Columbus1984]

Please don't move here without a job.

[Columbuskidd92]

Yes.

[Tarzanman]

I would not consider Georgia to be a good place to live for low income citizens. The education system is poor, the economy is in noticeably worse shape than other cities like Nashville or Houston, there is very little opportunity compared to other states (even Florida and Alabama beat Georgia for opportunity, which is saying something).

If you are going to be broke, then you should do it somewhere that affords you chances to better your situation.

[cwkimbro]

The problem with poor people and the South, is simply the South is traditionally a poor place.

It was originally an Agrarian economy, which is not as economically competitive as it use to be.

We also can't ignore the red-herring issue. The descendents and effects of slavery. We still have large populations, especially in rural areas, that are completely free and without jim crow-era laws, but they still have weaker educations, health, less money, and less opportunity in their present settings. It takes generations for these effects to disappear. Parents can't help educate their children very well, when they were never well educated themselves.

But simply what this means is the American South has:

Less money
More people who need assistance
More spending on social programs is needed

=

Cash strapped social programs that are forced to try to do more with less.

It also means an over-saturated job market of unskilled labor.

Rural education systems that are poorly funded.

We do have some booming cities with high paying jobs for educate workers. Our economy is good there. The problem is we already have too many unskilled laborers for the other jobs, so unskilled wages stay low.


The main benefits, however, is there is a good amount of affordable housing...although it is in less desirable areas around poorer populations and like was previously mentioned the Hope Scholarship, which is open to all Georgians and is completely based on merit.

In short, I'd say the answer is NO. I might consider Georgia if I were poor and I had a middle schooler, through their own merits and efforts, were straight-A students, in a gifted program, and could attend AP classes in high school. A move to Georgia during the high school years and continuation of being a good student could lead to having a majority of college expenses paid for them.

[StMarysRichard]

Well, I live in my namesake in GA and I am disabled. I probably get much less money than you, but yet I thrive here- so yes is your answer!