Atlanta, GA

[Tybee]

Tybee - what is it that makes you think I wouldn't like the people? The only thing I've read online is that people are friendly. I've also read that traffic is bad, though I doubt it's as bad as here. If we did move there, it would be just until dh retires and then we would move to a small town.

What part of Georgia are you from? I've always wanted to visit Savannah. And Charleston, for the gardens.

My dad grew up in Savannah, my mom in coastal Georgia, and we lived on St. Simons.

I shouldn't have said that about the people, but I get a PNW vibe from you, and Georgians are not like that. It's hard to put into words. I could see you finding a crowd in say Athens, but I looked on a map and that is an hour and a half from the CDC. But I am guessing the CDC people are like that, and you would probably like them a lot, and they might have a wide social circle.

Georgians tend to be very down to earth, practical, and socially and politically conservative; often they are religious; they tend to be kind and friendly, but there is a mistrust of people coming in from up north and acting superior. And believe me, people from up north do that all the time.

They think it's good that they have reopened the state, for example, and probably don't agree with you on how to handle the virus. But then again, if he's working for the CDC, you can probably find many like minded people.

But the local society tends to divide itself by things like what church you went to, who your family is, etc. But I doubt you want to get in with those people anyway.

I think you'd like Athens.

All of my observations are based on things from growing up, and Atlanta is probably very different now, very open to outsiders. When I went there last time a couple of years ago, the traffic was so horrendous I would never live there. Growing up, it was known as Hot-Lanta, and that wasn't a compliment, and it wasn't about the weather--it was considered rowdy, dangerous, and a big drug scene.

It is also hotter than hell in the summer, with no breezes, and I can't breathe there. I once went on a bike trip with my cousins as a 15 year old and almost died of heat stroke.

Ugh.

Edited to add: You really have to go down there and see for yourself. And go in the summer, now, since you will be living there. Check it out; the state is open, and you will have motels and restaurants and be able to get the vibe for yourself. Then you can see what the summer is like and what the people are like.

[JaneV2.0]

You may be right. Dr. Redfield (who's responsible for the guidelines that "wouldn't see the light of day") denies he's been muzzled.

"CDC Director Robert Redfield on Thursday denied reports that the White House rejected his agency's draft guidelines for reopening the country and wouldn't commit to resuming regular briefings as states continue lifting coronavirus lockdowns.

Redfield, in an interview with POLITICO, said reports of the White House stifling his agency are inaccurate and that the coronavirus task force gave constructive criticism on the draft guidelines that were revised and quietly released this week."

[iris lilies]

Yeah, the weather. The other place we've been thinking of moving to, here in California, is very hot in the summers - over 100 many days for about 7 months of the year. And it's dry, 10" of rain a year. There's definitely a corollary between weather and cost of living!

IR - I was in St. Louis many years ago for a friend's college reunion and it was during the summer I think and I was surprised that the humidity was not too uncomfortable. Of course, I was in my late 20's then. Beautiful university, by the way. How do you cope with the weather in your area? Is the humidity an issue just in the summer, or year-round?

In my old age I have come to loath and despise the month of September. In my little mind, September is hell because it should not be hot in September. I’m from Northern Iowa where Septembers cool down for school attendance and we wear school clothes, not sweat clothes.

I put up with the heat and humidity of July and August because those are summer months where God intended things to be hot and muggy in the Midwest because that’s just where we are! It’s how we grow fat vegetables. My lily garden is producing all through the month of July so I’m very fond of July, and by August I’m still out working in the garden but I’m kind of over it.

So if September is, in my mind, supposed to be cooling off, hot weeks in October make me ragey. Last year on October 1 it was in the 90s. I was already sick and I had to put on a dumb block party because we had moved National Night Out from August to October so it would be cooler. Yeah not by much we probably saved 3° of heat.


I’m hatching a fantasy in my mind where I skip off to New England for four weeks of September. I would think by then rentals would be plentiful because all those East Coast people Are back home with her children in school and rentals might be a little cheaper? The only piece I can’t quite figure out is how do I walk away from all my gardens for four weeks and not come back to a jungle of weeds. I don’t trust people I hire to weed, And it’s bloody impossible to get people to do that kind of work anyway.

[Tybee]

Is Reynolds rentals or a town in New England? I'm fascinated.

[iris lilies]

Is Reynolds rentals or a town in New England? I'm fascinated.

it should be “rentals“

[Teacher Terry]

When I lived in humidity I was used to it. Now that I have been away I find it horrible. The 2 worst places I lived were Texas and Kansas. Very conservative red religious states. It was hard to find my tribe. The weather was awful. I exercised inside in summer and outside in winter which was the opposite of the locals. I have heard that people are superficially nice in the south but aren’t going to be your good friends.

[Simplemind]

Have only visited in May. Thought I was going to die from the heat and humidity. I am fairly heat intolerant and I was beyond miserable.

[catherine]

We do a lot of market research in Atlanta because it's a city of transients so we get a good geographical representation of different attitudes all in one place. I like Atlanta because it is a growing city, but still affordable; to me the weather is not bad at all (compared to New England); the people are friendly; it's a very cosmopolitan vibe; there are a lot of "suburban" neighborhoods that are reasonably close to the city; it's very easy to get to many places in the country from Atlanta Hartsfield.

OTOH, the traffic is horrible. As bad as the 405 in LA during peak hours, although "peak" is not as long as it is in LA. It certainly doesn't have the "cool" vibe California has. Because it is filled with transients, yet as others have said, outside of Atlanta, you get conservative, religious people, it might be difficult for you to find your "tribe." I think I'd have a hard time because I don't put make up on every day and have nicely coiffed hair. Atlanta is a smidgen like Dallas that way. I'm not sure about the arts scene, but I don't get the feeling it's a top city in that regard.

If you think you would be happy in a Southern city, Atlanta is a good one to pick. Otherwise, it could be culture shock.

[Gardnr]

Has anyone lived in Atlanta and care to share your experience? Dh has been offered a job at the CDC facility located there. We've both lived most of our lives in Northern California and we've been spoiled by the weather, and that would probably be the biggest drawback. Specifically, the humidity in the summer.

One of the big pluses is the ability to live close to work. Here, we cannot afford to live anywhere near his work; he's in non-profit research and his work is in one of the most expensive cities in the Bay Area. It looks like Atlanta is more affordable. The other big draw is the green (we both love trees), the open spaces, and the rainfall. If the rain would just would restrict itself to cold weather, then it would be perfect!

Do some research on where you might live there, go spend a week in the heat/humidity, spend the appropriate drive time getting to work to experience the commute. Get a feel for what it's like before you uproot the beauty of NW life.

Also living in PNW, I barely survived a week of heat/humidity and traffic for a simple vacation experience back in 2014. Anything west of the Rockies is not an option for me. I'll take dry heat any day! But that's me.

[JaneV2.0]

I'm guessing the South and I would be a bad match. Having to constantly fend off religious overtures, stifle my political inclinations, dissemble, and try to survive heat, humidity, and large flying insects would be too much for this old bat.