Socio-political vibes in Northern ATL (Vinings, Buckhead, Marietta, etc.) (Pitts: transfer, living in)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by City Fanatic

What makes you think that Georgia isn't normal?

Georgia is pretty conservative and right-leaning compared to the upper midwest (MN, IA, SD, WI). In my opinion.

[K-SawDude]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll definitely take a hard look at Magnolia Vinings, and I'll keep Midtown on the radar. I had sort of written it off b/c it seems like the commute to/from Kennesaw could get hellish. But a friend of mine who lives there said that it is possible to do side-roads to avoid 75/85 when the traffic gets backed up.

[David1502]

Originally Posted by K-SawDude

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'll definitely take a hard look at Magnolia Vinings, and I'll keep Midtown on the radar. I had sort of written it off b/c it seems like the commute to/from Kennesaw could get hellish. But a friend of mine who lives there said that it is possible to do side-roads to avoid 75/85 when the traffic gets backed up.

As I said in an earlier post, you won't be having any contact with the Republicans you seem to dread if you are planning on living in Magnolia Vinings or any other apartment complex. There may be Republicans in the complex, but you will do well to know any of your neighbors - I say this as one who has lived in apartments in the past and now own a condo with some renters down the street. When people speak of Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Vinings for the most part what they have in mind are the affluent home owners who live in the mansions who tend to be more conservative. The chances of a an apartment dweller rubbing elbows with the elite are limited at best, so why should it bother you if you see a Mercedes with a McCain sticker (along with a Lovett School sticker, too)at the Publix Vinings parking lot when you never saw that in your "paradise" in Michigan?

Maybe people are more friendly in the Midwest, but from my experience here, it is unusual to see a lot of connections from apartment complexes - more folks connect at the gym. Also, other than the intown communities already mentioned, (which are primarily all northern transplants) people for the most part don't wear their political views on their sleave. (GA has one of the lowest voter participation rates)It hardly seems worth it to commute from VA Highlands to Kennesaw, just to be in a community where almost everyone thinks like you(that won't help your commute any at 7AM).

[Britishintown]

Sounds like a tight criteria, I'm happy as long as none of the locals are either KKK or Black Panthers, so anything else plus those hot southern women suits me just fine.

[K-SawDude]

Originally Posted by David1502

As I said in an earlier post, you won't be having any contact with the Republicans you seem to dread if you are planning on living in Magnolia Vinings or any other apartment complex. There may be Republicans in the complex, but you will do well to know any of your neighbors - I say this as one who has lived in apartments in the past and now own a condo with some renters down the street. When people speak of Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Vinings for the most part what they have in mind are the affluent home owners who live in the mansions who tend to be more conservative. The chances of a an apartment dweller rubbing elbows with the elite are limited at best, so why should it bother you if you see a Mercedes with a McCain sticker (along with a Lovett School sticker, too)at the Publix Vinings parking lot when you never saw that in your "paradise" in Michigan?

Maybe people are more friendly in the Midwest, but from my experience here, it is unusual to see a lot of connections from apartment complexes - more folks connect at the gym. Also, other than the intown communities already mentioned, (which are primarily all northern transplants) people for the most part don't wear their political views on their sleave. (GA has one of the lowest voter participation rates)It hardly seems worth it to commute from VA Highlands to Kennesaw, just to be in a community where almost everyone thinks like you(that won't help your commute any at 7AM).

Don't misunderstand me, dude! It's honestly more about diversity than homogeneity. I like (some) Republicans, but I just don't want to be completely surrounded by only ultraconservatives in the community I'm in. Vinings sounds more diversified than other parts of NW Atlanta, so all else being equal, I think I may be a little happier there.

And some of the socio-political vibes get reflected in the urban development of these communities, right? I mean, I'm just not a cul-de-sac kinda person. Would much rather have a place where I could walk from my apt. to buy food or go to a local bar rather than drive to an Applebee's. Where I'm not scared of public transportation and actually like the idea of being linked to MARTA. That's why (from what I've heard) some areas like VA Highlands or Midtown or Buckhead might be a little more appealing. And some of these spots have better music scenes than the suburbs, right? But like you say, when I think of a hellish commute, it just doesn't seem worth it to live that far away from work.

I get the impression Vinings isn't going to be "walkable," really, but there seems to be more of a scene there than, say, Kennesaw. FWIW, I thought your assessment/advice seemed good re: the homeowners vs. the apartment dwellers issue. I think my main request was that I'd like to be somewhere where people are generally accepting of people from different demographic backgrounds and won't stop talking to you if you seem like a liberal. And it sounds like I have several options.

[City Fanatic]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Georgia is pretty conservative and right-leaning compared to the upper midwest (MN, IA, SD, WI). In my opinion.

I have no problem with that. It's a plus, in my opinion.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by K-SawDude

I get the impression Vinings isn't going to be "walkable," really

Atlanta, as a whole, is not very "walkable." You'll be driving a lot more than you think for a major city, even if you live in Midtown.

But, I might disagree slightly with this statement. I live in Vinings (right on Paces Mill Road), and I walk to Kroger and also up to Vinings Jubilee often for restaurants, bars, and shops. Also, if Cobb County started investing in things called sidewalks for Cobb Parkway, I would consider walking up to Borders at Parkway Pointe as well. However, on Cobb Parkway, there is the Route 10 bus which goes express to MARTA Arts Center (great for me for airport trips) and also all the way up Cobb Parkway to Marietta. I have taken the route a few time north when I had to get my car serviced at one of the dealerships and wanted to go home rather than wait 4 hours.

However, Vinings is not a major urban area either that you can just walk to everything, etc. Buckhead and Midtown are more like that, but even there the pedestrian traffic is relatively light for a major city, except for people going out to eat.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by City Fanatic

I have no problem with that. It's a plus, in my opinion.

Not from my perspective.

While I don't have an issue intellectually with having smaller government involvement in people's lives, the practical implications sometimes really suck (I'm thinking specifially of unemployment insurance benefits and related things, which are frankly terrible in the state of GA compared to MN, and also to some extent about the relative lack of coordination in this metro area compared to the one I used to live in, due mainly (I think) to a much more fragmented infrastructure in the Atlanta metro [too many cooks in the kitchen]).

I'm sure the reverse is also true. I just haven't personally experienced that side of things, while the increased "nanny state" mentality up there basically saved my butt when we hit hard times after my last layoff.

[CollegeProf]

Originally Posted by K-SawDude

I just don't want to wake up one morning in a neighborhood where every single person but me is a George W. Bush Republican. As long as there is some diversity around, I think I can manage.

Personally, I would LOVE to find such a place! It there even any UBER Conservative & Republican neighborhood?

[Johnhw2]

I grew up in Oklahoma near the Texas border. I began my career in Houston Texas and worked a summer job in Idaho wilderness area for the forest service. Yet when transferred to Pittsburgh at age 28 was asked a question I couldn't answer. 'What are you' was the question. Never had come up before. Had to ask my parents to answer this one. I prefer questions of what church to what are you. I saw pockets of different ethnic groups living near each other back east when I saw all types living in the same areas where I grew up. Needless to say I stayed in this area to retire and live.