Maybe Cleveland is not so bad……
Not too long ago, I talked about how growing up in Georgia affected me and turned me into who I am today but I got a few emails from you guys talking to me about what it is exactly I hated about life in Georgia. For some context, I spent a lot of my time in Atlanta and Athens, to a smaller degree Augusta as well.
On paper, it probably made no sense for me to leave right?
I had an apartment in Buckhead which was a one-bedroom luxury and my job was paying me a little over six figures. In many ways, I was set and I was getting for the price there the equivalent of what I have to pay to be with roommates in NYC. On paper, it made absolutely zero sense for me to leave Georgia, things were so perfect, on paper…
Sure there was the socially conservative culture and the fact that Atlanta is not NYC by any stretch of the imagination.
Yes, Georgia does have Atlanta and it also has Athens (which gets hyped more than any college town out there). Yes, there are some fun bars in Atlanta and fun neighborhoods like Buckhead and Virginia Highlands. After a while though, you realize that Atlanta is not that different than really any ordinary city when it comes to culture. Most people are actually real religious and the whole marriage and kids by 30 lifestyle is the standard.
When I really thought about it, it was that smug and elitist attitude coming from a place that is not so elite itself.
I’ll give credit where it is due, Atlanta has had some recent successes being the city of its size with the film industry largely moving there and so many sporting events finding home in the city. Atlanta no doubt deserves some credit and some shoutout for having somewhat of an impact on an international scale. That being said…..
When people stereotype the state of Georgia, not a lot of good things come to mind. No matter how you spin it or how many recent successes it has had, Atlanta is not on the same level as a London, NYC, Paris, LA, or major international city and that’s okay. None of that really made me hate being in Georgia, I have stayed in cities and places that would not be considered on the elite level internationally but I still loved them, some as much as I love NYC.
The reason I loved those places was because people there had a human quality about them, they were people. A lot of people I met in other southern states might have had their state on the end of some unkind stereotypes and image (which is usually associated with the south) but they were good people with character and a personality to them. To this day, cities like Charleston and Nashville hold a special place in my heart that rivals NYC in some cases.
And the shallowness, smug attitude, artificial culture, and snotty demeanor is on an entirely different level. Much worse than I have seen in any other city.
Maybe it is because it is so unexpected but do not expect any southern hospitality in Atlanta or Athens. You will meet some of the most elitist and closed off people in those areas compared to anywhere else in the country, live there long enough and you’ll know I am right. The smug attitude in Athens and Atlanta rivals the type you’d run into in San Francisco.
I think at times it is even worse because Atlanta is having to overcompensate for more when trying to be the cool kid on the block. I’ve always heard that you should be weary of those who feel they have the most to prove because they will go over the top and display the nastiest traits to prove their worth. You have not seen snobbishness and elitism until you have lived in Atlanta.
Not in the same fraternity/sorority as most kids in Buckhead? Go kill yourself and don’t even bother making friends.
Did not grow up in the same privileged high schools? You do not belong in the city.
Now add to that the self-righteous “Christianity” act.
Oh boy how can you forget? The self-righteous hand on the Bible one day but spreading nasty rumors about you and your life the next. The Atlanta elitist is different in the sense that they don’t just act snottier and better than you, they run to God and use the Bible as a way to shame anyone that doesn’t agree with them. You can bet if you are getting more attention from women than an Atlanta man, he is going to tell you how God doesn’t like pre-martial sex.
Throw in a light bit of pettiness as well along with the bitterness that comes from living in such an under-recognized state. One of my friends says that Georgia is loaded with transplants from elsewhere who couldn’t make it where they come from so they bring an inferiority complex and rat-race mentality with them.
That very thing made Atlanta such an awful place, I mean think about it.
People go to an NYC, London, or a Los Angeles knowing well that those cities are international cities and have a prestige to them, they deal with the nastier side of human nature they may see in that city for the reputation, opportunities, and the promises those cities produce.
People go to your typical small town or a city lacking the international prestige because it is a compromise, they might not get to be in a “happening” city but they do get the warmth, kindness, and the hospitality you don’t get in NYC. Cleveland might be the butt of a lot of jokes but the people there do have a sense of hospitality and character to them.
Let’s put it another way, you approach the “10” at a bar because she is hot but you assume she is likely going to be more stuck-up, cold, and uncaring due to being a “10”. The “10” is a major international city in this situation, one that the world wants to flock to.
You approach a more homely girl thinking that she might not be a supermodel in her prime but she’ll have a more welcoming personality, be more interesting to talk to, and likely an overall kinder girl.
Atlanta and Georgia (outside of Savannah and the smaller towns that are largely impoverished) are like the plain looking girl at the bar who acts better than everyone and thinks she deserves preferential treatment, you see what I am getting at, it does not sit well.
That right there was what made Georgia such a miserable state.
I’ve lived in other southern states and even if they were the butt of all jokes and impoverished, I loved those very states for the character and kind honest values of their people. I live in NYC and as horrible as people here might be, I rest easy knowing I live in a major international city. I lived in Georgia, a state where the people (outside of small town folks and those in Savannah) have the same exact elitist, smug, snotty, and holier than thou attitude you’d expect from someone living on the major city on the coasts (with some pettiness and self-righteous Christianity act thrown in) but the area itself lacks the prestige of a London or NYC.
Thankfully, I am out of there now.
