Any Georgia moms here?

[Faith]

Okay, after the Florida moms enlightened me about their state, my family and I have changed our sights to Georgia!! :thumb

I have driven thru it a few times, and have looked into it on the internet. It sounds perfect~ mild temperatures, mountains, lakes, natural beaches, low cost of living...:D

So, before we decide to make the big move, is there anything we should know?

Do you like it?

Does it ever snow? Are hurricanes a big issue?

Any nice little towns in pretty areas (near the mountains or beach)?

What about homebirths?

Is it overall a good place to live and raise a family?

TIA(again)!!:love

[heartmama]

Have you considered Oregon, or Washington state??

I ask because the south is the south is the south!!

I am moving out of it, one state at a time apparently. I was raised in FL and then we were transfered to GA 3 years ago.

In my humble opinion, an ap family will never entirely fit in south.

GA homebirth laws are MUCH WORSE than FL for one thing. Midwifery is illegal here. While homebirth is "alegal", meaning there are no laws governing it, paying a midwife to attend *is* illegal in GA.

GA has some of the worst poverty and school systems in the country. It is extremely racist. Confederate flags are everywhere. In the county next to mine, there is an actual law on the books that every citizen must own a gun. They don't enforce it of course, but that is how backwards it is here! There are stores that sell KKK propoganda for crying out loud. There was a HUGE controversy over taking the Confederate flag off the capital building last year. You would not believe how many people live in GA who probably didn't think slavery was a big deal!!!

Other than Atlanta, the state is very rural and "southern". Much moreso than FL.

It is cheap to live in GA and the northern (not southern) area has some beautiful foothills. If you just want foothills, Tennessee is a more liberal state with good homebirth laws.

But if you want coastline and mountains, I have my eye on Oregon. Everyone I talk to who lives there says it is the BEST place to raise kids. Homebirth, vaccine, and homeschool laws are great, there are lots of ap minded communities, and the landscape is diverse and beautiful.

Oceonmommy has told me so much about Eugene, we hope to visit this summer.

I really don't encourage anyone looking for an ap community to live in the south. I don't think you will ever feel entirely satisfied with the people and the value's....

Heartmama

[CD_addict]

The time that I've spent in rural Georgia (and Florida) just leaves me with one thought, Deliverance wasn't that far off.


Seriously, although there are many nice, intellegent people in these states, they are a distinct minority and might not live anywhere near you. Rural Northern Florida and Southern Georgia scared the crap out me, really.


I think if you have your heart set on this area of the country you may want to visit a small town like Valdosta, GA or Polatka, Fla to see how you could handle the culture. I just know it is not what you are expecting. I'm sorry :(

I totally understand the fanciful, idealized images of the climate and landscape but heartmama is 100% right. The south is the south and it is soooo not crunchy or AP or artsy.

[Elphaba]

i've been here in augusta for 3 years, with about one more to go. i am glad i got to see what it was like, but i would not choose to stay here permanently, nor would i want my children to grow up here.
to be quite honest, it's like segregation never ended here. black people and white people do not mix. it's bizarre.
i do know a fair number of people that have had homebirths, surprisingly.
it really depends on what you want. if seeing the confederate flag constantly is okay with you, well, then you might fit in just fine. personally, it turns my stomach every time i see the damn thing flying or displayed on bumper stickers.
georgia does have some beautiful areas, but lovely scenery does not a home make.
as heartmama said, there's atlanta and then there's the rest of georgia.
and yes, it does snow! it has snowed about 5 times in the three years we've been here. not much, but enough to close all the schools and cause accidents!
and georgia is ranked 50th as far as things like SAT scores go. i know you can't judge the entirety of education by SAT scores so interpret that as you will.

[Elphaba]

i just wanted to add that georgia also has the enormous flying roaches. though people here deny that they are roaches and refer to them as "palmetto bugs." :rolleyes:
it's a &^*(%*$%$## roach, and they JUMPED at me from my window blinds. which is why i gladly pay the exterminator each quarter to come and put poison in my home. :(

[boysrus]

PL, I agree with HM. Look into Oregon or Washington. I am from the midwest. We have lived in New Mexico, Connecticut, California, Florida, and Atlanta, GA , adn western New York and we are planning to settle up in Washington state. If for some reason it doesnt work out there, we are just going to move back to New Enlgand and never, ever leave again!!
Maybe you can list the states that dont have scary grandparents laws and we can hel you choose ;) You had said dh had a job oppty in PA, is that still possible? But, do you unschool? PA has the WORST hs laws in the country. I had joined the PAUnschoolers group on yahoogroups.com and asked about it and they basically said, if you dont already live here and you plan to unschool, choose somewhere else to live! There were some laws trying to be changed though, so maybe it is better now?

We have been exhaustively researching this subject for two years now. We have found Oregon and Washington positively yummy. The only reason we have chosen wash over OR is because I desperately want to go to Evergreen State in Olympia, and dh wants to be a boatbuilder. There are boatbuilding classes in Wash and Puget SOund is a reall hotbed for work in that field. We liked what we were reading about Corvallis. We liked Eugene too, but it was more expensive. Portland sounds wonderful,. but I guess it has come problems right now. A lot of Portlanders have told me to wait a few years, and not move there now. If you are not set on the ocean being nearby, Boise, Id and Moscow, ID are really nice places, from all I have seen. BOise is one of the Fifty Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family. Moscow is more small town, but the climate is pretty mild, housing is affordable and it is very crunchy. University of Idaho is there.
Fort Collins, Co is also supposed to be wonderful. Maybe Athens, GA, but it has a high crime rate. New Jersey has really good Homeschool laws and parts of the coast are supposed to be really nice(expensive though)
I dont know if I am any help at all. I have jsut really learned thehard way to listen to every bad possibility and thingk if it can really work for you. When we moved to FL, we were like "SO what s a little heat?" HA

[Faith]

What is it with me only liking states that have big bugs?

I see why they call them palmento bugs though! If something jumped at me from my cubboard, I would much rather think "eww! Palmento bug!" than "AUGH!! Another flying giant cockroach!!"



Anyway, here is a list of the good Parent Friendly states...

Arkansas
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa
Michigan
Oklahoma
Tennessee


Even as I type those, I am not 100% sure on all of them. It is so hard to know for sure. Many states have bad statutes, but the statues are no longer standing because court cases have over ruled them, and some states have great statues but judges will just ignore them.
I would really like someone to explain to me why states can still have any third party visitation at all after the Supreme Court over ruled it twice as unconstitutionial! It is terrible (and terrifying!) that fit parents could be forced to hand their children over to someone over their protests. Sorry, a bit of a rant, but this is just of a hot topic for me.

IL (where I am now and have always been) actually has awesome laws. From homescholing, to homebirth, to no Grandparents rights, to vaxing... And dh has a great job and we have a great LLL and great midwives, etc, etc.

Maybe I should just stay, and be thankful for what I have. :rolleyes: No scary bugs, no racist people (although my dad was over here last weekend and couldn't let up on Muslims in front of my three year old)...

Anyway, thank you for all the feedback! :)

[cassiemc]

We live in Ga and have since I was 12. It's ok, but definetly not AP. Whenever we get the chance we would love to move out west. Somewhere more liberal and AP. It would be nice to share the same values with your neighbors. It is extrememly racist and homophobic around here. Basically, anything different is not liked. :( If both sets of grandparents didn't live here we would move right now!!


If you can ignore the rest, it does have a nice climate and scenery in the northern part. HTH

[Missgrl]

Moving this to Finding Your Tribe forum for ya!:hippie

[Happypants]

Georgia admittedly has its share of problems, but I take issue with calling it racist and advising someone to go elsewhere. For one thing, out west there may not be as much black/white racism, but then again, there are not nearly as many black people there as there are in the south!! So maybe people are equally as racist, but there isn't as much reason to show it. Racism is a problem everywhere. To not live here because of a problem with racism is to retreat and admit defeat by loud-mouth racists that are not in the majority. Confederate flags are visible, and more prevalent in rural areas, but most people you meet, especially in the city, are not racists. I grew up in Atlanta and went to public school there, and yes, there were problems, but I can't think of a single race-related incident. I didn't know any racist white people. And if I had to attend public school again, I would choose to be a member of the white minority, at a school with a diverse population, rather than go to a mostly-white school. That said, I would never attend public school again, and in fact I homeschooled for a year in high school. It was ridiculously easy. At the time, the only thing required was that I keep a daily attendance report (:rotflmao yes, I was at home today. Check!).
Direct-entry midwifery here is outside of the law. It is not illegal to have a homebirth, and the family cannot be prosecuted for paying a midwife, it is the midwife who risks getting in trouble. They do exist, you just have to know where to find them.
As far as homophobia, there are gay men all over midtown Atlanta, and nobody thinks anything of it.

I guess what bothers me is the idea that you can escape from the sort of problems that Georgia has. That's like the idea that suburban schools are safer than inner-city ones, when really, the suburbs are less safe, the kids are more troubled. Things here are real. There are problems. There are also lots of people working hard to make positive changes. This varies by location, I'm sure. The Atlanta area (which by now encompasses like 1/4 of the state) is more progressive than south Georgia. I spent 2 years in Macon and it sucked. I've been living in Athens for 3 and like it. I am planning on moving out, though. I can't take the heat. 90+ degree days with humidity are too much for me. But I've learned a lot here.

Erin

[cassiemc]

Atlanta is a different place than the rest of Ga and Athens is certainly more progressive than the rest of Ga. I have lived in Jonesboro, Powder Springs and Cartersville. Powder Springs is great. It's in Cobb County-decent schools, nice people, etc. Where I live now I have met more racist and homophobic people than I care to admit. They even went so far as to exclude a mama from a moms group because she was gay! Everyone's experience is different. I believe you can love anywhere you live if you choose to, but I would not advise someone looking for a more AP friendly place to look at Ga. JMHO

[asherah]

well i live in Atlanta..
but as I often tell DH.. I will not DIE here.

We want to move to the pacific northwest.

[branwyn]

just wanted to add that the popular confederate flag was not the flag that flew during the war between the states but the flag that was adopted after the war. so the big hubbub about changing the flag for racist reasons was dumb bc that flag wasnt around under after the war was over.

and the school system in most counties does suck (hence the reason that most people think the confederate flag is the rascist flag), but we homeschool so thats not an issue for us.

[ssmeest]

Robins AFB is here and it is called the international city. While I agree with what some of the other mamas have written about the rest of the state, it doesn't apply to WR. We moved here from AZ and have had no problems at all. We're in the middle of the state and very few people talk with an accent. So if the other posts haven't scared you away, check WR out.

Sandra

[NaturalMom]

Originally posted by branwyn
just wanted to add that the popular confederate flag was not the flag that flew during the war between the states but the flag that was adopted after the war. so the big hubbub about changing the flag for racist reasons was dumb bc that flag wasnt around under after the war was over.

Grew up in Georgia - family still lives there... The confederate flag was added to the Georgia state flag in the 60s by the then-current governor who opposed de-segregation but couldn't stop it. So in protest he put the 'stars and bars' on the state flag.

[kimbalicious]

Wow, an awful lot of dissatisfied folks! I've pretty much grown up in the Atlanta metro area (with a few years in Houston and one in Miami) and love it! I'm also quite partial to Athens. Yes, it has some problems, but where aren't there any? Personally, I feel Houston to be far more homophobic and racist than Georgia -- but that's just my experience there. I think it all boils down to who you meet and know wherever you go. I live in an area of Atlanta (Clarkston/Stone Mountain) that is quite diverse. I can see a woman in purda (sp?) walking down one side of the street and look to the other and see monks in saffron robes. My sons play groups include people of color and mamas/papas of all sexual orientations.

The public schools I attended were pretty good some of my electives in high school included Constitutional Law and Microbiology. That being said, I am planning on home/unschooling my ds. I wasn't always that challenged :p and I think we would all benefit from it.

The climate might take a bit of getting used to -- hot and humid! Doesn't snow every year, but when it does you get to stay home - yea! Traffic in Atlanta does bite and bite hard -- try alternative transport!

Hurricanes, rarely an issue -- tornandos occasionally.

As for pretty towns near the water -- Savannah? I've only visited a few times, but have some friends that love living there. Of course they are childless artists, so I don't know how their lifestyle might differ.

Kimba

[ceciclem]

I have lived in Savannah for going on 11 years now and although I am determined to be a person who can live happily anywhere I am looking forward to the change of moving. Most of what you expect of "the south" is manifested in rural GA (which Savannah is not) so i have to give a sad nod to alot of what's been expressed here, however, as for Savannah... there is an art college here (Savannah College of Art and Design) which changes the social climate considerably and in a good way. The dowtown historic district is really where it's at here. Alot of good cultural events and it's extremely pedestrian friendly, scenic and really the south at it's best. Unfortunately, the cost of living dowtown is out of hand. I lived downtown until about 4 years ago when the rising rent drove me out. Outside of Downtown, Sav is not any different than most suburban sprawlish type places.

I would not, for a second, consider enrolling my son in public school here. It's tragic what passes for elementary education in this city. If we're still here (i hope not) when Eli's school age he'll be homeschooled for sure.

There is one freestanding birth center in nearby Rincon,GA where i received all my prenatal an post-partum care but unfortunately was not able to go through with the natural waterbirth i planned for because i ended up with a c-section at the hospital. :-( The midwives (CNMW) were terrific though.

As for the climate. I grew up in Daytona Beach, FL and the difference here is only a few degrees and just as humid. For the most part, no snow in the winters, except a freak flurry or two. Since living here we've experience one hurricane evacuation in 98.

HTH! Best of luck in you search for a home.

[WithHannahsHeart]

I have lived here in Augusta my whole life, and tho it is definitely back-asswards as far as parenting and stuff goes, there are worse places by far to live, IMO. My husband has international politics ambitions, and I look forward to living in other places with him, for sure. But, I do enjoy blazing a trail with narrowminded docs and other individuals (I might be the only truly natural birth the Medical College of GA has ever seen :p :o ).

[behr]

Hi there,
I just feel that I have to come in in defense of Athens, the only place in GA that I have experience with since we lived there for three years. I'm sure it depends a lot on the neighborhood you live in, but we were lucky to meet some of the most friendly folks, felt welcome and well supported by most everyone around. We liked Athens because it has a beautiful climate, the summers are moderate and there are natural areas all around, good camping, kids programs, really cool music!!, very decent housing prices and nice festivals, a small but cozy downtown. Some of the neighborhoods are older and quite nice, frontporches and such.
Athens is the ONLY place I ever felt homesick for! (and I've been around some). Of course GA isn't for everyone.
Good luck on your search for a new home PerfectLove, we're in the same boat and I always appreciate the info given by members on a certain place so I felt I had to respond.

[Wolfie78]

Well . . . I do have to agree with a lot of the posts. I live in the Columbus/Ft. Benning area, born & raised. The summers are really hot & yeah the cost of living is low, but the pay is too. I'm looking for work now & I haven't found anything yet (been looking for 5 months!) The scenery is fabulous, esp. Pine Mtn in the fall & the North GA mtns. I don't know about Atl or anywhere else, but here in Columbus, it's hard to find decent housing without spending an arm & a leg. I like it ok, but I wish desperately we had more support for alternative parenting. In Columbus, we don't have a LLL at all, 1 doula, & 1 childbirth educator. So you can imagine just how progressive this neck of the woods is. It snows once in a blue moon. Hurricanes aren't that bad, esp. if you know what to do. Columbus is pretty but old-fashioned. I forget who posted about the racial boundaries, but in Columbus, it's true. The races are discouraged from mixing. I'm white & I'm having a biracial baby in November & you wouldn't believe the attitudes I get from some people. (Ack! Can't wait til we can move closer to Atl!) Homebirths are discouraged & the attitudes about AP are a**-backward. I'm going to be raising my family here for a minute, til I can figure out something else . . . so, it would be kinda cool if you did move here, just for the company!! lol

Jennifer

[georgia]

Jennifer,

I'd heard through the grapevine that LLL might be having a group start up in Columbus. Check out the website---it just might happen--hope before you move! Take care and best wishes.

I love Georgia, flaws and all---I definitely have a wonderful tribe here who I can't imagine living without!

Amy

[MomOfHeathens]

Well this is definately a thread I should have read BEFORE we moved to Valdosta! :) We've only been here two months now and so far have had no problems at all. The people are a helluva lot more friendly and intelligent than they were in Oklahoma I can at least tell you that much!

I haven't had time to find out the kinds of things some of you have and hopefully I won't have to. The humidity...oh yeah it sucks BUT I lived in San Antonio for over a year so this I can handle! lol

The only thing I've found here so far that bothers me is all the confederate flags everyone flies. It just makes me uneasy but I guess that's my problem that I'm going to have to learn to deal with because I'm pretty sure some good ol boy isn't going to remove it for the likes of ME. As for racism, there was ALOT of it in Oklahoma City so I can't help but hope that it might be a little bit better here.