General Impressions of Georgia

I just wanted to write down our impressions of Georgia so far now that we've been here for nearly a month! Overall we love it. Things people warned us would bother us about Georgia before we moved here:

(1) Heat
(2) Humidity
(3) Bugs
(4) Racism against white people

And now, things that don't bother us at all about Georgia since they were waaaaay worse in Grenada:

(1) Heat
(2) Humidity
(3) Bugs
(4) Racism against white people (we haven't experienced this one at all--everyone's sooo nice! There are lots of black people [not as many as Grenada though], and they're the ones with the friendliest smiles, biggest laughs, and funniest jokes.)

But seriously. When we told people we'd be moving to Atlanta, most people who had been here before told us that it was beautiful and lush and we'd really like it. The 4 things I mentioned above are the only things people told us we wouldn't like. And they're all things that were way worse in Grenada so they don't phase us. I think that if we'd lived in Georgia before we lived in Grenada we'd be having a much more difficult time adjusting.

In fact, from the brief time we've had here I'd be fine if we stayed here for Jared's 3-year residency that will happen immediately after he graduates from medical school. Many people make connections in the hospitals where they do their clinical rotations and then end up getting a residency there, so it's a definite possibility. However, there are just a few things that would prevent Jared and I from wanting to settle down here permanently. So here's a little list of what we don't love about Atlanta (we haven't explored other areas of Georgia yet, so this just applies to Atlanta):

(1) Roads + traffic. No left turn lanes and definitely no bike lanes. Lanes are thin and overcrowded, and traffic is horrible all day long. Multiple times a day I hear breaks screeching or long honks because an accident nearly happened. Thousands of car-related deaths in and around Atlanta each year.

(2) Lack of sidewalks. I'm sure this varies by area so maybe it shouldn't be on this list, but sidewalks are rare in/around Atlanta. We live in a pretty nice area of town but there are no sidewalks anywhere. Taking Savvy for walks can be scary because we're walking in the road and there's lots of traffic. When I have the car I like to take her to a nearby walking trail that's really nice, but...

(3) No mountains / quiet spaces in nature. The walking trail I just mentioned is about the closest we get to nature, but it's always really crowded and a pain to take Savvy on because she's in her excited puppy stage where she wants to say hi to and jump up on every person/dog. It's about a 2-hour drive to get up to the Appalachians, so I'm excited to go explore them on a weekend when Jared doesn't have to study. I wish there was something closer though! I prefer to hike several times a week.

(4) Distance from family. I get that we'll have to follow the jobs when Jared's done with medical school, but we'd really love to be less than a day's drive from family.


Those are pretty much the only negatives so far! And they're all minor things I can live with because, again, such a big step up from Grenada. We love having a nice apartment of our own that feels, well, American. We love having lots of options for date night again. And here are some Atlanta-specific things that really impress us:

(1) Southern accents. I expected to hear these only occasionally, but no. EVERY Georgia native has a southern accent of varying thickness. I love it! Southern accents make people sound so friendly.

(2) Southern hospitality. Ok, so of course you hear that people in the south are nice, but I've always felt that people in Utah are pretty nice too so I didn't expect anything beyond what I grew up with. But no. This goes above and beyond anything I've known. Everyone we talk to is so delighted to meet us! They all appear to love their jobs, whether they're farmers or fast food workers. We'll go through a drive-thru and the person taking our order or giving us our food will totally just have a conversation with us like we're old friends. But not in an invasive way. I was taking Savvy for a walk and this woman jumped out of her jeep and was like, "PUPPY! You are so adorable!! And she then proceeded to smother her with love. Then when we were walking back home half an hour later the same woman happened to drive by again and screamed, "I LOVE THE PUPPY! I NEED A PUPPY!!" As she zoomed past. These people are truly pumped on life.

(3) Huge trees everywhere. As you're driving down the freeway (or any road), you're flanked on both sides by giant deciduous trees that make it feel like you're driving through a canyon of trees. There's only one "mountain" nearby, and I'll write about it later. But from the top of it when you look out over the Atlanta area, it literally just looks like a spanning forest of trees. Towns and cities are hidden under the trees (except downtown Atlanta, which is really tall).

(4) Southern food chains. Instead of Wendy's and Burger King on every corner, we have Waffle House, Chik-fil-A, and Steak n' Shake. They're everywhere. And they're delicious. The morning after we moved here we walked into a Waffle House and literally everyone in the whole restaurant--employees and customers alike--shouted their welcomes and hellos and good mornings. We then proceeded to have a life-changing breakfast of waffles, eggs, fresh orang juice, and grits. Turns out I'm a total grits person. Next time I'm trying the biscuits and gravy.

(5) Georgia pride and national pride. We went to a laser and fireworks show our first weekend here. The MC called out all the branches of military service and all the names of the original confederate states. People from each representing area stood and made lots of noise. The laser show was full of patriotic songs and songs about the southern states and country songs about loving America. It's cool to live in one of the original 13 States. There's so much history here.

(6) Old homes/buildings. Like I just said, Georgia's been around for longer than Utah has. The southern style homes have so much charm, and some of them are really old and beautiful. We wouldn't mind a southern-style home someday. Heck, a wrap-around porch is practically a must.