The 'addi house goes on the market next week and we have to decide between Tucson, Arizona and Athens, Georgia. Tucson is a lot more expensive, but we know it and like it. Athens would be more of an adventure, since we’ve never lived in the South and I think it’s probably where we’ll wind up going. So what about it, dopers? Can an easy going agnostic libertarian yankee Pacific Northwesterner find happiness in Athens? Tell me all about it.
::leans forward and licks pencil::
Athens would be a major culture shock for you. It is the worst kind of university town. Everything centers on UGA related “fun”. E.g., drinking, football, drinking, “dances”, drinking, etc. Oh, did I mention drinking?
Unless your idea of fun is being completely wasted 3 days of each and every week, stay away from there.
That part of Georgia culturally hasn’t changed since Scarlett met Rhett. There’s also nothing to do at all in the vicinity. No outdoor rec. comparable to the PNW. For a large part of the year the weather is humid and oppressive. Think in terms of waking up in the morning: it’s 70 degrees, 100% humidity and that’s the nice part of the day. You have to go to Atlanta for “culture” (shudder).
Tucson is a much, much more reasonable place. Reasonably progressive, lots of things to do in the area, immensely better weather, etc., etc. Given those two as my only choices, go west.
“If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, I’d sell the plantation and go home.”
– Eugene P. Gallagher
I lived there as a student from 89 to 93, so I don’t know what’s changed since then, but I can’t imagine it’s changed all that much. Overall, it’s a neat city, and one of the most comfortable places in the southeast for an “agnostic libertarian yankee” to live. It’s a decent balance between traditional old Georgian town and liberal arts university.
Be aware that it’s very much a college town, with all that implies. Everything centers around the University, and there’s no avoiding talk of UGA or contact with the students and professors as long as you’re within city limits. Young people everywhere, and the few times I went back after graduation, I felt very, very old. There’s pretty good nightlife around, especially in downtown – plenty of bars and clubs, and the city attracts some great bands. Of course, everywhere’s going to be filled with students, and there’s a huge “let’s all drink and get tore up” mentality. There are also some decent restaurants, especially if you like barbeque – one of my favorite BBQ places in the world is in Athens.
And during football season on the day of a home game, you have to decide to either leave town the night before, stay indoors, or find a way to get to the stadium. The whole city basically shuts down and it’s impossible to navigate.
There are plenty of more residential suburban-type neighborhoods, especially the farther away you get from the campus itself. And of course, Atlanta is only a 45 minute drive away, and the outlying Atlanta 'burbs are even closer.
If you’re dead set on a laid-back town in the south, try Asheville, NC. Much cooler, more laid-back back and less college-oriented.
Other cities in the same vein, culturally speaking, around the country:
Eugene, OR
Portland, OR
Austin, TX
Ann Arbor, MI
Madison, WI
Burlington, VT
Althea and I did a whole lot of research and traveling prior to leaving B’more - looking for a town with tons of culture and art (esp. music), liberal sensibilities, lower cost of living, and general fun, polite and cool people.
We eventually settled on Madison (which we love) but every one of those towns rocks.
P
We-e-e-e-ellll, Athens has a really neat double barreled cannon at the courthouse. It was developed at the Athens foundry during the Civil War with the intention of firing chained shot out of both barrels at the advancing Union troops. (They had a little trouble getting the powder in both barrels firing exactly simultaneously, so after a few rounds where the first round would emerge from its barrel and, anchored by the chain to the second not-yet-fired round, would whip around the cannon, they gave up on the design.) However, they never melted down the gun to make two regular guns (or sent the gun out without the chains as a double-load weapon) so it sits on the courthouse square.
I was there in January, one time, walking around in shirtsleeves (while the locals were bundled up as if it were winter) so I suspect that ftg is correct about the weather.
On the other hand Athens is not so negaitive on itself as ftg seems to be on Athens. There is a lot of water-based recreation on the man-made lakes a half-hour west near Gainesville or an hour Norteast on the South Carolina border.
The countryside is pretty and you’re only a short drive from the end of the Appalachian Moutains.
I lived there in the early '80s when I was in my 20s. There’s obviously a chance for things to have changed in the intervening years. But when I lived there, there was a “scene” other than the Bulldogs / fraternity&sorority/getdrunk scene.
It’s the town of origination for both the B-52s and REM, and at least back then everyone who could pretend to being a musician was making band and hoping theirs was gonna be the next one to hit the charts. The indy-music scene was intermerged with a sort of alt-politics and alt-culture scene that included a core of no-kidding card-carrying American Communist Party regulars, lots of vegetarians & environmentos, anti-nuclear folks, poets, etc. Decent LSD in those days, marijuana everywhere, and those amyl nitrate or butyl nitrate things were popular too.
There was a cafe downtown known as the Bluebird Cafe (may have changed names) and various alternative stores/hangouts in the area. Cattycorner across from it was a black restaurant/bar. It was a pretty race-segregated thing, unfortunately, people just didn’t cross over much.
It was, at that time, trendy at alt parties to be ambivalent about sexual orientation. There wasn’t a straight person who was overtly and emphatically not at least provisionally bisexual to be found, and double-entendres flew everywhere.
Out on Oconee St were several old warehouses doing modern duty as concert venues and were also places we hung out a lot.
Very very gossipy town, that’s the one thing I could not stand.
Hey! I was there from 88 to 90. Did you ever shop at the Turtles? That’s were I worked full-time. (the old Turtles that remolded in 88, not the newer one)
Anyway, Athens is reeeeeally small. Do y’all (the OP) already have jobs? THere’s not really all that much to do there if yer not connected to UGA. And it was pretty cool for the indie music scene but very little otherwise. And liek ftg, it’s got a lot of the worst aspects of small Southern towns. For instance, the black population was very segregated, even compared to other small Southern towns.
I wouldn’t move back. I’d look into Chapel Hill, NC for a interesting Southern college town with a music scene. Or Gainesville, FL is still fairly small but not like Athens. Or come over here to Austin. You got your big state university, good music scene, but Austin’s big enough there’s always a lot going on.
Thanks, everyone!
At almost 50, that’s hardly an attractive mental picture, ftg. Thanks for the warning, though.
Which would make me feel about 2 years older than Og. Actually, we love college towns, despite the whippersnapper shenanigans. Much preferable to a gated community in Old Fart, Florida, IMO.
Add and subtract a few places and you have a virtual road map of places the 'addis have lived at one time or another. We’ve considered Austin and would just love to join you there, but the property taxes appear to be absolutely insane.
:eek:
Okay then. As far as I can tell, the points against Athens are the oppressive humidity, the segregation (that really surprised me!) and the frat football culture, though that’s true of any college town to some degree.
In its favor, of course, is that “really neat double barrelled cannon at the courthouse.”
Hmmm.
Well, er… I seem to be alone in this opinion, but I’ve lived in Athens for about three years now, and I don’t plan to leave unless a job takes me elsewhere. I’ve loved it more than any other place I’ve ever lived (which probably doesn’t really count, since they’ve all been in Georgia.) I’m also young, so I’m not sure how someone older would like it – also, I keep to myself, so I don’t have any experience with “gossipy neighbors”.
Like the others said, the town does tend to be really centered on UGA and football. I hate both of these things, ignore their existence, and get along fine. There are plenty of other things to do besides drinking and football (I like drinking about as much as I like football - notsomuch). I live near the downtown, and it’s a very lovely area to walk around. There are rivers and trails if you like to hike or kayak, etc. I like how it’s got a great “art” scene – there are always openings and whatnot, plays, performances, etc. Always something to do… a lot of this is probably spin-off of the college, but there are other non-college associated things to do.
A lot of the music scene is “indie rock,” but there is a good mix of everything, including some lovely classical groups and jazz, etc.
Athens is pretty liberal to me, but there does seem to be a good balance between viewpoints. Something for everyone.
The restaurants are amazing.
I love the weather, its always mild – it’s North enough in GA that the summer’s aren’t too oppressive (but yes, you have to learn to love humidity). And I’ve always felt safe, even walking in the dark. It’s close to Atlanta if you need a big city sometimes. So, um… I love Athens. If you want to ask anything more specific, I’ll try to answer without gushing… 
If you do come, I hope you like it as much as me.
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That part of Georgia culturally hasn’t changed since Scarlett met Rhett.
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Yep, yew cain’t hardly spit ‘round here without waterin’ sumbody’s cotton. :rolleyes:
The Athens, GA area is (like many - I daresay most US communities) a hodge podge of places to live and things to do. The city proper is a college town. A 20 minute drive will put you in the following:
south and west - rural farmland - mostly cattle farms. Beautiful, rolling pasture land and pine forests.
west - Metro Atlanta. All the conveniences (and nuisances) of the big city.
north - Lake Sidney Lanier - the man made, US Army Corps of Engineers managed lake. Has more annual visitors than any other CoE lake.
Athens puts you 1 hour from the mountains and 5 hours from the beach.
BTW, segregation is not an issue. The latest demographics I find show the population (about 17,000 in the city proper) to be 38% white, 52% black, and 10% hispanic. Clarke County, of which Athens is the county seat, has a population of about 100,000. 90% of the county population is classified as urban by the US Census Bureau.
Here’s a good site to scan: http://www.hometownlocator.com/City/Athens-Georgia.cfm
Let me second Doctor Jackson’s rolleyes. It’s a shame that ftg’s was the first response, because I’d bet it is very much a minority opinion among those who’ve lived in Athens. (ftg, maybe you were hanging out with the wrong crowd.)
I lived there in the mid-to-late 80s and loved the place. The movie Slacker, though set in Austin, pretty much captured the loopy laid-back Athens vibe of the 80s. The politics trend toward the progressive. Athens usually votes Democratic. There is still a fun and active indie music scene there. The downtown area is pretty much my ideal of a college town, with typical shops, restaurants, used record stores, etc.
R.E.M. has been very active in the community over the years, plowing a lot of money back into the place.
Like AHunter3, I hadn’t been back in a while, and wondered if the place had changed for the worse. But then I visited for a couple of days over this past fall, and was pleased to find the downtown area much the same, with the same loopy laid-back vibe as ever.
Biggest negative for me would be the continuing sprawl, but the old downtown still seems a fun, hip place. If you move there, try to get a place in an older intown neighborhood.
Oh yeah, to add to Doctor Jackson’s list of positives, lots of great whitewater also within easy driving distance if you happen to be into river running.
How’s this for a little thing?
One of my uncle’s taught at UGA, and still lives there. I always got along with his kids, but my “step cousins” (his first wife died) are pretty snotty.
Sorry, that doesn’t tell you much about the town, but you asked for every little thing.
Let me third Doctor Jackson’s rolleyes.
Athens is a great place. I’m in Atlanta, but I’ve spent a lot of my 30ish years out there.
I don’t really have anything new to add, most everything I’d say has already been mentioned. Just wanted to throw in my vote for Athens. (It’s actually supposed to be very comparable to Austin, from what I hear.)
Oh, and yes, we do have plenty of cultural things to do in Atlanta.
I’ve lived in Athens since 1987, and I love it. I don’t find it to be centered around football and drinking, but then I don’t live in a frat house. There is always something interesting to do, and I agree that the restaurants are amazing. The housing is very reasonable, depending on which area you live in. I live in a nice neighborhood on the west side, and I paid 120K for a 2600 sq ft house four years ago.
The live music scene and the art scene is great, too. And, having lived in Atlanta while I was in law school, I would much rather live here than Atlanta. If I want to go to a play or shopping or something in Atlanta, it's an easy enough drive, but there's rarely anything I want to do that I can't do here.
If you do come here, call me and I'll buy you and yours a drink at The Globe.Both R.E.M. and The B52s come from there … !?! And that’s alls I know.
Having lived in Athens, Atlanta, and now Austin, I gotta say Athens is nothing like Austin. (Neither is it anything like Atlanta, thank god, which is why I moved.) Athens was fun when I lived there as a student. I loved going to see bands and hanging out at the GA Bar. But I couldn’t see staying there as an adult becasue Athens is simpy too small. I would have wound up driving into Atlanta a lot. Although, maybe the OP will be happy with such a small town, I’d strongly suggest he check it out before he moves tho’.
And I know Athens isn’t old school 1950’s south. But, I moved there from having gronw up in Gaineville, FL, another smallish, Southern university town. I was shocked when I moved there that there was such a sharp division between the arty kids, the huge frat/sorority scene, and the city folk. And it made me very uncomfortable that the black citizens all tended to live in some what segregated and poorer neighborhoods. Not segregated by law, of course, but much more seperate than I was used to in my hometown. The only black person I knew in Athens was my bass player friend from Jacksonville, FL who hung out with the musicians. And he expressed dismay over the situation too. I was really relieved when I moved to Atlanta and felt like I was in an integrated society again. I dunno, if I hadn’t come from a fairly well integrated town, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.
Anyway, that’s my opinion based on my experiences living in Athens. Maybe Athens has changed a lot in the last 12 years or so.
I live 75 miles from Athens and visit frequently, but I wouldn’t want to live there. It has been majorly gentrified in recent years as parents who once would have sent their children to expensive private colleges take advantage of the tuition lottery and use part of the money saved to buy houses and rent lofts near campus. The majority of students at UGA are from homes making $100,000+ per year, so it is quickly getting a reputation as a rich-kid school.
That said- lots of cool shops, lots of good restaurants (one of my favorites is The Grit, a vegetarian place owned partly by Michael Stipe) and a Barnes & Noble that, while a chain, has the single best music collection I have ever seen at any store.
However, on Football Saturdays you will wish you were in Calcutta.
The Navy Supply Corps School is in Athens – that’s the school where they train Navy Supply Corps Officers. My husband lived there for 9 months in the early '90s. The kids and I didn’t go with him – the kids were pre-school age, so we could’ve gone, but our daughter had just been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and been enrolled in an early-intervention program here in Virginia and we weren’t sure we would find a similar program for her in Georgia. We visited him there a couple of times, though.
Kevin liked Athens quite well. He liked the downtown area and loved the pretty surrounding countryside. That said, he lived on-base and was, as a consequence, in something of a Navy ghetto – separate from the community, you know.
REM, the B52’s . . . and Widespread Panic, what about Widespread Panic?