Georgia on my Mind

This little piece is for all the friends and colleagues I left behind in the (more than one way) chilling Northeast.  Here is the gist of it: After almost five decades of endless wanderings, I have finally found my home.

You may ask, how does a born German who lived more than 30 years in and around New York City feel at home in Atlanta Georgia?

Allow me to explain:  Similar to many others who fled the Northeast my move was driven by comparative economics.  Just by moving a thousand miles in the same country, I was able to reduce our family expenses by about one third.

But once I got here, and without looking very hard, I found many reasons why this move was indeed a good one:  Here are a few of those reasons:

1. So you pass through the entrance of a Walmart, and a stranger (can be any age, any color and either gender) makes eye contact and says something like: “How are you doing this morning?”  Your rirst reaction: “They have some really well dressed greeters down here”.  Once you get inside and are met by the real greeter, you get suspicious of the friendly fellow at the door: “I wonder what this guy wanted?”  That instinctive reaction is typical for New Yorkers.  We like to stay in our private bubble because we are extremely distrustful of friendly strangers – probably for a good reason.
2. Sure, Atlanta traffic is pretty bad, but for an ex New Yorker it is nothing!  The daily traffic jams are mostly caused by inattentive drivers who need to quickly travel across three lanes of highway to escape an exit-only lane they suddenly found themselves in.  Generally, Atlantans drive a bit loose.  They think nothing of cutting you off, but they do so with a smile and a friendly wave to thank you for not hitting them.  I have been driving here for six months now, and I have yet to get the finger when I do something wrong.  Yet another plus, I am not sure if Georgians understand the meaning of the word “pothole” – there are none!
3. When people ask me: “Have you found a church yet?”, my answer is: “Yes, but this was really hard – there are so many choices”.  It seems that there is a rule around here: If you stand at the entrance of a church, there must be at least one other church within your sight.  There are two types of “houses” here, Houses of Worship, and Waffle Houses.  You attend the former after having you had a helping of the incredibly rich food at the latter (it seems that Waffle House employees use a big syringe to inject every dish with liquid butter before serving).
4. Here is another manifestation of southern hospitality: Physicians actually spend time with you.  Small talk in the doctor’s office is ok.  Being conditioned by the assembly line like procedure in the Northeast, I always feel I am on borrowed time with my doctor (after all, time is money!).  Not so down here – everybody seems to be ready for a good chat – and, miraculously, the wait times in the office are shorter than up north.
5. It is nice to live in a city that is relatively young.  This city was built with the automobile in mind.  There is ample parking at the airport.  The world renowned aquarium is right downtown – and there is a huge parking garage next door.  Both Georgia Tech and Emory University have free parking nearby.
6. If you come down here, leave your winter coats behind.  Georgians bundle up when the temperature dips below 50, but for this old German who spent two full years in Moscow, Russia, that seems overkill.  If fact, the entire past “winter” I never put on anything more than a short and tee shirt when running outside. It does get hot in the summer.  My wife renamed the seasons.  According to her, we have spring, summer, fall and HELL.  I have been in worse though (Louisiana, Florida, southern Texas).
7. Atlanta has the best supermarket I have ever seen; and there is no close second.  The DeKalb Farmers market is worth a visit even if you go just for the sightseeing.  When you go there, expect a football field and a half  (I  measured it) of  groceries.  You will find any kind of fruit and vegetable you can think of, and some that you did not know exist.  The quality of the produce is consistently significantly better than that of the top regular supermarkets, and the prices are 30-40% lower than those of the competition.  A cup of coffee at their bakeshop will set you back just one dollar, and this coffee beats Starbucks.  This is excellence in action, I cannot fathom how they do what they do.

Southern hospitality has survived the massive influx of folks like me who arrived here somewhat aloof and grumpy.  But when everybody around you is nice and friendly, it is hard to play the curmudgeon.   During the last six months, my hard crust essentially melted away.  And that is ultimately what makes this place feel like home.  Come on down!