Back to the "Deep South" in Duluth GA

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I get a kick out of hearing the term "Deep South" in 2026. It is a crazy incredibly outdated label. I think maybe I should start saying the "Deep Northeast". I am a Yankee. My family came over on the Mayflower and moved to Upstate NY via Connecticut. Terms used in the revolutionary and Civil war days are generally inappropriate. My family is all but totally out of NY State now. I find the term "deep south" to be of the same thinking that the movie "Heidi" is what contemporary Europe is like. Watching the fireworks in Rochester, NY from the back yard of a house in the city made it look like a real war zone. It is a long drive between Berkshire, NY and Duluth, GA. Most of the 35K miles on the truck were spent in between. I drove the truck about 3k miles in 2-1/2 weeks. It was great to spend time on the farm. It was good to make some progress on needed repairs and improvements. I also felt good about making some new friends up there. I will be...
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Things are going well (understatement). Numerous companies have moved corporate HQ to the Duluth Georgia area in the last 10 years. Smart companies can move anywhere they want. My boss is great. He is a farmer originally from Upstate NY. What a huge difference. I am -truly- blessed.

Everything seems to be less expensive in the Northern Atlanta area than what I am used to and the overall quality of living is higher. Gas is a two-fifty-something vs. two-eighty-something, hotels are cheaper, rental cars are cheaper. Groceries are less expensive. Even apples are cheaper. Sales tax is 6% vs 8.25%. It goes on and on. I definitely have a lot more purchasing power here vs. NY.

It is clean, people are more often nice (although an old lady flipped me off in traffic today, totally weird). I have looked at 20+ properties and I am getting service from a Realtor I am unaccustomed to. It is just plain weird. It is like a different country, but it is just a different state. I will be in Finland next month. I suspect it will be more like NY (a lot lot cleaner though) than here. I did notice that there are larger bugs here and although everything I need is very close (much closer than in NY), the traffic is slower. Time-wise, things are still much closer.

I sent a letter to Gov. Paterson just before I left. I will post it here and his response if I get it. I will probably send him another letter soon as a follow-up, just to let him know how things are going.

Here is a quick pic of one of the lakes I am looking at as a place to live.

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Charles said…
After looking for two years, I ended up buying my place in this very neighborhood!
7:04 PM
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