From my childhood years up until college, I lived in a quiet suburb of Chicago. Two summers ago, we abruptly relocated to the outskirts of Atlanta for my parents’ jobs once the pandemic had quieted down. Having lived in both places, I can appreciate the pros and cons of Chicago and Atlanta, both of which I call home.
The hills
This is the biggest difference I noticed as soon as I moved to Georgia. The hills make the landscape so scenic and beautiful and all the trees lining the roads make a commute anywhere picturesque. Even the expressway is pretty as you cruise through rolling hills lined with rows and rows of greenery. It makes each drive more interesting–and sometimes more challenging! Parking lots can be 30 meters higher than the road they are connected to. Blind spots around hills can be highly annoying, although navigable. There’s also one significant downside. Hills can be dangerous for cars, and it requires drivers to be more aware not only of other cars, but also the surrounding landscape. Runaway truck ramps are common on expressways, especially as you move towards more mountainous areas, and accidents can happen frequently when stopping at a stoplight going downhill. Overall, it just requires a savvier navigation of the road, but it makes for a consistently beautiful landscape. It’s definitely not the Midwestern concrete jungle!
The weather
In Georgia, life comes to a screeching halt when there is a heavy snowstorm or icing on the roads. Unlike the Midwest, which has infrastructure like road salt storage domes and regular plowing, it snows and ices so infrequently in Georgia that when it does happen, normal life shuts down for a day or so. Work and schools get canceled, nobody is on the roads, and people are scared to drive. If you are from the Midwest, the concept is laughable. School getting canceled simply because it snows? People unwilling to drive because the roads are icy? Imagine that! It is a remarkable difference in response to winter weather that never fails to make me laugh. Everybody knows that the weather is so unpredictable in the Midwest that there’s a constant state of being prepared for anything–40-degree weather and snow one day and 75 degrees and sunny the next. It would be enough to make a Southerner faint.
The food
Nobody will deny that the Midwest has some unbeatable classics. I’m partial to the Chicago dog and deep dish pizza, both of which I try to get every time I’m back in the city. There’s something different about southern food, though. It’s a little tricky to explain, but generally speaking you know that going to a restaurant in the Midwest can be hit or miss–the food is good or it isn’t. In Georgia? Everything is good. Every place I have been to has had fantastic food that tastes like someone made it home cooked. On the other hand, even though the South does have classics too (like shrimp and grits), I don’t personally think they are better than a good old-fashioned Chicago dog or deep dish pizza for me. In the South you can choose any place to eat–a mom and pop shop, a big chain restaurant, a random mall kiosk, a one-window drive-thru, or anywhere else–and the food will be undeniably good, but in the Midwest certain classics are specialized and really tasty.
The lifestyle
People in the Midwest have got places to be. Especially in cities like Chicago. And they are not very nice on the roads. That being said, I was completely flabbergasted by how relaxed people are on roads in Georgia. It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of nowhere or driving straight into the heart of Atlanta–people are just nicer. Who knows if it’s the better weather or something else, but it definitely is less stressful to drive in Georgia. Growing up driving on Chicago roads, it’s a welcome relief from people riding your bumper going 80 miles an hour on the expressway or cutting you off and then braking like their foot is made of lead. I was completely thrown off at first, but now I think I prefer it! People aren’t in as much of a hurry (usually) and everyone is friendly to each other. I was very much used to the concept of stranger danger while living in Chicago, but it goes beyond that to a point where Midwesterners often won’t make eye contact or say hello to people they pass on the sidewalk. In Georgia, my experience has been completely different. Most people will say hello and strike up a conversation with you, whether it’s someone you see in passing, your cashier, someone you see in line, or anyone else! People seem to be much more willing to make a connection with you.
Having lived in both the Midwest and the South, the differences in the landscape, the weather, the food, and the lifestyles people lead have become quite clear. I consider both locations to be a home of mine and to anyone from the Midwest who has not had the chance to visit the South–I would highly recommend it!