Atlanta vs. "Atlanta, Georgia"

[Andrea]

Heh, I have to laugh at myself about this one. It reminds me of the argument I got into the other day with a friend who claims the media is liberal, whereas it seems to me to be dominated by a bunch of right wingers.

Anyway, when I was growing up, I always felt slighted because whenever I saw our city's name in print they listed it as "Atlanta, Georgia." As if people didn't know where Atlanta would be if you didn't tell them it was in Georgia.

By contrast, it seemed like almost every other big city got its own name, all by itself, without the state qualifier. You didn't read "Cincinnati, Ohio," "Detroit, Michigan", or "Los Angeles, California." And it's not like there were dozens of Atlanta's that could easily be confused either. Even towns like Milwaukee were just plain old Milwaukee, even though we got their baseball team. And what about Buffalo? What was their claim to fame other than getting O.J. Simpson to play football for them? I even remember reading about Memphis and New Orleans without their state being hung on the end. We were the red-headed stepchild down here!

Now, I thought all this would change after we got the Braves and the Falcons and the Hawks and the Flames and the Thrashers, and after we went to the World Series and the Superbowl. We had a subway way back before any of these other nouveau burgs, and we had the world's tallest stinking hotel. Herschel Walker played right up the road in Athens, we had Gone With The Wind and Ted Turner and CNN, and we had Designing Women. Bobby Jones and Dr. King came from Atlanta! We had Emory and Georgia Tech, and Coca Cola and Delta Air Lines. We had the dadgum Olympics here, for Pete's sake!

So why couldn't we just be plain old Atlanta? I really thought all that would stop once the Olympics came, but I swear I still hear "Atlanta, Georgia" all the time. Do these people in New York and California think folks don't know where in the heck we are? When I call somebody in one of these places I always make a point to say, "This is Andrea from Atlanta" and leave it at that. And I double dog dare one of them to say, "Oh, and what state would that be in?" I'd love to come back with, "Oh, Buffalo where? New York, well, very well, could you spell that please?"

I could go on about this for days, but I was just wondering whether any of y'all had similar perceptions or whether it was just me.

[UrbanAtl]

Oh Andrea have I got a story for you and I SWEAR it's true.

In 1996 I was in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (from now on). I went into this great second hand store called Scarlet O'Hara's. I started to talk to the store owner and I told him, very proudly that I was from Atlanta. He asked me "Where?". He had never even heard of it. I explained to him where and said "you know...like the movie!". He thought that it was a fictional place and had no idea that the Civil War even happened. I give him this; he didn't speak English all that well. He had grown up in a small rural Quebec town hours from the big city.

Yes. Canada has french speaking rednecks! Let's just say that when we proudly displayed the Canadian flag upside-down during our games, I was jelous that it wasn't me carrying the flag.

So... No. You are not being the least bit unreasonable.

I love Canada, don't get me wrong, but that day will always be with me.

[Student]

If your friend never heard of the Civil War, I wouldn't expect him to have heard of SAnta Claus.

Andrea, many people know Atlanta as being Atlanta. Atlanta is becoming more of a household name, but you must be speaking about the media.

[ironchapman]

If your friend never heard of the Civil War, I wouldn't expect him to have heard of SAnta Claus.

Andrea, many people know Atlanta as being Atlanta. Atlanta is becoming more of a household name, but you must be speaking about the media.

Well, the Civil War in question is the American Civil War, so there probably a lot of people who don't know anything about it.

We've become more of a household name, but we've still got quite a ways to go in that area. That said, I still would think that many people would know of Atlanta without the Georgia attached.

We've become a bit too impatient. Atlanta's still got a lot of things to work on. Just give it time we're working on it.

Rome wasn't built in a day, though Atlanta would like to be.

[Southernyank]

maybe an outsider's POV? Atlanta can definately stand on its own now. I never ever hear anyone refer to your city as Atlanta Georgia anymore. Only Atlanta or the ATL. Even on news channels or commercials or movies or just on the street. i think Atlanta has definately made its mark (at least in America anyway). that reminds me about this commercial for this racing video game i just saw a minute ago where a female voice asks the racers where they're from, and they begin saying their cities names. it actually kinda took me by surprise when you heard "Sydney, Paris, ATLANTA, etc.

[krazeeboi]

I can't remember the last time I heard "Atlanta, Georgia." It's always "Atlanta" everytime I look around.

[Newnan]

maybe an outsider's POV? Atlanta can definately stand on its own now. I never ever hear anyone refer to your city as Atlanta Georgia anymore. Only Atlanta or the ATL. Even on news channels or commercials or movies or just on the street. i think Atlanta has definately made its mark (at least in America anyway). that reminds me about this commercial for this racing video game i just saw a minute ago where a female voice asks the racers where they're from, and they begin saying their cities names. it actually kinda took me by surprise when you heard "Sydney, Paris, ATLANTA, etc.

I saw that commercial too. I wasn't sure if the guy said Atlanta or not; I guess he did. SEth MacFarlene even shows respect to Atlanta on family guy. There was a scene where they're watching TV and it's on CNN or something and four people are having a satellite conversation; one is from NYC, one is from Chicago, one of from LA and one is from Atlanta. This is a definitely a compliment coming from a man who still thinks the south doesn't have ATM machines! Of course, the guy from Atlanta talks like Rhett Butler though.

[ironchapman]

^The point there, Newnan, is that Family Guy is a satirical program. trust me, there's only a few, and I mean few, that still think we are that backwards, and Seth MacFarlane probably isn't one of them. I don't mind a little Southern satire every now and then. I enjoy the couple of Jeff Foxworthy albums I do have, if you understand what I'm saying.

[Newnan]

I know but at least in the family guy world Atlanta is a big city. No of course, Seth MacFarlene doesn't think that way about Atlanta. His show is syndicated on Adult swim which is based in Atlanta.

[UrbanAtl]

Just to turn the whole thing upside down. Did you watch Charlie & The Chocolate Factory? Beruca Salt (sp?) was from Atlanta in the new one. She's not Southern in the traditional sense but a track-suit-wearing-SUV-driving obnoxious cul-de-sac kid. In the minds of the international crowd we are now what the Midwest and LA used to be. Half obnoxious stereotypical American mixed with LA exercise plastic personality. What a change! In a sick way I was even flattered. I feel so dirty.

[Newnan_Eric]

To speak a little about Atlanta's international profile:

I have traveled to Europe several times. I was on a summer program to the UK in 1990 and I worked in the Netherlands twice (1997-1998 & 2000-2002). CNN and the Olympics have definately raised the city's profile.

Prior to the Olympics you would usually have to explain where Atlanta was. Europeans know where New York, Florida, and California are. Some may know where Texas is. The rest of the US is a big blob to them. They have NO idea how large the country is and don't understand why we have regional disputes (Polititcally. that is/). (This is unbeliveably hypocritical - The Netherlands is so catty about their different provinces.)

Now, after the Olympics, most people know of Atlanta and recognize CNN's ties with it. They may even fly through here, although, most would still have a tough time placing in on a map.

As far as "Atlanta, Georgia" goes - you don't hear it referred that way outside of the USA. Georgia does not have an international identity (Unless you're speaking of the former Soviet republic.)

No offense Andrea, but yes, you are being over sensitive. Most of the time if you just say "Atlanta" people have no doubt where you're talking about.

[Andrea]

No offense Andrea, but yes, you are being over sensitive. Most of the time if you just say "Atlanta" people have no doubt where you're talking about.

Har, I thought so, Eric!

Thanks for the international perspective -- that's something we really need more of in this town.

UrbanAtl, that's a great story, too! I can't wait to mention it my holier-than-thou Canadian pals, who seem to conveniently forget that it's the good old U.S. of A. that's got their back.

[NCB]

Well I can tell you guys this, if you say "Atlanta" anywhere in New Orleans, everyone knows exactly what your talking about. I have never been to a city in the south where you need to say "Atlanta, Georgia" to clarify which city you are talking about. In fact, I have family who live in Sweden and Denmark, and when I told them that I was spending a few days in Atlanta, they knew exactly which city I was talking about.(Mainly because of the Olympics)

[krazeeboi]

Seriously, you can say "Atlanta" anywhere in the U.S. and people will know which city you're referring to. I would imagine this would largely be true in the Carribean and Canada as well (maybe not Quebec though...LOL).

[upstate29650]

Hell, you can now say "Savannah", and people will know where you're talking about. I'd like to think the same could be said for Atlanta....

[Lady Celeste]

Well last week I was talking to someone from Romania. He asked where I was from and I said Atlanta.....then I said Georgia and begin explaining where Georgia was. He stopped me and said "everyone knows where Atlanta is located. Why do you think I don't know where it is located?" I felt really bad because perhaps he thought I was thinking him geographically illiterate. I explained to him that Atlanta is not a New York or LA and he said "but everyone knows where it is located."

Andrea, perhaps you were being a little sensitive but it's okay, I understand.

[ironchapman]

Here's a nice PDF File from the Brookings Institution that might put your mind at ease, Andrea:

US Cities in the World city network

Out of 10 Levels, or strata, Atlanta occupies the third level along with San Francisco, Miami, and Washington DC. Above it are Los Angeles and Chicago in Strata 2 and New York City in Strata 1. (found on page 6 of the document).

In order, the top seven are

-NYC

-Chicago

-LA

-San Francisco

-Miami

-Atlanta

-Washington DC

Atlanta ranks 33rd in the world in terms ofconnectivity to the World City Network, according to this list.

Interesting.

Here's and ABC article covering the same thing...with a little bit of city boosterism injected into it.

\If it is this important already, imagine how much more important it could become as it matures !

[Andrea]

Out of 10 Levels, or strata, Atlanta occupies the third level along with San Francisco, Miami, and Washington DC. Above it are Los Angeles and Chicago in Strata 2 and New York City in Strata 1.

Heh-heh! Thanks, IC and Celeste and everyone. Y'all are making me feel a lot better about this. I especially like the fact that we are ahead of Dallas and Houston.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I like how indepth that chart goes. Great rankings for Atlanta.

I was suprised with some of the other rankings. Maybe someone should make a thread in Urban Discussion or something.

[TheBostonian]

Very good. I occasionally hear people say silly things like "Chicago, Illinios" or "Los Angeles, California." It doesn't really mean much. People know Atlanta for big things like Coke, CNN, Matlock and the Olympics and don't need to be reminded where it is.

[Enique]

Well I can tell you guys this, if you say "Atlanta" anywhere in New Orleans, everyone knows exactly what your talking about. I have never been to a city in the south where you need to say "Atlanta, Georgia" to clarify which city you are talking about. In fact, I have family who live in Sweden and Denmark, and when I told them that I was spending a few days in Atlanta, they knew exactly which city I was talking about.(Mainly because of the Olympics)

I have.

When I go visit family in Texarkana, I have to clarify which Atlanta I'm speaking about because there is actually an Atlanta, Texas nearby.

[teshadoh]

^ And in Atlanta we have to refer to Dallas as Dallas, TX quite often because Dallas is a exurb of Atlanta.

[Dale]

Wow ! Media dominated by right-wingers ?!

Anyway, I'm off on a business-trip to New York City, New York. See you guys in a few days.

[NCB]

I have.

When I go visit family in Texarkana, I have to clarify which Atlanta I'm speaking about because there is actually an Atlanta, Texas nearby.

I have family in the Texarkana area as well. Though I never had to clarify which Atlanta I was speaking about, I guess they just understood I wasn't refering to the incredible growth in Atlanta, Texas.

[Andrea]

Wow ! Media dominated by right-wingers ?!

Oh yeah, in Atlanta at least. You rarely see or hear anything critical of the right wingers on local TV, or in the AJC (other than a handful of editorial columnists), and the two big radio stations here feature folks like Rush, the Kimmer, Phil Hendrie, Sean Hannity, Boortz, Tom Hughes, etc. literally all day long.