Going away to college can be a new experience for many students. While, the campus life experience is given the most attention, JOUR 3190 wanted to know how the college town experience compared to students’ hometowns, and surveyed 12 students about their take on Athens, Georgia.
When asked about his transition from Atlanta to Athens, 21 -year -old Desmond Baskin described Atlanta as, “its own world.”
Other than the differences in pace, Baskin, a history major at the University of Georgia, said Athens has more of a tourist attraction. However, he also stated that he initially could not associate the city with anything other than UGA.
Before coming to Athens, Baskin, never thought he would attend the university. “In order for me to go to UGA I have to be rich or an athlete,” he said of his initial perception.
Nevertheless, when asked the same question 21 -year -old, music performance major Kwanza Williams said she doesn’t see much difference. Born and raised in Auburn, Alabama, Williams said that the only difference between the two cities is the landscape and the food.
When it comes to food Auburn is no match. “Athens food is the s**t when it comes to Auburn,” said Williams when referring to what she calls, “family based” restaurants like, The Grit and Dawg Gone Good BBQ.
When asked to find similarities, both Baskin and Williams described Athens as a tourist town, where the music scene is very popular. However, Baskin went on to say that only similarity he could see between Atlanta and Athens was its impoverished state. According, to the U.S. Census Bureau, Athens-Clarke County’s poverty rate has more than doubled since 2000.
As many wealthy and successful people, like Ryan Seacrest and Alton Brown, have come from UGA, Baskin said he doesn’t understand why the university continues to flourish as the city continues to struggle. Williams made similar statements but also added that the, “college is the only thing keeping the city alive.”
Aside from the fact that both Baskin and Williams attend the university in town, neither could find any other reason to move to the city after graduation. In fact, prior to Baskin’s acceptance to UGA he said he had never been to Athens and even then he still did not visit the city until he started classes.
Although, Baskin has lived in Athens four years, when asked if he planned to live in Athens following graduation Baskin said, “there is nothing here for me but school.” His reasoning was his being accustomed to “big cities” and more “urban areas.”
Seeing how similar Athens is to her hometown, Williams also objected to living in Athens after graduation. She said she hopes to experience something else, “I’ll probably move somewhere warm;more open.”