[Skunkabilly]

Applied for a job in GA, and think I have a fair shot at it. I checked and some skunks are legal.

I looked up Packing and it looks to be shall-issue.

The job'll be in Hotlanta, any restrictions of evil guns, magazines, etc. I should be aware of, and are outside suburbs ok?

[10-Ring]

What's the position? Something in forensics? Whatever it is, good luck my friend ;)

[ahenry]

I’ve only passed through Georgia, but I’ve done so on several occasions. I really like the state. The people I spoke with there seemed very friendly, and I really liked Atlanta. Obviously I’m a Texas boy, but Georgia is a place I wouldn’t get upset hanging my hat for a little while. Good luck to you.

[Hkmp5sd]

Ever see the movie Deliverance ? :)

[Croyance]

Lived there for a while.
As for suburbs, depends on which one it is. To me, everything from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock on the perimeter is fine, with the exception of the stuff just up I-85.
No restrictions on guns, except the usual of no state & federal buildings, schools, etc.
I was buying a copy of Shotgun News at Barnes and Noble one time, and the woman at the counter said "You like guns, my girlfriend is into shooting. Do you know there is a gunshow going on up the road? . . .". The seem just fine with the gun thing, in spite of all the Northerners. If you are a city boy, it is a good place to live.

[labgrade]

Learn to hunt - especially quail. Nothing'll turn you onto using a shotgun quick 'n easy like those ruffled feathers.

Left Savanna when I was 3, so didn't get to play that much. ;)

Been through a few times; land looks very fine, folks are friendly, peach takes on a whole new meaning ....

Hope it works out.

(edited to remove ****gun & retype "shot." I swear I meant to type "shot") ;)

[Skunkabilly]

Ever see the movie Deliverance ?

Yes, they casted me in the dubbed Chinese version. :D

[Skunkabilly]

Edited to add: shameless self promotion. Skunkabilly Records. Not available at a store near you because a lawyer would cost more than what I would make from it, so I just give it out.


Skunky picks Dueling Banjos (http://www.skunkabilly.com/media/dueling_banjos.mp3)

Sweet Georgia Brown. (http://www.skunkabilly.com/media/sweet_georgia_brown.mp3)

Could be a little cleaner, but only played for like 2 or 3 years when I recorded those.

[labgrade]

Downloaded those & a few more off your site a few back.

Don't smell too bad - for a Skunk. ;)

(& this from a puke = me, who hasn't even tuned his git-box in !2 years! :uhoh: )

Sounds good to me, Eastern Bound. ;)

[Kaylee]

cool!

oh... be sure to ask the native locals sometime to point you in the direction of all the pre-war architecture. I hear it's lovely. :D

-K

[MitchSchaft]

Outstanding banjo pickin', Skunk!

[Jim March]

You can own a skunk in Georgia all right - as long as it isn't black and white. So this is legal:

http://www.angelfire.com/pop/skunk1/adsa2_1.jpg

...but this ain't:
http://www.angelfire.com/pop/skunk1/adsa2_5.jpg

These suckers are cute!
http://www.angelfire.com/pop/skunk1/bellyrub.jpg

Another Georgia pet shop skunk:
http://www.angelfire.com/pop/skunk1/ginger_4.jpg

But I'll probably get a fert sometime later this year:
http://www.geocities.com/flyingfuzzies/DUKE2.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/7867/Steve2n.gif

[Tamara]

I looked up Packing and it looks to be shall-issue.

Indeed it is. A toter's permit (last I checked) is fifty-something bucks, has no silly training requirements (just a pulse and a clean record), and exempts you from background checks when purchasing firearms (which cost $8). There is no "waiting period" and no restriction on how many guns you can buy in a month or in a day, for that matter. There are no licenses or registration required on anything except the stuff the feds require it on, and any kind of gun that the federales will let you own is okey-dokie with Georgia. No restrictions on private sales. You do not need a permit to carry a loaded firearm in your car, as long as it is in plain view or in the glove compartment or console compartment.



The job'll be in Hotlanta, any restrictions of evil guns, magazines, etc. I should be aware of, and are outside suburbs ok?

There are no special restrictions in town, and the 'burbs (especially the northern ones) are just fine, gun-wise. The northern Atlanta suburbs make an Orange County John Birch Society meeting look like a den of commie-symp pinkos; that's the land of Larry MacDonald, Newt Gingrich and Bob Barr. IIRC, GA has a state pre-emption law, and a law preventing municipalities from suing gun manufacturers.

If you like blues, go to Blind Willie's on North Highland Avenue. Eat wings at the Taco Mac's there in Virginia Highlands first. Say hi to my home for me. :)


(PS: Kaylee's trying to get you in trouble. Once, my ex-beau's mother was driving a distant relative from Boston around, showing her the Atlanta sights.
"This is all lovely," said the Bostonian relation "but I want to see the old buildings."
"You can't," replied my ex's sainted mother "because that bastard Sherman burned them all." :) )

[BigG]

Jus remember they made the film DELIVERANCE about our state. :eek:

Lanter George :eek:

[Bikeguy]

Tamara pretty much coverd it! GA is in fact a preemption state - in other words counties and municipalities cannot regulate firearms - only the state can.

There is a bill in the House right now that would make GA even more gun friendly. http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2003_04/fulltext/hb30.htm

Can't tell you too much about Atlanta though. I avoid it whenever possible. Atlantans have the second longest work commutes in America.

Permits can take a while. Especially in metro counties.

Go to Madison, GA for some lovely antebellum architecture.

[El Tejon]

Awww, don't let them scare you, Skunky. It's the New South.

However, maybe you should keep your car keys on a tactical lanyard just to be sure?

You'll do fine, you're young, zealous, educated and, above all, tactical. Get the gig.

[Thumper]

Second the vote for Taco Mac. You might be able to find a decent beer or two there also.

If you head out to Athens, The Firing Lane has a large selection of full-auto for rent. The original owner has a GREAT collection...kinda like a mini Stembridge's. He has the M-3s from The Dirty Dozen, a bunch of Krink's from some Bond movie, and my favorite, Pacino's FNC from Heat.

For those from my generation, I watched him almost buy Robert's AK from Red Dawn.

"Keeps me warm..."

[Delmar]

Skonk-good pickins on Dueling Banjos, but I changed the visualization to Flames and swear I saw Chuckie Schumer rotating on a spit with an apple in his mouth :what:

[MonkeyMan]

C'mon over Skunkabilly, we'll have a party. Bikeguy is right about Madison, some really pretty places there. I settled in Covington about 10 years ago and love it, about half way between Atlanta and Athens. Tamara was spot on about the law. Cost of a CCW varies from county to county but $50 is about right. Steer clear of Fulton and DeKalb counties (IMO). Got a 3 gun match in Conyers Feb. 16 so if you're in the area drop by.

[Waitone]

IIRC Kinasaw (? spelling) is the town that requires you to own a gun. Its on the north side.

Atlanta is still a southern city though it has lost its barbeque credentials.

[Tamara]

Kennesaw. It's up north by Town Center mall. (All directions in Atlanta are given by the nearest mall or from the Big Chicken. You cannot use street names, as they are all called Peachtree. You will get lost, because rather than lay out a city grid, they simply paved over a bunch of old Cherokee goat paths. If someone tells you to take I-285 "until it ends" he is either pulling your leg or thinks you're a pitcher for the Braves.)

[bogie]

Do it to it... My dad lives in Cartersville, and I've got relatives in the Kennesaw area. I'm running down there this weekend.

It is within moderately easy driving distance of Knob Creek!

See ya in April!

[Jim V]

Atlanta, the city that traffic engineers forgot or never want to go to. The only city I've been in where there are blocks only 12 car lengths long and the traffic lights are not syncronized to anything.

[Sven]

All directions in Atlanta are given by the nearest mall or from the Big Chicken.

LOL... what's Big Chicken?

-Sven, almost afraid to ask

[BigG]

There's a Col. Sanders restaurant in the form of, you guessed it, a BIG chicken, with rotating eyes, etc. You can see it for a couple miles. There is a running joke where somebody asks you how to get somewhere and you go, "You know the Big Chicken, right? Well... "

[MonkeyMan]

Hey Skunkabilly, we've got a new guy of oriental descent here in the IT department. I haven't talked to him yet to see where he's from but I will, he wears Knob Creek T-shirts. He's going to get more odd looks than I do i think. Yeehah, another kindred spirit.:D

[M1911]

I should be aware of, and are outside suburbs ok?Depends on the suburb. Stay north, not south.

[Skunkabilly]

Yeehah, another kindred spirit.

It's not 'yeehaw'...Repeat after me:

"Reehaw"

:D

How's the pho, sushi and Korean barbecue?

[MonkeyMan]

Sorry Skunk, got way too much southerner in me.

Pho is very good, the Chamblee/Doraville area east of Atlanta is affectionately known as Chambodia.

Sushi is bait.:uhoh:

Can't say about the Korean BBQ as I haven't eaten at one in a long time but there's lots of good Thai here.

I'll keep a light on fer ya.

[garrettwc]

Skunk, a visit/move to Atlanta is not complete without a visit to "The Varsity" restaurant. It is an experience all it's own.

Northside seems to be where all the fun is. Ask any of the locals to point you towards the Buckhead area.

It's been years since I was there, but I assume all of the above is still accurate. Maybe one of the locals can chime in.

[bogie]

Here in St. Louis, there's the world's largest Amoco sign. It's a huge puppy, and right a coupla blocks from where I live - it's a real hoot to watch the bats flying over it in the summer, going after all the dive-bombing insects, but hey, I digress...

I've stopped referring to it as the big gas sign, since people generally hear something different.

[Hutch]

As someone who for a time commuted in the Northern VA suburbs of DC, lemme just say... The traffic in ATL is just GHASTLY!!! It figures into almost all aspects of life. See if you can find some digs (a crib, I know) very close to where you work, unless that's inside the I285 Perimeter. Hope my my new job quest allows me to stay in B'ham (160mi West on I20).

The barbeque is urine-destitute in ATL, unless you are intrepid enough to go to Harold's by the FedPen. It ain't worth it. BBQ is about the only thing B'ham can compare itself to favorably vs. ATL. Come see us, I belong to a great club.

[Pawcatch]

You might want to look at some houses Douglas county.They're a bit cheaper than say Forsyth or even Cobb county.Douglas county is still pretty much run like a rural county too.

[treeprof]

Tamara and others have summed things up pretty well. If you move here and live in the N burbs, you'll have a lot of company. Commutes down I-85, I-75 or Ga 400 can be brutal. Do yourself a favor and move beyond the big metro counties. 10-15 minutes of extra driving is well worth the effort for peace, quiet and better bang-for-your-buck housing and land-wise.

For blues, nothing beats Chips in Winder IMO. The annual 2-day blues festival is great. http://www.chipsbarandgrill.com/main.htm Of course, there are endless possibilities for bluegrass.

[MonkeyMan]

The Varsity is definately a must do, just make sure you're not allergic to real grease.:what:

Traffic here is double plus bad and getting worse by the day. My commute is 47 miles one way. I can set my own work time so I get in early and leave early and miss most of the fun. If your velocipede won't do a sustained 90MPH and if the turn signals work just sell it where you are and buy one when you get here:D
As Jeff Foxworthy said the only time you see a working blinker is if it was on when the driver bought the car. After all, ain't no blinkers on tractors:what:

I can't tell you much about the night life, been married for too long. All the night life I need is under my own roof, The Three G's; Guns, Guinness, and Guitars.

[BigG]

If you go to the Varsity bring your car. That way you can both get a grease job. :uhoh:

[Tamara]

The Big Chicken (http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/bigchicken.html), a gen-yoo-wine piece of roadside Americana, just down the road from the Lockheed plant/Dobbins AFB in May-retta (Marietta to you yankees ;) ).

[owen]

Hey! wasn't Deliverance filmed in South Carolina! Give credit where it is due!

[clown714]

it ain't what it used to be:(

still alot better than most places:)

clown

i'm on the east side of atlanta

[Byron Quick]

I'm not a city boy but I've been held prisoner in Atlanta for a few months on a couple of occasions. One way I've found to beat the traffic is to live downtown and work out in the suburbs...the traffic jam is always on the other side of the interstate. Another is to work wherever and live about a mile or so away and walk to work. Other than that I avoid Atlanta during the "prime" driving times. Many afternoons, I've sat somewhere drinking coffee and listening to a jukebox for a couple of hours during the evening rush. Yeah, I was sitting still but I was comfortable and no one was running into me.


You'll know you're out of the metro area when you hear,"You ain't from round heah, are ya?"

[Skunkabilly]

Skonk-good pickins on Dueling Banjos, but I changed the visualization to Flames and swear I saw Chuckie Schumer rotating on a spit with an apple in his mouth

Hey hey hey, take it easy on us, we're not that bad!

Jimmy Carter, ok maybe, but Chuck Schumer HELL NO!!!! :fire:

Byron, how are living conditions downtown?

[BigG]

Skunky, downtown environment is urban. If you want to play dem blues on yer banjo, you will pay your dues if you live in the urban enviro. :eek:

[Sven]

Atlanta... land of red mud.

[Delmar]

Skunkabilly-I think you sound just fine. I know I'm getting old-keep telling the kids to TURN THAT #@$%& DOWN!
Music should caress the ear, not vibrate yer bones into Jell-o!

[Skunkabilly]

Jim, is that you in the pic?

Why are two-tone skunks illegal and arctic camo ones ok?

[Jim March]

No, I've never owned a skunk. I just went and found some pics for ya.

Damned if I know what's up with the colors. I might guess that they want to be able to ID wild-sourced ones on sight? It's true that wild skunks are often rabies carriers, so they don't want people raiding a wild litter for pets?

In any case, go do a google on:

pet skunks FAQ

...and study up on these little boogers. Cute as hell, but with some...ODD habits :).

[Oracle]

Skunkabilly,

I think you'd like Georgia. I live in Austell, about 10 minutes from the infamous Big Chicken, and I really like it here (although I was born, bred, and raised in GA, that may have something to do with it). It get's awful hot and humid in the summer, but the winters are very mild, it doesn't get really that cold. There are lots of Pho places, lots of good sushi places, and good Korean barbeque as well (there is even a very good combination Korean bbq and sushi place in Duluth). There is plenty of other asian foods available as well, especially Thai (I love Thai food).

The gun laws are very good, your concealed carry permit in GA is good in FL, TN, KY, AL, and some of the other States as well (check packing.org for all pertinent info), there are no local "anti-gun" laws because that is prevented by State law, the only thing that GA State law allows is for cities or municipalities to require gun ownership, which one city (Kennesaw) does. There is also plenty of shooting down here, from ISPC to IDPA to cowboy shooting to virtually anything you can imagine. It's a great place to live if you like shooting.

[Croyance]

Plenty of good asian food down Buford highway. Good Thai (& average and bad) all over town.
Suchi all over, even at Publix (a FL based grocery store).
There are over 55 roads named Peachtree-something. I hate meeting people who have never been in Atlanta. "Where should we meet?" "Oh at the (such&such name), its just off Peachtree". The entire metro area is off Peachtree! They passed a law a few years ago regulating names, so at least new roads might not be Peachtree.
Tamara is not kidding about the goat paths, BTW. The city street layout has to be seen to be believed.

[Jim March]

Actually, I think I know why they banned black and white skunks in Georgia...

...to avoid having 'em get confused with LAW ENFORCEMENT!

:neener:

[Med 10]

I've lived and worked in Metro Atl. all my life. I was born at Ga. Baptist hospital and went to school at Henderson High. I dont run into many natives these days, I guess they all got smart smart and hit the road as I will if I can ever get my house sold.

Make sure you are prepared for some of the worst traffic in the country. It takes me an hour and a half to come down 400 from Forsyth in the AM. I work 24 hr shifts so the ride home is easier/against traffic.

I would try to find a place to live in the city. Avoid the "burbs" at all costs. You will wait an eternity on a table at Red Lobster or Longhorn on Fri/ Sat nights. It seems like Sat traffic is just as bad as the weekdays especially around the malls.

Also be prepared to travel at speeds well over 80mph on most of the major highways on the few occasions when traffic is light. If you dont you will damn near be run off the road./ I was travelling near 90mph enroute to a call on 400 the other day and some damn soccer mom in an Expedition was right on my butt till P.D. handelled the problem.

Anyway, I didnt mean to vent too much, all I'm saying is Atl. can be a VERY stressfull place to live. Just ask some folks who have been her awhile. I'm sure they will agree.

Teriffic gun laws however!!

[Med 10]

I forgot to add something. I dont know if you have a family or not but we have the worst public schools in the nation.

Also theater, Culture, History, etc are hard to come by unless youre a civil war buff or interested in the history of slavery in the the south.

Oh yeah, stay away from buckhead. Lately its full of nothing but drunk obnoxious college kids with more cash than sense.

Good luck, youre gonna need it!

[Lightsped]

I live in Kennesaw. If you are not familar with Kennesaw, and guns, then read the below link. My city is pro-guns! :)

http://www.seebo.net/Kennesaw.html

Good places in ATL - Anywhere on the NW side. Including Acworth, Kennesaw, Austel, Douglasville, Cartersville, etc.... Housing is not too terrible in these areas. Crime is fairly low too.

Bad places in ATL - Anywhere on the NE side including Duluth, Lawrencville, Gwinett, etc.... These areas have the WORST traffic of ATL, and a fast rising crime rate. Lots of gangs in the Gwinett area. Stay away from the East and South East sides as well. Tons of ghettos in the East, and not much to do on the South side.

[Skunkabilly]

So is Atl worse than LA?

[Lightsped]

From what I have read and heard about California gun laws, I would think no place would be worse than L.A., but I have never been there so who knows....

[joeislove]

If you're working in IT, you're going to be working either downtown, or in N. Fulton, most likely. By all means, find a place to live near where you work. I cannot stress this enough. The traffic in ATL just bites.

However, if you don't mind commuting a little longer, and you get a job downtown, you might consider living out I-20 a ways. It never gets snarled up as much as I-85 or GA 400 in the mornings. I live in Athens, and worked for a year at a large Web-hosting company smack in the middle of downtown Atlanta (on one of the above-mentioned Peachtrees...Peachtree Center Ave., I think). I made the commute in the mornings in one hour and twenty minutes. However, I had a flexible schedule, so I came in at around 10AM, after the traffic had more or less settled down, and left at around 8PM, when traffic was virtually non-existent on I-20.

Keep in mind that I-85 has a traffic jam all day, pretty much. Avoid living in Gwinnett Co., if at all possible. I lived just off Pleasant Hill Rd, between Duluth and Lawrenceville for a year and a half. My commute to downtown in the morning was around an hour and forty-five minutes (yes, it took me twenty five minutes longer than coming in from Athens, which is twice the distance away). At the previous job, my commute over to Alpharetta took the same amount of time.

Traffic is the worst part about living in Atlanta. On to the good stuff:

We have the Braves. You can cheer them on as they consistently fail to quite go all the way every stinking year of your stinking life. Damn Braves. Gotta love 'em for trying, though.

Our gun laws are great. The only restrictions to what you can own are federal restrictions. My firearms permit took about 30 days to get, and cost me $48. I have since made up the cost of the permit in savings on NICS checks, since having the permit exempts you from the background check when you buy. The permit allows me to carry in about 16 other states, including most of the states surrounding GA (neither of the Carolinas, however).

Georgia has great BBQ, but as has already been mentioned, you will have to get out of Atlanta to get it. I recommend Zeb's, but you have to drive almost all the way to South Carolina to get it (about six miles or so past Danielsville, GA, on US 29 N). Don't blink or you might miss it.

Most people are friendly, and will go out of their way to give you directions when you stop in a convenience store. I got lost on the Cherokee goat paths around Roswell a few weeks back while helping a friend move, and stopped to ask for guidance. By the time I left, the clerk plus four other people who had just stopped to gas up had given me very detailed directions. I thought a bidding war was about to start for the privilege of helping me out. Even the imported Yankees get to be this way after living here a few years.

Remember, a Yankee is someone from the North. A Damn Yankee is someone from the North who has moved to the South and won't leave. I'm not sure where an Asian fellow who plays banjo and has a skunk fetish would fit in to that scheme. I guess you'll just be Skunkabilly.

The area around Chamblee is commonly referred to as "Chambodia." As far as I can tell, this is not meant as an insult, as my friend Dean, whose parents are Vietnamese, calls it that, too. Drive down Buford Hwy for a while, and you'll find all the Pho, Sushi, Thai, Vietnamese, etc. places you want. Probably take you a while to find the best. For pho, I can only recommend Pho Bac, which was Dean's favorite. He's the guy that introduced me to it, and we used to go there for lunch occasionally while I was still working downtown. I used to have a favorite sushi place, but I think it's closed now.

Good luck on the job. Hope to see you around these parts real soon.

[joeislove]

Forgot to add:

If you like riding around in golf carts, you might consider living in Peachtree City, which is down South of town. This city was planned to minimize the need for a car. Everyone there has at least on golf cart they use to get around town. My sister lives there with her family, and they ride the golf cart all over: to the grocery store, to the video store, to the corner store, everywhere. It's a hoot.

The golf carts have governors to limit their speed, but if you were of a mind, you could disconnect it. Be careful though. My nephew disconnected his, and fell asleep at the wheel coming hom from work one night, and totalled his golf cart coming down a hill and into a tree. Yes, he got that thing going fast enough to mangle it beyond repair, and actually had to get some stitches.

Darn kids.

[coonan357]

Skunk love dthe banjo music post more !!! Don't know nothing about Atlanta except how to get to the Mcwhorter resin plant south of town , I can admit though atlanta traffic makes Chicagos rush hour seem tame !!!

[Croyance]

I have heard the traffic in Atlanta described as Los Angeles 10 years ago by transplants.
Gas prices are considerably lower, some of the lowest in the country. So at least you won't be burning money as fast while stuck in traffic.
I think the two-tone skunk looks tactical, so it was banned as part of the looks and features of an assault weapon (1994 ban).

[Hawkman]

I moved to Atlanta from LA in December of 1989. Our traffic today is about as bad as LA's was then.

There are cultural opportunities here, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Ballet, Fox Theater (opera, live theater, etc.), High Museum of Art; concerts at Chastain Park and other locales.

Living in the suburbs north of Altanta gives you a low crime environment where kids can have a normal life. Schools differ county to county - Gwinnett, where I live, has excellent schools with great programs, high SAT scores, etc. etc.

All in all, I would much rather be here than there.

[Skunkabilly]

Is this Kennesaw place in the commuting area?

I e-mailed my job application but they didn't get it probably because of my e-mail server or Norton messing it up on the way out.

I faxed it in yesterday, hopefully I'll hear soon.

[MonkeyMan]

Yeah Skunk, Kennessaw is on the North side of Atlanta. That's out of my normal stompin' grounds but it's Cobb County. BTW, I listened to your music clips the other day, some nice pickin'. Who was doin' the grinnin'? I sometimes wish I'd played country instead of progressive rock. Wouldn't have been as technically challenging but it wouldn't have been as employment challenging either.:banghead:

[RCReecer]

Skunk,
I'm pretty familiar with the Marietta/Kennesaw/Acworth and Cartersville areas (listed in order of south to north). Of all the places to work in or around ATL, Kennesaw would be my pick. Has everything you could want in a city environment, and you avoid almost all the traffic. I live in Cartersville, which is as close as you can get to shAtlanta without being in the metro area...for now. There isn't a job that pays enough for me to move inside the metro area. Lucky for you, Kennesaw is on the northwest side of town. Another thing you'll like about GA - Lowest gas prices in the country. Makes it possible for me to make my 90 mile round trip drive everyday, which takes about 3-6 hours total.

[El Tejon]

Looks like GWR for our favorite skunk.