Athens (Ga.) SE

I had no idea how true this was until I left. You really do forget what it's like in the rest of the world.

Well, the parts of the world that aren't other SEC towns, anyway.

 

It's well established on this board how much I detest (most of) the south.

Athens may not be heaven on earth, but it is the best college town in the country.

 

Yes, Mizzou, rank 'em!

 

I'll give my two cents on Athens, and that will be all that it is worth, so caveat empor.
It's been a decade since I worked in the Classic City, but little changes in the Morris world so I doubt that things are much different. For the worker bees, it is a good place to get great experience and live pay check to pay check. On the sports side there are few places in the world with better scenery and everything from UGA football to local preps gets great play in the paper. The problem in Athens is that pay for the peons is surprising low because every other semester you have a new crop of kids itching for jobs coming out of the j school, but I suspect that is the way it is in any college town.
My understanding from some of my best friends in the business who had "management" jobs was that things were better at a higher pay grade, so this is a very attractive opening in my eyes. Andy did a helluva job there, and I wish his the best since I have known him since we were both earning our chops on prep beats when he was in Augusta.
As the sports editor in Athens you have the chance to shine since sports and the entertainment sections are really the bread and butter of the paper. It has been a long time since they have had longevity in the position, but I also like to think that the former SEs (I won't make any comments on Brad since I never got to know him) have moved on to bigger and better things. I'm not saying this is a dream job, but a very good opportunity and attractive as hell.

Happy hunting, and it's "I'm your huckleberry." Val Kilmer was much better than Dennis Quaid, but get the quote right. ;D

 

Geez, better than Boulder, Madison and Oxford, Ohio?

 

Never been to those places, but a year ago, Men's Journal voted Athens "The best place for a bachelor to live." That kind of sums it up.

 

It's a target rich environment -- as long as you're 25 and under. There's not much of a 26-40 crowd.

 

john, i think you're wrong on the 26-40. it takes some time to find it and find your place in it, but it's great as well. in my 9 years in that town, i found all sorts of subgroups and must say i found some of the greatest people in the owrld and really found a great group in that age group from years 7-to-9, something i haven't quite found in subsequent moves, including to a larger locale (and a smaller one)

 

I've been to every school in the Pac-10, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Mountain West, Big East and ACC... I'm only counting the cities that are actually considered college towns, not big cities that happen to have a college there (Nashville, Louisville, Seattle...) ... And, yes, I am aware that Columbia is a dump... ;D

The Best
1. Athens
2. Chapel Hill
3. Austin
4. Boulder
5. Madison
6. Westwood
7. Eugene
8. Palo Alto
9. Oxford
10. Columbus

The worst

1. Starkville
2. Coral Gables
3. Waco
4. Manhattan, Kan.
5. Stillwater
6. Lubbock
7. West Lafayette
8. Durham
9. Ames
10. Gainesville


Just my opinion...

 

Yeah, I figured that would be the one in my top 10 that people might disagree with... I just had a blast when I spent some time there...