You say this as if it isn't true for NYC or SV either. I think the bubble is bigger in those places and makes it easier to plug your ears and turn the eye in NYC or SV. Ever been to Yonkers? Inside San Jose?

I think it is different in the way that most big cities are when compared to other parts of their states. San Fran and East California might be one of the better examples. Marietta is very similar Merced; Athens is similar to Berkeley. I don't think Atlanta is very different in that regard. (From Athens, longtime Atlanta resident - spent a lot of time in Cali, lots of family out in Sacramento/Berkeley)

I was just in Calistoga (near Napa) and I saw houses with Trump signs, so yeah there definitely tends to be a city vs rural shift in politics even in states like CA.

My understanding is that the difference is most other states highly fund their large city.

It's the same for Washington DC as well. You can easily drive 20 miles southwest and get stuck behind a tractor while driving past corn fields.

It's pretty similar for every city I've been to (including Atlanta). Drive an hour away and it's a completely different place.

Haha you could still be within a mile of DC after driving 20 minutes. It takes a little longer to find a corn field.

> after driving 20 minutes

After driving 20 miles, not 20 minutes... Maybe ~20 minutes if it's 3:00AM on a Monday going west on I-66.

You didn't hear any banjo music did you?

But seriously the city to country gradient is pretty steep outside Atl. However I doubt if rural Georgia is all that different from rural upstate New York. I know people who grew up in both and it sounds about the same. You can just get there faster in Georgia.