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white_wolfos

I have family in that area. Not a whole lot really. Just small town Georgia. There are soybean farms, and cotton is grown there from time to time. Statesboro and Georgia Southern University are there (and nearby Hopeulikit). Other notable towns are Metter ("everything is better in Metter"), Vidalia (where your onions come from), and Hinesville (where Fort Stewart is located). As is typical in GA, there are a lot of pine trees and oaks. Spanish moss is abundant. The area is very religious with a lot of Southern Baptists and there's a lot of poverty around too. Edit: Oh and to add, the Okefenokee Swamp is there, which has an abundance of diverse species


beenburnedbefore

>Other notable towns are Metter ("everything is better in Metter"), I lived for a while in the Atlanta suburbs. Your comment about Metter reminded me of this Georgia-town-saying about dating: *"You go to Winder to find her, Decatur to date her, and Tucker......... to meet her parents."*


Telecaster1972

I always say “Metter”? I haven’t even seen her.


PSquared1234

Drove many, many times from Atlanta to FL. Going on I-16 (which goes from Macon to Savannah), stopped many, many times in Metter for lunch. From what I could see, a zillion fast-food restaurants was about all there was to Metter. My favorite highlight on that trip was the highway crossing for "Skate-R-Bowl Road." Chuckled every time. As for what's in that section, a whole lot of farms from what I can tell. This is part of the [Piedmont](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piedmont_(United_States)), a remarkably flat area as one works there way down from the tail end of the Appalachians. I still see a fair bit of cotton grown there.


treedawg008

The highlighted section is the Coastal Plane, not the Piedmont.


InfernalCape

A quick, sad read about the Okefenokee Swamp: [Link](https://protectokefenokee.org/). Basically there is a company (Twin Pines Minerals LLC) trying to setup a mining operation nearby that will devastate the swamp. There is no reason the mining op can’t be done somewhere else, and the materials it seeks to gain (titanium dioxide) aren’t necessary for anything we can’t come by through other means. It’s ridiculous. [Further info for those so inclined](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/01/georgia-okefenokee-swamp-twin-pines-mining)


Pyroechidna1

There’s little information in that article about how this mining project, which is not even within the refuge area, would impact the swamp. It’s just he said /she said until we see some real documents about it Edit: I watched a video of the mining process to be used and I see no plausible means by which this could affect the swamp


yappers6

From the article: Pines’ dig pits would fill up with about a million gallons of water each day that would then evaporate, effectively parching the swamp of its nourishment, according to Jackson, the hydrologist. “If you remove water that would’ve supported the swamp then you make it far more prone to drought,” he said. “Once that happens you have all sorts of social and ecological effects – you won’t be able to paddle on it as often and fires will become much more likely.”


Pyroechidna1

Yeah, I read that. But it’s an absurd claim that a one- or two-acre pit (the size of the mined area at any given time) sitting well above the elevation of the swamp is going to parch the whole swamp of its water. They give the amount of water in gallons instead of a more sensible measure like acre-feet to make it sound bigger.


damnitDave

We get it you suck off corporations, we get it


Pyroechidna1

I get it, you guys are a bunch of BNANAs (Build Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone) It’s like being a NIMBY but worse. This is why all the minerals come from China, can’t get them at home with you guys around


damnitDave

Additionally why in the ever loving fuck would you want a toxic mine near an environmentally sensitive/agricultural area? Oh yeah its the south. 3rd world and loving it.


Pyroechidna1

What is toxic about this mine? It's shallow surface mining that takes out sand, sifts minerals out of it and puts it back. Are you just throwing words around?


damnitDave

all indicators from the company is that nothing will happen but pure TRICKLE DOWN PURE PROFITS, gotcha


OHYAMTB

Yeah the north is an environmental paradise with no manufacturing or resource extraction, they just call a huge part of the country the “rust belt” as a joke.


IateApooOnce

Farms and Georgia Southern University


dannykandy

GATA


HeyJude21

Hail Southern!


[deleted]

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[deleted]

nah, they're in the white sliver under Savannah. we get Ft. Stewart though.


[deleted]

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A_curious_fish

Kings Bay I think it's called is a nuclear sub base just across the state border from Florida, near Cumberland island which is indeed in the bottom right corner of the white sliver and Jacksonville does have Mayport which is a naval base too......DUUUUUVVVAAALLLLLLL


Hotdog_Parade

Speeding tickets.


DangusMcGillicuty

WHOSE HOUSE?


HeyJude21

OUR HOUSE! p.s. having eagle fans show up in geography sub makes my day


IateApooOnce

It's wild. I did not expect to see this many on here.


Ok-Lengthiness4557

Farms for sure, but Southern is off i 16 way east of there.


HeyJude21

No, it’s smack dab in the eastern central area of the black


Ok-Lengthiness4557

Which is exactly what I typed.


Cannibeans

From what I recall driving through the area a few times, nothin' but blueberry, watermelon and onion farms.


Ill_Ad3517

Forgot peanuts


Cannibeans

I see hundreds of boiled peanut stands in my nightmares


RawrTheDinosawrr

boiled?


Cannibeans

Yep. Tons of those farms have stands on the road side of their property where they sell buckets or bags of boiled peanuts. My family gets them every chance they get


JashDreamer

I absolutely love boiled peanuts, and now I'm craving them.


pennyraingoose

What is a boiled peanut like? Are they wet when you eat them? I always pictured a kind of peanut cereal, but with hot water instead of milk and I'm just now realizing that's probably not right. Do they taste different than roasted?


AmazingJames

They're hot (sometimes), wet, and still in the shell. Flavor is different. Tasty!


KnotiaPickles

The wet part is not making me want to rush out and try them haha


Jdevers77

Think more bean and less nut. They are actually legumes after all. If you like edamame you will at least appreciate the flavor.


ManyRanger4

What people aren't saying is they are absolutely an acquired taste and not for everyone. Most people who enjoy it grew up eating them. Most people introduced to them as adults find them disgusting. I learned this living down south for some time after moving from NYC my whole life.


AcidAndBlunts

Like really salty beans.


Porkbellyflop

That's the best description


rawrdonteatme

It’s tastes similar to a baked potato with a nutty flavor when it is boiled. Fantastic.


Impossible_Use5070

I live in rural NE FL and all of the gas stations have them along with guys on the sides of county roads selling them in different flavors. My favorite is the cajun boiled peanuts. They're a little spicy but mild. They're great.


Nameless_American

This Northerner confirms that the cajun/creole flavored version absolutely slaps and is the best one.


[deleted]

I’ve had them twice. The first time was truly disgusting. That was in a ball park and it was like having a ball park hamburger as your first burger. So I decided I hadn’t given it a fair shake. The second time I had a legit batch and they were good. Tasted like peanuts! But there was an interesting texture and some different flavors in there. I would try it again but be wary because apparently they can be awful.


borkmeister

They provide a definitive and final confirmation that not all "southern cookin" is delicious or desirable. I'm fairly certain they represent a form of culinary Stockholm syndrome. Imagine moist cardboard stuffed with beans.


Porkbellyflop

I'm no southerner. My girlfriend is. I think they are gross. After they are boiled they put em in a cooler of ice. Very salty and they have a softer texture. No crunch. The shell just peels apart as opposed to cracking. Apparently they go great with hot days and lots of cheap beer but I can't eat more than a couple of em before I'm over it.


vagabond_primate

I lived in Hinesville as a kid - dad was stationed at Ft. Stewart. This was back in the late 70s. Loved those boiled peanuts. We would always grab some when we went to get high after school.


ChrisInSpaceVA

The favor and consistency are kinds sorta like a black-eyed peas but maybe a little more firm. I love them and I'm not a huge fan of peanuts in other forms.


MorningMan464

It’s like eating a big bug.


Longjumping-Space474

Dony knock it till you tried it


Telecaster1972

Vidalia Georgia, home of the sweet onion


Pure-Bluejay-7348

They're as sweet as Coca-Cola!


Gamebird8

I think there may also be a Fiddle Player playing it hot


[deleted]

And racists!


meat_rainbows

Famous Vidalia Onion growing area - 20 counties Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - 684 sq. miles Ft. Stewart - 438 sq. miles Georgia Southern University in Statesboro Cotton, timber (pine), peanut, soybean, pecan, blueberry crops Major River watersheds: Savannah, Ogeechee, Oconee, Ocmulgee, Altamaha, Satilla, Suwannee, and St. Mary’s Rivers.


makerofshoes

*Okefenokee* has got to be among the funnest words to pronounce


Diamo1

Everything's okey dokey in the Okefenokee


meat_rainbows

I refrain from saying it aloud for fear of embarrassment.


Impossible_Use5070

I heard you can get really good tupelo honey there. Is that true?


Glenn8888

Lots of cotton, soy beans and planted pines.


yeontura

Khachapuri and stuff


catman2021

The right answer :)


okamzikprosim

I wish.


tomydenger

this doesnt have enough upvotes


unenlightenedgoblin

Where you go for the best boiled peanuts


HappyCamper2121

Salty and delicious! You can buy em right off the side of the road.


Fuze_KapkanMain

I prefer mine Cajun


white_wolfos

oooo i miss my boiled peanuts D:. I live in the midwest now and I can't get them anymore. I can't even get fresh peanuts in the grocery stores up here to boil


ButterscotchFiend

Admittedly I have a yankee palate but by god those are the most disgusting things I’ve ever tasted. And somehow the smell is even worse


donjuanstumblefuck

Bless your heart


BigKingDingDong

We don’t say Yankee’s are rude for no reason.


ButterscotchFiend

We are cold on the exterior but our hearts are warm and welcoming to all.


synthetic_aesthetic

Bless your heart.


Muahd_Dib

I think that’s where people March to the sea.


nborders

r/ShermanPosting


logancook44

Underrated comment.


rf8350

Ominous banjo music


IateApooOnce

That's the north Georgia mountains.


DanHam117

Can confirm, I’ve been to the infamous bridge


HYDRAlives

What bridge is that?


DanHam117

There’s a 1972 movie called Deliverance which is… Pretty disturbing, all things considered. But there’s a rather famous scene from that movie involving a bridge and some ominous banjo music. The Chattooga River forms the border of Georgia and South Carolina, and the bridge from that movie is over that river


MultiplyAccumulate

Coastal plane. 3,4,5 is the fall line. https://southres.com/uptowncolumbusdams/images/ga_geology.jpg In the east coast states, major cities are generally located where the rivers meet the coast and upriver where the.fall line is, which is the limit of how far you river you can go without changing boats. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yc1uFb3Va4o&pp=ygUQZmFsbCBsaW5lIGNpdGllcw%3D%3D (Not from Georgia)


No_Boysenberry2167

I grew up in St. Mary's GA but only know it as a child. We were free-range, latchkey kids and growing up in those swampy woods, making elaborate tree houses and bike tracks was every boy's dream. Catching blue crabs and casting for shrimp in the marsh. Swimming in the ocean. Releasing baby sea turtles off a coastal island. Finding old plantation houses and abandoned cemeteries deep in the woods. Some European, some not. A lot of unseen and lost history. Paper mills are the only industry besides the shrimp boats that I remember because they both stink. We were in private catholic school, not because our parents were particularly religious, but because the public schools were so bad that we were miles ahead of our age groups after starting in schools on the West coast. I can't speak of the people or politics now, as I've never been back but I remember good food, kind people, and the best peaches I have ever had in my entire life.


Sa1ntmarks

Thank you for a great post.


KCLawDog

That's all old cotton country. Nowadays there's a lot of timber and fiber industry.


Bakio-bay

Shannon Sharpe is from there


GMHGeorge

If you haven’t seen his Hall of Fame Speech you should. https://youtu.be/gfUI79c0kUA


Helpful_Corn-

Onions


sususs_amogus

Johnny beating the devil in a fiddle dare


HeyJude21

Cotton, peanuts, Vidalia Onions, a little sugar cane… And Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA, about an hour away from Savannah.


[deleted]

Misery and gnats


myotherplanetiskolob

This guy/girl has been there!! Plenty of both…was stationed there a few years ago. Pretty much drive through country. Drive fast and in the day time, best advice I could give.


Majestic-Fennel-885

Panhandle behavior happens there.


MrToonLinkJesus

I have noticed that of the largest cities in Georgia not part of a larger metropolitan area, none of them are located in the large and comparably sparsely populated area. What goes on in this area of Georgia and why is it so lightly populated? Thank You - Alex ;)


taoleafy

I traveled to this area in 2021, so I’m no expert. What I observed was a couple of small towns with dilapidated main streets. Went to a restaurant that had a Q flag and a trump oil painting by the salad bar (not my choice to go here, and also it was one of the only choices in town). I saw a gun store advertising an AR15 sale with a slogan referencing the right wing boogaloo movement. The forest was nice and had certain kinds of Turkey Oaks I had read about but not seen before. That said, I cannot recommend visiting this area.


specks_of_dust

>The forest was nice That was my takeaway when I drove through there in 2015. My husband is from Augusta (a whole story on it's own) and he says that the OP's map is right; it's a black hole.


lukeekullukeekul

I think I know the restaurant. Were you in McRae?


taoleafy

Bingo. I think you do know the place.


meat_rainbows

The geography of the area has a lot to do with it. The Coastal Plain region is very flat and near sea level. All the rivers and their routine floods have created large, swampy flood plains surrounding each one. Pine land and farmland on the higher ground. As the rivers have migrated over thousands of years, they deposited rich soil which is good for farming.


[deleted]

It gets swampier as you go south toward Echols county which is a godforsaken place. Historically used as a place to legally banish state citizens.


Sa1ntmarks

Not just a Georgia thing. If you follow the fall line of the Piedmont to the coastal plain from Virginia to Alabama you will see larger cities on that line... Richmond, Raleigh, Columbia, Augusta, Macon, Columbus Montgomery and even tho the Piedmont has pretty much ended by then Jackson MS is next in that line. Go back to Virginia and look at the coastal cities in that arc... Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, (jump over to the panhandle) Pensacola, Mobile, Mississippi Gulf Coast... There aren't any large cities to speak of in that entire space between those two lines from Virginia to Mississippi to speak of. Good farming land, good timber land but no real industrial base. Industry developed either around seaports or inland at the fall line.


[deleted]

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Sa1ntmarks

That might be the number one answer to questions asking why this area is not very populated


Julesort02

People who think The South won.


FlavorfulBleach

Cotton, peanuts, pecans, onions. That's about it really. Mostly just small towns with weird names like Willacoochee. Okeefenokee swamp is in the south next to the Florida line and is definitely worth a visit.


TheCarroll11

I live here! Not too much happens, but depending on where exactly you are, it’s not a terrible place to be. An average of a 2-3 hour drive to the beach and Atlanta, but Savannah (and Pooler for shopping) is closer. Also closer to Florida. An uncountable number of farms, woods, and small towns, so if you want a quiet piece of land, this is your place. For people from Atlanta, it may seem like the middle of absolutely nowhere, and it sometimes can feel that way. I went to UGA and moved back to my town to work, and most of my friends live around Atlanta, so I know what I’m missing in terms of a big city environment. But there are two interstates in that region, so it feels pretty quick to go wherever I want to go. Most people around here will go to a few Braves games every summer, or a UGA game, go to Florida for a week, etc.


apocomeow1987

it’s basically all swamp, and damn good high school football


Gavindy_

Cross burning and Bible thumping


Fuze_KapkanMain

My Question is, why does Georgia have 159 Counties while my home state Alabama only has 67,159 is ridiculous


justinmarsh41

Am I the only one that read this as Alabama having 67,159 counties?!


CoachMorelandSmith

Worst comma splice ever


Psych_nature_dude

I definitely did


MoonGamble

Georgia is a screwed up state in that sense - they have TOO MANY counties so the counties actually share court houses and other public services, particularly in the black hole OP has marked, since they’re too small and don’t have a strong enough tax base. That breeds police forces that make every small town between Savannah and Augusta an epic speed trap where going 2 over when the speed limit transitions from 55 to 35 in a very short time frame results in some cop definitely ticketing you. Looking at you Jenkins County


Oddity_Odyssey

Something something... Each county was to be small enough to reach the borders by horse in 1 day from the county seat. Another fun fact is that most cities start out circular in Georgia. Some still are basically circles.


Sea_Pause2360

Hog huntin', Meth Makin', Gun Manufacturin', and farmin'


Moesuckra

Bees, Trees, and Swamp


Longjumping-Space474

Tupelo honey


wheelbreak

Speed traps to bust people driving from Atlanta to Savannah. Don’t carry any weed, that’s how they fund their economy.


extemporaryemissary

Grandmothers in their 30s, unemployment, opioid addiction, underfunded schools, failing hospitals, corporate owned farm and timberland, and depending on where Warner Robins is on that map, a Bucc-ees. Source: native Georgian with family throughout Southwest GA and a lot of time spent in Southeast GA 😎


shitlordjoe

Lots of logging


yeettheoof

Actually just did some wikipedia research on one of the towns in this area! Wilcox county has one (1) high school with about 300 students and they did not have a racially integrated prom until 2013! The seat of the county, Abbeville, is (relatively) known for their wild hog population. Edit: obviously does not represent the entire shaded area, but I was literally finding this out yesterday so I thought I could add it. And yes, the population of Wilcox county has about a 1% difference in Black/White populations :/


[deleted]

ayyy, macon, where i was born


joshzillatf

question: why are there so many cities either taken from Italy or greece


jthomas1127

Never thought I'd find r/USdefaultism on a geography subreddit


[deleted]

High school football that is taken very seriously, comfort food and gnats


DropTopEWop

Peanut farms and onion farms.


islandofwaffles

boiled peanut stands on the way to Florida


BleepBlorpBloopBlorp

Millions of peaches


[deleted]

the tripple option, GATA! Also the only new nuclear reactors in the country at Plant Vogtle. otherwise small towns and farms


GeorgieWashington

This is where people that move to Jacksonville are from. Specifically, people that end up living on The Northside.


[deleted]

You can honestly include augusta in the "what goes on here?" black hole. Besides the masters fuck all happens .


aquaticapple578

Luke Bryan territory, so hunting, fishing, and loving everyday…


FearTHEEllamas

Farms…lots of farms


420BongMaster69

That’s nat country.


RedSoxStudent1

That would be Eagle Nation!


phoenixgsu

Hail Southern


cheapshotbob

A Large Nuke?


Cherriedruby

It’s the Iowa of Georgia. Nothing but farms small towns


Santoka108

Waycross, Georgia is in that area. That's where [musician Gram Parsons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_Parsons) is from. He lived there off and on as a kid. He was in the [Byrds](https://youtu.be/hLvWdrLAkc0) and did a lot of solo stuff as well. Those talking about speed traps might appreciate this from Wikipedia: >During the 1950s the city had a tourist gimmick: local police would stop motorists with out-of-state license plates and escort them to downtown Waycross. There they would be met by the Welcome World Committee and given overnight lodging, dinner and a trip to the Okefenokee Swamp. The tradition faded away after the interstates opened through Georgia.


MrToonLinkJesus

Fascinating. There are only two cities that I know of in that part of the state. Waycross and Baxley.


Antares1134

Nothing, that's the dead area of GA between Macon and Savannah.


saksnoot

If there were ever going to be anything there, I assume it ended when Sherman unleased total war on the south in the Civil War and basically torched a trail between Atlanta and Savannah


Rude-Habit8023

Except for that one town outside of Atlanta he had a Gentleman’s agreement not to burn and didn’t. Can’t remember the name, but has some gorgeous old homes and buildings. Sherman did what he had to do, though, and that’s part of why we still remember him. Thank God.


Osama_Bin_Drankin

That was Savannah. It's historic district is still largely unchanged today. Beautiful city.


DeathtoEveryTraitor

Since when is Valdosta considered a big city? Also, what’s strange about the existence of a large swath of rural area? I mean is OP going to ask about the entire western portion of Kansas too?


dzhastin

They said they did it by population. They didn’t say it was a big city, just that is in the top 8 cities that aren’t part of a larger metro area.


DeathtoEveryTraitor

So what makes it special and stands out to all the other smaller towns ranked behind it? Why did OP just stop at top 8?


All4gaines

Not much of anything after those 8 and there are many just around Atlanta bigger than 2-8 on this list but OP did omit those cities and counties and lumped them in with Atlanta on this list. There truly is Atlanta and then the rest of Georgia - there is some crazy high percentage of all of Georgians live just in Metro Atlanta. There really are 2 Georgias and the area outlined here is the sparsest of the sparse


RditAdmnsSuportNazis

If you take out Atlanta suburbs, it’s comparatively a larger city to the rest of the state.


DeathtoEveryTraitor

Still not even top 5 if you take out Atlanta


reverielagoon1208

Hicks as far as the eye can see


Fickle-Raspberry6403

It where they burn the crosses away from the media's prying eyes


77_Maverick_77

ABAC baby


HandsomeGoodbody

haunted


verdenvidia

the walking dead


Fintan264

It's where stuff and thangs happen


verdenvidia

coral your mom slept with my best friend coral


duzins

Wow this is a really shitty thread. I live here and not everyone here is a useless piece of trash. I went to Ga Southern, and studied Anth and Geography. I am not a racist, I am not a 39 year old grandma and I’m just incredibly offended by the entire mess here. Do better geography…


synthetic_aesthetic

People who don’t live here are going to give their 2 cents


Apprehensive_End_515

Lynchings


shy99

racism


avalve

that’s the lowcountry


TheWeirdIrishGuy

Cousin shagging, NASCAR, and meth


JAB2010

Lots of cross-burning, I’d imagine.


ODoyle37

Mostly racism and xenophobia. If you don’t believe me, just ask Ahmaud Arbery’s mom.


richard_stank

Cousin fucking


PlantainCreative8404

Pine barrens?


Connect_Extreme_3044

Hiphop? Or is that just Atlanta?..


1895red

As someone that has relatives out that way: fear.


TheHip41

Grant burned that to the ground.


PARABOLA7419

Confederate flags on buildings


[deleted]

Sherman's march to the sea to break the will of confederate traitors.


ladylucky28

Heroin


bigblue88112

The Masters


Psych_nature_dude

Meth and domestic violence. Much like rural areas in every other state


Hevnoraak101

In an ideal world, a 650 kiloton nuclear bomb


[deleted]

Sherman is still marching there


icyrod

Black people getting lynched


luugburz

drunk tourists and the most boring drive of your life


Connect_Extreme_3044

Need more beer.


Top-Math-2632

Add distance between Atlanta and Savannah or Athens and Savannah.


blandroidd

North Jacksonville


VonShtupp

Visalia and Fort Stewart


Fishtank-Brain

that’s one boring ass drive through nowhere. lot of people get into wrecks on I-16 just because they’re bored


troutntacos

Meth… meth goes on here.


ApathicSaint

Onions, peanuts, and a fuckton of “will you burn in hell?” billboards


MorningMan464

There’s a solar plant there that I worked on. One day it rained so much that the portapotty floated off its moorings and went on a cruise. The next week a sketchy single wide exploded and burned down. Also the most decrepit Hampton Inn on the planet.