Hot Takes: Two transplants debate Ohio vs. Georgia
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
I grew up in Georgia and moved to Ohio. Axios Managing Editor Delano Massey grew up in Ohio and moved to Georgia.
The great debate: With our worlds colliding in Atlanta for a company retreat this week, we're settling the question: Which state is better?
☀️ Weather
💭 Swilley's thought bubble: Georgia. Next question.
- (Ohio's four seasons are beautiful. Unfortunately, one of them is winter.)
💭 Delano's thought bubble: Georgia-ish. I'm from Northeast Ohio and have lived in Chicago, so I know winter, but I'll still take Ohio's cool summer nights over Atlanta's sweltering heat.
- Sure, you don't have real snowstorms, but what's up with the yellow dust to kick off spring? Got Big Boi blowing pollen off his car to wash it?
🎤 Entertainment
💭 Swilley: Georgia, and this one hurts.
- Huge tour? Atlanta. Reunion tour? Atlanta. Beyoncé sneezes near a microphone? Start checking Ticketmaster.
- Cincinnati punches above its weight — I'll never forget Taylor Swift turning Paycor into Taycor in 2023 — but I miss not having to contemplate a road trip every time a truly massive act announces a tour.
💭 Delano: Georgia. There are layers to this.
- Music, movies, television, festivals, Killer Mike randomly sitting three tables away from you at J.R. Crickets — entertainment is part of the city's economy and identity. Just attend a Hawks game — it's different, and I lived at home during both LeBron stints.
- There's no shortage of things to do on any night, and if you're with the right — or wrong — people, you'll have "an Atlanta night."
- Nine times out of 10, that crazy reel you're watching on IG ... yeah, it's Atlanta.
🚗 Traffic
💭 Swilley: A thousand times Ohio.
- Atlanta has plenty to do. The problem is you must first get there.
💭 Delano: Duh, Ohio.
- Cleveland and Cincinnati traffic never bothered me. Columbus traffic is adorable.
- I could drive from Medina to Columbus, passing through cities and small towns along the way, in the same time it can take me to get from SW Atlanta to Buckhead, depending on I-285 gridlock.
🍽️ Food
💭 Swilley: Don't make me choose between my children.
- Coca-Cola runs through my veins so hard that I should fizz when shaken, and I love a good lemon pepper wing.
- Yes, but: Cincinnati has given me some of my favorite restaurants anywhere. Nolia, Sudova and Losanti could keep me happy for a very long time. I'll call it a draw.
💭 Delano: Lemon pepper wings are overrated, sorry.
- I know it's a franchise thing, but lemon pepper wet alone won't sway me. Atlanta has soul food, Buford Highway, barbecue, fine dining and restaurants representing damn near every corner of the Black diaspora.
- But Ohio gets me on pizza and wings. Angelo's Pizza in Lakewood is still my favorite spot for both, and Winking Lizard is up there. Let's not forget BW3 got its start in Ohio and helped turn flavored wings into a national obsession.
- The verdict: Atlanta has the deeper bench. Ohio has some of my first-round draft picks.
✈️ Airports
💭 Swilley: Ohio has ruined me.
- Hartsfield-Jackson can get you practically anywhere. It can also make you question every decision that led you to Concourse T when your flight leaves from E.
- CVG (yes, technically in Kentucky) can make you dangerously confident about leaving the house an hour before your departure time.
💭 Delano: It depends. If you're running late, Hartsfield-Jackson — aka FAFO — is not the airport for you. CLE, CMH and CVG give you a fighting chance.
- However, Atlanta is a Delta hub. It can get damn near anywhere nonstop.
- Convenience: Ohio. Connectivity: Atlanta.
🏠 Where's home?
💭 Swilley: Here's where my allegiances get messy.
- After 11 years in Ohio, I've picked up enough Cincinnati habits that I'm no longer sure where "Georgia Kristen" ends and "Ohio Kristen" begins.
- That is, except when it's 38 degrees outside in April. Then I know exactly where my loyalties lie.
- Cincinnati is home now — I genuinely love it here. Turns out you can miss where you came from without wanting to leave where you landed.
💭 Delano: Ohio made me. My people are there, it's tattooed on my forearm, and I'll probably suffer as a Browns fan forever.
- I've lived all over the Midwest, East Coast and South — including back in Akron and Cleveland.
- Yes, but: Atlanta feels like home, too.
- Turns out Swilley and I traveled in opposite directions to reach the same conclusion.