Fornits

Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: Goodtobefree on February 22, 2006, 04:12:00 PM

Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Goodtobefree on February 22, 2006, 04:12:00 PM
Just curious if anyone else out there has pondered just what the best possible revenge might be.  Personally, I think that the most fitting punishment for a parent who takes away all their child's rights so they can enjoy a little "me" time, is to do the same thing to them.  So out of curiosity, how many of you out there are planning on putting your parents in a nursing home whether or not they really need the care being provided, so they can see what it's like to have all their rights and freedoms taken away because someone else decides that they're unfit to make their own decisions.  I'm gonna do a lot of research on the subject, so I can find the shittiest one out there.  The kind of place where they don't always remember to clean the patient's tracheotomies and colostomy hookups on a regular basis.  Any thoughts???
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: bandit1978 on February 22, 2006, 04:21:00 PM
In most cases, I would say the absolute best revenge (on your parents) is to cut all ties with them.  Forever.  Just leave Asap (18th birthday or whenever), and exclude them entirely from your life.  

Do not spend holidays with them, do not call them or tell them anything, do not even let them see their grandkids.  

This can be very difficult, I mean, I certainly wasn't able to pull that off.  But it would be the best revenge.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Boomerang on February 22, 2006, 04:48:00 PM
WOW. I hit reply and don't even know what to say.

There are several regular posters on this site that are both "survivors" and parents. Although I could be wrong, I doubt any would seek out the revenge that both previous posters have mentioned.

Some, including Ginger, have made peace with their parents in one way or another. I don't think that it is a matter of "revenge"... maybe your parents were misled or bought into some lie... who knows. But, I would hope that "survivors" of these program would be willing to recognize this and work together with their parents in coming to terms with such a painful chapter in their lives. Maybe it was just as painful for your parents. Not all, but some. Maybe you could even encourage your parents to join you in bringing awareness to the public about abusive programs. Just a thought...
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Troll Control on February 22, 2006, 05:28:00 PM
Quote
So out of curiosity, how many of you out there are planning on putting your parents in a nursing home whether or not they really need the care being provided, so they can see what it's like to have all their rights and freedoms taken away because someone else decides that they're unfit to make their own decisions


Believe it or not, this subject comes up regularly around here and this is one of the typical responses.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Goodtobefree on February 22, 2006, 06:18:00 PM
My whole reason for posting isn't that I'm really going to do this to my parents, who I HAVE been working with to try and educate on the issue, mostly for the sake of my younger sister.  The reason I bring up the topic is because this is the sort of thing I thought about every day that I was locked up.  I'm just wondering if it's as common a part of the experience as I think it is.  And whether or not anyone actually does make peace with the people who sent them to these places, or if most parents remain unwilling to believe what actually goes on.  My personal experience has been that my parents have been horrible since sending me away, and the thought of seeing them in a really shitty nursing home cheers me up.  So for those of you that haven't gotten around to the peace process yet, anyone have a better revenge than the aforementioned crooked nursing home?
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on February 22, 2006, 06:37:00 PM
your rights have been violated & you can sue your predator. I posted something i found at thestraights.com above. COntact an organization that deals with this sort of thing. search the internet to find the one you like best. contact a lawyer. Get revenge the way the reat of humanity gets revenge...the law

two groups that can help
http://thestraights.com/ (http://thestraights.com/)
http://www.isaccorp.org (http://www.isaccorp.org)

they will go to jail. you can get compensation for your suffering- hit the greedy abusers where their heart is their wallet. Be a Hero
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: The Liger on February 22, 2006, 07:25:00 PM
Forget revenge.  Just be a better parent.  

Don't kick them out of your life out of revenge.  Only do that if having them in your life is too painful.  

Be the bigger person.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Goodtobefree on February 22, 2006, 07:47:00 PM
Exit Plan, I know exactly what you mean on all of that.  I'm about to have a talk with my old man about what really happened at ASR.  Depending on how that goes, and I doubt it will go well, he'll either agree to make amends, or I'll be moving to another state and cutting all family ties.  In the event that I'm cutting ties, and setting out on my own at 21, I am inviting all suggestions on where I should move.  I'm looking for someplace warm, cheap, preferably liberal and non religious, with unspoiled undeveloped land, not out in the middle of nowhere, but not crammed full of people.  Good colleges are a plus as I'm considering a degree in addition to technical certifications.  I want to finish my education and find employment as a skilled metalworker in relative peace and quiet, with a slower pace of daily life.  I'm living in Long Island, so almost anything is an improvement.  Whoever pm's me with the most intriguing description of their town gets to add me to their wonderful community.  I promise to be a good neighbor, and to barbecue regularly. (I make a lot of good food and drinks.)  Wouldn't that be just super?

I assure you all that I'm quite serious.  My family situation will most likely necessitate a move in the near future, and I really don't have anywhere else to go.  Money isn't really an issue, I don't need a place to sleep, I just don't really know where to go, or where I might find a good community that fits some of the above criteria.  I figure that if anyone might know where a 21 year old punk rocker, a filthy liberal atheist whose read so many books his eyes should've popped out of his skull, whose primary interests include body modification, all kinds of art shit, musical/performing/visual/whatever.  History, philosophy and all kinds of nerdy science stuff (both scifi and actual science) general hooliganism and drunken silliness, intellectual debate, and a number of other things that most people don't put at the top of their lists, or even know about necessarily.  Since those are the kind of things that don't go over well in certain places, I'm trying to avoid moving to a town dominated by religious fundamentalism, commerce, social status type bullshit, etc.  I'm recovering from a stay in a mind control cult, my mother's recent and unexpected death, a toxic religious family environment bordering on insanity, and all the other insanity of life, and I'm trying to start over.  If anybody might have a good perspective on this, I think they're probably on this site.  So hey, let's get this thing going.  If it really sounds good, I'll visit, and if it's cool, I'll settle down.  So come on people, let's use the magic of the interweb to help me begin my exodus from Long Island, or as some call it, Orange County with seasons.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: OKB4RMA on February 22, 2006, 08:43:00 PM
Man...that's a pretty tall order for a place to live GTBF...most of the criteria that you require will most likely put you somewhere with a high cost of living...but knowing that Long Island isn't cheap...I'll take a stab at offering a few suggestions.

Somewhere on the Mayan Riviera would suit me perfectly...but then we're not talking about me here...lol.

I would suggest looking into a college town...they would meet most of your requirements...it's just a matter of where.  Here's a few to ponder in no particular order. Some may seem "conservative" or even "religious" because of the state...but even in these states there are bastions of liberalism...and they are pretty much all in the college towns.

Austin TX
Lawrence KS
Columbia MO
Flagstaff AZ
Chico CA
San Luis Obispo CA

Sounds like I want you to take a roadtrip and see some places for yourself.  Hang out in each place for a few days and see what the "feel" is like.  Each of these towns/cities have their own unique flavor to them but they are all highly regarded.  Austin personally didn't do it for me...not that it was a bad place...it just didn't feel like home.

Washington & Oregon are also great places but you have to deal with the grey skies quite often and they do get cold in the winter...although not Siberia Cold.

On the topic of revenge...well...as I have said before...not my style...but since you are looking for where you might want to live (as I have been doing for the last year) I figures I'd throw in my 2c.[ This Message was edited by: OKB4RMA on 2006-02-22 17:44 ][ This Message was edited by: OKB4RMA on 2006-02-22 17:45 ]
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: OKB4RMA on February 22, 2006, 08:46:00 PM
I meant to say "sounds like I want you to take a roadtrip"...thinking too hard while typing
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: OKB4RMA on February 22, 2006, 08:48:00 PM
WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type?  if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you"
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Goodtobefree on February 22, 2006, 08:50:00 PM
I know I can't have everything.  I just don't know which places have what mixture of these criteria.  I  might as well aim high until I at least know what's out there.  Thanks for the input, I'm definitely not against living in a liberal oasis in a conservative desert, or taking a roadtrip.  Time to start reading up on the towns you listed.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: TheWho on February 22, 2006, 08:56:00 PM
Quote
On 2006-02-22 17:48:00, OKB4RMA wrote:

"WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type?  if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you""


Yea, strange, it happens to me too.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: OKB4RMA on February 22, 2006, 08:57:00 PM
Quote
On 2006-02-22 17:56:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
Quote

On 2006-02-22 17:48:00, OKB4RMA wrote:


"WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type?  if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you""




Yea, strange, it happens to me too."


yeah....I usually don't make such dunderhead typos...now at least I know it wasn't me.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: 69 on February 22, 2006, 09:12:00 PM
Quote
On 2006-02-22 17:48:00, OKB4RMA wrote:

"WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type? if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you""


LOL! I've noticed this with several of my posts, but just thought it was me messing up or something. Good to know it's not just me. 

               The body of
        Benjamin Franklin, printer,
      (Like the cover of an old book,
            Its contents worn out,
    And scripts of it's lettering and gilding)
       Lies Here, food for worms!
     Yet the work itself shall not be lost,
For it will, as he believed, appear once more
                 In a new
         And more beautiful edition,
          Corrected and amended
                By it's Author!

Epitaph for himself.

--Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790

Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: BuzzKill on February 22, 2006, 09:28:00 PM
Yeah - the board got me with that litle switcheroo too!

I did an edit post, wondering how I managed to type 'I want you to' instead of 'you* need * to' - then had it pop right back up 'I want you too' - thought I had slipped a gear!
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Nihilanthic on February 22, 2006, 10:08:00 PM
Goodtobefree - I got a quote from Winston Churchill for you:

Quote
We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.


Fight the edcons. Fight them where they advertise. Fight them outside the programs, fight them where they hold seminars. Fight them wherever they go and wherever they try to suck in parents and children, fight them when they ask for money or try to get out of responsibility for their actions.

Fight them by freeing the minds of brainwashed children. Fight them by telling everyone you know, fight them by getting through to those parents who still have the ability to listen and fight it themselves. Fight them by telling someone still terrified by the program they cant get to him or her anymore. Fight them by telling anyone with any power or influence whose willing to listen. Fight them by getting the story out. Fight them for justice.

Fight for revenge, fight for the children in the programs, fight for yourself, fight for those who died and fight so nobody else will die or be abused again. Fight so the people who did this will face judgement for what THEY did, so THEY will be held accountable, and THEY will have to do their time.


No program ever hurt me, but Ill be damned if I'll see these people go free forever and this never stop. I decided to do what I can to end this when I finally came to realize what was going on, how long it has been going on, and that its not going to go away on its own. I heard the call and I hope other people can without having to have been up against the wall themself. Maybe some more people will actually remember what it means to be american without having to fight for it, if I help set an example with everyone else.

Vengeance is coming to them, and its your right to join in. You want REAL revenge? Tear them apart at the seams, undermind their mind control, challenge them WHEREVER and HOWEVER you can. Instead of just doing the same to those who did it to you, as much as they really deserve it, why not help tear down this mad bugger's wall?

The inspiration of the Bible depends on the ignorance of the person who reads it.
--Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and lecturer

Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: CCM girl 1989 on February 22, 2006, 10:10:00 PM
Goodtobefree,

I'm thinking Santa Cruz, CA. There is a lot of interesting liberals there. There is still a lot of open space, that you can go explore. There is also UC Santa Cruz.

Anyway, there was many nights that I went to bed thinking of how I would lock my parents in old folk homes. Had they not made it a point at numerous family occasions to apologize to me, and to ask for forgiveness..........well, I would've made sure they paid dearly for what they did to me.

Their punishment, is the fact they missed out on a lot of good years from when I was 12-26ish. That's huge. Especially, when I blossomed into this beautiful woman, that has made it in the world. They thought I was going to end up dead, or in jail!

You want to really have an effect on your folks, go out there, and kick butt!!!!

Good Luck!

Randi
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 14, 2006, 07:41:00 AM
Santa Cruz is very nice as is Portland, Or.
Very nice place.


As for revenge, I dunno. I honestly don't believe there is anything I could inflict on my parents that would come close to what they did to me.
I don't consider cutting them out of my life to be revenge, I consider that it's the best thing I can do to people that clearly hate me.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Badpuppy on April 14, 2006, 12:34:00 PM
Key West, Fort Luaderdale, Miami. Jeb state is overall conservative but these cities cater to tourism. More expensive than other places but easier for a young man to pick up a job. Check out San Francisco. Beautiful city, high quality of life, as liberal as it gets. Drawback is that it is expensive.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: shanlea on April 14, 2006, 01:16:00 PM
My parents are pretty liberal, and they sent me to CEDU because they were ineffective, emotionally negligent parents. I wasn't "on drugs"; I never committed any criminal activity--not even petty theft. But I suffered from depression, low self esteem, and was a truant.  I loved learning but couldn't get myself to stay in school.  I didn't really do anything bad per se. In addition, a few traumatic things happened that made it worse.

CEDU was a place our family therapist recommended. (Even I was begging for help at this point.) It looked good on the brochures: bucolic, mountain setting.

My parents honestly thought they were sending me to a safe, loving environment to get the help I needed in a structured environment. It's just that we all got sucked into the machine once I stepped foot on the grounds--the lies and manipulation.

They went in with the best intentions--they felt like failures as parents and were searching for an alternative.

On paper, it all looked good.

And even though I wasn't one of those kids who lied all the time (I was the type who snuck out a lot--but I always left notes), CEDU would manipulate parents to see their children as liars in an effort to maintain control.  Fairly quickly, I realized not to bother explaining the program's defects, because CEDU (who monitored contact and isolated you) painted you as a liar out to manipulate parents.

Still, we all drank the Kool Aid--I did, too. My parents had teh best intentions, and the truth is, there isn't a lot of public awareness about these programs. Now, when I watch some dumb show on TV, where the kid is sent to a TBS and returns "cured", it makes me ill.  (Where I went, a lot of Hollywood celebrities sent their kids to the same TBS I went to.)
 
I can't say I blame my parents. I'm more upset by the total lack of public awareness of this issue. I think the key is to bring it out into the forefront in every way imaginable--through books, dramatizations, and news reporting. And to re-educate ed cons.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 14, 2006, 10:31:00 PM
I think that before you decide on a punishment for your parents, I want you to determine if they knew how abusive your program was before or while you were there.  The marketers are manipulative, and I do think mine were sold on the lies and the brochure.

I personally believe that in the afterlife my mother will be able to truly know what I went through.  I've given up on the idea that I'll receive an apology while I'm still alive, and that's fine with me.

As for revenge, if it's what you really want, well I have an idea besides no contact.  Tell your parents' friends all of your parents dirty little secrets.  Your life was dissected in the program, so embarrass the hell out of them.  I'm guessing that you're upper-middle class if your parents paid for a program.  Your parents likely care what others think (that's why they hid you as a teen), and they would not appreciate being the object of ridicule around the neighborhood.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 15, 2006, 03:59:00 AM
When it comes to revenge, you can't go wrong with Remington and double-aught buck.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 15, 2006, 08:29:00 AM
Quote
On 2006-02-22 17:48:00, OKB4RMA wrote:

"WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type?  if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you""


I want you to kiss my ass.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 15, 2006, 08:30:00 AM
Quote
On 2006-04-15 05:29:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
Quote

On 2006-02-22 17:48:00, OKB4RMA wrote:


"WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type?  if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you""



I want you to kiss my ass."


HOLY SHIT!!!
This board is rigged.
I want you to really really really really kiss my ass!!!
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 15, 2006, 08:32:00 AM
Quote
On 2006-04-15 05:30:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
Quote

On 2006-04-15 05:29:00, Anonymous wrote:


"
Quote


On 2006-02-22 17:48:00, OKB4RMA wrote:



"WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type?  if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you""






I want you to kiss my ass."




HOLY SHIT!!!

This board is rigged.
I want you to really really really really kiss my ass!!!"


You.
You need.
I want you to.
You kiss my ass.
You need kiss my ass.
I want you to kiss my ass.
I You want need you to to KISS MY ASS.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 15, 2006, 08:48:00 AM
Quote
On 2006-04-15 05:32:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
Quote

On 2006-04-15 05:30:00, Anonymous wrote:


"
Quote


On 2006-04-15 05:29:00, Anonymous wrote:



"
Quote



On 2006-02-22 17:48:00, OKB4RMA wrote:




"WTF...why does my thing come up different than what i type?  if I type "you need" it comes up with "I want you""









I want you to kiss my ass."







HOLY SHIT!!!


This board is rigged.

I want you to really really really really kiss my ass!!!"




You.

You need.
I want you to.

You kiss my ass.

You need kiss my ass.
I want you to kiss my ass.

I You want need you to to KISS MY ASS."

I want you to kiss my ass.
"you need" to kiss my ass.
"You need" to kiss my ass.
I want you to KISS MY ASS.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 15, 2006, 07:47:00 PM
Dear Luke: I see your posts a lot.  I am so glad you got out after three days.  My daughter was in CEDU three weeks before I was able to get her out(kidnapped from me by her shithead of a sperm donor).  She was only 13 but they really screwed with her head.  Sad to say after years of trying to deal with it she hanged herself.  You have no idea how many times I wish I would have burned the place down with all the staff in it. I will never forgive those bastard for what they did and hope their lives all turn to shit. I am so glad you were not there long enough for them to do major damage and I really admire the people on these sites who have managed to retain or regain their sanity and fight back.  Bravo to you!
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: OverLordd on April 16, 2006, 12:58:00 AM
Revenge is never a wise choice, it just gets you into trouble, because the athorities are never on your side, your just a punk with a rap sheet.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 16, 2006, 11:54:00 AM
(He's got it in his sig, but he doesn't want to talk about it himself..)

Luke got lucky. Someone in a position of authority found out about what they were really doing there. His parents were massively shocked, but what were they expecting?

No, I'm not giving out names of anyone or anything. Suffice it to say that the guy who tried that shit won't try it again.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Nihilanthic on April 16, 2006, 12:50:00 PM
Quote
On 2006-04-15 21:58:00, OverLordd wrote:

"Revenge is never a wise choice, it just gets you into trouble, because the athorities are never on your side, your just a punk with a rap sheet."


Revenge? Perhaps... but JUSTICE, and preventing them from harming anyone else, are nobile, just, and practical motivations.

Youre taking down someone whose done wrong and making them face punishment and be held accountable for it, stoping them from hurting anyone else, and preventing them from draining on our economy, hurt our society more with their existance, and most importantly - stopping them from hurting anyone else and bringing closure to those who HAVE been hurt by them.
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 17, 2006, 07:22:00 AM
Quote
On 2006-04-16 09:50:00, Nihilanthic wrote:

"
Quote

On 2006-04-15 21:58:00, OverLordd wrote:


"Revenge is never a wise choice, it just gets you into trouble, because the athorities are never on your side, your just a punk with a rap sheet."




Revenge? Perhaps... but JUSTICE, and preventing them from harming anyone else, are nobile, just, and practical motivations.



Youre taking down someone whose done wrong and making them face punishment and be held accountable for it, stoping them from hurting anyone else, and preventing them from draining on our economy, hurt our society more with their existance, and most importantly - stopping them from hurting anyone else and bringing closure to those who HAVE been hurt by them."


The electronic waste products and polluting the air to generate electricity to run your computer,and the environmental damage cause during the production of your computer it HURTING ME!
Its open season on YOU!
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 17, 2006, 11:08:00 AM
Quote
On 2006-04-16 09:50:00, Nihilanthic wrote:

"
Quote

On 2006-04-15 21:58:00, OverLordd wrote:


"Revenge is never a wise choice, it just gets you into trouble, because the athorities are never on your side, your just a punk with a rap sheet."




Revenge? Perhaps... but JUSTICE, and preventing them from harming anyone else, are nobile, just, and practical motivations.



Youre taking down someone whose done wrong and making them face punishment and be held accountable for it, stoping them from hurting anyone else, and preventing them from draining on our economy, hurt our society more with their existance, and most importantly - stopping them from hurting anyone else and bringing closure to those who HAVE been hurt by them."


Oh mighty dispenser of justice, how wonderful for the world that your discernment is greater than that of our forefathers, who were partial to things like truth and due process.

Don't you suppose that folks on white horses can leave an awful lot of shit for those behind them to clean up?
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 17, 2006, 11:19:00 AM
Quote
The electronic waste products and polluting the air to generate electricity to run your computer,and the environmental damage cause during the production of your computer it HURTING ME!
Its open season on YOU!

Quote
Oh mighty dispenser of justice, how wonderful for the world that your discernment is greater than that of our forefathers, who were partial to things like truth and due process.

Don't you suppose that folks on white horses can leave an awful lot of shit for those behind them to clean up?


Uh-oh, Karen is angry that her posts from another site are now available to see, so she is on a rampage to try and troll fornits all over. Karen, you are really in need of some help.  :lol:

Learn more about KiD here http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... forum=37&4 (http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?topic=14957&forum=37&4)
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: LauraLee on April 18, 2006, 02:00:00 PM
Well, I know someplace that fits everything you want. Minus the warm weather.

Try Cambridge, Massachusetts. Five minutes from Boston, huge alternative scene, college town. And it's very warm in the summer!
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 19, 2006, 01:48:00 PM
U N33D 2 type it in L33T. :smile:

Augh!  My Eyyyyyeeeessss!

* You * need * to * think twice about saying it, but when you really need to say it (ha, got it through), * you * need * to * think about how to fool a search and replace macro.

It's a Gingerism which I think works well enough if people just think twice about that phrase before using it.

Alternately, I guess you could probably put together some macro that would cut and paste the censored phrase when you want to say it.

As censorship goes, it's really tiny, I suppose.

Julie
Title: Revenge is a dish best served cold...
Post by: Anonymous on April 19, 2006, 02:18:00 PM
Athens, Georgia is the college town for UGA.

There will be religiousness, but not enough to keep you from safely and happily being yourself.

It's warm.  It's a cow town so there's open-ish land, but with a college, there are plenty of younger folks--who tend to be more open-minded in a lot of ways.

With the starving college student factor, it shouldn't be too hard to find roomies, which makes living fairly inexpensive.

It all depends on how warm is "warm" to you.  The daffodils start blooming in February.  The Canadians' comments about Atlanta (when I used to work with a lot who travelled) was, "Wow! Ten months of golf!  The other two months it's too hot."

Air conditioning here is necessity, not luxury.

Still, I used to live in Orange County (Warwick), and we moved to South Carolina one January.  It felt like spring had come, immediately, but I acclimated fast.  Of course, I was seven, but you're young enough it would probably go okay for you.

I had a coworker once from Ohio who didn't like the cold.  So he started with Atlanta and figured he'd move farther and farther south, if necessary, until he found a good job in the warm.

I don't know what the job market is like in Athens.

I do know that Atlanta is pleasant.  I've lived here for twenty-one years and love it.  It's not like NYC at all---it's very green, lots of trees everywhere, and plenty of parks with greenspace.

I've never personally felt jammed together with loads of people here, but tastes vary.

Cost of living is higher than average, but reasonable if you live on the bus and train lines because you don't have to own a car---it just takes you twice as long to get to and from work that way.  Most people that get to work on MARTA read or work or listen to music on headphones on their commute, turning it into a sort of downtime.

The other good thing about Metro Atlanta (I love this town) is that there are a bazillion different colleges and junior colleges to choose from so you definitely can get into one.  Except, it's very hard to get in-state residency now before you're 25.

OTOH, if you do individual study well, you can study for and take CLEP exams during your pre-25 years and then apply to a school that will honor those credits.  There are about 36 CLEP courses.  Even if your college ends up not taking all of them, you will be prepared to take the class and ace it when you can.  There are also a bunch of private colleges where tuition is generally higher than in state public, but will likely be lower than out of state public, and you can still qualify for financial aid since your parents won't be supporting you at all.

I'd suggest you at least visit metro atlanta and tour around it on MARTA out beyond the perimeter (I-285) before you decide against it if Georgia is the climate you want.  There is so much opportunity here, including large counter-culture communities where extensive piercings and tattoos won't be a minus.  However, in the larger work community, they would be an issue and, depending on the kind of job you want, you might have to figure out a way to tone down the "look" for work.

One of the better things is you can get here on greyhound, take MARTA out to the burbs to check into a relatively less expensive hotel, and then take MARTA back in to ride all over the line and tour the city and figure out if it's for you.

Avoid the southwest quarter of the city, as it contains most of the high crime areas and it's easy to accidentally wander into someplace dangerous for you if you don't know the city yet.

Spring is a great time of year in Atlanta, really pretty.  It would be a good time to ride the dog and take a road trip.

Julie