Althea McBride’s Georgia home is an “Afro boho” oasis.

Her living room and hallway walls are painted black, acting as a dramatic background to her many African sculptures and art. The dining room’s burnt orange walls are decorated with vinyl records like Aretha Franklin’s “Knew You Were Waiting: The Best Of Aretha Franklin 1980-1998” to Kendrick Lamar’s “GNX.”

It’s been a year since McBride bought her home, and outside a few hiccups, like a wasp infestation and disputes over property lines, everything is looking exactly how she envisioned it — literally.

“I used Canva to help design some of it before I even moved into the house, just by looking online at the pictures that they had on Zillow,” McBride told Business Insider. “I was able to download those and remodel it how I wanted. So my living room is exactly how I pictured it.”

What she couldn’t picture years ago was being a homeowner. Growing up in Los Angeles, homeownership was not something that she thought would be possible at 34 years old — and if she stayed in Los Angeles, it still might not be.

A financial incentive to move from California to Georgia helped McBride, now 35, decide to leave Los Angeles — although it didn’t take that much convincing. She was tired of the big city’s fast-paced lifestyle and slow-moving traffic and was looking for an out.

McBride applied to a remote-worker incentive program offered by Columbus, Georgia, a city in the western part of the state that borders Alabama. She received $5,000 in cash, as well as a range of other perks like a one-year membership to the Columbus Aquatics Center and a coffee date with the mayor.

Getting a little extra cash to move to a smaller city with a lower cost of living enabled McBride to become a homeowner for the first time. She’s enjoying decorating and living in her own house, and has grown accustomed to Southern culture and the area’s slower pace of living.

After following the ups and downs of McBride’s move in a series of interviews over the course of her first year in Columbus, she told me that overall, she’s pleased with her decision.

“I don’t really miss California — not yet,” she said.

Finally a homeowner

McBride didn’t expect to become a homeowner in her 30s. “I had the typical millennial experience: Went to college, had high student loan debt, and then I went through back-to-back layoffs. I was like, ‘What am I going to do?’”

At the time, she was working as a senior paid search manager for a marketing agency and living in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles — a neighborhood one exit shy of where the Kardashians live — and paying $3,400 a month for a two-bedroom apartment.

McBride didn’t need to know all the intricacies of buying a house to quickly realize that it would have been hard to make it work in Woodland Hills, where the median sale price was about $1.2 million in August 2024. Still, she tried saving money for a down payment to buy in California, but it wasn’t enough — and she didn’t qualify for much assistance because her salary was too high. So she started looking for places to live outside California, such as upstate New York and Virginia.

Though McBride graduated from Spelman College in nearby Atlanta and has family in Columbus, Georgia, the small city with a population of about 207,000, was never on her radar as a place to live.

“I was talking to my baby cousin, DJ, and he kept saying, ‘You should come to Columbus, cousin,’” McBride said. “I’m like, ‘What am I going to do in Columbus?’”

It wasn’t until she saw the incentive program go viral on social media that she considered it.

“I looked at it and I was like, ‘Well, this is perfect,’” McBride said. “If it’s meant to be, I’ll apply and hear back from them — and that’s exactly what I did.”

That was March 2024. That May, she learned she’d been accepted to the program. In August 2024, she closed on a three-bedroom home for $175,000. Now, McBride’s mortgage costs her about $1,500 a month — less than half of her rent in LA.

The benefits of living in Columbus aren’t just financial. Her home has more space for her to enjoy her hobbies, one of which is growing her own food. In California, McBride made it work by growing produce on her patio using storage bins with holes cut in the bottom for drainage. However, if she ever wanted to expand that operation, she would need more room — and a bigger budget.

“In California, you’ve got to have the money. The homes are $500,000-plus, but you don’t get the yardage. You don’t get the land like that. So it makes it kind of hard.”

McBride never dreamed of having a greenhouse, let alone a place to put it. But in Georgia, she has plans to build one on her property. She’s already growing lettuce, blueberries, bananas, red and white onions, peppers, and eggplants, and hopes to plant even more.

If she has to put in a little elbow grease to make the home and the yard her own, so be it.

“I went in with the intention that I might have to put work into a home,” McBride said. “I may have to get in there with a hammer. I may have to get in there with some paint and fix it up the way that I want to, but at least I have that.”

Settling in to small-city life

For the first few months after moving, McBride frequently traveled to Atlanta — a nearly two-hour drive from Columbus — and used it as a crutch for social activities and shopping. (Her nearest Trader Joe’s, she noted, is in Atlanta). Although she still travels to Atlanta occasionally, now that she’s established her community in Columbus, she’s found more to do closer to home. She joined the Urban League of the River Valley as well as the Columbus chapter of the National Council of Negro Women.

“I’ve been doing all the community service events. We’ve been going to different galas. We’ve been going to all types of stuff out here in Columbus,” she said. “Every time I meet somebody random, they either know my family, they either all go to the same churches, or they grew up with each other. Everyone knows each other or knows of somebody, which is very helpful when trying to get to know people out here.”

The way McBride sees it, that $5,000 cash incentive wasn’t what convinced her to move 2,000 miles across the country, though it was a nice sweetener that helped cover her closing costs and moving expenses. It was more so the program’s promise of activities and community-building opportunities that helped lighten the social burden of moving to a new city.

“For me, the cash incentive is reimbursement — that’s like icing on the cake,” McBride said. “With this, you’re not just moving. Now it’s like there are some activities I can look forward to, there are things where I’ll be able to go out there and just meet completely different people with different backgrounds and really get a head start on my personal Columbus community.”

She’s attended program-sponsored events such as dinners with other program members and coffee with the mayor, B.H. “Skip” Henderson III, who mapped out a vision for what Columbus could look like in the future.

Now, McBride said she sees herself in that vision.

“I’m happy with my decision,” she said. “My goal is to stay here for a couple of years at least.”

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Georgia Tech gets it done against Duke to stay undefeated. Georgia has a big fourth quarter to take down #5 Ole Miss. Georgia Southern shut down Georgia State late, while Savannah State and the Falcons struggled to find any offense.

Here is everything that happened this past week in football around Georgia.

#10 Georgia vs #5 Ole Miss – The Bulldogs found a way to come out on top in this SEC matchup of two top ten teams. Georgia scored 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to beat Ole Miss 43-35.

Junior QB Gunner Stockton was 26 of 31 on the day for 298 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Stockton also rushed for 59 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.

On the other sideline, Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss was 19 of 36 for 263 yards and one touchdown. The former Ferris State passer also had nine carries for 42 yards and two rushing touchdowns on the day.

Georgia will now shut it down for a week before facing the 3-4 Florida Gators in Athens. Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 3:30 on Nov. 1st on ABC.

Georgia Southern vs Georgia State – The Georgia Southern Eagles took advantage of a 21-0 fourth quarter to help claim a 41-24 victory over Georgia State for their third win of the season.

Junior QB JC French IV was 17 of 25 for 210 yards and three touchdowns. French IV also led the Eagles in rushing with 12 carries for 85 yards and one touchdown.

While Senior WR Camden Brown only had three catches on the day for 48 yards, two of those were for touchdowns. Senior WR Dalen Cobb was responsible for the other score on his way to a seven catch game for 43 yards.

Georgia Southern will now have the tough task of winning on the road as they head to Jonesboro to take on the 3-4 Arkansas State Red Wolves. Kickoff for the game is set for 7:00 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.

#13 Georgia Tech vs Duke – The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets continue their winning ways with a 27-18 victory over the Duke Blue Devils.

Senior playcaller Haynes King was 14 of 21 through the air for 205 yards. As usual, King was also a major factor on the ground as he accounted for 120 of Georgia Tech’s 171 total rushing yards. King also had one rushing touchdown on his 14 carries.

The Yellow Jackets’ other offensive score came on a 10-yard touchdown run from Junior RB Malachi Hosley, who finished the day with 23 yards on 11 carries.

Georgia Tech’s defense also got in on the scoring as Senior DB Omar Daniels had a 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

The Yellow Jackets will now put that 7-0 win streak on the line as they take on the 3-4 Syracuse Orange at noon on Saturday. The game can be seen on ESPN.

Savannah State vs Fort Valley State University – The Savannah State Tigers fall to 3-4 on the year following a 7-0 loss to Fort Valley State University.

The Tigers’ offense struggled as they were held to only 93 yards of total offense on the day.

The only score of the game came when Fort Valley State University Sophomore WR Donte Curry returned a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Savannah State will now head home for homecoming week, where they will face the 3-4 Morehouse College Maroon Tigers. Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Atlanta Falcons vs San Francisco 49ers – Atlanta’s trip to the west coast does not go as planned as they fall 20-10 to the San Francisco 49ers.

QB Michael Penix Jr. was responsible for Atlanta’s on touchdown on the day as he connected with RB Bijan Robinson on a 10-yard pass for a score. Penix Jr. finished the game 21 of 38 for 241 yards.

The 49ers’ defense held Robinson to 40 yards rushing on 14 carries. The Falcons’ offense as a whole was held to 62 total yards on the ground.

Atlanta’s only other points came on a 38-yard field goal by Kicker Parker Romo in the second quarter.

Atlanta will now return home to take on the 1-6 Miami Dolphins. The game will take place at 1:00 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Georgia teacher who was put on an indefinite suspension and urged to resign after posting comments following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

On Monday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) filed the lawsuit on Michelle Mickens’ behalf against her employer, the Oglethorpe County School System.

SPLC said Mickens was “exercising her First Amendment rights” by posting a quote from the slain political activist on her personal Facebook page and participating in an online discussion with her friends who commented on it.

She criticized Kirk’s opinion on gun control but condemned political violence and “articulated her hope for a safer world,” SPLC said in a press release.

“This case is about resisting the growing attempts to exert ideological control over public education,” Michael Tafelski, interim deputy legal director for SPLC, said. “Ms. Mickens is being targeted not because she violated any policy or harmed students, but because her personal views — expressed outside of the classroom — don’t align with those in power.”

The SPLC claimed the Oglethorpe County School System is trying to terminate “solely for engaging in constitutionally protected speech” that did not disrupt the school.

“We know that the attacks on public education are unrelenting, and we must stand together to speak for our students, colleagues and our profession. GAE supports and defends educators’ right to off-duty expressive activity without fear of retaliation,” Mike McGonigle, GAE’s General Counsel/Legal Services Director, said. “GAE is the only organization that continues to stand up and speak for students, educators, and public education.”

Both SPLC and GAE said they are looking to have Mickens’ job restored and “protect the rights of all educators against censorship and intimidation.”

The lawsuit states another teacher was hired to take over Mickens’ class, despite her termination not being official.

In a statement, Oglethorpe County School System Superintendent Beverley Levine said the district is aware of the lawsuit.

“While many of the facts stated in the suit and the press statements on plaintiff’s behalf are inaccurate or incomplete, having been sued in federal court, the district prefers to litigate the issues in that forum and not in the press or in the public,” Levine said. “The district is confident that it will prevail in defending against this litigation.”

Return to Atlanta News First for updates on this developing story.

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