I grew up on the West Coast, but I went to university in the South. It was an eye opening experience. I had no idea that there were such stupid people in the world, let alone how many of them there were.
And then Donald Trump came along, and showed me that I had no idea how deep stupid could go.
That's why Atlanta had long been the gay refuge of the south. Any LGBTQ person in small towns and cities in south would be drawn to it. Much easier to settle in the city 4 hours from your hometown than trying to resettle in the west coast.