How would you rate the quality of life in Hall County?
Hall County life is good according to 84% of those responding to the survey.  Just under a quarter of the respondents (24%) said life in Hall County is excellent. 

A significant percentage rate Hall County life as fair (14%) or poor (3%).   These with more negative views tend to be under 30, low wage earners and those without a full high school education.

Those most likely to express enthusiasm about life in Hall County are those with graduate degrees (55% say life is excellent) and those who earn more than $60,000 per year.  For contrast, 45% of those earning more than $90,000 per year say life in Hall County is excellent compared to just 13% earning between $15,000 and $25,000 per year. 

Among those who have lived in Hall County less than five years, 22.5% say life in the county is fair or poor.  This matches almost precisely the combined responses of Latinos, 23% of whom rate county life fair or poor.

Would you move away from Hall County if you could?

Influenced greatly by younger, lower income respondents, almost one-third (30%) in the study said they would move away from Hall County if they could.  The largest group expressing a desire to move are those aged 18-30 (47%) and 41-50 (41%).  The next largest group is those who are divorced or separated, 37% of whom would move if they could.

While newcomers to Hall are more likely to rate life in the county lower than long-term residents, there is no indication they are more inclined to leave.  Compared to the overall response of 30%, 29% of short-term residents said they would leave if they could.

Looking at the results by geographic area shows those in central Gainesville—40% of whom would move if they could--are the most likely in the county to express a desire to move.

Do you know your neighbors well enough that you would loan them $50 if they really needed it?

Another measure of community connections taken by Healthy Hall in its 1998 survey of social capital is how willing residents would be to loan money to neighbors. In 1999, 66.5% of those surveyed said they would be willing to loan $50 to a neighbor who really needed it.  In this current survey, 75% said they would make such a loan.  This is an optimistic trend in light of a depressed economy in 2003.  Perhaps respondents sense a greater need in their neighborhoods today than in the relative economic boom of 1998.

Perhaps it is no surprise that those in the upper income levels are more likely to say they would make a loan.  Eighty-four percent of those earning more than $60,000 and 93% of those earning more than $75,000 said they would make the loan. This compares to 69% earning $15,000 to $25,000 and 74% of those earning $25,000 to $40,000.  Yet across the income spectrum these are results that indicate a trust and interest in neighbors.  

According to the Healthy Hall Social Capital Survey, 
more Hall Countians are willing to loan to neighbors 
in 2003 than in 1999 - 75%  now versus 66.5% then.

Have you personally served as a volunteer in an organization in Hall County in the past year?

About a third of Hall Countians surveyed (30%) said they personally served as a volunteer in the past year. Women are somewhat more likely than men to volunteer (33% compared to 24%) and those with higher levels of education and income are also more likely to volunteer.

Those least likely to get involved as volunteers are those who have a high school education level or less, and those who have lived in the community less than five years.

Are you an active member of any non-church related club, civic organization, hobby group or sports team in Hall County?

Very similar percentages report being active in clubs or organizations. Slightly less than 30% (28%) report that they are active in a non-church group.  Those most likely to be active are those who report that their health is either excellent (37%) or very good (31%).   

Here again length of time in the community and education are predictors of involvement  -- 83% of those who have lived in Hall County less than 5 years say that they are not active in any non-church group.  Just over half (52%) with those of bachelor's degrees report being active in non-church groups, versus only 17% of those with high school diplomas only. 

Among the major ethnic groups, Latinos are the least connected to non-church organizations.

Have you donated more than $100 to a non-church related organization in the community in the past year?

A willingness to contribute funds is an indicator of genuine support for community work.  Those donating more than $100 equaled 42% of the survey.  Those most likely to donate are higher income earners and are more highly educated.

For example, 72% of those earning more than $90,000 per year have donated more than $100 to a non-church organization. This compares with 49% earning between $40,000 to $60,000 per year.  Of those with bachelor's degrees, 61% donated more than $100, compared to 29% of high school graduates.

Age is something of a determinant of generosity to non-church groups. Fifty-three percent of those aged 51-60 said that they donated more than $100 to a non-church organization, compared with 41% of those aged 61-70 and 26.5% of those aged 18-30. 

Measures Of Community Involvement

• Willing To Loan Neighbor $50                                   75% Said Yes

• Personally Volunteer In Community                           30%

• Active In Community Organization                              28%

• Donated $100 To Non-Church Group                           42%

• Attend Worship At Least Weekly                                 54%

On average, how often do you attend worship services?

Hall Countians appear to participate in worship services at a level consistent with Bible Belt averages. According to the Barna research group, 50% of southerners attend worship services once a week.  In the Healthy Hall Survey, 54% of respondents reported attending church services at least once a week. In addition, 18% attend worship services occasionally, or about once per month.

There are significant differences in worship participation between men and women and young and old.  Sixty percent of women attend church weekly compared to 45.5% of men.  While 41% of those age 18-30 report regular worship attendance, 64% of those aged 61 to 70 and 74% of those over age 70 do.  Those who have lived in Hall County for more than 20 years are most active in worship, as are those with graduate degrees (72%) and Blacks (71%).  

Did you vote in the election of November 2002?

Six of 10 (60%) reported voting in the last national election, which was held in November 2002.  This is virtually the same as the 58.5% who reported voting in the 1998 social capital survey conducted by Healthy Hall.

According to the Healthy Hall survey, those aged 61 to 70 are three times more likely to vote than those 18 to 30—76% to 23%.  Those who have lived in Hall County for more than 20 years are about twice as likely to vote than those who have lived in the county for less than 5 years, 69% to 35%.  

Education and income levels are also indicators of voting activity.  Eighty-seven percent of those with bachelor's degrees reported voting, compared to 45% of those with high school diplomas only and 22% of those with no high school diploma.  Meanwhile, 86% of those earning between $75,000 and $90,000 per year voted, twice the percentage of those earning $15,000 to $25,000 (23%). 

Among those who reported being active as volunteers in the community, 74% voted compared to 54% of those who say they are not active.

Among the major ethnic groups, 71% of Whites reported voting, compared to 50% of Blacks and 23.5% of Latinos.

Do you feel you are well informed on Hall County and Gainesville area news?

Three quarters of those surveyed (74.7%) say they are well informed on Hall County and Gainesville area news. When asked how they get their information, 74% sited the local newspaper. According to the survey, people appear to feel more informed as they age, which corresponds with newspaper readership.  Eighty-one percent of those aged 61-70 say they are well informed and 85% of the same group read the local newspaper. Among those age 31-40, 66% say they are well informed and 66% read the local newspaper.

By comparison, 20% get local information from the Internet. Though Internet use is highest among those 18-40 the survey indicates that all age demographics up to age 60 use the Internet at about the same level.  Internet use for local information falls off considerably at age 61, the same age at which television almost doubles as a source for local information.  Of those aged 61-70, 52% say they get local information from television compared with 22% of those 31 to 40.  

Do you feel that you have access to adequate transportation to get to the places that you want to go?

A key indicator to how connected people feel within the community is whether they have the freedom and ability to get where they want to go.  The survey indicates that 85% of Hall Countians do feel they have access to adequate transportation. Of the 12% who do not, these are most likely to be lower income or in black or Hispanic households. Twenty-seven percent of Blacks and 21% of Hispanics do not feel that they have adequate access to transportation.

There does not appear to be significant differences between the age categories; 14.5% of those over age 70 do not feel they have access to adequate transportation compared with 14.5% of those 18-30 and 11.5% of those 31-40. 

Among those separated or divorced, 20% feel they do not have adequate access to transportation.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Hall County is a diverse community that is accepting of all persons regarding of race, religion, or lifestyle.

A little over a third of Hall Countians (34%) strongly agree with this statement and an additional 45.5% somewhat agree.  A total of 12% somewhat disagree, while 6% strongly disagree. It is interesting that among Black respondents to the survey, there is broad, almost equally divided differences in opinion--26.5% of black respondents strongly agree with the statement while 21% strongly disagree. 

It is also interesting that those who have been in the county less than five years, who perhaps would be most sensitive to attitudes of acceptance, are slightly more likely to agree with this statement than those who have lived in Hall County more than 20 years.  

How many people living in Hall County would you say are your close friends?  Of your close friends, how many of them are from racial or ethnic backgrounds different than yours?

In the Healthy Hall sample, 56.5% said they have more than 10 close friends, while only 4% said they have no close friends.   An additional 15% reported that they have between 6-10 close friends.

It seems that the longer one lives in Hall County, the more close friends one is likely to have.  Of those over age 70, 68% reported having more than 10 close friends, compared with 43% of those 18-30.  It is notable that those in the survey who have lost a spouse to death are most likely to report many close friends--69% of those widowed say they have more than 10 close friends, compared with 59% of those who are married and 45% of those never married. 

In what may be a new incentive to stop smoking, 60% of those who never use tobacco report having 10 or more close friends compared with 44% of tobacco users. 

However, the most significant factor in the number of friends one has may be level of involvement in the community.  Among those who are active and volunteer 70% have 10-plus friends, compared to 51% of those who are not active.

The proof that a community accepts racial and cultural diversity may lie in whether or not people build close friendships across racial lines.  When asked how many of their close friends were from racial or different ethnic backgrounds, 34.5% said none. However, almost one-quarter of Hall Countians (24%) report having between three and five friends from a different racial or ethnic background.

Those aged 31 to 50 are most likely to report having friends from other ethnic groups. Further, those in middle to upper-middle income groups, $60,000 to $90,000 per year, are more likely to report friends from other ethnic backgrounds.  Work is a factor in these friendships; 80% of those who are employed report having one or two friends from differing ethnic backgrounds, versus only 11% of those who are not employed.

These findings complement the findings of focus groups, where older participants expressed the most negative findings about race relationships.  Younger focus groups participants were far less likely to see the impact of racism, though many of them reported young people of different races tend to remain separated at school.

The southeast areas of Gainesville (Chicopee/Candler) are areas where residents are most likely to report friends of different racial backgrounds.  Over half (51%) of those from these areas in the survey report they have three or more close friends of different races.

Are you familiar with 2-1-1?

The 2-1-1 service operated by the United Way of Hall County is a tool for connecting individuals with essential support services throughout the county.  It also connects people who want to volunteer with opportunities to serve. According to the survey, only about one-third (32.5%) are familiar with the service.

Those most likely to be aware of 2-1-1 are the very youngest and very oldest.  Of those 18 to 30, 40% are familiar with 2-1-1, and among those over 70, 42% express familiarity, middle income range (18%).

According to the United Way of Hall County, the top 3 reasons people in Hall County call 2-1-2 are:

1. to request financial assistance

2. to request information about housing

3. to request general community information

Do you feel that you have adequate access to parks and public recreational facilities?

Increased access to parks does not appear to be a major issue among the Healthy Hall survey group. In fact, 89% feel they have adequate access now.  This is markedly higher than Healthy Hall 1998, when 63% said there were adequate parks.

Of the 11% who feel they do not have adequate access to parks or recreational facilities, 35% said they would be willing to pay additional taxes for more parks and recreational opportunities.  However, 56% said they would not be willing to pay additional taxes for more parks.

This finding is contradicted in part by the focus group findings, where youth and those representing ethnic minorities complained about lack of access to parks.  One factor explaining the differences may be transportation.  Adults queried in the Healthy Hall survey are likely to drive or have access to adequate transportation (see page 48).  Many of those participating in the focus groups—youth, elderly and Latino—have less access to transportation.