ATL, anyone?!

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Replies

  • 42kgirl
    42kgirl Posts: 692 Member
    I am here in North Georgia. Does anyone actually live in Atlanta? No one i know. There are some great suburbs. Georgia is great.

    I actually live in Atlanta. I don't live right in downtown, but I live in the buckhead area. I have live in ATL for a little over 8 years now and have no desire to move anytime soon!

    I dont think I would consider Buckhead living in Atlanta.
    So you only count the crappy parts as living in the city? Buckhead is OK. I prefer the Virginia Highlands area.
  • cbu23
    cbu23 Posts: 280 Member
    I am here in North Georgia. Does anyone actually live in Atlanta? No one i know. There are some great suburbs. Georgia is great.

    I actually live in Atlanta. I don't live right in downtown, but I live in the buckhead area. I have live in ATL for a little over 8 years now and have no desire to move anytime soon!

    I dont think I would consider Buckhead living in Atlanta.

    Well it is.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    If you're looking for a big, southern city, there are alternatives. Charlotte, NC is quite similar with its own differences. It's still got the culture and the traffic, but it's a bit smaller and not as spread out.
  • Lone_Wolf70
    Lone_Wolf70 Posts: 2,820 Member
    If you want to move to a great place in the south with the humidity and without the crappiness of Atlanta, i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend...Charleston, SC

    I lived there for 15 years/....small town, with a beach, multiple 4-5 star resturaunts and a GREAT downtime night life. Plus it is beautiful and has a great history. I cant think of a better small town on East Coast that has all that.

    Appreciate your thoughs!! :smile: I'm not really a small town kinda girl. I started in Wisconsin, moved to MN for college, came to Omaha (surprisingly with all the burbs it's just over a million) & I'm eager to move somewhere like Atlanta which will have much more going on than here.

    Keep it comin'!! :flowerforyou:

    How many small towns have 4-5 star resturants and beaches? Metro area is 350K pop....its a small big town or a big small town lol.....trust me...take a vaca there and you will leave ATL in your rear view mirror.
  • Ms_NewNew
    Ms_NewNew Posts: 88 Member
    I live on the out skirts on the south side in Henry County, I moved from Miami three years ago and I LOVE IT....yes the traffic can be a bit much and I work in the city around the corner from the Georgia Dome. I actually miss traffic by leaving the house 10 minutes earlier lol.....but there is traffic in any state depending on where you work v.s where you live...I say just reshearch the area and schools if you have kids before moving.
  • Lone_Wolf70
    Lone_Wolf70 Posts: 2,820 Member
    I live on the out skirts on the south side in Henry County, I moved from Miami three years ago and I LOVE IT....yes the traffic can be a bit much and I work in the city around the corner from the Georgia Dome. I actually miss traffic by leaving the house 10 minutes earlier lol.....but there is traffic in any state depending on where you work v.s where you live...I say just reshearch the area and schools if you have kids before moving.

    IDK...ive been everywhere and the only traffic that is like ATL is DC Corridor and LA........its REALLY bad.
  • catpow2
    catpow2 Posts: 206 Member
    The traffic is really, really terrible. I agree--the only worse traffic I've seen is in DC.

    We spent a lot of money on fixer-upper in an historic neighborhood in the city. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I can be in downtown Atlanta where I work in 5-10 minutes on the subway (MARTA). Our place hasn't depreciated like the houses in the suburbs, and I never, ever sit in traffic. It just depends on how you want to pay--time or money. You can buy a cheaper house further away and deal with traffic or pay more to live in the city. And on the weekends I'm 5 minutes away from all the cool in-town neighborhoods: VA Highlands, L5P, Midtown, etc.

    The weather here is fine. I'm from the SW so I trust me, I know how bad the humidity is. I really, really hated it when I moved here--I felt like I was suffocating. Coming from the desert, I just wanted to craw into a meat locker. But the winters are mild, and the spring and fall are REALLY nice--spring especially, just beautiful weather. And you know, this is the 21st century--if you can't take the humidity, turn on the AC! Or do what I did--just start working out outside and you'll acclimate.

    The guy who was talking about Charleston--yes, he's right. Charleston is definitely a cooler town than Atlanta no doubt about it. It's my favorite city in the south. Great restaurants, a stone's throw from the beach--really, really cool, historic architecture--great walking city. I love it. But it's small (very small compared to Atlanta!) so might be hard to find a professional job there--I don't know--I guess it just depends on your line of work.
  • sirrah17
    sirrah17 Posts: 26 Member
    I really enjoy living in Omaha (it's not so bad...even though people like to put it down), but you gotta follow your dream no matter what other people think. What's the worst that can happen? You go and then find out that the grass isn't greener?
  • Lone_Wolf70
    Lone_Wolf70 Posts: 2,820 Member
    The traffic is really, really terrible. I agree--the only worse traffic I've seen is in DC.

    We spent a lot of money on fixer-upper in an historic neighborhood in the city. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I can be in downtown Atlanta where I work in 5-10 minutes on the subway (MARTA). Our place hasn't depreciated like the houses in the suburbs, and I never, ever sit in traffic. It just depends on how you want to pay--time or money. You can buy a cheaper house further away and deal with traffic or pay more to live in the city. And on the weekends I'm 5 minutes away from all the cool in-town neighborhoods: VA Highlands, L5P, Midtown, etc.

    The weather here is fine. I'm from the SW so I trust me, I know how bad the humidity is. I really, really hated it when I moved here--I felt like I was suffocating. Coming from the desert, I just wanted to craw into a meat locker. But the winters are mild, and the spring and fall are REALLY nice--spring especially, just beautiful weather. And you know, this is the 21st century--if you can't take the humidity, turn on the AC! Or do what I did--just start working out outside and you'll acclimate.

    The guy who was talking about Charleston--yes, he's right. Charleston is definitely a cooler town than Atlanta no doubt about it. It's my favorite city in the south. Great restaurants, a stone's throw from the beach--really, really cool, historic architecture--great walking city. I love it. But it's small (very small compared to Atlanta!) so might be hard to find a professional job there--I don't know--I guess it just depends on your line of work.

    This cat (literally it seems) knows what he/she is talkign about.

    Boeing just opened in CHucktown and Google has been there for 5 years. Trust me its BOOMING.
  • redhousecat
    redhousecat Posts: 584 Member
    I have lived in Georgia for the last 2 years...my advice? DONT MOVE TO GEORGIA

    Keep in mind I'm currently living in Omaha. Nebraska. So yeah.


    FYI, I find the weather to be quite fantastic. I'd rather deal with ridiculous humidity than 5 months of ridiculous snow any day. Done that for 28 years & I'm about done.

    Definitely appreciate all the feedback!! :drinker:

    If you want to move to a great place in the south with the humidity and without the crappiness of Atlanta, i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend...Charleston, SC

    I lived there for 15 years/....small town, with a beach, multiple 4-5 star resturaunts and a GREAT downtime night life. Plus it is beautiful and has a great history. I cant think of a better small town on East Coast that has all that.

    a man after my own heart!
  • redhousecat
    redhousecat Posts: 584 Member
    well, having just moved from there..............We still own a house there because the housing marking tanked. They just voted down (again) any effort to improve the traffic situation. Due to the crashed housing market and bad traffic, jobs are scarce (but media might still be hanging in there). Humidity sucks. Atlanta is now being touted as the new "Detroit".

    On a good note, the north Georgia mountains rock. Midtown is pretty awesome. There is a good art museum. Oh, and the Braves!

    I have to respectfully disagree with most of this. "They just voted down (again) any effort to improve the traffic situation." It wouldn't have done nothing to improve traffic. Funds would have been used to line pockets of the politically connected. The citizenry realized this and it failed overwhelmingly by 30% points.

    This i disagree as well: "Due to the crashed housing market and bad traffic, jobs are scarce"
    1.) Houses are on sale & rates are low. It is a great time to move here.
    2.) Bad Traffic? Don't live 30 miles from your work. That is your choice
    3.) Jobs? My small biz friends and myself have the same issue. We can't find qualified people that want to work.

    Never heard this in my life: " Atlanta is now being touted as the new "Detroit"." Hogwash other than the rap ghetto thug lifestyle that exists in the inner city. Steer clear! Plus we don't have Eminem.

    Three problems however that you didn't cite. 1.) The airport sucks 2.) The DMV sucks. 3.)Ttoo many yankees

    The Detroit quote has nothing to do with thuggery. It has everything to do with the economic situation. Try googling articles of Time, newsweek, US news from the past 4 years. There are awesome comparisons.

    I lived less than 20 miles from ITP

    Because you can buy a house, doesn't mean you can sell a house. Our house is a mere 6 years old, we bought it dirt cheap in a decent sub. The foreclosure rate is still at all time low in the metro area as per ajc just yesterday. This results in a still tanked housing market.

    There is NOTHING that voters will approve to improve the traffic situation in the metro area. It has been that way forever.

    Sorry, those are based on my experiences, not everyone has the same. Especially if they choose to live further out in Gwinnett.

    As a person who travels weekly, I find Atlanta airport to be quite efficient. The airlines, on the other hand, suck.
  • bjbixler
    bjbixler Posts: 253 Member
    I moved to the Atlanta area (Marietta) about 5 years ago when I graduated from PA school. (I grew up in the FL panhandle and went to school in Mobile, AL). It definitely has it pros and cons, and I'm not sure I'm going to be here forever. It's true what they say though, it's full of transplants, and the majority of people are not FROM here.

    Pros:
    Always things to do, major sports teams, busiest airport in the country with lots of nonstop flights all over the US, lots of room for growth and relatively low cost of living, tons of great restaurants, the north GA mountains are an hours drive and provide wineries, hiking and a chance to get away

    Cons:
    TRAFFIC (I have a reverse commute, so I don't have it as bad as most)
    It's very generic, the city just has no character to me.
    the airport is a drive unless you live south of the city
    One of the worst cities for cyclists
    Mass transit SUCKS

    I think if I had to do it all over again I'd do Denver, Asheville, or Charleston
    The Metro area has 5 million + people and the metro area it literally 30+ miles across... it's just HUGE
    The beach is really far away and the nearby "lakes" are man made and just not the same
  • Do it baby! I love Georgia. I live in Augusta, about two hours east of ATL. It's much smaller, but I love it. I have two brothers in Atlanta. When you arrive in the GA, we will do lunch.
  • Banks01
    Banks01 Posts: 945 Member
    well, having just moved from there..............We still own a house there because the housing marking tanked. They just voted down (again) any effort to improve the traffic situation. Due to the crashed housing market and bad traffic, jobs are scarce (but media might still be hanging in there). Humidity sucks. Atlanta is now being touted as the new "Detroit".

    On a good note, the north Georgia mountains rock. Midtown is pretty awesome. There is a good art museum. Oh, and the Braves!

    It's amazing how a myopic of a view would apply to a generalization of an opinion. But thats just it isn't it? We all have opinions and....


    I suppose everyone has their own experience So let me tell you about mine.

    I'm from Griffin but have been to 37 countries.
    I live in Woodstock and while traffic sucks at times it's because many people choose to live in areas and commute accordingly that sometimes create that. We are in it together, think about places with no traffic. No one wants to live there.
    I live in a diverse community where 7 languages are spoken: English Chinese Spanish Russian Swedish Italian and southern English.
    I can be at a beach in 4 hrs or the mountains in 2.
    I have access to dozens of world class bike trails, class 4+ rivers, and every warrior dash type of event is here
    Significant sports live here including many of the gold medal winners. Sunday at the braves is the best
    ATL is the center of the music world right now and continue to produce. I'll apologize for Beiber though even he's Canadian, usher brought him to ATL to make him a star. Also, a person that works for me dropped his kids off at school the same time tpain did this am. Countless musicians are from or make their home here.
    The worlds largest aquarium and research facility is here. Downtown. Next to a freakin soda exhibit
    Dialogue in the dark is in Paris, Vegas, and here.
    You can literally have the Hollywood, redneck, suburban, urban, uptown hi rise, farm horse, quiet style life style less than an hour from each other
    ATL employs a top ten tech work force. Guess where the major hubs for amazon, google, apple, and IBM are?
    The worlds largest 10k race is here and draws hundreds of thousands in support.
    ATL had an unprecedented growth for many years, so sure, many of the people ITP are from WAY OTP.
    The civil rights movement was born here despite the history of racism. You can still see his church today.
    We have world class museums and exhibits and are a partner with the Louvre
    ATL is actually 6 mini cities "sprawled" out
    Have AT&T phone? Based here
    Amazing botanical garden with a long suspended bridge. (my kids love it)
    We have one of the top zoos and pandas!
    We have an amphitheater where they turn off the lights and the candles shine. You can byob or wine and food.

    Did I mention the worlds busiest airport provides (usually) non stop flights to anywhere you want to go?

    Yeah, it's a great city and we all have warts.

    I think you can live anywhere and experience what the person above has, but in all my travels, I've yet to come accross a city or area where I don't feel I need to be on guard, people open their doors, and talk to you as easily as Georgia.

    Que Ray Charles and Otis Reddimg.
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
    Idaho is cooler! LOL
  • tata2g3
    tata2g3 Posts: 90 Member
    I live in Macon and I've considered moving to the ATL area but lone_wolf70 is making me want to move to Charleston! Lol I like ATL though. I agree with everyone about the traffic.
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
    I lived in ATL for about seven years, moved there from Cali when my husband left the Navy.
    There were more racial tension than I expected.

    That said, most everyone was friendly. Most.
    I got flack from 2 co-workers for buying my daughter a black barbie? not sure why.
    2 altercations one the marta train, 1 physical, 1 very verbal. Not a huge deal. After 6 years on the Marta and just 2? I feel perfectly safe taking the public transit which is actually quite good.

    3 years I lived in Gwinnett, up in lawrenceville. It was ok, but nothing like Cali. That was hard getting over.
    The grocery store, Publix is effing awesome. Hands down the best non-farmer's market grocery store I have ever been to (which is a lot, I now live north of the mason-dixon)

    3 years I lived near downtown over in VA/HI, a small cute little neighborhood. It was actually one of the first neighborhoods in the area. a little over a year near phipps/lenox towards N. druid hills. **That specific school area SUCKS WANG. Don't go there. most of the atl area is great for single people/married no kids.. but once you have kids..OUCH. why is why we no longer live in GA.

    Other than the whole education dept in GA, I liked it. (Ok, wasn't fond of the heat, and btw, my first Christmas there WAS white. It does get cold there on occasion! It snowed the last winter I was there, too. )

    If you go down town, check out the Vortex, GREAT burgers.
  • OnWisconsin84
    OnWisconsin84 Posts: 409 Member
    You guys rock!! Thanks for all the feedback!!
  • Lone_Wolf70
    Lone_Wolf70 Posts: 2,820 Member
    Do it baby! I love Georgia. I live in Augusta, about two hours east of ATL. It's much smaller, but I love it. I have two brothers in Atlanta. When you arrive in the GA, we will do lunch.

    Ive lived in Augusta for the past two years....i CANNOT WAIT to get out of here.
  • OnWisconsin84
    OnWisconsin84 Posts: 409 Member
    Can we get this one going again?? :glasses:
  • Carrie3B
    Carrie3B Posts: 45 Member
    We live in Peachtree City about 1/2 hour south of Atlanta. I drive a golf cart. It's pretty awesome. I moved to Atlanta when I was 20 with no intention of staying. I love it here! I lived in the city for 10 years and moved to PTC when I was preg with DD. I really hate the cold and while it does get hot and humid here, I'll take it over snow any day. Plus, it's just a couple hours to the mountains, 4-7 hours to the beach depending on which one you want to go to, and there's loads of lakes and parks.

    I live in Marietta (in one of the metro ATL burbs) but grew up in Peachtree City! I miss PTC and would love to move back someday. My parents still live there and my kids think it's normal for everyone to own a golf cart LOL!

    I love ATL--affordable homes, nice people--yes, sucky traffic but there is sucky traffic so many places. And I've rarely met a northerner who hasn't lived here or wanted to move here! Come on down!!! :-)
  • I'm in Columbus, about 90 miles SW of ATL but close enough to go there from time to time, like this past weekend. Traffic is horrible but it does offer you 'A' list entertainment that you won't get in a smaller city. I guess most Southern towns, like Charleston, Savannah, etc. have some charm about them. Atlanta has way outgrown the charm. Downtown Marietta is cool; there's nice burbs that can pretty much offer you a sort of small town vibe right on the edge of the city.
  • laprovocateur
    laprovocateur Posts: 128 Member
    well, having just moved from there..............We still own a house there because the housing marking tanked. They just voted down (again) any effort to improve the traffic situation. Due to the crashed housing market and bad traffic, jobs are scarce (but media might still be hanging in there). Humidity sucks. Atlanta is now being touted as the new "Detroit".

    On a good note, the north Georgia mountains rock. Midtown is pretty awesome. There is a good art museum. Oh, and the Braves!

    It's amazing how a myopic of a view would apply to a generalization of an opinion. But thats just it isn't it? We all have opinions and....


    I suppose everyone has their own experience So let me tell you about mine.

    I'm from Griffin but have been to 37 countries.
    I live in Woodstock and while traffic sucks at times it's because many people choose to live in areas and commute accordingly that sometimes create that. We are in it together, think about places with no traffic. No one wants to live there.
    I live in a diverse community where 7 languages are spoken: English Chinese Spanish Russian Swedish Italian and southern English.
    I can be at a beach in 4 hrs or the mountains in 2.
    I have access to dozens of world class bike trails, class 4+ rivers, and every warrior dash type of event is here
    Significant sports live here including many of the gold medal winners. Sunday at the braves is the best
    ATL is the center of the music world right now and continue to produce. I'll apologize for Beiber though even he's Canadian, usher brought him to ATL to make him a star. Also, a person that works for me dropped his kids off at school the same time tpain did this am. Countless musicians are from or make their home here.
    The worlds largest aquarium and research facility is here. Downtown. Next to a freakin soda exhibit
    Dialogue in the dark is in Paris, Vegas, and here.
    You can literally have the Hollywood, redneck, suburban, urban, uptown hi rise, farm horse, quiet style life style less than an hour from each other
    ATL employs a top ten tech work force. Guess where the major hubs for amazon, google, apple, and IBM are?
    The worlds largest 10k race is here and draws hundreds of thousands in support.
    ATL had an unprecedented growth for many years, so sure, many of the people ITP are from WAY OTP.
    The civil rights movement was born here despite the history of racism. You can still see his church today.
    We have world class museums and exhibits and are a partner with the Louvre
    ATL is actually 6 mini cities "sprawled" out
    Have AT&T phone? Based here
    Amazing botanical garden with a long suspended bridge. (my kids love it)
    We have one of the top zoos and pandas!
    We have an amphitheater where they turn off the lights and the candles shine. You can byob or wine and food.

    Did I mention the worlds busiest airport provides (usually) non stop flights to anywhere you want to go?

    Yeah, it's a great city and we all have warts.

    I think you can live anywhere and experience what the person above has, but in all my travels, I've yet to come accross a city or area where I don't feel I need to be on guard, people open their doors, and talk to you as easily as Georgia.

    "Queue" or "Cue", but not "Que"* Ray Charles and Otis Redding.


    Um. Damn. (By the way, yes. I did spell check your last line).
  • Banks01
    Banks01 Posts: 945 Member

    Um. Damn. (By the way, yes. I did spell check your last line).

    Digging up old stuff? Hmmmmm