ITP vs. OTP (Atlanta, Alpharetta, Decatur: school, to live, price)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

But there's obviously a big difference between Alpharetta and Midtown.

True, although there's just as much or more difference between Midtown and most places inside the Perimeter. You've got many sections beyond 285 that are more densely developed than those inside 285.

That's why the "ITP vs. OTP" thing is bogus. You really have to look at specific locations.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JPD

Yeah, I know, but if I have to get on 285 tho get there, I'd rather stay in my neck of the woods.

No need to travel on any interstates if you don't want to. There are many routes between the suburbs and the City of Atlanta that don't require them.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

No need to travel on any interstates if you don't want to. There are many routes between the suburbs and the City of Atlanta that don't require them.

I'm aware, but a 10 minute drive from my house in Tucker to Perimeter Mall on 285 would take a half hour, on a good day, if I took surface roads.

To Alpharetta or Roswell, the time difference would be even worse.

I don't have that much time on my hands. Besides, there's really not anything there that I can't get (or experience) quicker, easier and probably cheaper within a five mile radius of my home, or within a short walk from my office.

[glovenyc]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

I used to think that before I moved here. But I've met quite a number of people who talk in those terms. I've even noticed a certain elitism about it. Some of the ITP people look down on anything OTP and vice versa. Obviously, I don't think these people are typical of what you'd find in Atlanta. The point is that it isn't just on a forum like where you see people drawing the ITP/OTP distinction.

Let me start by saying that I am a big Atlanta fan. I am a recent transplant from NYC living in Vinings, and I really don't get the elitism of the "in-towners" because honestly Atlanta feels like one "big suburb" anyway (in-town included). The city does have potential but the "powers that be" must find a way to inject some life and energy into the streets of downtown/midtown in order for Atlanta to be taken serious as a cosmopolitan city. Riding down Peachtree feels like the set of "I Am Legend" at times, it's like a ghost town. Atlanta is for the most part very clean and beautiful (especially compared to NYC), but still has a long way to go before it's in-town residents can look down on the suburbanites.

[TimelessClassic]

Originally Posted by glovenyc

Atlanta...still has a long way to go before it's in-town residents can look down on the suburbanites.

Very true.

[billl]

Originally Posted by glovenyc

but still has a long way to go before it's in-town residents can look down on the suburbanites.

I fail to see any reason why this should be a laudable goal.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by glovenyc

...still has a long way to go before it's in-town residents can look down on the suburbanites.

I live in town but have
always had the sneaking suspicion folks in the suburbs were looking down their noses at us poor slobs in the city.

[MilkMachine]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I live in town but have
always had the sneaking suspicion folks in the suburbs were looking down their noses at us poor slobs in the city.

Oh yeah. I observed this when I worked with mostly suburbanites. It is what it is--I didn't want to trade places with them any more than they wanted to with me. Different strokes for different folks.

[spacelord75]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I live in town but have
always had the sneaking suspicion folks in the suburbs were looking down their noses at us poor slobs in the city.

How ironic, as I've noticed the total opposite! Ha ha. I've lived in both and like them both the same. It's kinda hard to paint with a broad brush b/c not all ITP/OTP neighborhoods are equal in terms of desirability.

[DennyCrane]

I don't know what it's like here in Atlanta, but I know having lived in other cities that a big reason why folks in the suburbs look down on the city folk is because of race, class, and political views. If you go to the burbs, it tends to be more white, more upper and middle class, and more conservative. Again, I don't know how true that is of Atlanta, although judging by some of the threads I see here, it seems like there are definitely issues when it comes to race.

I've driven around both parts of the city and I agree that there are areas ITP that feel like they belong in the suburbs. Likewise, there are parts OTP that feel more like they should be in the city. Atlanta is no NYC and personally I'm glad it isn't. But I've been to cities that make Atlanta feel like NYC.