Moving From London To Atlanta (credit, insurance, apartments)

[lady netty]

Hello! Hello!

I planning on moving out to Atlanta sometime next year,...well it really depends on where i get a job..anywayz, ive searched and searched on the web as to an indication of the cost of living, ie monthly utility bills (electric/gas/water etc), telephone bills, do you guys pay tv licence? if so how much a month?, internet bill, monthly grocery, car insurance, do you guys pay road tax and MOT? if so how much a month?

right next, ive search for apartments to rent compiled a list of agents (im making progress don't you think), rent max is $1500, apartment sizes are rougly between 600 sqft - 800sqft 1bedrooms. The areas are 30308/ 30306/ 30305/ 30346/ 30318/ 30345/ 30324/ 30309? please advise on selected areas?

I think thats about it unless there's anything else to consider? oh yeah gettin around, I HATE DRIVING IN LONDON, ACTUALLY LETS REPHRASE THAT IM SCARED OF DRIVING IN LONDON!, how do i get around in Atlanta? if I have to drive purchasing a car, wot are the options? and montly petrol?

PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!! p.s im a single mover

[NYLATINQT]

Why are you moving to Atlanta? Have you been here before? Know anyone here? I'm not sure what it is that you are looking for. A little more insight would be nice and then you'd likely get some better feedback. And why are you afraid of driving in London? You pretty much would need to drive in Atlanta even if you live close to MARTA (train). Public transportation will not be enough to get you around town in general.

[xxman777]

A lot of these costs can vary a lot so it depends but I'll try to give you an idea of what I pay. I'm single and these costs where from when I recently lived in a one bedroom apartment.

I payed about $45 a month for utilities, varying greatly throughout the year. Summer and winter are the most expensive months. For telephone I only had a cell phone. I payed about $50 a month but it depends on how much you like to talk. No TV license, I got tv and internet bundled for about $65 a month. You can pay a lot more (tv packages get up into the several hundreds) or a lot less. Car insurance varies greatly depending on the type of car you have, your age, sex, driving history, credit history, all sorts of things. I pay about $80 a month. There is no road tax unless you drive on a toll road (there is only one in the Atlanta region and it costs $.50 per trip). Not sure what MOT is. Gas again varies greatly on how much you drive, what kind of car you have, etc. I usually pay about $50 a month but that is pretty low.

For $1500 you are on the high end for a 600-800 sqft apartment. Anything in that price range should be very nice. You should be able to get something nice closer to $1000 a month. All of those zip codes have some nice areas and some not so nice areas so it depends on where you are within them, but again for $1000-$1500 a month you should be fine. The one I would be most worried about would be 30318 which includes some of Atlanta's most dangerous areas, but it also includes Atlantic Station which is a very popular, huge redevelopment close to downtown Atlanta.

Oh, and yes you probably need a car. Atlanta is very difficult to get around without one. I have several friends who do not have one so it can be done, but they have to plan their life around not having a car. Transit in Atlanta is pathetic.

Originally Posted by lady netty

Hello! Hello!

I planning on moving out to Atlanta sometime next year,...well it really depends on where i get a job..anywayz, ive searched and searched on the web as to an indication of the cost of living, ie monthly utility bills (electric/gas/water etc), telephone bills, do you guys pay tv licence? if so how much a month?, internet bill, monthly grocery, car insurance, do you guys pay road tax and MOT? if so how much a month?

right next, ive search for apartments to rent compiled a list of agents (im making progress don't you think), rent max is $1500, apartment sizes are rougly between 600 sqft - 800sqft 1bedrooms. The areas are 30308/ 30306/ 30305/ 30346/ 30318/ 30345/ 30324/ 30309? please advise on selected areas?

I think thats about it unless there's anything else to consider? oh yeah gettin around, I HATE DRIVING IN LONDON, ACTUALLY LETS REPHRASE THAT IM SCARED OF DRIVING IN LONDON!, how do i get around in Atlanta? if I have to drive purchasing a car, wot are the options? and montly petrol?

PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!! p.s im a single mover

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by xxman777

All of those zip codes have some nice areas and some not so nice areas so it depends on where you are within them. The one I would be most worried about would be 30318 which includes some of Atlanta's most dangerous areas, but it also includes Atlantic Station which is a very popular, huge redevelopment close to downtown Atlanta.
.

Atlantic Station has their own zip code now. See their site: Atlantic Station® - Life Happens here.

And ditto to what everyone else is saying, lady netty...

Driving in Atlanta scares ME and I've lived here 20+ years. If you haven't spent lots of time in the U.S., I would strongly recommend that you invest in driving school courses here - they're NOT just for teenagers. It's going to be freaky enough for you to have to drive on the, ahem... "right" side of the road - must less on the opposite side you're used to AND deal with our traffic/traffic speed, etc., on top of it. I know a guy who came over here years ago from England (not sure what city) and I remember him telling him that he wish he had taken some driving courses here to ease the tension of it.

We fill our tank with "gas" here, not petrol, and in gallons, not liters (average price now is around $3.00 per gallon) - the "English to American" slang will kick in after a while. Just don't call a cigarette the "fword" that's used there (in the UK cigarettes are called f*a*g*s) - Atlanta has a huge gay community and you'll likely get smacked across the head for saying that word. LOL. Innocent words/slang on one side of the pond can mean VASTLY different things (or insults) here.

Atlantic Station as xxman said is a newer development in Midtown Atlanta and it's pretty nice. Condos, townhomes, and regular standalone homes are available in the residential district, and there are lots of retail and restaurants (including the Souths only IKEA store). It's right off the "Connector" - Atlanta's hairiest and most congested traffic area, though. There is a free shuttle bus that runs throughout Atlantic Station which takes you over to the Arts Center MARTA rail station, however. There is also a small Publix grocery store, a bank, and enough stuff that the area is somewhat "self contained" in covering the basics of what you may want.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Innocent words/slang on one side of the pond can mean VASTLY different things (or insults) here.

Yeah -- try saying "f*a*n*n*y pack" to a Brit. :-) :-)

[chris-reeder]

I live in the 30324 zip code, it has some nice historic homes/condo's/apartments in your price range. Be aware, there are some areas of 30324 that have been historically strip clubs/sex shops. I don't mind it, (now that the prositiution has been cleaned up) but some folks might. Agree with the other posts about driving and traffic. Atlanta traffic is a bear, you may want to consider where you are planning to work and then look for housing based on the expected work commute time.