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I've never seen a place with so much antagonism between the core city(cities if you want to include Decatur and a couple other ITP cities) and it's suburbs than metro Atlanta. I swear some people HATE each other based on which side of a freakin' highway they live on. I think Arjay brought up the point that many suburbs have higher density than many ITP areas and there are actually many unique, non-chain places to eat, shop, and hang out outside of the many underwhelming "hipster seal of approval" neighborhoods ITP. I don't understand the elitist attitude that a lot of ITP folks have and I am ITP and live in a hipster-approved neighborhood. Not everyone who lives OTP is a toothless, rebel flag-waving, Rush-listening, non-global warming believing redneck.
The antagonism and side taking is actually hilarious.
Like, look at Frankster. He complains that suburban people are scared of subways. He obviously doesn't even take them himself because if he did, he would know that nobody in Atlanta refers to MARTA as a "subway." I thought he was talking about a sandwhich retaurant before I finished the sentence.
I also hate to tell you, Frank, but you DO live in a suburb. Buckhead was just the original suburb and over time it seemed to be more of an intown neighborhood, but it was originally populated as a place where people could build estates without having to buy big plots of land in the expensive city. Buckhead shares almost none of the core values of places like midtown or Candler Park. I know, I lived there for 7 years.
I also find it hilarious to see people who live in places like Decatur side with the intown dwellers. To most people who live in the core of the city, Decatur is just where the ex-hippies and lesbians live. If you live in Buckhead or Decatur, you are really siding with people who view you as just as big of an outsider as you view people from Johns Creek.
So to all the intown complainers....unless you live in the middle of midtown, downtown, or Grant Park....guess what? You live in an area that was founded on the EXACT same principle as the far out suburbs! It just happened a longer time ago before we had cars, so it was done closer to where the city is and over time got annexed by the city. You want to think you're so different, but you're not.
And if you ever took the time to get out of your comfort zone....you know, the very thing you love to accuse suburban dwellers of not doing...you might see that areas like Roswell, Duluth, and oh my God yes, even Alpharetta, are starting to develop unique identities of their own just like your precious ITP neighborhoods.
Man, the only outer suburb I think is even slightly interesting is Duluth/Norcross because of all the Asian and Hispanic culture. Otherwise, ain't nobody caring about labels. The Intown or close in burbs are nothing like places like Stockbridge and Douglasville. The label "suburb" is not what makes people care. It's about not living in a boring ,sprawling,unsubstainable part of town just have a big yard , a Walmart down the street and the illusion of automatic safety and better schools.
Many years ago, when I moved to Atlanta, there was only a 404 area code. When we got the second area code (770), one of my ITP co-workers lorded it over me because his suburban-like neighborhood remained in the 404 area code, whereas mine reeked of the suburbs. He felt this made him better than me---more sophisticated, urbane, progressive, etc. The funny thing was that even though I lived in Alpharetta, I was partaking of much more ITP stuff than he was, including cultural stuff like the symphony, opera (before it moved to Cobb County), jazz concerts, ballet, restaurants, festivals---even though it did involve a drive!
This Thread is funny, people live where they want/can live-its their choice- I currently live in Snellville and almost all my neighbors are transplants from big cities. When I moved here from NY, I really did not know much about GA-it was my second visit to the state. But I thought the green space was beautiful, I had family/friends in the area, I could own a decent size home with a lawn, I had a garage to park my car(as simple as this is I hated having to move my car every day for street cleaning), As one poster mentioned, I actually enjoy going to a strip mall and have no issues finding parking, I also dont mind chain restaurants. It was what me and my family wanted.
I have nothing against city dwellers, I was one until 5 yrs ago. I work downtown, drive to Indian Creek station and take Marta-it takes about 1 hr each way-the same amount of time it took me when I lived in Brooklyn and commuted to Manhattan for work. I am 35 yrs old, married with a 5 yr old daughter, I don't go to bars/clubs, I spend most of my time hanging out with my family-so proximity to nightlife is not needed. We are your average boring family-not looking for any excitement, just want to raise our daughter well and have a decent life. Now, if I could afford a really nice neighborhood intown, my decision would probably have changed.
Today's urbanites are tomorrow's suburbanites. I'd be interested to check in with some of the hardcore urban fans in 10 years and see where they're living once they've got a couple of kids.
By the same token, it's worth noting that nowadays living in a city like Atlanta is a thoroughly viable option for families with children. We're still a fairly low density city with plenty of intown areas where you can have a yard, pool, pets, a garden and everything else you can get in the suburbs. It may cost you a little more, but it's still very affordable and just as safe.
In a sense, "intown" is just a slightly different form of suburb. Most intowners still get up and head off to work in the suburbs like everybody else.
The antagonism and side taking is actually hilarious.
Like, look at Frankster. He complains that suburban people are scared of subways. He obviously doesn't even take them himself because if he did, he would know that nobody in Atlanta refers to MARTA as a "subway." I thought he was talking about a sandwhich retaurant before I finished the sentence.
I also hate to tell you, Frank, but you DO live in a suburb. Buckhead was just the original suburb and over time it seemed to be more of an intown neighborhood, but it was originally populated as a place where people could build estates without having to buy big plots of land in the expensive city. Buckhead shares almost none of the core values of places like midtown or Candler Park. I know, I lived there for 7 years.
I also find it hilarious to see people who live in places like Decatur side with the intown dwellers. To most people who live in the core of the city, Decatur is just where the ex-hippies and lesbians live. If you live in Buckhead or Decatur, you are really siding with people who view you as just as big of an outsider as you view people from Johns Creek.
So to all the intown complainers....unless you live in the middle of midtown, downtown, or Grant Park....guess what? You live in an area that was founded on the EXACT same principle as the far out suburbs! It just happened a longer time ago before we had cars, so it was done closer to where the city is and over time got annexed by the city. You want to think you're so different, but you're not.
And if you ever took the time to get out of your comfort zone....you know, the very thing you love to accuse suburban dwellers of not doing...you might see that areas like Roswell, Duluth, and oh my God yes, even Alpharetta, are starting to develop unique identities of their own just like your precious ITP neighborhoods.
Whoa man I honestly think that you are taking this a little too seriously. I personally was having a joke with the whole thing and I find the entire ITP vs. OTP feud hilarious and quite fun. Sure we all have our own preferences and I may not want to live "ITP" by the time I settle down and have children....but that doesn't change the way I feel about it now.
And to your comments about me not using Marta because I called it a subway... Well it IS a subway. I believe the title of this thread was "What makes people live in the suburbs when they work in the city?" I look at that as a general city vs. suburb question, and I really don't think that people live in the suburbs of Chicago or any other big city because they are afraid of Marta... But there are people out there who genuinely do not want to live near mass transit, more times than not due to a fear of the lesser desirables having easier access to the places where they live/play etc. I'm not arguing whether that perceived perception holds water or not, I think that is an entirely difference conversation and I honestly do see where both sides are coming from.
Yeah, no need to school me on the history of Buckhead. I've lived in the metro area for almost 15 years. Buckhead certainly is not on par with Midtown as far as in town living goes but I think in its current state it's a little short sited to group it in as a suburb because of how it came about. London was originally much smaller than what it is now and I wouldn't consider the area outside of the however many square miles it once was to be a suburb of London. They by the way have an excellent subway...err I mean Tube.
And for the record - I have 4 breeze cards hanging out in my dresser drawer right now.
No offense, but I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say that I'm getting really sick of the urban elitism on this board. Many of the urban dwellers seem to display the exact type of myopic vision they claim only exists in the suburbs. Atlanta may have sprawled out and not exhibited the smartest growth in the country, but both the suburbs and urban areas come with unique sets of advantages and disadvantages. People try to make decisions that they think are going to be best for them and make them the happiest.
I'd go as far as saying they really aren't Urban Dwellers. Many probably grew up in the burbs and now that cities across the country are "cool and hip" they feel they have arived because they can walk to coffe shops.
They're not urban dwellers. What they want is a suburban area within the city. I've lived inside of cites my entire life--from Detroit to Chicago, when you're a UD, you deal with everything that comes with living in the city.
The wanna-be UD is looking for Trader Joe's and cutesy little coffe shops. They think that's what makes them "city people", but as soon as the see someone the doesn't "look like they belong" they get paranoid. Oh and don't forget the expensive bicycles and training for the 5k run
I'd go as far as saying they really aren't Urban Dwellers. Many probably grew up in the burbs and now that cities across the country are "cool and hip" they feel they have arived because they can walk to coffe shops.
They're not urban dwellers. What they want is a suburban area within the city. I've lived inside of cites my entire life--from Detroit to Chicago, when you're a UD, you deal with everything that comes with living in the city.
The wanna-be UD is looking for Trader Joe's and cutesy little coffe shops. They think that's what makes them "city people", but as soon as the see someone the doesn't "look like they belong" they get paranoid. Oh and don't forget the expensive bicycles and training for the 5k run
Yeah many of us did grow up in the burbs, and many of us had parents that grew up in the city. The generation/s before us moved out for personal reasons, just as many of us are moving back in for our own reasons. What is so wrong with wanting to live in more walkable areas? Or an area that offers more unique shops and not just big box retailers?
It's nice being able to walk to bars/restaurants and not having to worry about getting a DUI. From my experience in the burbs, you pretty much had to drive everywhere.
I for one do not want a suburban area within the city. In fact, I get a little annoyed with how suburban many of the urban areas within Atlanta are.
Yeah many of us did grow up in the burbs, and many of us had parents that grew up in the city. The generation/s before us moved out for personal reasons, just as many of us are moving back in for our own reasons. What is so wrong with wanting to live in more walkable areas? Or an area that offers more unique shops and not just big box retailers?
It's nice being able to walk to bars/restaurants and not having to worry about getting a DUI. From my experience in the burbs, you pretty much had to drive everywhere.
I for one do not want a suburban area within the city. In fact, I get a little annoyed with how suburban many of the urban areas within Atlanta are.
I never said anything was wrong with wanting to walk to the places. You'll have to read the post i responded to and than read my and put it together for yourself. I'm not going to type it all out for you.
the OP was talking about people that have this elite attitude because they live in the city and therefore i responded with my post. i was saying people that act that way are not city dweelers and than I go into detail...
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