Dallas,Texas or Atlanta (Marietta, Smyrna: houses, neighborhoods, subdivisions)

[heartbroken]

What can anyone tell me about the Hidden Hills area in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Is it a good choice to move need to know ASAP. I'm presently living in Dallas,Texas.!!!!!!!

[A&H TEAM]

Stay away from that area if you can. Marietta, Alpharetta, Buford and even Cumming are much better choices.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by heartbroken

What can anyone tell me about the Hidden Hills area in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Is it a good choice to move need to know ASAP. I'm presently living in Dallas,Texas.!!!!!!!

Many of the neighborhoods in Stone Mountain have 'issues'.
What exactly are you looking for in terms of a community? Price? Amenities? Proximity to work?

[NY323]

Dallas has the edge. Both cities are great.
Dallas, however, has more/better restaurants, more shopping, slightly more entertainment venues and attractions, more people, and more pride.
Atlanta is more scenic. Dallas is more cosmopolitan. Atlanta has a strong Southern feel, while Dallas has more international flavor (much like california), with texas pride and influence on the side.

Dallas is the largest metro area in the state of Texas, and 4th largest in the United States. Atlanta is 9th. Both cities have great suburbs, but Dallas has more.

Dallas definitely has the flashy-urban feel. Atlanta also does somewhat.
To me, Dallas has a slightly more impressive skyline, especially at night.
The restaurants in Dallas are second-to-none, with more restaurants per capita than NYC. While Dallas has fantastic local/regional restaurants that you won't find anywhere else, it also has an almost limitless variety of food choices. But Tex-Mex is best in Dallas.
Atlanta, like I said, is more scenic.
the Dallas area has more Fortune 500 companies than any other city in the world, and the 9th most billionaires in the world. Not sure if that is relevant or not (haha)

I have been to both cities many times, and i love them both.
I love it in NYC, but if I had to live anywhere else, I would choose Dallas or Chicago. Both strongly appeal to me. I love the "spizazz" of dallas.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by NY323

Dallas has the edge. Both cities are great.
Dallas, however, has more/better restaurants, more shopping, slightly more entertainment venues and attractions, more people, and more pride.
Atlanta is more scenic. Dallas is more cosmopolitan. Atlanta has a strong Southern feel, while Dallas has more international flavor (much like california), with texas pride and influence on the side.

Dallas is the largest metro area in the state of Texas, and 4th largest in the United States. Atlanta is 9th. Both cities have great suburbs, but Dallas has more.

Dallas definitely has the flashy-urban feel. Atlanta also does somewhat.
To me, Dallas has a slightly more impressive skyline, especially at night.
The restaurants in Dallas are second-to-none, with more restaurants per capita than NYC. While Dallas has fantastic local/regional restaurants that you won't find anywhere else, it also has an almost limitless variety of food choices. But Tex-Mex is best in Dallas.
Atlanta, like I said, is more scenic.
the Dallas area has more Fortune 500 companies than any other city in the world, and the 9th most billionaires in the world. Not sure if that is relevant or not (haha)

I have been to both cities many times, and i love them both.
I love it in NYC, but if I had to live anywhere else, I would choose Dallas or Chicago. Both strongly appeal to me. I love the "spizazz" of dallas.

Have lived in both, think they are pretty equal in all the areas you give Dallas an edge. After awhile, the "spizazz" you mention loses its sheen.

Atlanta definitely has the edge in housing when considering variety and styles. Dallas, especially suburban areas, gets very monotonous. Pyramid shaped roofs to the horizon, much smaller lots. Topography flat and compared to Atlanta seems treeless (even tho there are trees, heaven help me if a Dallas booster gets on here and sees me say that -- have been round and round on that topic on other threads).

Take Fort Worth out of the mix and Atlanta metro is larger than Dallas.

However the OP is asking about a specific Atlanta area neighborhood even tho the title of the thead sounds like it is to enlist comparisons between the two cities.

[Cobb]

I have a friend that live in Hidden Hills. be mindful that in Hidden they have seperate subdivisions, ex: Golf Link @ Hidden Hills. They still have beautiful homes but there are a few that are NOT that great. I dont think I would choose HH, just my opinion. there is a golf course in there that has completely gone to ruins and is an eyesore. I would say go drive around HH and look for yourself and you be the judge.

[MantaRay]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Atlanta definitely has the edge in housing when considering variety and styles. Dallas, especially suburban areas, gets very monotonous..... Pyramid shaped roofs to the horizon, much smaller lots.

From what I can see, the Dallas suburbs have plenty of neighborhoods with rear facing garages, a feature that is really tough to find in other metro areas, and certainly doesn't tend to be replicated again and again in Atlanta subdivisions as in Dallas subdivisions. It is there (Suwanee for example), just not plentiful.

Dallas also by far has the edge in public bike/walking trails that connect one part of the city to another. In that category, it's not even close. Atlanta has the Silver Comet, which connects the Smyrna suburb to the exurbs and rural areas, but certainly nothing going across town.

As far as lot size, Atlanta should have planned its suburban growth with much smaller lots like Dallas and with more of a grid street pattern like Dallas to distribute traffic more evenly and effectively. Atlanta typically has one way to get somewhere and the bigger lots have eaten up land and made sprawl even worse than it otherwise would have been.

Atlanta's advantages are its better weather (not as scorching) and being generally greener, if that sort of thing appeals to a person.

[Sugacoles]

Originally Posted by heartbroken

What can anyone tell me about the Hidden Hills area in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Is it a good choice to move need to know ASAP. I'm presently living in Dallas,Texas.!!!!!!!

Hidden Hills USED to be the place to live located on the east side of Atlanta. Lots of crime, property value have been decreasing there since 2000 and its been difficult to sell a home over there since 2002. The traffic congestion in that area is terrible especially during rush hour. It's not what it used to be and I would think twice about living there. As a matter of fact I would think twice about living in the areas of Stone Mountain, Lithonia and some parts of Decatur. These areas have declined and Conyer is on its way as well.

Atlanta and it suburbs have become so congested that you almost have to go 30 miles outside of Atlanta to have some peace. However, on a more positive note, there's quite a bit of entertainment going on and always something to do. Its becoming more of a hip-hop place to be. Geographically, its located in a nice place close to Florida, Carolinas and not far from DC.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

As far as lot size, Atlanta should have planned its suburban growth with much smaller lots like Dallas and with more of a grid street pattern like Dallas to distribute traffic more evenly and effectively. Atlanta typically has one way to get somewhere and the bigger lots have eaten up land and made sprawl even worse than it otherwise would have been.

Atlanta has very little say in the development which occurs outside of its city limits, and that would be most of the metro. The hilly country and pre-existing roads in much of the metro area don't really lend themselves to gridded residential development, either.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by MantaRay

From what I can see, the Dallas suburbs have plenty of neighborhoods with rear facing garages, a feature that is really tough to find in other metro areas, and certainly doesn't tend to be replicated again and again in Atlanta subdivisions as in Dallas subdivisions. It is there (Suwanee for example), just not plentiful.

Dallas also by far has the edge in public bike/walking trails that connect one part of the city to another. In that category, it's not even close. Atlanta has the Silver Comet, which connects the Smyrna suburb to the exurbs and rural areas, but certainly nothing going across town.

As far as lot size, Atlanta should have planned its suburban growth with much smaller lots like Dallas and with more of a grid street pattern like Dallas to distribute traffic more evenly and effectively. Atlanta typically has one way to get somewhere and the bigger lots have eaten up land and made sprawl even worse than it otherwise would have been.

Atlanta's advantages are its better weather (not as scorching) and being generally greener, if that sort of thing appeals to a person.

There is nothing in Dallas, not even the whole of North Texas to compare to what Atlanta has in Kennesaw Moutain battlefield park and The Chattahoochee River parks. Wilderness in the midst of the city.

I don't get the great allure of rear entry garages. They make for postage stamp back yards and people still park on the curbs in front of the houses. Most streets like this become one way by default as two cars cannot pass with cars lining both sides of the street. And something about the same repeated brick fronts with no driveways feels kind of like Stepford.

One thing I do appreciate about Dallas suburbs over Atlanta is the use of four sided brick most of the time. The Atlanta penchant for brick front only is tacky.

Bigger lots have not eaten up the land, but the contrary. Bigger lots have allowed the natural lay of the land and more of the natural tree cover to remain in place. Newer subdivisions that are cropping up with more of the crammed in Dallas feel have led to complete clear cutting and leveling of the terrain so as to cram more lookalike brick front with 3 sided white siding houses. This is the Dallasization of Atlanta and one of the worst developments in the last couple of decades, IMO. I'll take curvy tree lined streets and some space between homes with trees creating a sense of space over the forest of rooftops I see in every direction here in Collin County.