What do young people think of Atlanta? (Dallas: homes, neighborhood)

[Lady's Man]

Speaking from personal experience, I grew up in the suburbs and found it very boring. But I would think most kids would prefer growing up in a city, where friends and entertainment would only be a short walk away.

The reason I was inquiring about this is because as a recent college grad, I have noticed that many of my friends/acquaintences have moved on to different cities. There are very few people that I know from my hometown that decided to settle down there and buy a home. To me I find it suprising that someone younger would buy a home in the suburbs.

I believe that many suburban atlanta kids are looking for a more exciting city. So instead of moving from the suburbs to atlanta, many are leaving the area all together to find something better.

We all like to try new things when we are young, but like Arjay said, understanding what attracts younger people is very important. Atlanta doesn't need to become like NYC, but it does need to become more urban. Otherwise, Atlanta will continue to be a step behind.

[rzzz]

Regarding the gay gentrification thing, it's that the original gentrifiers are victims of their own success.
They start the gentrification wave, then 20 years later, younger gay people cannot afford those neighborhoods. The best example of this is the Castro in SF. It's pretty much entirely populated by old, buff bald guys with tiny dogs.

[bryantm3]

i'm 22, i may not necessarily be representative of my demographic, but i love it. to me, atlanta is a work in progress. it's great now, but it's going to be better in 20 years. see what i'm saying? yeah there's great stuff to do but there's a lot to improve, and atlanta has limitless potential unlike places like chicago, new york or LA which have already developed their potential.

[Newsboy]

I brought a friend up from Savannah to Atlanta for a visit about a month ago. One weekday afternoon, we went for a walk in Piedmont Park. "Where are all the gay people? Where are all the black people?" he asked. This is the Atlanta of today: White, straight, professional. That it is better or worse than what it was in the past is really moot; a thriving city is one that is living. breathing, evolving, changing. And by that definition, Atlanta is a THRIVING city! I have both very fond and very scary memories of Midtown in my younger days (I'm talking 25 years ago ... older than many of you posting in this thread!). Yet I wouldn't for the life of me want it to go back there, except to see some very dear friends who are no longer here. Maybe once you all get some life experience you'll understand that, trust me ... you can only move forward. Or else you die.

[tonygeorgia]

People that know EVERYTHING Atlanta has to offer love it here. The problem is most people dont know all the things Atlanta offers. Compared to other cities unless you know where to look or you have a good group of friends that know what's going on to recommend to u. You ask the average person about certain things about Atlanta and they could not answer your question. Once you scratch the surface on Atlanta and really find out what Atl offers you would love it. Not saying Atlanta is perfect and ww have a long ways to go in certain areas but overall Atlanta is the s___

[Staysean23]

This notion that black Gay men and gay men are leaving is somewhat true .. But there are a lot of them.moving here replacing the ones that left. The ones that are leaving have been here a while.. The Gay communites have changed everywhere especially in NY... None of the scenes are what they used to be I mean none. There are alot of black gay men that have left Chicago, NY, Philly Detroit and other southern cities etc to come here. African american gay scene is alot more vibrant here than alot of places. Me being a black gay male Atlanta is still top place for black gay men I couldn't be anywhere else but Atlanta. Wait till Labor Day u will see. As for whites I can't really speak for them maybe they need some.better event planners to keep things going

[Onthemove2014]

Originally Posted by Staysean23

This notion that black Gay men and gay men are leaving is somewhat true .. But there are a lot of them.moving here replacing the ones that left. The ones that are leaving have been here a while.. The Gay communites have changed everywhere especially in NY... None of the scenes are what they used to be I mean none. There are alot of black gay men that have left Chicago, NY, Philly Detroit and other southern cities etc to come here. African american gay scene is alot more vibrant here than alot of places. Me being a black gay male Atlanta is still top place for black gay men I couldn't be anywhere else but Atlanta. Wait till Labor Day u will see. As for whites I can't really speak for them maybe they need some.better event planners to keep things going

The white gay men simply want to be away from you ( a gay black man). Apparently, they don't like yall that much.

[ATLTJL]

The problem is, I've never heard of a neighborhood whose values increased because a bunch of gay black men moved in.

Certainly, black gays were a part of the overall gay community that helped midtown, VaHi, etc. However, once you lose that diversity, I don't think the gay black community has the same economic and political power as the overall gay community. Most of the gay power brokers have left the area.

[YellaDawg]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

The problem is, I've never heard of a neighborhood whose values increased because a bunch of gay black men moved in.

Certainly, black gays were a part of the overall gay community that helped midtown, VaHi, etc. However, once you lose that diversity, I don't think the gay black community has the same economic and political power as the overall gay community. Most of the gay power brokers have left the area.

Black gays and black artists go into certain inner city neighborhoods and fix them up BEFORE white gays and white artists feel comfortable enough to move in.

The trend is generally, in chronolgical order: black gays, black artists, buppies, white gays, white artists, white yuppies.

See: Brooklyn's Fort Greene / Clinton Hill for a perfect example of this trend. Harlem is now in this process as well.

[DTL3000]

I concur with you guys saying Atlanta isn't really a "family oriented" city, or at least it doesn't feel that way. I hung out a bit in Capitol Hill(the actual neighborhood, not around the Capitol's tourist attractions) this past weekend and that place was absolutely crawling with yuppie spawn. I never experienced anything like that in Atlanta. Even in neighborhoods like Virginia Highland and Inman Park I just didn't see all that many parents out and about with their kids. Occasionally you'll see a crowd of them in Centennial Park but those kids are just as likely to be tourists from out of state as they are local kids.

And come to think of it, not many of my friends and coworkers who live in Atlanta have had kids yet and many of them are mid-thirties at least. The more I think about it the more unusual it seems. Maybe it's a combination of the lack of inexpensive family entertainment options, the impossibility of dating in Atlanta, or the unusually high gay population that makes Atlanta a relatively barren city.