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Old 10-18-2012, 02:01 PM
 
Location: Sacramento, CA
771 posts, read 1,574,562 times
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I may have the oppportunity to apply for a promotion that I would have the choice of living in either ATL or DEN. As the title implies, which one would you pick?

I have been to both cities, but not for long enough to experience them. I have driven through ATL several times and the traffic is unbelievable. I do like the fact that CO seems to have a much tougher anti-smoking law.

I know somewhat what to anticipate with ATL as I lived in VA and MS for the better part of two decades.

Me - 50+, 2x divorced, young kids that live with their Mom in another state but keep saying they want to live with me during high school. So decent schools, free of the extreme gangbanger influence I see even in the suburban areas thoroughout California, are a must. California's public schools are a disaster!
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Old 10-18-2012, 02:14 PM
 
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What do you enjoy doing in your off hours?

What area of Atlanta will your job be located?
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Old 10-18-2012, 02:16 PM
 
Location: Sacramento, CA
771 posts, read 1,574,562 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lorilove View Post
What do you enjoy doing in your off hours?

What area of Atlanta will your job be located?
Downtown. Which is one HUGE reason why I hesitate, downtown ATL seems positively scary and dangerous to me.

I'm also a runner and cyclist, and one of the reasons I'm leaning more towards DEN in that respect is the South and ATL, from what I've read on triathlon forums, doesn't particularly care for active people... but ATL is closer to where my kids currently are. Although the advantage in both cases are the cities being hubs.
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Old 10-18-2012, 02:29 PM
 
1,971 posts, read 3,027,826 times
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It depends on what you like to do in your spare time and what kind of weather you like.
Also I think it depends on if you plan on living in the city or in the suburbs.

I had to make a similar decision back in April, and chose ATL because I thought the project sounded slightly more interesting and I already knew some of the team. The other option was in the area between Boulder and Denver, where all the tech companies are. However, I sort of regret my decision as the project has been a big headache, and I have had a tough time finding anything I enjoy doing in the Atlanta area.

I don't see much of a gangbanger influence here, that may actually be bigger in Denver, if you're talking about serious hispanic gangs. There does seem to be a lot of crime here, but it's a lot of small time stuff, burglaries and car breakins. You could probably avoid this by living in a nice suburb or in the Buckhead area. My job is in-town so I chose to live near work, which is good and bad. It's quick to get to work, but my house was burglarized when I went on vacation. There also have been a lot of weird crimes in the areas I frequent. A guy was executed in his car at the intersection where I turn to go to Chipotle, a woman pushing her baby was stuck up at 9 am right around the corner from the office I work at, etc.

I've lived in Oakland and have been held up before, so whereas the crime sort of bugs me, I can handle it. The main thing I have had a problem with is that I find it is pretty boring here. There are small pockets of stuff to do, but you could probably hit them all in about 2 days. I used to ride my bike for exercise and I find that pretty dangerous here, to the point where I just set up a stationary trainer at home. The final thing is that I do not think I can adapt to the summer weather... it was way too humid and hot for me. Lest it sounds like I am complaining, I really like the weather right now, and I find Piedmont Park a great place to run and just enjoy the weather. The skate park is fun (I'm an old skater) and there is a new bike path which looks great. I think in-town ATL boosters are really trying hard to make it a great place.

Now if you have teenage sons its probably a much different decision. CoL and schools are probably a bigger concern. However, I would assume both Denver and ATL have similar school options in the suburbs. Regarding CoL in general, I have found that although ATL in general is inexpensive and promoted as such, to live in the more desirable areas with good schools, is not cheap. Not as much as California, but easily on the same level or more than other places I've lived and visited, like Minneapolis and Portland.
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Old 10-18-2012, 02:31 PM
 
1,971 posts, read 3,027,826 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluevelo View Post
Downtown. Which is one HUGE reason why I hesitate, downtown ATL seems positively scary and dangerous to me.

I'm also a runner and cyclist, and one of the reasons I'm leaning more towards DEN in that respect is the South and ATL, from what I've read on triathlon forums, doesn't particularly care for active people... but ATL is closer to where my kids currently are. Although the advantage in both cases are the cities being hubs.
You posted this as I was posting my other message. If you are serious about cycling, ATL is not the place. However, I will admit that I don't know if Denver is, either. Boulder, on the other hand, is an endurance athletic mecca, so I am assuming that Denver would at least be slightly better than Atlanta.

I guess to just provide a simple answer, unless you are going to make a lot more money in ATL, I'd pick Denver.
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Old 10-18-2012, 02:39 PM
 
2,530 posts, read 4,745,373 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bluevelo View Post
Downtown. Which is one HUGE reason why I hesitate, downtown ATL seems positively scary and dangerous to me.

I'm also a runner and cyclist, and one of the reasons I'm leaning more towards DEN in that respect is the South and ATL, from what I've read on triathlon forums, doesn't particularly care for active people... but ATL is closer to where my kids currently are. Although the advantage in both cases are the cities being hubs.
Atlanta is a HUGE running community. Cycling is also quite popular although we are not too friendly of a city for cycling as a means of everyday transportation (although getting better)

Definitely check out the Atlanta Track Club

Atlanta Track Club :: Atlanta Running Club

There are multiple group runs on any day of the week and countless races on most weekends

You can live anywhere and be near alot of runners although I would say Emory/Decatur would have the most.

As for cycling, Roswell definitely leads the pack. You should check out:

bikeroswell.com

This is just start. There is much more information to share if you have specific questions.


Major plus for Atlanta - you can run or cycle year round except the occasional weekends in January or February when there might be ice on the ground.
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Old 10-18-2012, 02:54 PM
 
2,530 posts, read 4,745,373 times
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Here is another resource

Atlanta Triathlon Club

I run into them often at various group runs around Atlanta
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Old 10-18-2012, 03:15 PM
 
Location: Alaska
3,146 posts, read 4,053,507 times
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Denver is cleaner and has better weather (over 300+ days of sunshine a year with much lower humidity). Even when it snows, it tends to melt fairly quickly. Denver has much better traffic than Atlanta and a livelier, more diverse arts and culture scene, as well as many fantastic restaurants. Denver is more inducive to an active lifestyle and has all four major sports leagues. Denver is more diverse and cosmopolitan than Atlanta.

I would choose Denver in a heartbeat over Atlanta.
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Old 10-18-2012, 03:20 PM
 
9,008 posts, read 13,962,159 times
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I don't know too much about Denver.

But based on what I do know, you wouldn't exactly be splitting hairs choosing between Atlanta and Denver. They seem like two very different cities.

So it shouldn't be that hard of a decision to make. The things you want and life you like will probably be very different in both places.

I can't speak to cultural differences since I know nothing about Denver. However, even in terms of geography they are quite different. Denver is obviously closer to a great deal of outdoor recreation, especially if you are into skiing. So if you like to be totally active outdoors and don't mind cool winters, Denver is the clear winner. There's a lot to do outdoors in Atlanta, too, but you have to not mind hot and humid summers. If you don't care about daily outdoor recreation so much but are interested in being able to easily shoot down to a beach for a long weekend whenever you feel like it, Atlanta is the clear winner in that regard.

Since the cities are so different, the choice should be relatively simple. I do know that if you have, or ever plan to have a dog that even remotely looks like a pitbull, you need to stay out of Denver. In fact, don't even drive through Denver. They will take your dog away and euthanize it on sight.
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Old 10-18-2012, 03:46 PM
 
Location: MMU->ABE->ATL->ASH
9,317 posts, read 20,898,346 times
Reputation: 10443
Q: Where are the Kids?

Getting to/from SMF is 4.5 / 5.5 hr and only two flight a day N/S (and generally not that cheap) from ATL.
SMF-DEN has ~11 flight N/S a day 2.5 / hr and there is computation on the route. So fares are lower.

So moving/visiting the kids, Makes Denver a much better choice.
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