Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-19-2012, 01:50 PM
 
1,971 posts, read 3,029,007 times
Reputation: 2209

Advertisements

ATL among major metros struggling with "overall affordability" | Atlanta News & Opinion Blog | Fresh Loaf | Creative Loafing Atlanta
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-19-2012, 01:53 PM
 
16,627 posts, read 29,298,738 times
Reputation: 7550

But then...

Atlanta No. 2 most affordable housing market


Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Kirkwood
23,726 posts, read 24,701,751 times
Reputation: 5702
Quote:
Originally Posted by aries4118 View Post
I think my head is going to explode! Which one is right?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 02:50 PM
 
1,971 posts, read 3,029,007 times
Reputation: 2209
It is cheap to buy a house here, but the rentals don't seem that much cheaper than a lot of other cities.

My $1400/m rental here, in the same sort of location in Minneapolis, would be about $900/m. My apartment in Brooklyn was only $100/m more. (It was much smaller, but it is possible to live frugally in NYC, if you want)

According to this site: Commuting and Traffic Congestion Fast Facts | Clean Air Campaign, the average Atlantan spends $460 a month on fuel for their car. If you're making payments on the car, with insurance you could be spending $800 a month on your car. That's a lot of money for someone making 40-something grand a year.

There's not a lot of free stuff to do here. Piedmont Park and... hanging out at home? One thing that was very surprising when I moved here was the neighborhood pools that have waiting lists and $2500 membership fees.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 03:02 PM
 
1,250 posts, read 1,876,405 times
Reputation: 411
Quote:
Originally Posted by rzzz View Post
It is cheap to buy a house here, but the rentals don't seem that much cheaper than a lot of other cities.

My $1400/m rental here, in the same sort of location in Minneapolis, would be about $900/m. My apartment in Brooklyn was only $100/m more. (It was much smaller, but it is possible to live frugally in NYC, if you want)

According to this site: Commuting and Traffic Congestion Fast Facts | Clean Air Campaign, the average Atlantan spends $460 a month on fuel for their car. If you're making payments on the car, with insurance you could be spending $800 a month on your car. That's a lot of money for someone making 40-something grand a year.

There's not a lot of free stuff to do here. Piedmont Park and... hanging out at home? One thing that was very surprising when I moved here was the neighborhood pools that have waiting lists and $2500 membership fees.

If I filled up once every week I'd only spend 250$ a month. I rarely have to do that though.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Kirkwood
23,726 posts, read 24,701,751 times
Reputation: 5702
Quote:
If I filled up once every week I'd only spend 250$ a month. I rarely have to do that though.
Quote:
According to this site: Commuting and Traffic Congestion Fast Facts | Clean Air Campaign, the average Atlantan spends $460 a month on fuel for their car. If you're making payments on the car, with insurance you could be spending $800 a month on your car. That's a lot of money for someone making 40-something grand a year.
I fill up once every 6 months. Monthly BreezeCard for 2 is $171. Although my house was more expensive being intown and close to a MARTA station. Its all about trade offs and what a person wants in a home.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
738 posts, read 1,371,958 times
Reputation: 332
rzzz completely nailed it. Buying a house in Atlanta is cheap, but renting is not, and transportation is expensive. As the article states, we spend 63% of our income just to live somewhere and get around. And compared with other cities, there isn't much free stuff to do, for adults or kids. We don't have a nearby ocean or beach, which limits recreation a lot. You can only canoe on the knee-deep Chattahoochee so many times.

I too was shocked when I checked out the Lake Claire pool and discovered their exorbitant fees. There's the YMCA, but their schedule is not at all designed for working adults.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 03:09 PM
 
1,250 posts, read 1,876,405 times
Reputation: 411
Quote:
Originally Posted by rzzz View Post
It is cheap to buy a house here, but the rentals don't seem that much cheaper than a lot of other cities.

My $1400/m rental here, in the same sort of location in Minneapolis, would be about $900/m. My apartment in Brooklyn was only $100/m more. (It was much smaller, but it is possible to live frugally in NYC, if you want)

According to this site: Commuting and Traffic Congestion Fast Facts | Clean Air Campaign, the average Atlantan spends $460 a month on fuel for their car. If you're making payments on the car, with insurance you could be spending $800 a month on your car. That's a lot of money for someone making 40-something grand a year.

There's not a lot of free stuff to do here. Piedmont Park and... hanging out at home? One thing that was very surprising when I moved here was the neighborhood pools that have waiting lists and $2500 membership fees.
Also $1400 rent is like cream of the crop here. 1500 in NYC is likely a dump in comparison unless you are in a outer borough.

Lets not get not NYC taxes. There is a reason everyone doesn't live in NYC.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Kirkwood
23,726 posts, read 24,701,751 times
Reputation: 5702
Quote:
rzzz completely nailed it. Buying a house in Atlanta is cheap, but renting is not, and transportation is expensive
The rental market is soaring right now. Its the cause of all the speculation apartment towers in Midtown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-19-2012, 03:15 PM
 
1,971 posts, read 3,029,007 times
Reputation: 2209
$1400 is not the cream of the crop for rentals in ATL. Nice 2BD places are renting for $1800 in Midtown, Buckhead, Inman Park and Downtown Decatur. If you know of a cream of the crop rental in any of those places for $1400, let me know!

I just threw out my personal situation for some data points. The article is talking about the average ATL person. I'm not even the average person here. That would be more like the guys who work at the office I'm consulting for, who make about $60K and drive from way out in the burbs somewhere, so their kids can go to better schools. If I was in their situation I'd be broke!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Georgia > Atlanta

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top