Atlanta's not a world class city[CL Article] (Alpharetta, Kennesaw: home, neighborhood)

[Wayr2go]

I don't think you can pick up standalone issues - traffic, panhandlers, entertainment venues and make an argument. A world class city will offer collectively the best value for its residents - good jobs, good education, developed neighborhoods, entertainment options, reliable public transportation and good suburban connectivity - much of this development then gradually tends to remove crime and panhandling but ofcourse, like it has been said -its never going to just disappear.

Its also not about hating Atlanta - continuous evaluation for competitive advantage is elementary to a developed future and in that, it is no different than running a business.

[thebigATL]

AS OF 2014 WE ARE...I THINK WE WILL EVENTUALLY BOOST UP.

[erick295]

I don't understand the obsession some people have with attaining "world class status" (whatever that is) or being on a bucket list. New York, London, et. al. are paying dearly for their "status," both literally and figuratively. Cities like that have become virtually uninhabitable for the middle class, which is why those people are leaving in droves and moving to more affordable places (like the South, or the North in the case of the UK).

If we're so ashamed of being Atlanta that we have to aspire to be some other city instead, let's at least stop using pop culture as our guide and choose one that isn't an overpriced, overcrowded, over-polluted hellhole.

[magnetar]

The whole argument is kind of hilarious as a new resident. I've only been paying attention to Atlanta for a little bit over a year, but I've never gotten the impression that Atlanta had too high an opinion of itself and needed to set its sights lower. If anything it seems like a city with a persistent inferiority complex. Atlanta is a city capable of doing big things with the right leadership, and an objective look at the trends show the city headed in a very good direction. I could honestly give a damn how it compares to New York, Chicago, or SF -- I could have chosen to live in any of those cities (I work from home), but I picked Atlanta. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[afdinatl]

Originally Posted by thebigATL

AS OF 2014 WE ARE...I THINK WE WILL EVENTUALLY BOOST UP.

I wish Southwest would leave our airport

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by afdinatl

Every great city has traffic. A Marta stop can be on every corner in Atlanta and we still will have traffic. DC has the 2nd or 3rd best transit in the country and they still have bad traffic. Traffic Isn't even that bad generally speaking. Btw i agree with you but some things will continue to happen no matter how much the city improves. I'm done with this topic.

The difference is that you're forced to tolerate the traffic in Atlanta, that or just happen to hope that the job for which you are qualified happens to be on the same side of the city (Hint: if you're in computers, don't move to Conyers) and that you'll never ever have to leave that job for one that isn't. The problem with Atlanta is you don't have options. If you move to those other cities, you can pick a place to live where you're on a transit line, and at worst just have to drive around locally for errands. You don't have to drive far just to get to work, you don't have to drive to get to non-local entertainment. Here, the places along transit are pretty much either terrible or expensive. I ran the costs of living close to MARTA either rail, or along a bus route with good frequencies. It's as cheap or cheaper to live near New York City, and down here, you're still probably stuck driving! If someone moves to San Francisco or Chicago, then complains about the traffic, then yea, it's their problem, they should have picked an area with good transit access, but down here, unless you get lucky and your job is on MARTA, and you can afford a place along MARTA, or don't mind living in a depressed area, you're stuck driving.

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by MattCW

I ran the costs of living close to MARTA either rail, or along a bus route with good frequencies. It's as cheap or cheaper to live near New York City

Yikes -- I hate to have to tell you but your numbers are wrong. I bought a house half a mile from a MARTA station, half a mile from the future Beltline trail for about the median home price for the Atlanta area. Living intown and near transit is not astronomically expensive compared to the rest of the area at learge.

[ATLTJL]

I don't think you can pick up standalone issues - traffic, panhandlers, entertainment venues and make an argument. A world class city will offer collectively the best value for its residents - good jobs, good education, developed neighborhoods, entertainment options, reliable public transportation and good suburban connectivity - much of this development then gradually tends to remove crime and panhandling but ofcourse, like it has been said -its never going to just disappear.

I think it's a matter of prioritizing.

For example, most cities have a problem with cars occasionaly running red lights or not respecting pedestrian crosswalks. That's to be expected.

However, if your number one complaint from everybody who visits and lives in your city for decades is "I almost got hit while crossing the street," then you know that is something you need to bump up the priority list and address right away.

Just like New York did. The biggest thing people said was the city felt unsafe, so Giuliani cleaned it up and it doesn't feel unsafe anymore. He didn't just say, "well, all cities feel unsafe."

Well, for decades, everybody has telling us traffic and panhandlers are our biggest problems. Will we ever eliminate them completely? Of course not...but we definitely need to make dealing with them top priorities, which we clearly don't.

That's all I'm saying.

[tikigod311]

I was waiting for you to post this article! I thought of Ant the second I saw that headline this morning.

There are some good points in there, and there's not really a whole lot wrong, I just think the author's perspective kind of sucks.

I love what Atlanta is, where it is and where it is going. It is accessible and I feel like with just a bit of effort, I can be apart of positive change in the city. I feel like living in Atlanta is more being apart of something, like an event or history in the making. Even though it can be frustratingly slow, I love seeing the change happen all around me. I consider myself to be lucky to live in a place like this.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by Gulch

I agree with the author's sentiment, but to worry about comparing Atlanta to New York reeks of insecurity.

Exactly.