John's creek (Atlanta, Newnan, Covington: home, property tax, live)

[Joe kenn]

Originally Posted by jazzcat22

Hmmm---I guess there could be a lot of vibrators in Suwanee----with the per capita income, they can certainly afford their share of state-of-the-art "adult toys!"

Man your mind is in the damn gutter. I almost laughed tho. I don't give a damn about fricking sex toys.

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by Joe kenn

Where you gonna move to then? The country?

Actually, yes. Possibly Dahlonega. Or we have even been toying with the idea of moving back home to Ohio.

[Alicia64]

Originally Posted by OhioNative

We have been feeling the same way about Suwanee lately. As our kids get older we find that there is something sanitized and empty about the area where we have lived for almost 15 years. Not sure what we are going to do, and we are probably stuck here until the kids graduate, but we probably won't be in Suwanee or any of the north suburbs after they are out of school.

Couldn't agree more. A visit to downtown Suwanee is just bland, the Gwinnett Library system is the pits, the cookie-cutter homes are sad. . . and I could go on, but don't want to be too much of a downer.

I've been here 18 mo. now and keep trying to like it, but . . . not so much.

Alley

[Joe kenn]

Originally Posted by OhioNative

Actually, yes. Possibly Dahlonega. Or we have even been toying with the idea of moving back home to Ohio.

Well it's a free country you can do whatever ya want. But I wouldn't move back to Ohio. Their is a reason you left to begin with right?

[Joe kenn]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

Couldn't agree more. A visit to downtown Suwanee is just bland, the Gwinnett Library system is the pits, the cookie-cutter homes are sad. . . and I could go on, but don't want to be too much of a downer.

I've been here 18 mo. now and keep trying to like it, but . . . not so much.

Alley

Dang a lot of y'all are hating on metro Atlanta. Y'all should come and live in pelzer sc..then you really would be hating life. Lol

[flamadiddle]

As far as suburbia goes, JC and Suwanee aren't that bad, but my issue is that this whole metro area is like one giant soulless suburb with no character or identity. Suburbia is tolerable if you live outside a world class city, but Atlanta is far from that level. The only time we even go near Atlanta these days is to get to the Airport.

Which is why my current hobby is looking for our next port of call.

We'd already be back in the Chicago area if it weren't for the city/state financial mess... I've already decided to overlook the weather, but the property tax and other taxes are insanely high there right now with no light at the end of the tunnel. Not sure where we'll end up, but I gotta get out of the Atlanta area before I go insane.

[Joe kenn]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

As far as suburbia goes, JC and Suwanee aren't that bad, but my issue is that this whole metro area is like one giant soulless suburb with no character or identity. Suburbia is tolerable if you live outside a world class city, but Atlanta is far from that level. The only time we even go near Atlanta these days is to get to the Airport.

Which is why my current hobby is looking for our next port of call.

We'd already be back in the Chicago area if it weren't for the city/state financial mess... I've already decided to overlook the weather, but the property tax and other taxes are insanely high there right now with no light at the end of the tunnel. Not sure where we'll end up, but I gotta get out of the Atlanta area before I go insane.

Why do y'all northerners move down here. Then you decide that you hate it? Hope you get back to Chicago soon bud. What's so great about Chicago? It's freezing there.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

As far as suburbia goes, JC and Suwanee aren't that bad, but my issue is that this whole metro area is like one giant soulless suburb with no character or identity. Suburbia is tolerable if you live outside a world class city, but Atlanta is far from that level. The only time we even go near Atlanta these days is to get to the Airport.

Which is why my current hobby is looking for our next port of call.

We'd already be back in the Chicago area if it weren't for the city/state financial mess... I've already decided to overlook the weather, but the property tax and other taxes are insanely high there right now with no light at the end of the tunnel. Not sure where we'll end up, but I gotta get out of the Atlanta area before I go insane.

So what does the ATL lack that would make it the world class city you are looking for? Best of luck in your search for the next port of call.

[jazzcat22]

Originally Posted by wilful

So what does the ATL lack that would make it the world class city you are looking for? Best of luck in your search for the next port of call.

Wilful, I was wondering this as well. I do get that Atlanta doesn't have the prestige of cities like New York or Paris, but it does seem to me that metro Atlanta has more than enough to offer anyone. For example, I love to watch ballet and modern dance. Does Atlanta have as many dance performances as NYC? Nope---but with limitations of time and money and wanting to do stuff besides watch dance, there are enough opportunities to satisfy this interest. Just like with the Gwinnett Library System that Alicia maligns---they have more books than I could ever read in a lifetime. I can't often find them on the shelves, but I order them and wait my turn---and voila! It's not just Southern fiction they have---they have good literary fiction and international fiction. I occasionally request an interlibrary loan that costs $2, but I truly don't need to do that much...and I'm an avid reader.

Downtown Suwanee is attractive, but admittedly limited. Look how small it is! The same amount of space, even in NY, would get boring if that was all you limited to. So you go to Suwanee one day and then the next time you want to do something, you go to a different place, whether ITP or somewhere else in Gwinnett or another county. That's what keeps things interesting.

I admit that I would have been bored with the suburban metro Atlanta 50 years ago. But now with the racial/ethnic/cultural diversity and similar amenities (intown restaurants are now also OTP, opera and ballet have moved to the suburbs, Avalon is equivalent to Atlantic Station, etc.), there's no excuse for being bored! And let's not forget, the park systems and outdoor opportunities in this area are not available in most major cities.

I have a friend who alternates three weeks in Decatur with three in NYC all year long because her husband lives and works in NYC. She does go to more museums while in NY since there are more museums and walks more than there she does here. But other than that, her life isn't much different in either place. She tries to find fun stuff to do in whatever place she is at. That's the definition of a happy person with good mental health!

Perhaps Atlanta doesn't have much soul. Concrete skyscrapers and shopping centers and nail salons don't have much soul. I find soul in people and nature---and Atlanta has plenty of both.

[ATLTJL]

Yeah, I don't get the hating on Atlanta, either.

It's so common to hear stuff like this. "I don't like it here, I'd move up north, but it costs so much to live there," and stuff like that. Well, you moved here because it costs less....what do you want? To have your cake and eat it, too? You either want a city like Atlanta, or you want a much more expensive, colder, messed up in some other way city. So make your choice....either put up with whatever limitations you see here, or suck it up, and go back and put up with the limitations of places you find more attractive. No place is going to be perfect in every way. Except maybe Australia....that's probably perfect

My personal take is that Atlanta is a great city that provides easy and affordable living. We have everything major cities offer, and for areas where we aren't as world class as some others, well....that's why we have Hartsfield. Most people I know take occasional theater trips to New York, and trips to wherever offers what they can't get here. With the money they save living here, they can afford to do it, and who doesn't like to travel?