Atlanta Vs Charlotte (Dallas, Nashville, Jackson: crime, loan, how much)

[USAGIRL]

How do the two cities compare? I'm hoping to move to Charlotte in January but friends and family say Atlanta is better for a single black female and for single people in general. My goal is to find a teaching assistant job and eventually go to nursing school after establishing residency.

I don't drive yet but both cities have pedestrian friendly intown communities where I can get my start until I get my license.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by USAGIRL

How do the two cities compare? I'm hoping to move to Charlotte in January but friends and family say Atlanta is better for a single black female and for single people in general. My goal is to find a teaching assistant job and eventually go to nursing school after establishing residency.

I don't drive yet but both cities have pedestrian friendly intown communities where I can get my start until I get my license.

Charlotte is much smaller, but growing.
The area across the SC border down by Dave Lyle Blvd is not bad and a new growing enclave for the young hip crowd.
Downtown Charlotte is much better in regard to safety than Atlanta, but does not offer much in regard to the nightlife.

I see your from NYC. So let me put it this way.
Atlanta: Cross between Harlem and Alphabet w/ a touch of Brooklyn
Charlotte: A little Village, Chelsea and the East Village.

One thing for sure though. Neither has the food of NY!!!! So get used to sweet tea, Pork Bar-b-Que, and chains. If you come have a good pie before you leave since that will be your last good pizza until you visit home again

[destoria]

Charlotte is a bigger city in terms of urban population but a smaller metro. I used to live in an area called Myers Park in Charlotte. It might remind you of like Buckhead in ATL. Move to Charlotte it's so much better than Atlanta plus Atlanta was named one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

[jxu66]

Yep, once again, city of Atlanta is top 13th most dangerous in Nation. But Atlanta proper is only covers 450,000 while Atlanta MSA has 4.5 millions (i.e. most people don't live in Atlanta).

[backfist]

Both cities are pretty similar in many respects, although you'll probably find that there are more and better job opportunities in Atlanta than in Charlotte. Atlanta tends to be a little more expensive, but then Charlotte salaries are noticably less.

I'll let you in on a little secret too: crime occurs, especially in the bad neighorhoods where many criminals live.

[dabluewinner]

Move to Charlotte its a better city if you are a city city person. Charlotte has pass the A. Atlanta has a big name. I love both cities tough. I was not that empressed with the A after seeing Charlotte. Charlotte is like a new city. Charlotte has lots of new things going on. Charlotte is larger. Population (Population (estimate Jan.1,2007)) - City664,332

ATL

Population (2006) - City486,411

both cities are cool tough

[pinetreelover]

Due to a critical nursing shortage, Georgia has a service cancelable loan program for nursing education. This means that you can borrow money for your nursing education and then have the loan canceled as you work as a nurse in the state. If you leave the state, you are responsible for your loan. This might sway you if nursing is your career path

[willrusso]

Populations for Atlanta vs. Charlotte are misleading. Charlotte's city limits cover three times the area of Atlanta's so its all relative. If Atlanta were to annex all areas inside the perimeter, It would be much Larger than Charlotte. Atlanta's metro area has 5 million people versus 2 million for Charlotte. Off the top of my head, I know that Fulton County (Atlanta Metro) has almost a million people. Adjacent Counties include Gwinnett County (800,000), Dekalb County(650,000), Cobb County (700,000) etc. Mecklenburg County, the primary county Charlotte resides in only has around 750,000 people. The counties surrounding Charlotte are much smaller in population. Anyways, you get my point. Metro Area population is a more acurate way to compare populations.

Don't believe me? Take a visit to each city yourself. I don't see 16 lane highways in Charlotte LOL. Charlotte doesn't have five skylines either.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by willrusso

Populations for Atlanta vs. Charlotte are misleading. Charlotte's city limits cover three times the area of Atlanta's so its all relative. If Atlanta were to annex all areas inside the perimeter, It would be much Larger than Charlotte. Atlanta's metro area has 5 million people versus 2 million for Charlotte. Off the top of my head, I know that Fulton County (Atlanta Metro) has almost a million people. Adjacent Counties include Gwinnett County (800,000), Dekalb County(650,000), Cobb County (700,000) etc. Mecklenburg County, the primary county Charlotte resides in only has around 750,000 people. The counties surrounding Charlotte are much smaller in population. Anyways, you get my point. Metro Area population is a more acurate way to compare populations.

Don't believe me? Take a visit to each city yourself. I don't see 16 lane highways in Charlotte LOL. Charlotte doesn't have five skylines either.

Charlotte is even smaller than what you posted...metro population actually around 1.5 million (2 million is probably Charlottian (sp?) wishful thinking...!)

One cannot really compare Charlotte and Atlanta...they are in two totally different leagues! It would be liking posting...New York City vs. Tulsa?

Charlotte's league of cities: Nashville, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Louisville, Richmond, Wichita, St. Paul, etc.

Atlanta's league of cities: Dallas, Boston, Miami, NYC, Chicago, Seattle, LA, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Lisbon, Santiago, etc.

It's a big mistake to compare Atlanta and Charlotte as if Atlanta is still a pre-1970 provincial Southern city.

Atlanta is a major world city. It's on the international radar as a center of business and economic primacy.

So, to answer the initial question, the decision is really quite simple:

Do you want provincial, mid-sized city? Or do you want a major metropolis?

[Clt1774]

Another issue to consider is how much more difficult it is to get around in Charlotte without a car. You mention both cities having intown pedestrian friendly areas - this is very true of Atlanta, but not very true of Charlotte. Even the Charlotte areas that are more centrally located Uptown often lack basic services, such as a grocery store within walking distance. I've lived in Charlotte, Atlanta, and now I live in London, where the public transport system is one of the best in the world - and there is no way I could go back to living in Charlotte and existing on public transportation. I actually tried it while I was home in CLT back in September and it was a joke - even when you could find bus routes the service was very infrequent. And please don't think the Charlotte Light Rail project will be the answer to the city's public transportation needs - unless everything you need happens to be on South Blvd. between Uptown and Pineville! In Atlanta, MARTA, although far from perfect, is a much better alternative and gets you around a much larger area of the city and has more frequent services. I would recommend spending at least a weekend in each city without a car and see how you get on and what you have access to - even once you have your drivers license it would be nice to be in a city where you were not dependent on a car all the time. Good luck with your move.