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Old 03-20-2018, 05:16 PM
 
72 posts, read 218,000 times
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We're up in Minnesota currently. Looking to move down and stay with the same company. There's a satellite office in Cumberland, we're looking near Marietta, maybe slightly south of - so hoping to avoid freeways mostly by doing work from home, or going into the office which is more horizontal across the metro. At least in theory traffic might be less :-)

I used the word diverse deliberately because its frequently used on the forum, but glad to gain a little context. UK's very diverse and as a Brit we're incredibly good at embracing other cultures. Particularly their food! Indian food is simply awesome!

The airport was another negative I wanted to share. For me its an advantage because I can get flights direct to Manchester whereas I cannot get them from Minnesota, all 1 or 2 stops and limited choice too, so good point.

I get asked where I'm from fairly frequently and tend to reflect the question back and they usually guess Australia, New Zealand or sometimes South Africa - but 20 years of being over here I've kind of adopted some terminology so I really fool most people at this point I guess.


Thanks for the responses everyone - very helpful and goes a long way to validating what I've researched or heard from the majority of folks who live in Atlanta already.
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Old 03-20-2018, 05:30 PM
 
Location: Atlanta
5,242 posts, read 6,208,578 times
Reputation: 2778
The strongest decider in where you should live would be the location of the office. People's thoughts on Atlanta frequently depend on their commute time.

Vinings and Smyrna would be good options for short commutes avoiding the freeway. It's suburban, but a generally nice place to be. You also have quick 15 min or less access to Buford Hwy, where there's large variety of ethnically diverse restaurants and the city itself in about 20(depending on the time of day obv)
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Old 03-20-2018, 07:34 PM
 
Location: Lake Spivey, Georgia
1,990 posts, read 2,342,811 times
Reputation: 2348
As a native Atlantan, I think you will LOVE it here. Metro Atlanta is about half White, over a third (35%ish) Black and the rest of it, well you name it. People really seem to get along well. I grew up in the blue-collar south side communities of Forest Park/ Lake City/ Morrow (close in southeastern suburbs of Atlanta) It was just after the Vietnam era, and MANY Vietnamese families were resettled in our community. Since their children learned their English from all of us, they spoke with lovely Southern accents like we did. Of course the northern suburbs (like the aforementioned Smyrna/ Marietta) have many more transplants from the north (whom we jokingly refer to as "Yankees" they way y'all sometimes refer to all Americans ;0)) so the southern accent is A LOT more watered down there).

I think that your British accents will be a huge "hit" with most people here. When I was at the University of Georgia, I noticed that even "average" guys with British accents were VERY POPULAR with the ladies and other guys enjoyed hanging out with them too thanks to their interesting accent and often unique sense of humor.

I feel you will find people in Metro Atlanta very friendly and welcoming. Welcome South Brother!
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Old 03-20-2018, 11:48 PM
 
Location: Atlanta's Castleberry Hill
4,762 posts, read 5,397,693 times
Reputation: 5142
Quote:
Originally Posted by mazzer View Post
Hello everyone,

I've been lurking on the Atlanta site for some time doing some research. I've been looking to move me and the family down to Atlanta and have recently asked permission to move of my boss.

I've got some colleagues from Atlanta, some family used to live there and we plan to visit. I've had mixed responses mainly from colleagues that don't live there, either love or hate of the place and some was pretty vitriolic. The love comments are from some that are from that area or relocated themselves and speak highly of the place and recommend the same places the forums tend to.

All said and done the information I'm getting about Atlanta is as follows:
Mixing pot, lots of imports. City is pretty diverse (in a good way). Has some decent communities. Places recommended by forum members appear to check out as solid leads.

Downsides - traffic! Busy airport...



First off would anyone dispute any of that info? Also I think checking things out first hand is the best way to ascertain the facts so we'll be visiting. As to the slightly non-pc question. How would foreigners get treated in Atlanta, to address the vitriol from a colleague. My family and I are from the UK, we've got accents from the UK but have been living here legally for 20 years. Would we find Atlanta inhospitable due to being from the UK??

Thanks,
Maz--
Sorry but the busy airport is definitely not a downside, but one of the city and Southeast region strengths.
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Old 03-21-2018, 01:28 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
9,818 posts, read 7,844,841 times
Reputation: 9981
Quote:
Originally Posted by cwkimbro View Post
It'a a non-issue.

Generally speaking people here have a good perception of the UK.

I live in a county that is 25% foriegn born and it is just shy of 1 million people.


The busy airport ends up being a good thing. People don't like crowds, but the flight options are extremely good. You can get to more cities... at more times of the day.


The downsides that lead to vitriol against Atlanta usually comes down to one of 3 things:

1) Atlanta is exceedingly 80s-00s Suburban. We have our urban pockets, but you have to accept the region is mostly suburban to enjoy it all

2) Their personal racial biases, which they may or may not realize, accept for themselves, or understand. Atlanta is the home of the Civil Rights movement, is in the deep south, and has many black throughout the region.... They aren't just in a small pocket on the bad side of town and they aren't all poor. If someone can't leave their own person bias' behind, they will likely have a poor perception of Atlanta.

It isn't like the smaller affluent mostly white collar pop-up metros (Denver, Austin, Seattle, Portland, etc...) that can insulate people from their internal bias'.

3) Income disparity and all that comes with it. Atlanta is a huge warehouse trading hub given our location. We are the northern most point freight and goods can interchange between the South, going Northeast, and the Midwest without crossing the Appalachian Mountains. It has led to our growth, but it also keeps many low-end jobs present. On the other hand we are the white-collar mega city of the South. We are a small tech hub and the largest Finance city in the South. This brings many affluent areas and many less affluent areas.

The city itself is more separated by income and race than the region as a whole. For some people who visit for an event they can be left with some perception issues they don't fully understand of the whole region.


Where are you living now?
Fantastic post cwkimbro, and i would rep you if I could.

The bolded in particular is priceless!

As many have already mentioned Mazzer, you should be fine here.

There are daily nonstops to Manchester, but they are usually packed so it's best to plan out as far as possible.

There are very many British ex-pats here, are most are in love with the place.

Many of the negative feelings/opinions regarding Atlanta in the Twin Cities have to do with Delta's merger with the former Northwest Airlines several years ago. It's best to just brush them off, and judge for yourself after you've visited.

Hope it all works out for you, and good luck!
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Old 03-21-2018, 02:24 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
7,574 posts, read 10,706,619 times
Reputation: 6512
Quote:
Originally Posted by mazzer View Post
We're up in Minnesota currently.
For comparison's sake I will assume Minneapolis.

I would pay attention to the 3 main things I posted in my first reply that people take issues with Atlanta.

Largely, because Minneapolis is a very contrasting city in the ways I just mentioned.

You will find greater levels of income diversity (and disparity) and racial and ethnic diversity, comparatively.

You will also find a far warmer place and a bit more wet. You will find many homes with yards and plenty of trees.

One thing worth mentioning is Minneapolis is small enough to be mostly downtown-centric with somewhat equal growth in most directions. Atlanta has grown far beyond this. We are very multi-nodal. Cumberland is a major job center outside of town on a level you won't find in Minneapolis (and neighboring St. Paul). It is much like the Golden Triangle/Bloomington Area with more jobs in terms of business development.

That isn't a bad place to have a job. It opens you up to many fairly nice areas. Finding a good place to live and good schools within a 30-40 minute commute shouldn't be a problem. There are plenty options closer than that.

If you wanted to live intown and reverse commute, you could easily do that.

Cobb County, where Cumberland is, is one of the 4 largest counties in the metro area and of those 4 is probably one of the most upper-middle class.


If you take the plunge come back and plenty of people can give you the downlow on the different areas of Cobb Co.
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Old 03-21-2018, 04:28 AM
 
4,757 posts, read 3,336,659 times
Reputation: 3715
Quote:
Originally Posted by cwkimbro View Post
It'a a non-issue.

Generally speaking people here have a good perception of the UK.

I live in a county that is 25% foriegn born and it is just shy of 1 million people.


The busy airport ends up being a good thing. People don't like crowds, but the flight options are extremely good. You can get to more cities... at more times of the day.


The downsides that lead to vitriol against Atlanta usually comes down to one of 3 things:

1) Atlanta is exceedingly 80s-00s Suburban. We have our urban pockets, but you have to accept the region is mostly suburban to enjoy it all

2) Their personal racial biases, which they may or may not realize, accept for themselves, or understand. Atlanta is the home of the Civil Rights movement, is in the deep south, and has many black throughout the region.... They aren't just in a small pocket on the bad side of town and they aren't all poor. If someone can't leave their own person bias' behind, they will likely have a poor perception of Atlanta.

It isn't like the smaller affluent mostly white collar pop-up metros (Denver, Austin, Seattle, Portland, etc...) that can insulate people from their internal bias'.

3) Income disparity and all that comes with it. Atlanta is a huge warehouse trading hub given our location. We are the northern most point freight and goods can interchange between the South, going Northeast, and the Midwest without crossing the Appalachian Mountains. It has led to our growth, but it also keeps many low-end jobs present. On the other hand we are the white-collar mega city of the South. We are a small tech hub and the largest Finance city in the South. This brings many affluent areas and many less affluent areas.

The city itself is more separated by income and race than the region as a whole. For some people who visit for an event they can be left with some perception issues they don't fully understand of the whole region.


Where are you living now?
Very good post.
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Old 03-21-2018, 04:41 AM
 
4,757 posts, read 3,336,659 times
Reputation: 3715
Quote:
Originally Posted by mazzer View Post
Hello everyone,

I've been lurking on the Atlanta site for some time doing some research. I've been looking to move me and the family down to Atlanta and have recently asked permission to move of my boss.

I've got some colleagues from Atlanta, some family used to live there and we plan to visit. I've had mixed responses mainly from colleagues that don't live there, either love or hate of the place and some was pretty vitriolic. The love comments are from some that are from that area or relocated themselves and speak highly of the place and recommend the same places the forums tend to.

All said and done the information I'm getting about Atlanta is as follows:
Mixing pot, lots of imports. City is pretty diverse (in a good way). Has some decent communities. Places recommended by forum members appear to check out as solid leads.

Downsides - traffic! Busy airport...



First off would anyone dispute any of that info? Also I think checking things out first hand is the best way to ascertain the facts so we'll be visiting. As to the slightly non-pc question. How would foreigners get treated in Atlanta, to address the vitriol from a colleague. My family and I are from the UK, we've got accents from the UK but have been living here legally for 20 years. Would we find Atlanta inhospitable due to being from the UK??

Thanks,
Maz--
Yes, you are right. You should absolutely do a visit. U.S. Americans typically love the British accent and so you being from the U.K. will most likely be a plus. The traffic is really horrible but you can be a huge decider in how much traffic you'll have to deal with. I schedule things around rush hour. If this will not be an option for you, it will be very important for you to live close to where you work. There are those who don't live close to where they work but they have a...forgot what you call it but they have a "reverse traffic commute"...I'm pretty sure I made that up but anyway it's basically when in the morning a lot of traffic is going one way, you are going the opposite. Same thing with the afternoon...you will find plenty of traffic on 75 north during rush hour but if you are going 75 south, completely different situation. Your side will most likely be moving and moving to your liking while the other side is bumper to bumper.

As for the airport, if you get a place near to Cumberland, you really shouldn't be too far from it. Again with that, you should choose flight times that won't force you to travel during rush hour if you can. This may not be easy but it never hurts to be too early. You never know how busy the airport will be and especially if you are traveling abroad, you will want to make sure you give yourself plenty of breathing room. I know I for a fact have run into problems at the airport...think I'm on "the list."
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Old 03-21-2018, 05:37 AM
 
4,411 posts, read 3,431,454 times
Reputation: 14178
Brits are everywhere. In fact I live on a relatively small street (less than 20 homes) and we have 2 UK households just steps away from me.

You’ll definitely want to check out the Stone Mountain Highland Games in October—-one of the largest Highland festivals in the nation and nearly 50 years running. Tens of thousands of people attend every year.
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Old 03-21-2018, 06:33 AM
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,365 posts, read 43,832,144 times
Reputation: 16578
Quote:
Originally Posted by wasel View Post
Brits are everywhere. In fact I live on a relatively small street (less than 20 homes) and we have 2 UK households just steps away from me.
I've encountered many expats in Atlanta over the years here. They often seem to remark on three things...the lushness of the landscapes (reminds them of home), the supermarkets and the spaciousness of the average house here.
My son-in-law was raised in central London (he and my daughter still live there) and he loves coming to Atlanta, if for no other reason than to consume fried chicken and collards at the Colonnade!
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