Has metro ATL lost the traits of what once made it desirable to so many? (Atlanta: low crime, houses)

[SAAN]

Many folks that have been here for a while or moved here in the 80's,90's-2000, came here because of good traits like its relatively cheap, low crime in the suburbs compared to all the crime that city of ATL had, and traffic wasnt too bad in many areas out in the suburbs.

While still cheaper than living in NYC, DC, most Northern or the West Coast cities, the cost of living here now seems way higher than before, but with the same wages of the past. If you want a good school system, you have to pay like a 100-200K premium for a house compared to other areas or deal with the awful school the cheaper places to live have.

Crime that used to be a few neighborhoods in the city now seems to be spread out like crazy and its like no suburb can avoid it. While crime can happen anywhere it seems to happen way more often in some places like than other.

Traffic is getting worse and rush hours feels like bondage now, with no end in sight due to alot of the recent voting results on this issue. Even though we have discussed for a decade or more on where a MARTA expansion, commuter rail, GRTA expansion would be great, and heard talks, seen drawings of MARTA to Winward, one day up in Gwinnett and out to Stonecrest etc, all that seems dead and we will probably endure construction for the next decade or more only to see a hotlane above all the traffic we will be sitting in.

The job situation doesnt seem bad to those that are educated or skilled, but required 2-4hr a day of committing for many.




Has metro ATL lost some of the appeal that attracted you here before?

[ATLTJL]

Yes, it has lost some appeal.

But, it has also gained some appeal in exchange for things the city didn't have before.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Got to do something about traffic. That directly decreases quality of life. I turned down a job in ATL, in big part, due to the commute/hours.

[Forhall]

Traffic will never be a consideration for me. I think Atlanta traffic sucks and we need more transit, but every city I have ever moved I have only looked at housing within a 5-10 min radius of my job. We'd have way less traffic if everyone did the same.

[bryantm3]

it seemed kind of cool at first, around the beginning of this decade when you started to see celebrities around and atlanta in movies. now that the stars in my eyes have worn off, i'm waking up to find the city isn't the city i grew up loving, it's transforming into something else. places i didn't think were possible to gentrify any further are being gentrified; the historic houses in virginia-highland and elsewhere are being turned into ridiculous looking mcmansions, buckhead and alpharetta are now basically beverly hills east. definitely not the city i wanted the world to see. the world came and made it look like everywhere else.

it's not all terrible though, with all of the rich people trying to fix everything that isn't broken, we now have a significant korean population that has really turned gwinnett from a soulless suburban hell into something a little more interesting. in addition there's also now a significant orthodox population around briarcliff and lavista and lots of kosher restaurants and kosher options at the kroger/publix out there.

the only part of intown atlanta that still feels like the old atlanta is west and south of downtown, college park, east point. it still has a southern small town feel. a lot of the old small towns on the south side are like this too. i still like the druid hills/emory area too because it's at least retained its look. i couldn't afford to live there, though.


i don't mind people who come here and want to do their own thing while respecting what's already there. i really think having such an influx of koreans, orthodox jews, pakistanis, and back in the 90s people from latin america, atlanta is really better off and more interesting. what i don't like is the influx of money and people with a lot of it, who want to erase what's here and replace it with a sterilized monoculture. and the fact that so many people get excited about this, like it's something good.

[Ericmrtt]

Traffic is Atlanta's worst problem and I don't see it really ever being resolved. Damage is already done! Otherwise Atlanta is a great city and metro. Crime is a bit high in spots and occurs randomly in safer areas. I do want a lower crime rate in Atlanta and Atlanta metro. Cost of living doesn't seem too bad compared to other cities/metros.. Lastly, just a personal preference, I like a slightly warmer Atlanta(not the summer, all the other months can sometimes get ridiculously chilly or cold), I must say this year has been my kind of Atlanta weather wise though.

I moved here when I was 11 from The Bronx, after being here for 2 decades, I can see myself living here for the rest of my life. I can see myself staying here, doesn't mean I will, traffic here is pretty bad and I really do hate traffic! So it really all depends on where life takes me. Again, Atlanta is great but if I can have less stress and happier life in Arizona, Texas, or Florida to name some states I had my mind on, I will move.

[Need4Camaro]

It's a natural part of evolution of any major city. We moved to Atlanta from Chicago to escape high crime, unemployment, cold winters, ect. Atlanta at the time was maybe about 30% less populated than it currently is. It had traffic issues but nothing in comparison to today. What I feel brings people to Atlanta is the climate. Not unbearably hot, not too cold, rarely snows. Job market is strong enough to support its population and fairly inexpensive.

While it's TRUE that Atlanta is growing in cost, you must also consider it's all still relative. The cost of housing in all major cities is increasing, given that... in direct comparison to other large metros, Atlanta is still inexpensive. Especially when consider the CoL of Pacific cities. You could sell a home in San Francisco and pick up 4 new equivalent homes in Atlanta.

As for losing its flare...to the locals, yes...People are realizing what happens when a city becomes large and especially if its under planned. For outsiders however who deal with much worse conditions (crime, high cost of housing), probably still see Atlanta as a bargain with the traffic being the 'compromise' so to speak.

The problem I kind of see with Atlanta now is its competing with smaller places that are currently in a surge of development (Charlotte, Nashville, Austin, ect). As those cities grow either by surges of fortune 500 companies (which is another problem for another animal of a thread) or by offering reasonable costs of living...less traffic...and in some cases even higher wages... some are beginning to leave for those places ... and inevitably...repeat the cycle.

[AnsleyPark]

As a 30 year resident, I think Atlanta has vastly improved.

[sciblue]

I've lived in Decatur, Duluth, Snellville, John's Creek and now Grayson. Day-to-day life for me is fine. I don't go into the city very often because sitting in traffic sucks. I do enjoy the mild climate and Atlanta is 1,000,000x better than East Tennessee where I'm from.

If I could find a blue state where I could have the same earning potential and quality of life as I do here I would leave the metro area and never look back. Atlanta city government is a joke and Georgia government is as well.

[908kiddo]

Just keep all of the scenery altering trees, they’re better than CAs. And this is from an OOSer who favors density