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Well, if it’s any consolation, pretty much the same thing has been happening throughout much of the greater Sun Belt and greater American South from interior Western metros like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Denver, to Texas metros like Austin, Dallas and Houston, to other Southeastern metros like Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Washington DC and the Florida metros.
It’s even been happening to varying extents in some of the more economically viable Northern Rust Belt/Snow Belt metros like Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, New York City; Boston, etc, not to mention the notable gentrification issues that a Pacific Northwest hub of industry like Seattle has been grappling with in recent years.
With a massive international airport (the busiest on the entire planet, pre-COVID), what has been a booming tech industry, what has been a booming TV/Film production industry, and with the city and metro being a top target for frequent major corporate relocations and expansions, a city/metro like Atlanta certainly is far from immune from the same gentrification pressures that every economically viable metro has been grappling with in recent years.
A state like California (including and particularly the Bay Area where the OP is planning a move away from) has had an expensive housing market and high cost-of-living issues for several years (decades even). With the issue reaching critical mass in the late-2010’s, pre-COVID, and with the issue appearing to come to a head during the COVID crisis to the point of many urban coastal Californians (probably including the OP) being completely fed up with the ridiculous housing costs (not to mention California’s high taxes) and making arrangements to leave the state for greener (and less-expensive) pastures.
... This is after years of housing prices spiking through the roof and into the stratosphere, especially in a metro region like the Bay Area, which has long featured housing prices that were significantly above average even well before the ridiculously insane price spikes of the late 2010’s occurred.
I understand your frustration with what is going on locally, but Atlanta (much like every other rapidly gentrifying major metro mentioned above) does not exist in a vacuum.
Much (if not most) of Atlanta’s growth into a major metropolis has come as a result of the internal population migration pipelines that the city/metro has had from other parts of the country like the urban Northeast and the urban Midwest (and, to a lesser extent, even urban California) for decades along with a strong internal population migration pipeline from other parts of the greater American South.
Both more-affluent and less-affluent out-of-state residents have been migrating into the Atlanta metro area for decades, particularly with Atlanta’s status as a pre-eminent relocation destination or ‘mecca’ for African-Americans.
It is just that the recent ultra high-profile U.S. Senate double runoff election and the massive amount of media attention that it generated seems to have made Georgia (particularly metro Atlanta) even much more of a very high-profile relocation target for more affluent Californians (along with affluent Northeasterners) than it likely might have been before.
The U.S. Senate double runoff election (which may have been the most expensive and most watched US Senate elections in U.S. history, by far) possibly seems to have made Georgia (particularly metro Atlanta) a relocation target for affluent Californians that potentially may be almost about equal to Texas, which has been attracting an accelerating number of affluent Californians in recent years.
That is because the ultra high-profile two-month double US Senate runoff election basically served as a 2 month long infomercial that advertised Georgia (and its very business-friendly low-cost economic climate) to frustrated affluent Californians and Northeasterners and even some frustrated affluent Midwesterners (particularly in an economically stagnant Midwestern state like Illinois).
Heck, I’ve got some relatives who make more than $70k per year who have been thinking about moving out of Southern California (currently in Orange County, CA) for years to get away from the infamously high living costs there.
My relatives LOVE California, but they seem to have reached the point where they just can’t deal with the ridiculous housing costs there anymore and seem to be becoming increasingly motivated to move out of the state so that they might be able to have a chance at enjoying a higher quality-of-life.
One of my relatives’ younger siblings moved from Southern California to Texas (Houston area) about a decade ago to seek out a better (and higher) quality-of-life.
After the publicity and attention that the US Senate runoffs generated for Georgia, my relatives who remain in Southern California now seem to be even more strongly considering a move to Georgia than they were before the election.
I know that it does not at all seem fair that affluent out-of-state newcomers can move in the state and buy larger houses and pieces of real estate.
But the reality of it all is that (like it or not) this is a free market and people can move wherever they may have the funds to want to move to.
I fully agree that it’s not good that working-class residents may get displaced from urban neighborhoods and get disadvantaged in the marketplace.
But on the other hand, it’s also not necessarily the worst thing that urban and inner-suburban neighborhoods have become popular destinations for people to move to, as opposed to the decaying and abandoned areas that they often became during the last few decades of the 20th Century.
It’s far from perfect, but ultimately it’s probably better for inner-urban/suburban neighborhoods to be considered to be popular and desirable destinations for new residents instead of sitting largely empty, deserted and abandoned and attracting much crime.
We are a working couple with 2 school age kids that currently live in the SF Bay Area. We both work in tech.
Questions
4) We send our kids to private school. Any recommendations on private schools that focus on IB curriculum?
Thanks!
Look into the Atlanta International School in Buckhead. It is Atlanta's premier private, K-12 IB World School. Any neighborhood within a 5 to 10 mile radius of this school should have what you are looking for.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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Originally Posted by bryantm3
It's not a sense of inferiority... the city is changing considerably.. I'm over the clear cutting, over the rude drivers, over the gentrification. We have big beautiful historic homes that would be the envy of most native ATLiens, but it's not enough for some of the people moving in, they want even more, to buy the best houses on the block, and then make ridiculous McMansions out of them.
I don't have a problem with new people moving in, but these people are coming in at the top of the food chain, with tons of power and influence, and remaking the city to suit themselves. This is not immigrants fleeing to seek a better life, this is millionaires moving in en masse, buying up the city for themselves, and waving the weeny in our faces. Asking if $800,000 is too low a budget to buy a house??? How are we supposed to compete with that? That's more money than many people here have ever seen in their lives... When you come in with money like that, you have the run of the place. And that's exactly what's happening all over ITP. Whole communities gone within a matter of years. This isn't a balanced playing field.
It's like you work hard for a long time saving up, thinking, maybe I'll live there one day, if I'm lucky. You see it for years, and then in the matter of a few months, you watch some putz in an Audi cruise in, buy it like it's a stick of gum, chew it up, spit it out, and move on to the next fad. It's downright demoralizing.
What business is it of yours?
I remember years ago when I first joined cd I asked about moving to Atlanta and your response was one of the most condescending negative replies I got.
Not sure what your problem is with anyone who has money. You think the op is rich, in my old town in California their budget won’t even get them a 3/1.5 1300 sq ft starter home.
Everyone wants a better life and if they can find it, more power to them. If they buy a 800k house, how does that affect you buying a starter 200k house or less?
If you are concerned about missing the boat, maybe you should work harder to get the money you need instead of complaining about others.
I’ve been in the area for 5 years now and love the people I’ve met here. I have to say that you are the only one that hasn’t been nice. Maybe work on yourself instead of posting how bad everyone else is.
Fortunately there are people like b2r that are helpful here.
It's not a sense of inferiority... the city is changing considerably.. I'm over the clear cutting, over the rude drivers, over the gentrification. We have big beautiful historic homes that would be the envy of most native ATLiens, but it's not enough for some of the people moving in, they want even more, to buy the best houses on the block, and then make ridiculous McMansions out of them.
I don't have a problem with new people moving in, but these people are coming in at the top of the food chain, with tons of power and influence, and remaking the city to suit themselves. This is not immigrants fleeing to seek a better life, this is millionaires moving in en masse, buying up the city for themselves, and waving the weeny in our faces. Asking if $800,000 is too low a budget to buy a house??? How are we supposed to compete with that? That's more money than many people here have ever seen in their lives... When you come in with money like that, you have the run of the place. And that's exactly what's happening all over ITP. Whole communities gone within a matter of years. This isn't a balanced playing field.
It's like you work hard for a long time saving up, thinking, maybe I'll live there one day, if I'm lucky. You see it for years, and then in the matter of a few months, you watch some putz in an Audi cruise in, buy it like it's a stick of gum, chew it up, spit it out, and move on to the next fad. It's downright demoralizing.
If it is any consolation, there is still much of the city that people moving into Atlanta (and many who have lived here for years) have no idea about. As I mentioned some time ago, when people on here refer to the City of Atlanta, they are only referring to a few key areas with which they are familiar. It is not too late to save for a nice modest spot in the city that will increase with value over time.
As the city grows, there are a LOT of untapped areas that people have not yet been driven to look at. True, wherever the OP is looking is likely out of reach for most people. But I went through the same thing years ago when purchasing our home. Your money might not get you into the intown neighborhood that you want right now, but there is still plenty of time to get into the neighborhood that is right for you. And if and when that community becomes the next "hot" real estate area, you will have the comfort of knowing that you were there before it became unaffordable to the people who are where you are now.
If you are trying to move into the city, surely you can find an affordable home in Hunter Hills, Washington Park, West Lake, Dixie Hills, Florida Heights, Venetian Hills, Adams Park, Center Hill, Bankhead, Vine City, possibly Grove Park, Mozley Park, Capitol View, Sylvan Hills, Ashview Heights, Pittsburgh and the like.
Remember, gentrification is like a snowball effect. It's hard for regular people to jump in when it is rolling at full speed. For every gentrified neighborhood in Atlanta today, there was a time when people were willing to move into a less desirable area and played a role in making it better, thus more desirable, thus more expensive to those who come in later. With some patience, skill, planning, and a little bit of luck, you can conceivably do the same. Although there is a lot of ITP hate on here from time-to-time, IMO, it is often just based on preconceived bias and misinformation.
I cannot tell you how many times people have hated on an area, or had no idea it existed, or where told to avoid it at all cost, only to visit and realize that they can be just as comfortable, friendly, and quaint as any other area of the city. Just stack your money. Your time will come...
It's not a sense of inferiority... the city is changing considerably.. I'm over the clear cutting, over the rude drivers, over the gentrification. We have big beautiful historic homes that would be the envy of most native ATLiens, but it's not enough for some of the people moving in, they want even more, to buy the best houses on the block, and then make ridiculous McMansions out of them.
I don't have a problem with new people moving in, but these people are coming in at the top of the food chain, with tons of power and influence, and remaking the city to suit themselves. This is not immigrants fleeing to seek a better life, this is millionaires moving in en masse, buying up the city for themselves, and waving the weeny in our faces. Asking if $800,000 is too low a budget to buy a house??? How are we supposed to compete with that? That's more money than many people here have ever seen in their lives... When you come in with money like that, you have the run of the place. And that's exactly what's happening all over ITP. Whole communities gone within a matter of years. This isn't a balanced playing field.
It's like you work hard for a long time saving up, thinking, maybe I'll live there one day, if I'm lucky. You see it for years, and then in the matter of a few months, you watch some putz in an Audi cruise in, buy it like it's a stick of gum, chew it up, spit it out, and move on to the next fad. It's downright demoralizing.
In my view, houses close to the urban core of a 6M person metro SHOULD generally be expensive, no? The US is gentrifying, upskilling, educating, moving from the middle to the upper class. I guess I see that as a good thing, because the alternative is akin to investing in a savings account......you're losing money by letting it sit idle while inflation eats away.
The easy thing to do is throw stones at people that have wealth and success, but why not strive to emulate their success? Why assume THEY didn't work hard for it?
I'm actually amazed that metro Atlanta STILL has safe cities with $250K homes in the sunbelt. Heck, one can still get a top notch "affluent" Cobb County school system for $300K!!!! This is for a top 10 US city near the mountain with a strong F500 job base and the worlds busiest airport!!!
I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings... but I'm trying to call it for what it is. This forum, and most of the people on it, are in the same socio-economic bubble. I grew up in the bubble, you don't realize it's a bubble until you leave it. You think that's the whole world. Or at least I did. I grew up on the north side and many or most of my friends had the kind of income that I'm talking about. I've been in a hubdred mansions, I'm not jealous... they're nothing special.
What I'm trying to impart is a lot like the story of David and Uriah the Hittite in the bible. David had hundreds of wives and had a man killed so he could take his only wife. Y'all in the mansions, you have your pick of the entire country, but there's only one Atlanta that a lot of people call home. Once it's gone, the option to just get a transfer and move whereever, willy nilly, like y'all do, is not there. There are consequences to the actions y'all take and I don't think, in general, that many of you have much of an appreciation of what great effect y'all's actions have on everybody else, the degree of power and influence you have to shape things. You all have a great responsibility because of this.
I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings... but I'm trying to call it for what it is. This forum, and most of the people on it, are in the same socio-economic bubble. I grew up in the bubble, you don't realize it's a bubble until you leave it. You think that's the whole world. Or at least I did. I grew up on the north side and many or most of my friends had the kind of income that I'm talking about. I've been in a hubdred mansions, I'm not jealous... they're nothing special.
What I'm trying to impart is a lot like the story of David and Uriah the Hittite in the bible. David had hundreds of wives and had a man killed so he could take his only wife. Y'all in the mansions, you have your pick of the entire country, but there's only one Atlanta that a lot of people call home. Once it's gone, the option to just get a transfer and move whereever, willy nilly, like y'all do, is not there. There are consequences to the actions y'all take and I don't think, in general, that many of you have much of an appreciation of what great effect y'all's actions have on everybody else, the degree of power and influence you have to shape things. You all have a great responsibility because of this.
When looking to move from NY in 2011 we took a look at Milton. Ultimately we moved elsewhere first, but did end up moving here in 2018. I’m not looking to move again any time soon as we love it here.
Sure, there’s a bubble to some extent, and Atlanta and its suburbs are experiencing more gentrification, construction and price inflation. But all in all I’d prefer that than what I see in many other places - high taxes, cuts to services and a flat or declining population.
When looking to move from NY in 2011 we took a look at Milton. Ultimately we moved elsewhere first, but did end up moving here in 2018. I’m not looking to move again any time soon as we love it here.
Sure, there’s a bubble to some extent, and Atlanta and its suburbs are experiencing more gentrification, construction and price inflation. But all in all I’d prefer that than what I see in many other places - high taxes, cuts to services and a flat or declining population.
To some extent, it's all about the wording too. One could label north Atlanta metro a "bubble," or they could just as well call it "a community of like minded people that worked their ass off in life, and they want to be around others who did the same".
I'm sure some people have inherited their wealth, but I've never personally met one. All that I know worked their ass off, despite what they had. Things like going to the military so they would pay for college, taking on large debt loads and working while going to school for a good degree, etc.
I'm sure some people have inherited their wealth, but I've never personally met one. All that I know worked their ass off, despite what they had. Things like going to the military so they would pay for college, taking on large debt loads and working while going to school for a good degree, etc.
My experience as well.
Ironically, one of the small drivers was watching HGTV over a decade ago.
I saw all these big homes at realistic prices, happy families and people and many of them seemed to be in NC or GA.
I then looked at my small home that cost much more, my tax and utility bills, and the fact that while I was close to a lot of things I didn't have much of a chance to take advantage of them.
So when we had the opportunity to do a corporate relocation (getting paid to move) we pulled the trigger. And then again to the Atlanta suburbs.
But as you point out, often that means taking risks, working hard and acting when opportunity arrives. And looking for a higher quality of life. So if you have people moving to Atlanta, it's largely going to be because of one or more of these reasons.
I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings... but I'm trying to call it for what it is. This forum, and most of the people on it, are in the same socio-economic bubble. I grew up in the bubble, you don't realize it's a bubble until you leave it. You think that's the whole world. Or at least I did. I grew up on the north side and many or most of my friends had the kind of income that I'm talking about. I've been in a hubdred mansions, I'm not jealous... they're nothing special.
What I'm trying to impart is a lot like the story of David and Uriah the Hittite in the bible. David had hundreds of wives and had a man killed so he could take his only wife. Y'all in the mansions, you have your pick of the entire country, but there's only one Atlanta that a lot of people call home. Once it's gone, the option to just get a transfer and move whereever, willy nilly, like y'all do, is not there. There are consequences to the actions y'all take and I don't think, in general, that many of you have much of an appreciation of what great effect y'all's actions have on everybody else, the degree of power and influence you have to shape things. You all have a great responsibility because of this.
It looks like you are trying to accuse newcomers (particularly affluent transplants who are new to the area) of destroying the character of Atlanta just by moving here?... To a city and metropolitan area dominated by transplants.
If transplants were guilty of destroying the Atlanta city/metro, then that would have been the case long ago because transplants have been moving to Atlanta in droves for decades.
Atlanta is pretty much a transplant-dominated metro area at this point in time. Most of the people here have either moved to Atlanta from somewhere else, or have at least one parent (if not both parents) who moved to Atlanta from somewhere else.
Why you suddenly now just might be having a temper tantrum about Atlanta having and attracting too many transplants, decades after Atlanta has been overwhelmed by newcomers and transplants, seems to be puzzling.
That’s especially in a city that never really has been and has a well-documented reputation of not being committed to preserving history or living in the past... A tone that was set by Atlanta civic leaders back when they first opened the facility that is now known as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport back in 1925, and a tone that has been maintained and promoted during decades of endlessly boosting the city to outside business interests.
Atlanta civic leaders have long wanted the city and metro to be a place that attracted outside residents in droves from other parts of the country and the world.
Atlanta civic leaders have made it no secret that they have long wanted and intensely desired the city and metro to be a place of international influence and importance... Something which appears to have been achieved with Atlanta being home to the world’s busiest airport, the largest television and film production scene on the entire planet outside of Southern California, and a very large and domineering corporate/business community.
With the civic leadership of Atlanta expressly having had the mindset of making the city/metro be a major destination for outsiders from all over the nation and the globe for decades, it seems patently unfair for you to basically accuse current and recent newcomers of destroying Atlanta’s character.
That’s especially when Atlanta’s civic leadership has never been committed to preserving the city’s character in the way that you might seem to think of it, and also when Atlanta’s collective civic leadership has expressly had the mindset of endlessly making and wanting Atlanta to be a place that attracts people in very large numbers from all over the planet.
You accusing prospective residents of basically destroying the city or harming the city’s character just because they are from California have a housing budget of $800k is way off base.
It sounds like you are trying to propagate a mindset of trying to deter people from moving to Atlanta from out-of-state, particularly if they happen to be affluent residents with abundant incomes and housing budgets.
... Which, if that is the case, is a mindset that goes completely against everything that an intentionally highly transient city/metro like Atlanta seems to stand for and thrive on, which is completely uninhibited interaction with the outside world.
If you want to live in a place that is closed-off and unappealing to outsiders, you are totally living in the wrong city.
Unlike other cities that have often struggled after going out of their way to send the signal that they don’t want outsiders moving into their cities, Atlanta has thrived and prospered on being a place that was open, appealing and inviting to outsiders.
People of modest incomes are already moving to Atlanta in very large numbers and have been moving to Atlanta in large numbers for decades.
We absolutely don’t need to be very foolishly trying run people away from the city because they have high incomes and housing budgets.
We need people of all income levels in the Atlanta city/metro. We especially need people with high levels of education and income in Atlanta because they pay for critical public services (schools, police, fire, infrastructure, etc.) and contribute heavily to the economy when they buy homes, automobiles, retail items, visit restaurants, etc.
You see outside newcomers as a problem that are destroying our city and our way of life.
I see outside newcomers as a critically important asset that have greatly benefited our city and enhanced our way of life.
One of the major reasons why both our Intown neighborhoods and our outlying suburbs have thrived and prospered so greatly is because of outside newcomers (including outside newcomers with higher incomes and larger housing budgets like the OP) who have moved into the Atlanta city/metro and invested so heavily in enhancing our communities and our way of life.
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