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I have lived here since 2014 and find myself with no real friends here. I have been to meetups, churches, and bars (before the pandemic), and i would meet decent people but everyone I met always lived across town from me (Morrow) and it would be hard for us to get together to do stuff because people in atlanta only want to hang around people that live in the same area as them. The people that I did manage to hang out with moved away. It seems like people don't stay in Atlanta for very long or maybe its just the people I'm meeting?
I have lived here since 2014 and find myself with no real friends here. I have been to meetups, churches, and bars (before the pandemic), and i would meet decent people but everyone I met always lived across town from me (Morrow) and it would be hard for us to get together to do stuff because people in atlanta only want to hang around people that live in the same area as them.
As you very likely have learned in your 7 years of living here, Atlanta is a metropolitan area and region that is heavily-oriented and heavily-biased towards its significantly more affluent and more heavily developed north side of town (roughly everything above/north of Interstate 20).
People who live inside the I-285 Perimeter most often are not going to want to meet to engage in activities outside of the I-285 Perimeter, and people who live north of I-20 most often (basically always) are not going to want to meet to engage in activities south of I-20.
If you live in a Southside OTP suburban community like Morrow and you are associating with individuals and groups of people who live either inside of the I-285 Perimeter and/or north of I-20, you can pretty much expect that your ITP and/or Northside associates very likely will never want to venture south of/outside the I-285 Perimeter for activities.
And the further north your Northside associates live, the more likely it will be that they will not travel south for meetups and group activities.
Atlanta is very much a Northside-biased metropolitan area because the Northside is where most of the development, amenities and wealth are located.
The irony is that many of the same people you know that most often will refuse to travel 20-30 miles south to meet for group activities and gatherings in Morrow very often will easily and gleefully travel 50-100 miles or more north for group activities and gatherings in the Blue Ridge Mountains region of North Georgia and Western North Carolina.
(People who often will refuse to travel a few miles south to a Southside suburban area like Morrow will often easily travel several more miles farther to points north like Lake Lanier, Lake Allatoona/Red Top Mountain, Amicalola Falls, Appalachian Trail, Dahlonega, Helen, Blue Ridge, Brasstown Bald, etc.)
If you live in a Southside community like Morrow and many (if not most) of the people you associate with live north of I-20, you can pretty much most often expect to travel north for group meetups and gatherings.
Sometimes, Northside residents will agree to travel to locations either just below/south of I-20 (like Six Flags, Sweetwater Creek State Park, Grant Park, Turner Field/Georgia State University stadium, etc.) or relatively just above/north of I-20 (Stone Mountain, etc.). But unfortunately there may be many people who most often will not be willing to travel to South metro Atlanta for reasons other than going to the Airport.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportslover
The people that I did manage to hang out with moved away. It seems like people don't stay in Atlanta for very long or maybe its just the people I'm meeting?
Along with being a metropolitan area that very often is very biased towards its more built-up, more amenity-rich and more-affluent north side, Atlanta unfortunately also can be a very heavily transient metro area, meaning that it is a place where people often move in and out of town at very high rates.
Atlanta’s high level of transiency can make it easy to meet new people amongst all of the new residents who are often moving into the city and the metro area, but that same transiency also can make it a challenge to maintain long-lasting friendships in a city/metro where people often may also move out of town at high rates.
Since you appear to be a sports fan as inferred by your screen name (sportslover), one thing that you could (and most likely should) do to attempt to create more long-lasting friendships in a city/metro as transient as Atlanta is to become active with one or more local Atlanta chapters of your favorite college and professional sports teams’ fan clubs.
Becoming active with a local chapter of your favorite college and/or pro sports teams’ fan clubs can be a good way to meet new people and make new friends because many fan clubs can be somewhat closely-knit groups that often may function as families (by Atlanta’s notably transient standards) that do more than just get together for game-watching parties but also get together for volunteer community service projects and non-sports related social outings (wine tastings, stage plays, bar-hopping, group meals at restaurants, picnics, etc.).
Another thing that you can do to attempt to build more longer-lasting friendships is become active with the booster club of your favorite high school sports team or teams, where you would often see some of the same people at different games and establish a level of familiarity and increase your chances of building long-lasting friendships.
Also, find something (a cause) that interests you and volunteer in the community where you might will be able to meet and establish a rapport with people who share some of the same interests as you.
These approaches may not be perfect and they may not be effective overnight, but they could provide you with your best chances of building long-lasting friendships in a notably highly transient town in Atlanta.
The irony is that many of the same people you know that most often will refuse to travel 20-30 miles south to meet for group activities and gatherings in Morrow very often will easily and gleefully travel 50-100 miles or more north for group activities and gatherings in the Blue Ridge Mountains region of North Georgia and Western North Carolina.
That's because traveling 50 miles to the Blue Ridge Mountains reliably takes 50 minutes.
Traveling 20-30 miles south of the city could take 30 minutes. Or it could take an hour and a half. You just never know. It's too unreliable, which is why people are reluctant to do it.
That's because traveling 50 miles to the Blue Ridge Mountains reliably takes 50 minutes.
Traveling 20-30 miles south of the city could take 30 minutes. Or it could take an hour and a half. You just never know. It's too unreliable, which is why people are reluctant to do it.
Yea I'm in Alpharetta so I can be in Dahlonega in 45 minutes and that number doesn't fluctuate a whole lot. Maybe a little bit of traffic on 400 where it goes down to 2 lanes but other than that I know what to expect.
I don't want to fight Atlanta traffic trying to get to the southside unless I really need to go. Not only the fact that the time could be 45 minutes to 75 or even 90 minutes in rush hour, but just dealing with all the trouble spots. It's a more stressful ride.
Plus as was kinda mentioned in another thread about Atlantans not visiting national forests in the piedmont, I wanna go someplace different. Why drive an hour from one Atlanta suburb just to go to another Atlanta suburb when I can be in the mountains in that same amount of time. There are exceptions (was gonna go to the Starlight Drive-In but had to cancel) but for the most part, I'm not gonna gonna drive far just to go to another bar or restaurant. And that's one of the benefits of living in N Fulton. There's really no shortage of people in the area who want to do stuff in the area. It's been harder during COVID of course but I've had success meeting people doing meetups that are actually my age. Maybe the options are more limited on the southside. And there are always people moving to and from Atlanta, that is one downside of the metro
could be 45 minutes to 75 or even 90 minutes in rush hour
Nevermind rush hour, you could get caught in bumper to bumper traffic because of a Falcons or United game you didn't know about. Or because it's a nice day and people are heading to Piedmont Park. Or because they're repaving. Or because... seemingly no reason at all.
That's the real issue with travel in Atlanta. It's not even that rush hour is reliably bad. When it's reliable, at least you can plan for it. The true problem is things are so unreliable, you simply never know when you are going to hit standstill traffic. The only way to guarantee arriving for an appointment in time is to potentially be an hour early if there are no problems.
And you're right, if you're going to deal with it, you at least want a mountain getaway. There ARE things in the city worth driving to, but these aren't usually the things people invite you to. Like you said, it's usually just a restaurant or something that is no better than what you can find in your own neighborhood. And with easier parking.
I have lived here since 2014 and find myself with no real friends here. I have been to meetups, churches, and bars (before the pandemic), and i would meet decent people but everyone I met always lived across town from me (Morrow) and it would be hard for us to get together to do stuff because people in atlanta only want to hang around people that live in the same area as them. The people that I did manage to hang out with moved away. It seems like people don't stay in Atlanta for very long or maybe its just the people I'm meeting?
Making friends as an adult is hard. Making social friends, less so. I hear this same complaint from people who live right next to each other in the city. It really depends on your age and lifestyle.
Sounds like you've hung out more outside of Morrow than inside, which may be your main issue. Minus pandemic, the whole bar/drinking night is obviously something that people desire driving less for–drunk drivers, themselves or others, etc. So of course you'll have less people coming to Morrow from Atlanta. Alternatively, I know it is a consistent case that people from all burbs drive into the city for drinks and drive out to get home, but I'd say those tend to be the 20 somethings as a majority. I have no facts, I'm just going off of my experiences when I was a 20s-something. Probably outdated by now.
Sometime when there's a game night or something in some healthy future past the pandemic, I recommend hanging out in Morrow bars or showing up for those "wing night" "taco night" events and you're likely to meet people. It's easier at bars than tables when people come in groups because they like groups or they're too scared to be out alone.
And in some healthy pandemic future, you might try starting friendships through volunteering for something.
I have lived here since 2014 and find myself with no real friends here. I have been to meetups, churches, and bars (before the pandemic), and i would meet decent people but everyone I met always lived across town from me (Morrow) and it would be hard for us to get together to do stuff because people in atlanta only want to hang around people that live in the same area as them. The people that I did manage to hang out with moved away. It seems like people don't stay in Atlanta for very long or maybe its just the people I'm meeting?
I'm sorry you are feeling this way. I don't think this has anything to do with atlanta or morrow for that matter. It's an unfortunate reality that post college age, people spread out and start families which forces friend making to become a lot of work.
I think what I have found is:
1) it takes a lot of intention, work, and vulnerability
2) it's a long, slow, snowball effect. One friend here, one there, one from church, one from work, one from the gym. And after several years you look back and suddenly your snowball is pretty big
Despite all that, people are pretty flaky in general nowadays, so I will acknowledge that it is hard
I'm sorry you are feeling this way. I don't think this has anything to do with atlanta or morrow for that matter. It's an unfortunate reality that post college age, people spread out and start families which forces friend making to become a lot of work.
I think what I have found is:
1) it takes a lot of intention, work, and vulnerability
2) it's a long, slow, snowball effect. One friend here, one there, one from church, one from work, one from the gym. And after several years you look back and suddenly your snowball is pretty big
Despite all that, people are pretty flaky in general nowadays, so I will acknowledge that it is hard
This is true but Atlanta is definitely are more cliquish city than some others.
For those of us on the northside, morrow is pretty much Macon which means the chances of us visiting is essentially zero. I'm sorry if that's cold but it's the truth.
I have lived here since 2014 and find myself with no real friends here. I have been to meetups, churches, and bars (before the pandemic), and i would meet decent people but everyone I met always lived across town from me (Morrow) and it would be hard for us to get together to do stuff because people in atlanta only want to hang around people that live in the same area as them. The people that I did manage to hang out with moved away. It seems like people don't stay in Atlanta for very long or maybe its just the people I'm meeting?
Sorry to say, you're on the wrong side of town.
You need to move to Midtown, Buckhead or north of the city.
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