What's the Big Deal about Decatur (Atlanta, Alpharetta: townhome, buy, cabinets)

[plessthanpointohfive]

Bob, why do you make yourself the subject of these kinds of things? I was speaking in general terms.

Try to remember that I've lived on both sides and I picked one as being better than the other. It doesn't matter how you couch things...you don't make them sound undesireable.

The only bone I have to pick with your statement is the assumption that every family thinks it's better for one parent to stay at home. I won't ever agree with that philosophy. There are families where both parents, like me and my husband, really enjoy our careers and feel we'd be terrible parents if we were house-bound all day. Not to mention I don't agree every child benefits from a stay-at-home parent. I think it damages some children, or at the very least holds them back from their full potential.

But that's another discussion.

We're talking about how you always feel it so necessary to defend your lifestyle.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

We're talking about how you always feel it so necessary to defend your lifestyle.

How is it that when I make my statement I'm "defending my lifestyle", yet when you say that you "certainly don't understand the mindset of people who would rather pay more for gas, wear and tear on their car, spend 10 hours a week or more in their car simply so they can have 3600sqft, granite, and cherry cabinets, and stainless steel appliances" it's somehow different??

Like you, I've also lived on both sides and picked one as being better than the other- both with regard to the location/housing choices, and with the "parent at home" philosophy. As I said "to each his own".

[plessthanpointohfive]

Yet, you're the one who gets all hot-headed, especially with MY posts.

Lookit, I was not at all accusatory or nasty to the OP. All I did was agree with postprime "waste of resources" veiwpoint.

At the same time, I also said I try not to judge because I don't walk in everyone's shoes.

Mostly, I apply that philosophy to myself and hope that other people apply it to themselves as best they can.

Hey, you might very well be doing that. I didn't say that.

You jsut get so friggin defensive.

[BobKovacs]

Hmmm...didn't realize I was getting "hotheaded". I do, however get defensive to a degree when I see comments about people living out in the suburbs "just to have cherry cabinets and stainless appliances", which tends to imply that such people give no thought to anything other than that when they select the place they live- and that's the way your post came across, whether you meant it to or not.

There's an underlying "elitist" tone to many of the posts by folks who live intown, as if they're the only ones who are intelligent enough to "make the right choice". Again, it may not be intentional, but it certainly comes across that way.

[plessthanpointohfive]

I think that "elitist" sentiment probably comes from some sense of having escaped what they thought was some sort of sub-par existence. A lot of intowners work intown and either once lived in the burbs OR they lived in another city where they could never afford to live in the city. Once they get to Atlanta's affordable intown neighborhoods they feel like they have "escaped".

Where as there as many people who prefer the burbs (and I'm not talking about rural areas, aka "the country", because that's a whole different ball game. A lot of city folks love "the country") and think we're just crazy for moving to the city.

What people say about the city versus the burbs is like a self-reporting telephone survey on politics. The only people who call in are the ones who feel strongly in one direction or the other.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

A lot of intowners work intown and either once lived in the burbs OR they lived in another city where they could never afford to live in the city. Once they get to Atlanta's affordable intown neighborhoods they feel like they have "escaped".

I don't want to get involved in this argument, but I wanted to say that I don't consider your neighborhood (Candler Park) affordable, at least not to people from Atlanta and who are accustomed to the cost of housing in Atlanta metro. I lived in CP as a renter for several years. When I got to the point in life where I was ready to buy a house, I could not afford CP so I had to leave. The price of homes in CP (and all the other intown neighborhoods where I would live if I could) has grown at a rate that keeps it unaffordable to me, despite my income being much better now than it was when I rented there.

[IntownHomes247]

Originally Posted by staywarm2

I did apologize... You weren't defending, you were being NASTY. Of course, realtors do have a vested interest. And you certainly put down Alpharetta quite well. Jealous?

Seriously? You think my post was NASTY? I directly compared Decatur to Alpharetta based on the criteria in your own post and pointed out the flawed logic of your original (and highly offensive) post based again on a direct comparison to the neighborhood you are holding out as so superior to Decatur. If you are that easily wounded, you might want to refrain from venturing into cyberspace. And you would certainly do well to avoid starting NASTY threads with mean-spirited and insulting comments. A so-called apology does not mitigate the rudeness and insult of the original post.

[JPD]

For the record, I've read this entire thread twice, and I didn't detect any nastiness.

[plessthanpointohfive]

JPD - I meant it's affordable compared to other big cities. I could never afford to live in the "intown" (I know they don't use the same term) neighborhoods of NYC, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

I certainly don't understand the mindset of people who would rather pay more for gas, wear and tear on their car, spend 10 hours a week or more in their car simply so they can have 3600sqft, granite, and cherry cabinets, and stainless steel appliances.

All that expense, money and time, for STUFF.

Before I ask this question, I want to make it clear that it is not meant to be snarky. If it comes across that way, I apologize in advance However, how would people who live in 3,600 sqft homes with granite and cherry cabinets in-town fit into this trend toward "conspicuous consumption"? This question is not rhetorical - I am just curious what exactly constitutes the waste of resources.