LA vs Atlanta

[cbreeze22]

My family is originally from Chicago, I was born and spent 25 years in West L.A., now in my 8th year here in Atlanta. Went back to Chicago every year of my childhood.

I'm ready to go home to Cali - not back to LA (I have 2 kids and LA is not what it was when I grew up), but to San Diego area (specifically Eastlake in Chula Vista area, maybe Poway if they stop hanging nooses at the high school).

If you're set on the city of LA or the city of Atlanta, the "safe" me would tell you to choose Atlanta now. You can be a homeowner much faster, as you mentioned there is a plethora of attractive, successful black women here (sucks for me), and there is a decent nightlife for people your age. Job market I believe is better in LA for your occupation, but not so much so that it negates the other factors.

BUT my heart says go to LA while you have the chance (no kids, no spouse, no house). You'll probably want to rent for a year or so no matter where you move to, so the housing cost isn't a big factor right away. Once in LA, you can see if you fall in love with it or any other Cali area you mentioned (Long Beach, San Diego, etc.). Later when you have a wife and kids to consider southern Cali may not be much of a reality for you because of cost, schools, and extended family. Living anywhere will suck if you have regrets about missed opportunities.

Atlanta isn't going anywhere, you may not be single for much longer, and there's not exactly a shortage of beautiful women of every color in California. Plus you'll miss the water more than you realize.

[mistersocks]

I moved to ATL from LA in January, so I thought I'd put in my 2 cents. I agree w/cbreeze22 above--you're young and single, so why not try out LA? If you hate it, you can always come to Atlanta. Since you're from Chicago, I think you'll miss the big city "buzz" if you move here. Don't get me wrong--ATL is great for families, I just don't think you can compare it to a city like NY, LA, SF or Chicago in terms of excitement for the single person.

As far as black/brown tension in LA goes, it seemed to me that the problem was in the low-income areas. Last neighborhood I lived in (Olympic & Fairfax-ish) had a very diverse racial mix and everyone was cool.

If you do move to LA, don't buy a house right now...they have yet to hit the bottom. I was there for the bubble (part of why I left) and it was insane.

[Atlantasfinest]

[quote=chitownbred;4351988]Okay here's the deal. I live in Chicago, been here all my life. I'm 28, Single black male, no kids, no real responsibility besides rent, and I'm looking for a change. If you were to ask me why I'm looking for a change I'd tell you because I do not want to endure the winters here any longer, and I know what the city has to offer. So i want to experience something new. I've narrowed my selection down to the two places that are still "city" enough for me to live, and have milder temps in the winter. I have a bachelor's degree and work in the supply chain field. My current job has allowed me the flexibility to go in a lot of directions. (I'm a senior market analyst, so I work with sales/marketing/forecasters/and consultants).

I've been toying with the idea of Atlanta or LA. I've been to both and like them both for different reasons.

Let me say that I'm 28 years old and I'm originally from California but now living in Atlanta so here goes...

LA:
Pros
1.Weather cannot be beat. I want to wear shorts in February.
2.Entertainment capital.
3.In the same state wth many other fun cities. (San Diego, love the beaches. San Fran. Love Fisherman's Wharf. Long Beach.)

You simply cannot beat the weather in Southern California...Also Las Vegas is driving distance and you can fly to Hawaii, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Seattle and other great Western destinations on the cheap via Southwest Airlines . It's the only place you can reach the desert, go skiing and go to the beach all within 24 hours!
Cons:
1.Cost of Living. (Do not want to be paying rent for the rest of my life). Median Single Family Home Price in LA is $550,000.

Cost of living is very real is reflected in the housing and gas prices. You can get a much nicer spot for $1500 in Atlanta than you would be able to in LA for the same amount. If your focused on home ownership right now and finding a wife then Atlanta is your place but If your going to have fun for a few years & get have your choice of multi-ethnic women that LA has then go ahead and rent and get a experience you've never had before in LA! Who knows...maybe prices go down within a year or two and you can hop on a great deal in LA? Also as a Black male with no kids and a good job in LA you will do very well and have your pick of the litter...same as in Atlanta but there is more comp in Atlanta and also more Black people who are in careers in Atlanta so it evens out.

2. Keep hearing about the black vs brown tension. Had a friend who lived there last year, and said its very real.

The tensions is in lower class neighborhoods, I grew up there and never had a problem. Upscale brothas don't go there and you have no reason to visit the low class barrios and clubs where the lower class black and brown congregate. Stick to locations in West LA, West Hollywood, Hollywood Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City, Westchester, Redondo/Manhattan and Hermosa Beach, Pasadena and Orange County Beach areas like Laguna, Newport, Downtown Long Beach and you'll be fine.

Atlanta:
Pro's:
1.Constantly growing. Job oppornities seem abundant.
2.Lots of beautiful black women there.
3.Cost of Living is cheap. I realize Atlanta is becoming more expensive by the day, but is still a bargain compared to cities like LA and Chicago.
4.Nightlife is vibrant as well.

Your correct...alot of beautiful Black Women here with good jobs and come from good families & for the most part are educated If you hang out at the right places which are not too hard to find(IE dont go to RADIO PROMOTED PARTIES)...In Los Angeles not as many but you have more than just black women in LA so that's a plus... For the desirable areas Atlanta is not even as near as expensive as LA but you can find much cheaper housing here but to be in the good areas its going to cost...

Cons:
1. No lakefront or water base in the city. (Ocean is 3 hours away)
2. Because the COL is cheaper, the salary wages are also cheaper. (Because of this, I imagine it would be harder for me to command a higher salary if I relocated to a city where the wages are higher than Atlanta.

Honestly when I lived in LA I didn't frequent the beach that much but it's the culture that goes with it that is missed here in Atlanta. The laid back lifestlye, the weather the fashion, the car culture...that's what makes LA special. Yeah Atlanta doesn't have a body of water but you can visit much nicer beaches in Panama City & Destin which is about 4-5 hours away and a quick plane flight . Also you can fly to Miami, Tampa or the Carribean or drive to New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah which are nice weekend trips.
Neither cities have the transit system that Chicago does, but thats something i could learn to deal with.

If you live ITP close to a Marta station and your job was close that would be a good situation here in Atlanta. But in LA there is traffic all times a day and everywhere throughout the southland. If you live intown in Atlanta the traffic isn't bad all times of the day if ever.

If you like a more diverse nightlife and a plethora of women across nationalities that really interact with each other on the young social scene and beautiful weather year-round then I would choose LA. To live good in LA on a renting budget you need to make at least 75K so I think with your credentials you would be fine. It would do you some good to get out of the midwest/eastcoast/southern culture and experience something totally different on the WEST COAST in Los Angeles and after a few years you could always move to Atlanta...

Atlanta has nice women but the mix of women that are 1st/2nd generation from other countries abroad who are established greatly adds to the flavor of LA. Atlantas is not there yet but maybe in about 20 years it will have that desireable international exciting mix that LA has....

Go West Young Man!

[chitownbred]

Some good advice in here. Much appreciated. I think Im going to visit both again. A week in either city may not be long enough. I imagine I'll struggle a little bit in LA. But who doesn't at some point in life. My boy keeps talking about how nice Santa Monica was and how good it was driving up the coast. Can always move back to the Chi or try ATL. Chicago and Atlanta are like cousins to me. Each city has some sort of lineage where family and friends are in either city. So many things to do in Cali. The idea that I could get off work on Friday, and head to San Diego or Fisherman's Wharf in San Fran seem like an adventure. San Diego especially, because i got another friend down there. Went to the club "Purple Rain" (although its more like a brothel than a club) and had fun. Long Beach too. Gotta admit though, Atlanta has the best looking women I've seen, and I've been to every major city in US of A. I was definitely feeling The Velvet Room.

Is the job market what it seems in ATL? Atlanta is consistently ranked in the top 10 almost every year for the amount of entreprenuers the city breeds and the employment opportunities. For my sector i've so far applied to coca cola. I plan to apply for both jobs in ATL and LA. For my relocated people, was it easier trying to find a job on your own through basic internet search and networking? Or has anyone found it easier by using a job recruiter? I work a lot of crazy hours that leaves me little time other than weekends to conduct a thorough job search in a different city. I'd like to find a non-fee based recruiter that takes their "cut" out of the company when i'm hired, vs one who takes their "cut" from my wallet.

[mistersocks]

Not sure about your particular field, but I'm a graphic designer and I found getting a job in ATL a little easier than I would have liked. My wife wanted to move here, so I told her we'd move when I found a good job, thinking that it would take a year or so...maybe longer. Hey, no rush! Came across something promising on the internet, applied...and here I am. Whole process took about a month. My head's still spinning. Not sure if the market here's really hot or if I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Just about every other job I've had came through networking, so this was a real surprise. Had I actually been serious about moving I would have used a recruiter for sure.

[caliboy76]

"I'm 28, Single black male, no kids, no real responsibility besides rent" I would definitely say try LA first... You'll probably get bored in Atlanta very quickly. Theres just so much more to do and see in LA. I'll have to agree with you about those "Georgia Peaches" though! Yes housing prices are much higher in Cali but its slowly coming back down. In your line of work, you should do well in LA. Also the weather and the beaches... I was born and raised in Long Beach and those ocean breezes in the summer or the pier at Manhattan Beach or Santa Monica, you just cant beat it.. I came to Atlanta about a year ago because of the housing costs of southern Cali, but I dont think I'll be here too much longer. Atlanta is a great place to buy a nice home, but thats about it. You'll do much better in LA as far as lifestyle goes...

[sweettea1]

I just got back from a month in LA and I have to say (even with two kids and a mortgage) that I'd give Atlanta up in a minute to be near the ocean. I'd even rent. There is SO much more to do out there and the weather allows these activities to occur at any point in the day. While Atlanta has a nice Southern feel to it, personally I'm disappointed in its progress and can't stand being in my car all day. I know people say you sit in your car all day in Los Angeles but there are so many areas where you don't have to do that. Santa Monica, Los Feliz, Studio City...the city isn't pretty but the pockets are very accessible. As a 20-something...I say go for it. You can always come back to Atlanta and maybe by the time you do, the city will have actually done something to position itself better.

[back2dc]

Dude, seriously, go to LA. You seem like a fun-loving, progressive-thinking individual, who's young and not tied down with family responsibilities. You will definitely find that mindset in LA.

[butterfly11]

Okay..here's the deal. I am a black female that was engaged and moved from Northern California to the North Shore in Chicago five years ago. It was beautiful there but like you hated the snow and humid summers...missed California terribly. We then moved to Alpharetta, GA three years later after his job ended and it also a nice area, he worked in Alpharetta so he has a short commute. The traffic in Atlanta is terrible and the heat and smog is unbearable after 8 months there he met other women due to he shortage of straight men there so I moved back to California.
There are a lot of attractive single people there in Atlanta, but to me I would think after a year or so you will become bored if you are used to Chicago.
Atlanta is not the HotLanta everyone brags about, you drive around in circles, it is diverse but not as diverse as Los Angeles and the surrounding area.
I would suggest visiting both places and seeing which areas you like best. Atlanta is not for everyone and California is very expensive but the most beautiful. And by the way....there are beautiful women in Atlanta but a lot of them are goldiggers as my ex-fiance is finding out...Good Luck

[uncle_el]

i'm 29, single black male, no responsibilities... i'm fro so cal (thousand oaks, which someone mentioned earlier in this thread) and lived in atlanta for 4 years while in medical school, and went to la (back to so cal) for residency.

in the end, i love living on the west coast, and found the south (went to college in new orleans) ok, but not my cup of tea at the end of the day.

i don't know much about market analysis, but what's your overall goal with this job/career, and does your location make a difference in the short term? long term?

my parents live in alpharetta, and have done so for the past 10 years, after moving from so cal. my mom continues to say that outside of my parents mortgage, she feels that the cost of living is virtually the same (while buying a home is cheaper in atlanta/atlanta area, property taxes are higher compartively- my parents house is about 500k, and the property taxes are the same on a house of about 800k in so cal).

i think you'd have fun in either city, but my biased vote would be for la.