Is Atlanta Really that Bad???? (Savannah, Marietta: appointed, apartments, renting)

[AmbitiousProgrammer]

Hi,

I'm 23 year old software developer that currently resides in Tallahassee. I plan to move to a city with a much bigger information tech industry that has a decent cost of living. So far I've narrowed it down to Austin and Atlanta, but here's my problem:

Atlanta has a IT bigger industry than Austin, but there are so many people bashing this city on this forum. I made a two-day trip to Atlanta, and I was actually quite impressed. What I am I missing here??? Traffic is bad, but I can choose to live close to my job, right? People say ATL lacks culture, but it seems to have much more culture than Orlando, Tampa, or Houston.

I would like Chicago better, and probably NYC, Seattle... but for right now those are not options b/c of moving/cost-of-living expenses.

Please be absolutely truthful for a single 20-something that's ambitious about his career, likes big city living, libertarian-minded, doesn't need historical areas, and doesn't need night clubs.

Thanks!!!

[sprtsluvr8]

I've lived in Atlanta for several years...it's not perfect but I wouldn't live anywhere different. My advice to you is - don't take advice from strangers online. You get biased information from an indivdual's point of view, and there's really no way to tell if you would agree with that person or not. Do some research online and find out if Atlanta offers the extras you're wanting in a city. I can bet it does, because just about anything you could want is here. Good luck and if I can help you by honestly answering specific questions let me know.

[lastminutemom]

I think Austin's job market is probably much harder to break into....

The challenge for someone with your demographics is finding somewhere to live that is cool enough (you know not all old people and families) that won't have a killer commute.

With a little research (I am assuming you will be renting) you should be able to find a great complex to live in.

Traffic is horrible, especially Friday afternoons, but always at rush hour. A wreck at 10:30 am can back things up for hours and alternative routes are sometimes hard to come by, but any city worth its' salt has some kind of traffic challenge, I would think.

First, find a job, then find a place to live... you will be happier that way.

[jxu66]

Just want to correct something OP said.

Atlanta does NOT have stronger IT industry than Austin. Atlanta is ranked around 15 in term of IT, not very high at all. What Atlanta has is diversity economy. It is not prone to up and down like IT cities like Austin or Dallas.

Most IT jobs in atlanta are located in northern side of town, Dunwoody, Marietta, Alpharatta, midtown and Buckhead. It is very spreadout. Atlanta does not have big IT center like what Austin has in Round Rock or Telecom Corridor in Dallas.

[AmbitiousProgrammer]

Originally Posted by jxu66

Just want to correct something OP said.

Atlanta does NOT have stronger IT industry than Austin. Atlanta is ranked around 15 in term of IT, not very high at all. What Atlanta has is diversity economy. It is not prone to up and down like IT cities like Austin or Dallas.

Most IT jobs in atlanta are located in northern side of town, Dunwoody, Marietta, Alpharatta, midtown and Buckhead. It is very spreadout. Atlanta does not have big IT center like what Austin has in Round Rock or Telecom Corridor in Dallas.

From my research, most sources seem to rank Atlanta's IT industry as being strong than Austin's:

Here are some links:

Top 10 Cities for Tech-Savvy Small Business (2006)
http://chicago.about.com/od/jobsemployment/a/041406_business.htm (broken link)

Top 10 high-tech cities in the U.S. (1999)
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/99...idg/index.html

Beyond the Valley: 10 Blooming U.S. Cities for Tech
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1977764,00.asp

Top US Tech Cities Named in Study
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/...7001.html?Ad=1


If you have links to official websites stating otherwise, then I would love to see them. Thanks!

[vasinger]

Its very un-southern. If you want southern charm, you have to try Richmond, Charleston, or Savannah.

Other than that its kinda nice. I stayed at a hotel down on Peachtree St. It has very neat shops and new restaurants.

The only problem with Atlanta is most people seem to only work in the city (downtown) and all live outside in the burbs.There are a few nice neighborhood in back of Peachtree St around where Margaret Mitchell's home was (actually a studio apartment)

And its very artsy there. But the whole time in Atlanta, I felt very smothered.

There's not much living space within the city. Most of the old neighborhoods were burned badly during the war.

So it had to start over.


I couldnt wait to get back home to Richmond.

[jxu66]

Hey, I used to live in Dallas and visited Austin many times. You can google Venture capital for IT firms. Atlanta is not highly ranked. Dallas used to be in top 3 but telecom hurts their ranking.

http://www.neweconomyindex.org/metro/part5_page5.html

also, check out one of older thread

http://www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...lpharetta.html

One of poster Russ_in_Atlanta who just moved from Austin to Atlanta, check out his comment on that topic as well.

[sprtsluvr8]

Originally Posted by vasinger

Its very un-southern. If you want southern charm, you have to try Richmond, Charleston, or Savannah.

Other than that its kinda nice. I stayed at a hotel down on Peachtree St. It has very neat shops and new restaurants.

The only problem with Atlanta is most people seem to only work in the city (downtown) and all live outside in the burbs.There are a few nice neighborhood in back of Peachtree St around where Margaret Mitchell's home was (actually a studio apartment)

And its very artsy there. But the whole time in Atlanta, I felt very smothered.

There's not much living space within the city. Most of the old neighborhoods were burned badly during the war.

So it had to start over.

I couldnt wait to get back home to Richmond.

What year did you live in Atlanta? Your description is seriously not correct. The trend for 5-10 years (since the '96 Olympics) has been people moving into the city. Midtown and Downtown have been sprouting highrise condos and apartments and the development hasn't slowed at all. There are great in-town neighborhoods with lots of different choices - Home Park, Virginia-Highland, Little 5 Points, Kirkwood, E. Atlanta, Morningside, Midtown Heights, Midtown, Cabbage Town, Inman Park, Candler Park, 4th Ward, Druid Hills, Emory area, Atlantic Station...I'll stop, but all of these neighborhoods are nice ones and in the city. The burning of Atlanta was in 1865, so I think there has been a lot of residential construction in 150 years...

The charm thing isn't worth refuting...I think Atlanta is very southern, but it all depends on how you define southern.

[AmbitiousProgrammer]

Great advice so far! Compared to Southern cities I've been to (Houston, Tampa, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Orlando, Baton Rouge, etc.), I liked Atlanta a whole lot more. To be honest, I liked Atlanta more than Austin. But considering that I was only in the cities for a day or two, I just want to be sure.

As far as the Atlanta vs Austin in IT industry, I don't think it'll matter too much. At this point in my career (1yr profession experience), I don't think I would be disappointed with either city IT-wise. I am looking for a non-contract job that's involved in physical technology, robotics, science, engineering, or something Google-like.... if that makes a difference.

Just for the info though, I did a search the other day on Dice for available jobs in both ATL and Austin.

Here's the break-down:
---------------------------Austin----------Atlanta
"Software Developer":-------20---------------37
"Software Engineer":-------- 49---------------89
"Programmer":---------------57--------------161


If I do move, I may have to be able to sign and move into an apartment within two weeks of a job offer. Take in mind, that I plan to stay at motel/hotel for a month or less doing interviews and looking at apartments. Is finding a decent one bedroom in this time period reasonable?

Thanks again. New to the forum, and I'm really appreciating the friendly help!

[LLD]

Hmmm.... a bit tough to compare numbers of jobs between Austin and Atlanta since there is a huge difference in population. I would of course expect more jobs available in Atlanta since it is so much bigger. I lived and worked in Austin for almost five years and I'm in IT -- very very IT driven, it has the nickname Silicon Hills. I think though what others are referring to is the relative percentage of industry in both towns. And I'd definitely say Austin has a bigger percentage of its major industry involved in IT than Atlanta.

I would think as a single 20 something you would LOVE Austin -- it's hip and a college town with UT, very diverse, sort or a liberal enclave in Texas, with lots of people in their 20's and 30's -- tons of young professionals. It has tons of live music and is really known for that. And the outdoor activities abound with hiking, biking, tubing, the lake etc. Austin is also very green with lots of green spaces and parks. But it is a much smaller city than Atlanta.

If big city living and amenities is what you want, Atlanta is defintely more to your style. Another thing is that Austin is a secondary airport which means you will pay $200-300 more every time you want to get somewhere because of having to make connections. Atlanta is a major international airport, so if travel is a big thing, Atlanta is a better choice there too.

Cost of living wise - Austin can be pricey in some places but so can Atlanta. I would expect you could find something reasonable in both cities in terms of apartments.

If I were you, I'd read the Atlanta comments on this forum and also the Austin comments in the Texas forum.