Atlanta vs Dallas (Columbus, Stone Mountain, Boston: car insurance, property taxes, living)

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

I wonder what he would have said about Atlanta and its history of slave trade.

And that's relevant to what, exactly?

If I recall correctly, the slave trade wasn't exclusive to Atlanta, nor was it exclusive to the South. If Texas has even existed as anything other than a northern extension of Mexico at the time (come to think of it, isn't it fast becoming a northern extension of Mexico again????), there may have been slavery there as well.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

And that's relevant to what, exactly?

If I recall correctly, the slave trade wasn't exclusive to Atlanta, nor was it exclusive to the South. If Texas has even existed as anything other than a northern extension of Mexico at the time (come to think of it, isn't it fast becoming a northern extension of Mexico again????), there may have been slavery there as well.

Texas became a slave state.

Actually when it was a part of Mexico, slavery had been outlawed by the Mexican government. This was one of the issues (there were many others) leading to the War for Texas Independence...the white southerners who moved to settle in Texas and bringing their slaves with them. The newly settled whites wanted to keep their way of life without interference from the distant Mexican government.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Okay the climate and tree arguments are silly, due to the simple geographic location of the states that hold the two cities.

This cannot be more wrong. As a native of the New Orleans area I can say that Atlanta hase more trees and a better climate than Dallas. It is waaaay less hot in Atlanta.

And those are not silly arguments - trees create a type of beauty that many people desire. I know some people think Atlanta isn't desireable because it has no waterfront. But, coming from extensive waterfront I think waterfront can be overrated. But trees? In my daily life I spend a lot of time outside working in my yard. And because I live in Atlanta's urban forest it's about 20 degrees cooler in my yard then in the sun-baked yards of the suburbs and pairie places like Dallas.

So, for my day to day purposes I think trees and climate are next on my list after commute.

Lastly, Atlanta is in the Piedmont region of the US, which means it's the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. This puts it in hardiness zone 7. Dallas is part of the US interior Great Plains and it's hardiness zone is 8 - a hotter zone.

Look, Dallas is a good city. It's just natural that people on the Atlanta forum will prefer Atlanta.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

This cannot be more wrong. As a native of the New Orleans area I can say that Atlanta hase more trees and a better climate than Dallas. It is waaaay less hot in Atlanta.

And those are not silly arguments - trees create a type of beauty that many people desire. I know some people think Atlanta isn't desireable because it has no waterfront. But, coming from extensive waterfront I think waterfront can be overrated. But trees? In my daily life I spend a lot of time outside working in my yard. And because I live in Atlanta's urban forest it's about 20 degrees cooler in my yard then in the sun-baked yards of the suburbs and pairie places like Dallas.

So, for my day to day purposes I think trees and climate are next on my list after commute.

Lastly, Atlanta is in the Piedmont region of the US, which means it's the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. This puts it in hardiness zone 7. Dallas is part of the US interior Great Plains and it's hardiness zone is 8 - a hotter zone.

Look, Dallas is a good city. It's just natural that people on the Atlanta forum will prefer Atlanta.

Yes, I too think people overrate waterfronts. There are many world-class cities (Madrid, Berlin, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Santiago, Beijing, Mexico City, Johannesberg, Munich, etc.) that do not have waterfronts.

The bigger problem is that Atlanta does not market itself well. Atlanta is not a waterfront city...which is great/fine! But, we are a city with an unprecedented amount of trees and urban forestry. This is Atlanta's signature feature...and Atlanta should embrace it, protect it, and promote it.

Like I've said before, I've traveled to many places...there is no major world/international city that has the trees and urban forestry that Atlanta has!

[plessthanpointohfive]

I agree....we really should start advertising the green jewelry of Atlanta. In mid-late spring they should do these panoramic flyovers to see all the stuff in bloom and then in late summer do it again to show the deep greens of late summer leaves.

Or do some of these shots off the roofs of highrises, etc.

Man, that would be gorgeous.

[turtleman]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

I agree....we really should start advertising the green jewelry of Atlanta. In mid-late spring they should do these panoramic flyovers to see all the stuff in bloom and then in late summer do it again to show the deep greens of late summer leaves.

Or do some of these shots off the roofs of highrises, etc.

Man, that would be gorgeous.

You are on the money plessthanpointofive....The trees are what makes the summer in Atlanta tolerable. Here in Dallas, there are not enough trees to protect from the dry heat. Sun screens do not really help that much either. the great weather in Atlanta is worth the price of admission by itself..

It seems that the most viable argument for Dallas is the traffic and no state tax..but I believe everything else outweighs these two cons,including lower property taxes (this alone offsets Texas state tax), less energy cost,etc. Even if the real estate is cheaper in Texas, it does not compensate for a douple to triple rate in energy cost and double in property taxes..this becomes a crucial factor towards retirement when incomes are lower..

[plessthanpointohfive]

That's a very good point.

I wonder if Atlanta will become the new retirement mecca

[goozer]

Originally Posted by aries4118

The bigger problem is that Atlanta does not market itself well. Atlanta is not a waterfront city...which is great/fine! But, we are a city with an unprecedented amount of trees and urban forestry. This is Atlanta's signature feature...and Atlanta should embrace it, protect it, and promote it.

Couldn't agree more. Back a year or two ago when Atlanta was trying to come up with a slogan for its new ad campaign ("Every Day is OPening Day" and "Opportunity, Optimism, ???" or something like that). It was KILLING me that they didn't just go with the "City of Trees" slogan that you hear occasionally. It is absolutely the city's best attribute and it is an attribute that no one outside Atlanta associates with the city because no one thinks of Atlanta as a green, outdoorsy city.

BTW, whenever a poster -- in ANY forum -- compares a city to a Texas city, you should expect the Texas defenders to come out strong for anyone who makes even the slightest criticism of Texas. Folks from Houston and Dallas seem to take it VERY personally.

[plessthanpointohfive]

We should start a campaign to get Shirly Franklin to start OUR marketing strategy instead of that LAME Every Day is Opening Day (WTF does THAT mean?).

Instead of trying to advertise Atlanta as a tourist destination they should advert it as a final destination.

[goozer]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

We should start a campaign to get Shirly Franklin to start OUR marketing strategy instead of that LAME Every Day is Opening Day (WTF does THAT mean?).

Instead of trying to advertise Atlanta as a tourist destination they should advert it as a final destination.

Agreed. The city would do better if it advertised in California and the northeast to bring new residents to the city who are fleeing ridiculous home prices, as opposed to an ad campaign that tries to draw tourists from Charlotte, Chattanooga, and Birmingham.