Downtown Atlanta is scary! So many homeless and mentally ill (Decatur: Home Depot, living)

[RZaakir]

Okay let me speak as a person that has lived and worked downtown since 1998.

- Downtown is not a "dead zone" after 5. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are a ton of restaurants and pubs. Over 50 actually that constitute downtown nightlife. The primary districts are Fairlie Poplar, Marietta-Luckie, Castleberry Hill, Old Fourth Ward (Edgewood corridor) and the Hotel District. In each of those areas you'll find plenty of things to do after 5 and until about midnight during the week and 2:30 or so on the weekend. I have shown friends some of the best nights of their lives without going north of the connector or south of Memorial.

Here is a light rundown that should get you started:
Downtown Atlanta Nightlife - Rashid Muhammad Dot Com

- If you stop acting like the homeless are creatures from outer space and realize that they are human beings just like yourself deserving of dignity and respect, you'll find that they are quite tolerable - even charming I dare say. Try it sometime. When a homeless person asks you for money just smile at them and say something along the lines of "Sorry, got nothing for you today my friend" and see what happens.

- I don't want to be incendiary here, but I honestly think that if you are comfortable around black people you'll have no problem at Five Points and the shopping area south of there. I walk through that area all the time and have never had any problems other than some foul language and music that I'm not a fan of these days.

- The big problem with Downtown is that it is chopped up by badly designed buildings (55 Forsyth, AJC Headquarters, AT&T comm tower, and DFACS for example) and a glut of parking lots/decks - many of which are a symptom of those designs. As a resident of Downtown I actually have mixed feelings about making it more attractive to those who don't give it a chance now. The fact that it's not glamourous means that it doesn't attract people seduced by that sort of lifestyle. The people who live downtown are generally down to Earth and good natured people that are more like what you would find in the East-flanking neighborhoods (East Atlanta / Cabbagetown) than the Buckhead/ViHi/Midtown areas.

So please, by all means, stay in Midtown or Buckhead if you prefer those areas - they are very nice parts of town - and feel free to criticize my very imperfect neighborhood but please don't sit here and fill in the gaps of your knowledge with unsubstantiated claptrap.

[Weekend Traveler]

Originally Posted by coolyfett

Ignorant person? Opinions from a legitimate poster is fine, this person knows way too much to be a VISITOR. What Visitor goes to the local library? If I go to philly or chicago I am not trying to visit their local library. Luckysnap either you a total airhead or a troll yourself. Personally everyone on here is hidden, so why make a post of the way you REALLY feel under a different name? Just say what you feel under your real screen name. Its like me coming on here and saying "Hi Im Coolyfett, all gay people need to burned because they are gay. I was visiting Atlanta and gay people were everywhere!!! yaaaaaaaay!!! Whats your opinion on this everyone??" .......................... Then when people tell me to ****, I respond with "well how come their are so many police forces in Atlanta Metro??" Are you kidding me? You would have to live here to know that stuff. The OP is not new to city-data. Think what you want Luckysnap.

I visited the library because my wife works as a Librarian and we make an effort to visit the local library in every large city we visit. We also wanted to use the Internet.

[Nasuba]

The mentally Ill are the worst. I see it all the time when im at school at Georgia State. I dont see why Police cant keep out street clear of them.

Isnt it agaisnt the law to panhandle too? The police need to handle that too

[RZaakir]

It's not illegal to be mentally ill and personally, I'd rather our understaffed police resources be directed toward real criminals and not harmless panhandlers.

[DeaconJ]

Actually, I was in the Downtown area twice this weekend...and it was bustling with people and activity. I'm not sure what was going on other than a beautiful springtime Saturday afternoon, but I was so glad to see happy, entertained people everywhere enjoying our great Downtown - especially after all of the purposefully negative comments in this thread. It was a beautiful sight.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by back2dc

Why are you so defensive of Atlanta? I can understand the occasional outburst at people like myself who have had bad experiences there and you want to rectify with a positive comeback.

But even when people like pless who like Atlanta bring up something critical (and it is good to see the shortcomings of any city) you fly off the handle? It's ok to see where Atlanta needs to improve. Unless you're being paid by a local tourism board or a city-image marketing company I'm not quite sure why you get so overly defensive.

Not hating just collaborating...

Why are you so negative about Atlanta? I'm only defensive when there is an offense present - such as the silly, contrived comments in this thread. They ARE offensive. Is that okay with you?

Notice too that I am far from the only one who feels this way...there are tons of people who make stupid comments for the sole purpose of bashing a city - and Atlanta is at the top of that list. I will respond to those stupid comments, whether you feel that it's "being defensive" or not. I know the difference - apparently you don't.

Who is pless?

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by Nasuba

The mentally Ill are the worst. I see it all the time when im at school at Georgia State. I dont see why Police cant keep out street clear of them.

Isnt it agaisnt the law to panhandle too? The police need to handle that too

I see...we want to see lots and lots of people walking around, but only people EXACTLY LIKE US - correct?

I wonder where the city would administer the mental health assessment that would grant permission to walk around the city?

Many of these comments in this thread sound like country folk venturing into the big city and being frightened by all of the scary looking people and places. I'm not sure how you identify a person on the street as either homeless OR mentally ill, but they certainly aren't wearing big neon signs around their necks.

[mceis]

Originally Posted by RZaakir

It's not illegal to be mentally ill and personally, I'd rather our understaffed police resources be directed toward real criminals and not harmless panhandlers.

It's not illegal, but it has a huge detrimental impact on our economy. Tourists say that the panhandlers and homeless problems are among the biggest reasons they won't return (and spend their money here).

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

Why are you so negative about Atlanta? I'm only defensive when there is an offense present - such as the silly, contrived comments in this thread. They ARE offensive. Is that okay with you?

Notice too that I am far from the only one who feels this way...there are tons of people who make stupid comments for the sole purpose of bashing a city - and Atlanta is at the top of that list. I will respond to those stupid comments, whether you feel that it's "being defensive" or not. I know the difference - apparently you don't.

Who is pless?

Plessthanpointofive, a regular poster here that just returned after a few month's hiatus.

[Nasuba]

Originally Posted by RZaakir

It's not illegal to be mentally ill and personally, I'd rather our understaffed police resources be directed toward real criminals and not harmless panhandlers.

if panhadnling is illegal then the people who are doing it would be criminals...no?

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

I see...we want to see lots and lots of people walking around, but only people EXACTLY LIKE US - correct?

I wonder where the city would administer the mental health assessment that would grant permission to walk around the city?

Many of these comments in this thread sound like country folk venturing into the big city and being frightened by all of the scary looking people and places. I'm not sure how you identify a person on the street as either homeless OR mentally ill, but they certainly aren't wearing big neon signs around their necks.

They dont have to be like us but lets get serious taking care of a man chasing around college students in the heart of downtown atlanta yelling "I know you got a nametag n#gga!" is an issue that should not be there