Downtown Atlanta is scary! So many homeless and mentally ill (Decatur: hotel, neighborhoods)

[Weekend Traveler]

I just got back from my first trip ever to Atlanta. At one time I had thought of relocating to GA and maybe somewhere in the Atlanta area. Not anymore.

We stayed at the Downtown Holiday Inn Hotel and spent quite a bit of time walking the streets and trying to get a pulse of the city. The first thing I noticed was the lack of traffic even at rush hour. Sure there was some traffic but not so much. The number of people walking up and down the street even during 70 degree weekday lunch hours seemed limited.

I saw few stores and the restaurants seemed empty. I suspect that vital downtowns like Minnapolis, Dever, Portland and Seattle have nothing to worry about.

Downtown was full of skyscrapers but I saw limited commerce and a general lack of energy.

Finally it seemed like Atlanta had a very large number of homeless and mentally ill walking up and down the street. We were constantly approached by all kinds of crazies. The tourist area around Atlanta underground was terrible.

Do you agree with my observations?

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by Weekend Traveler

Do you agree with my observations?

mostly, although you'll get plenty of traffic and people downtown, except at night and generally on slow weekends.

[graywolf73]

Any large city is going to be a collage of people, many of whom would be "mentally disturbed" We've walked the streets and got pan-handled and been begged for food. It's the same in all major cities. I've been in Manhattan and Miami and they are much, much worse by comparison, IMO. There is always a rediculous amount of traffic all of the time. In fact, it's what most people here complain about. Sorry you had a bad time. There actually is a lot of fun stuff to do in Atlanta and I hope you didn't let a few crazies ruin your vacation.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by graywolf73

Any large city is going to be a collage of people, many of whom would be "mentally disturbed" We've walked the streets and got pan-handled and been begged for food. It's the same in all major cities. I've been in Manhattan and Miami and they are much, much worse by comparison, IMO. There is always a rediculous amount of traffic all of the time. In fact, it's what most people here complain about. Sorry you had a bad time. There actually is a lot of fun stuff to do in Atlanta and I hope you didn't let a few crazies ruin your vacation.

That traffic is on the interstates- I believe the OP is talking about the streets withind downtown itself, which I'll agree are fairly light on traffic (both vehicular and pedestrian) when compared to a city like NYC, Chicago, or even Newark.

[Huckleberry3911948]

if you are assaulted by a mentally ill person it does not feel any different than if they are sane.

[Weekend Traveler]

I saw lots of heavy traffic on the Interstates outside of downtown. But very little energy or commerce in the actual downtown. I am not comparing it to New York City, but to places like Philly, Portland, Denver, MPLS, Washington DC and Seattle.

[DeaconJ]

I drive through Downtown on Courtland about once a week...it's certainly crowded and backed up every time I go through, from the Hilton Hotel area all the way through to the capitol building. Did you happen to venture into that area? I doubt it.

I'm not sure which downtown you visited, but you don't seem to describe the Downtown Atlanta that I know...and being afraid people on the streets - yet complaining that there are no people on the streets - that just doesn't add up.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Originally Posted by Weekend Traveler

I saw lots of heavy traffic on the Interstates outside of downtown. But very little energy or commerce in the actual downtown. I am not comparing it to New York City, but to places like Philly, Portland, Denver, MPLS, Washington DC and Seattle.

The problem is that you stayed in downtown Atlanta. Unlike many big cities downtown is not where anything is. To really get a feel for Atlanta you'd need to have stayed in Midtown, Buckhead, Decatur...other places.

There's a struggling effort to make downtown into "Downtown", but it's never really gotten off the ground despite lots of progress in cleaning things up. I think it will just take a while.

[reet4587]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

I'm not sure which downtown you visited, but you don't seem to describe the Downtown Atlanta that I know...and being afraid people on the streets - yet complaining that there are no people on the streets - that just doesn't add up.

Yeah, I had the same reaction. What part of downtown had empty restaurants at lunch time on a weekday? I have to wait in long lines at Reuben's & Rosa's on Broad Street during lunch. And the other places I go to like the Fish n Grits place on Forsyth and Slice on Poplar are always busy at lunch.

And empty streets? I don't get it. Any weekday other than a holiday the streets of downtown Atlanta are teeming with professionals going to and fro, with a few panhandlers and con artists mixed in.

I think you may have visited Bizarro Atlanta instead of the real one. This is a common mistake. Be sure to turn left at the Twilight Zone instead of right next time you visit.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Weekend Traveler

I just got back from my first trip ever to Atlanta. At one time I had thought of relocating to GA and maybe somewhere in the Atlanta area. Not anymore.

We stayed at the Downtown Holiday Inn Hotel and spent quite a bit of time walking the streets and trying to get a pulse of the city. The first thing I noticed was the lack of traffic even at rush hour. Sure there was some traffic but not so much. The number of people walking up and down the street even during 70 degree weekday lunch hours seemed limited.

I saw few stores and the restaurants seemed empty. I suspect that vital downtowns like Minnapolis, Dever, Portland and Seattle have nothing to worry about.

Downtown was full of skyscrapers but I saw limited commerce and a general lack of energy.

Finally it seemed like Atlanta had a very large number of homeless and mentally ill walking up and down the street. We were constantly approached by all kinds of crazies. The tourist area around Atlanta underground was terrible.

Do you agree with my observations?

Visiting downtown is not a good representation of Atlanta. You got to see some of the worst things Atlanta has to offer. You would have had an entirely different and more positive experience had you stayed in Midtown, near Piedmont Park, or perhaps somewhere near Virginia-Highland.

Prior to your visit did someone encourage you to stay downtown, or did you assume downtown would be a good place to stay because that's the case in most big cities? Atlanta is different than a lot of cities in that its charm and best features is found within it's neighborhoods and not in the city center.