Considering move from Vancouver BC to ATL (Atlanta, Decatur: neighborhoods, public schools)

[abaalltheway]

Anyone care to comment on the pros and cons of living in Atlanta/in-town area (as compared to the Pacific Northwest)?

We are considering moving from Vancouver BC to Atlanta. We would likely live in Decatur where the schools and school choices seem superior to what we have here in Vancouver; and there are other advantages Atlanta has over our present situation: among them, cost of living and sunshine!

I'm interested in hearing any insights (climate, safety, culture, daily life, community). When I visited Decatur recently I saw no kids outside during the day on a very hot day. What do kids/families do when it's 95 degrees outside?

Thanks for any insights.

[noah]

I am from the pacific northwest and have lived in Atlanta for a year and a half. Vancouver is a wonderful city and always ranked as the top city in north america for quality of life but it is expensive. I too wanted a warmer climate and sunshine. Personally I really like Atlanta just wish there was more water around (ocean). But I did not live in a big city in the Northwest so your perspective may be different.

Vancouver obviously has a huge asian community and there is also an asian community here.

Cost of living as you stated is much lower here then Vancouver. It does get hot here in the summer but its not 100 every day and its not hot all year. Spring and fall are wonderful, long seasons. Overall there is probably more sense of community in some of the intown neighborhoods, Decatur included.

Originally Posted by abaalltheway

Anyone care to comment on the pros and cons of living in Atlanta/in-town area (as compared to the Pacific Northwest)?

We are considering moving from Vancouver BC to Atlanta. We would likely live in Decatur where the schools and school choices seem superior to what we have here in Vancouver; and there are other advantages Atlanta has over our present situation: among them, cost of living and sunshine!

I'm interested in hearing any insights (climate, safety, culture, daily life, community). When I visited Decatur recently I saw no kids outside during the day on a very hot day. What do kids/families do when it's 95 degrees outside?

Thanks for any insights.

[RainyRainyDay]

I moved from Prince Rupert to Atlanta (suburbs) 7 years ago. I'd previously spent most of my adult life in Vancouver.

I think the better public schools down here are much better than BC schools, although I warn you, here on this forum and elsewhere you'll encounter a constant barrage of claims that Georgia schools are appallingly behind northern schools. As a parent of an actual school-attending child, I can assure you that's an over-generalization based on poor statewide average test scores, and many parents who've moved here from northern states (northeast, midwest) seem to agree. But pretty much everyone who does not have present-day personal experience of the schools will tell you the schools are terrible. For my family, however, we consider the superior schools (in the area where we're living) to be perhaps the biggest plus of living here.

I'm out in the northern suburbs where everyone is very white and Republican. I miss the racial diversity and comparatively liberal BC culture. However, I think Decatur is a lot more Vancouver-like, culturally.

Compared to Vancouver, the summer here is very long, incredibly hot and humid. You acclimate eventually, but it took us years. Spring and fall are indeed nice, but while all the locals will tell you they are long, in my opinion, they're short. Most years we transition between running the air-conditioning and running the furnace in the house, within a couple of weeks. I'd consider "spring" or "fall" to be a period when neither is needed.

Southern culture is a lot different from BC culture, and the food is uh, different. We haven't taken much to either, but who knows, you might!

[nature's message]

The culture will be every different. The fall and spring months are beautiful, and winter months are nice too (thought, it rarely snows in Atlanta. Mostly freezing rain). Like others said, the summers are hot and humid. You'll get used to it eventually.

I'm not familiar with the public schools in Vancouver.

Culinary wise, I would assume they are about the same (excluding all American/Canadian restaurants). Also, trees are endless in Atlanta. You'll feel like you are in Narnia. LOLOL, JK!!

To say the least, Atlanta is very lucky to have a large amount of vegetation.

Unlike in Vancouver, Atlanta has a prominent mark on the African American culture. A large amount of blacks have moved to the city since the 1980s. Likewise, Atlanta also has a large gay population (the 3rd largest by percentage I think).

Traffic will be a pain in Atlanta. Luckily for you, you will be fairly close to a MARTA station. You also will have a reverse commute.

[blondandfun]

I second spring being short. I remember one or two nice clear weekends with 70ish degree weather, but it jumped up to 90 very fast the next weekend.

The heat here is no joke. It makes you want to drive more and not walk and blast your AC, which causes more pollution.

People here don't seem to say anything to your face, but they can be direct in different ways, like being rude to you... That's the southern way. Instead of telling you what they think they are just rude here, especially when it's hot out.

[George Chong]

I have family in BC and was born in Toronto. You will miss seeing the ocean. The natural beauty is unparalleled.

I have been watching the children activities at one of our large parks. The parents drop them off in the morning a little before 10:00 am for summer camp. They go and play tennis, kickball, golf and then they have lunch and go swimming (outdoor). I don't know what time they get picked up as I have long finished playing tennis by then. No one should be outside during the summer heat! We basically go from air conditioning to air conditioning during the summer months.

Check out these websites:

City of Decatur, GA
City Schools of Decatur

Good luck and welcome!

[noah]

Ok, it is hot here in the summer. Granted Vancouver is not so hot. But many other places are: Chicago, New York, D.C., A large portion of the U.S. is hot and humid in the summer and its really not that bad. Those that don't like it live inside more, those that don't mind it still go about their lives and spend time outside. July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 89 degrees.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by noah

Ok, it is hot here in the summer. Granted Vancouver is not so hot. But many other places are: Chicago, New York, D.C., A large portion of the U.S. is hot and humid in the summer and its really not that bad. Those that don't like it live inside more, those that don't mind it still go about their lives and spend time outside. July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 89 degrees.

Noah, I agree that Atlanta's summers are not excessively hot and humid compared to other cities east of the Mississippi - even including Canadian cities such as Toronto. To someone used to the Vancouver climate, however, all those places would seem pretty deadly in summer. So to answer the OP's question about what the weather is like, it makes sense to state it's very hot and humid in summer. Comparisons with Chicago et al. aren't really relevant.

[noah]

Hi RainyRainyDay,

I agree completely. I was only mentioning that in response to another poster who said in a nutshell we only go from A/C to A/C in the summer and no one should be outside. Maybe I just don't want to admit it but I don't think its that extreme. Coming from the northwest the biggest thing I noticed here is how it stays so warm at night where back there even if it was 90 during the day it got cold at night.

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

Noah, I agree that Atlanta's summers are not excessively hot and humid compared to other cities east of the Mississippi - even including Canadian cities such as Toronto. To someone used to the Vancouver climate, however, all those places would seem pretty deadly in summer. So to answer the OP's question about what the weather is like, it makes sense to state it's very hot and humid in summer. Comparisons with Chicago et al. aren't really relevant.

[blondandfun]

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