Atlanta 3rd least favorite vacation destination (neighborhoods, live in, cost of living)

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

I wonder how many people would be vacationing in Atlanta just to visit Buttermilk Bottom?

I'm going to go with zero:


Buttermilk Bottom in 1959. The man on the right is former Mayor Hartsfield

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Beford Pine/Remenants of Buttermilk Bottom in 1968

I can appreciate why those who look at the demolition of Buttermilk Bottom as having destroyed a unique culture, we should also make it clear what that neighborhood was. It was nothing more than a shantytown.

The roads were not paved, there was no sewer system, limited or no running water, limited electricity. There was also a massive train yard and several dozen factories surrounding the area. There was no trash pickup service, so rubbish and human waste just piled up on the "streets". The only access to clean water was through the use of wells that were contaminated by trash, fecal matter, and industrial waste. Disease was rampant and infant mortality was high.

Due to the Segregation laws, public education was almost non-existent which meant you had generations of people living in this area with no education not because they didn't want one, but because they could not have one. This created a situation where you had a population who could only perform lowest level of jobs and thus could not save up to move to a better middle class black neighborhood or any where out of there. People in turn turned to substance abuse or criminal activity in high numbers.

Basically we're talking not much different than the slums you would find today in Mumbai, India. I don't say this to be disparaging, but the dynamics are pretty much the same. In the Mumbai slums you have low skilled, lowly educated population who are that way due in part to quasi-segregation in Indian society.

So, yeah, Buttermilk Bottom sounds exactly like the place I'd want to spend my vacation

[KTATL]

thats true that atlanta has the world's busiest airport but it's mostly because its the super hub of Delta airlines. Most of the people that go to Hartsfield are just transeferring to another flight. Not knocking Atlanta (I live here and I think its the greatest city in the world.), but Hartsfields numbers are'nt a good statistic to go by when thinking about tourists in Atlanta.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by KTATL

thats true that atlanta has the world's busiest airport but it's mostly because its the super hub of Delta airlines. Most of the people that go to Hartsfield are just transeferring to another flight. Not knocking Atlanta (I live here and I think its the greatest city in the world.), but Hartsfields numbers are'nt a good statistic to go by when thinking about tourists in Atlanta.

How so when considering this fact:

Atlanta attracts the thirteenth-highest number of foreign tourists of any city in the United States, with more than 478,000 foreign visitors arriving in the city in 2007.[64] That same year (according to Forbes), it was estimated that Atlanta attracted 37 million visitors into the city.

Now I know traffic is bad on the connector, but most of those people are coming here by way of Hartsfield-Jackson.

[waronxmas]

As a side note, I'm surprised after several threads people haven't actually pulled out the only thing that real counts when talking about tourism: how many people actually visit a city.

Here is the list in another thread, but for those who won't follow the link 37 million people visited Atlanta in 2007 placing it at the 6th most visited city in America. Las Vegas placed first, L.A. second, Orlando third, New York City fourth and Chicago in fifth.

Forbes:Americas 30 most visited cities!

You can argue all you want about what Atlanta has or doesn't have, but basing whether or not a city is worth visiting or is visited is just plain silly.

Granted, most of the people who come here are on business, but this city has tons of attractions for the common tourist. From Art, to Museums, to Family Oriented places, to historical areas. Just because we don't have the Liberty Bell doesn't mean we don't have a history or culture that has shaped American life. Does the Civil Rights era ring a bell?

[atlantaATL]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

How so when considering this fact:



Now I know traffic is bad on the connector, but most of those people are coming here by way of Hartsfield-Jackson.

Alot of the numbers were from all the coventions and things that go on in Atlanta. This is a buisness city so alot of people that are visitin atlanta are here on buisness.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by atlantaATL

Alot of the numbers were from all the coventions and things that go on in Atlanta. This is a buisness city so alot of people that are visitin atlanta are here on buisness.

Which is a great thing that most of our tourism comes from that. I used to travel all the time for business and you'd be shocked how much companies allow their employees to spend on a daily basis. There would be trips where I'd easily spend $10k in the course of a month with everything combined, and I'm really conservative with how I spend. If you get a business convention with 100,000 people and they all spend an average of about $250 a day, that's a lot of money for the local revenue.

I'd take that over the St. Louis Arch any day

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

Which is a great thing that most of our tourism comes from that. I used to travel all the time for business and you'd be shocked how much companies allow their employees to spend on a daily basis. There would be trips where I'd easily spend $10k in the course of a month with everything combined, and I'm really conservative with how I spend. If you get a business convention with 100,000 people and they all spend an average of about $250 a day, that's a lot of money for the local revenue.

I'd take that over the St. Louis Arch any day

Exactly...those people are still considered tourists. GWCC is one of the biggest and best attractions Atlanta has to offer.

[JRODNYC765]

sorry atlanta! you just dont have the exitement that i love about N.Y.C. "MARTA"? is that someones fat aunt? no beaches. too many pine trees. too many panhandlers. more crime per capita for acity that claims the people are so layed back. give them the keys to your car and see just how layed back they are!!! hmmm?stop talkin smack!

[TheseGoTo11]

I go to Atlanta frequently for business. As one of my co-workers likes to say "It's a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there".

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

Does the Civil Rights era ring a bell?

True, but many people visit Montgomery and Selma for that.

If I did live in Atlanta, I'd be enjoying the beautiful women and great climate, not defending it to strangers on a message board.