Is the traffic really that bad? (Atlanta, Washington: transplants, crime rates, house)

[Finding Home]

We will be moving from the greater Los Angeles area of southern california to greater Atlanta sometime this year. Don't know which city yet.

I keep hearing everyone talk about Atlanta traffic being the worst in the world. Coming from LA, it is hard for me to imagine it being THAT bad.

For those of you who have witnessed the truly awful traffic of southern California, how does the Atlanta traffic compare?

Thanks!
FH

[sweettea1]

It's not as bad as LA only because the rush hour is shorter. Every time I'm in LA I'm stuck on the 405 at any time of day. This isn't the case in Atlanta. Atlanta is bad between 7 and 9 am and then again from 4-7. Friday traffic starts earlier in the day but for the most part it's not worse than LA.

[ptcgirl]

Atlanta does NOT have the traffic of LA. I lived in San Diego and the traffic here is better than San Diego (and San Diego's traffic wasn't as bad as LA's). I think people don't know how bad it can be. Phoenix is also worse than here IMO.

[darkone]

Well, keep in mind that a lot of people who say Atlanta's traffic is horrendous (which, to be fair, it is on certain stretches (Downtown Connector, 75 through Cobb, top-end of 285) at certain predictable time slots) overall are either long-time natives who have seen things worsen a good deal, or transplants from places without much traffic congestion at all. This is a metro area of 5+ million spread out over a large area. L.A. is a metro area of 13-15 million with much greater overall density. In no way can Atlanta's traffic be as bad as L.A. given these facts. For someone from So. Cal, everything will be favorable here: traffic, cost of living, crime rates, even schools possibly.

[lastminutemom]

While I have no way to compare it to Southern Cal. -- traffic here is not good -- people spend a ton of time in their cars. Part of the problem is that there are certain routes that are nearly impossible --"you can't get there from here" and there are many routes where there is really only one way to get there Going East to West is often problematic. This may be the same as Southern Cal. but it is much worse than lots of places.

http://www.forbes.com/logistics/2006...07traffic.html

Our commute legnth is terrible too

http://www.therealestatebloggers.com...united-states/

and this:

By 2030, drivers in 11 metro areas – Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, San Francisco-Oakland, Seattle-Tacoma, and Washington, D.C. - will be stuck in daily traffic jams that are as bad as or worse than today's infamous bottlenecks in Los Angeles, according to a new Reason Foundation study. In those cities it will take at least 75 percent longer to make a trip during peak hours than off-peak periods. So, for example, a trip that is supposed to take 30 minutes would take over 52 minutes.

from this source:

http://www.reason.org/news/mobility_...n_083106.shtml

Not to mention that we have really poor and disconnected public transportation options here.

[BobKovacs]

I've seen both first hand- LA's traffic is definitely worse. You'll see Atlanta's traffic as a blessing....lol.

Bob

[insightful_914]

All I have to say is...to avoid ANY traffic, WORK CLOSE TO WHERE YOU WILL BE LIVING! ANY traffic is horrendous.

[NDA]

I haved lived in L.A. and have visited Atlanta a lot. I'm speaking of Atlanta the city because I know nothing of its suburbs except they are far. The time in traffic may not be as long but I think it is worse because:

-L.A. is bigger and and has more people. Atl is smaller and has fewer people but driving 5 miles on the freeway seems to take the same amount of time in L.A. and in Atl.

-In Atl. there seems to be only one or if you are lucky 2 ways to get to a place. In L.A. there are countless ways. I think what frustrates me about ATL traffic is the lack of an alternate route.

-It drives me crazy that Peachtree is my only real option to get from downtown Atl to Buckhead. There is the the freeway but then you get stuck on a two lane road and have to travel through the neighborhood and getting to the freeway from downtown in a mess, you might as well take Peachtree.

-In L.A. you can get out. In ATL. it feels like I'm nowhere, hopeless and stuck. If I turn left I'll hit a subdivision and can't get out. If I turn right, I'll hit a subdivision and can't get out. I cannot get off the main road, and get somewhere else.

-Everytime I go, I ask the natives to please please please tell me that there is a hidden Road. Peachtree cannot be the only road that will take me to where I'm going. I realize Atl has 7 or 8 different Peachtree's, but I am speaking of the one that leads you to Buckhead.

[FROMCATOGA]

I live in SoCal, but hopefully we'll make it out by July. We may be relocating to Atlanta... Anyway, I was in Atlanta last week, and when my and I flew back to L.A., we were stuck in L.A. traffic for an extremely long time. And this was after rush hour... We didn't experience "horrendous" traffic in Atlanta while we were there.

And other than the traffic comparison, you'd love Atl over L.A. because of the cleanliness (yes, Atlanta is much cleaner than L.A.), the cost of living (yes, Atlanta is much cheaper to live than L.A.), the quality of life (yes, life is better in Atlanta, than L.A.), and the scenery... I prefer the greenery of Atlanta, than the brownish atmosphere and dirty-haze of L.A...

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by FROMCATOGA

We didn't experience "horrendous" traffic in Atlanta while we were there.

And other than the traffic comparison, you'd love Atl over L.A. because of the cleanliness (yes, Atlanta is much cleaner than L.A.), the cost of living (yes, Atlanta is much cheaper to live than L.A.), the quality of life (yes, life is better in Atlanta, than L.A.), and the scenery... I prefer the greenery of Atlanta, than the brownish atmosphere and dirty-haze of L.A...

_________________________

Cleaner than L.A.? I'm sorry for you guys. Yikes.

Remember, two summers ago Atlanta had more "smog alert" days than L.A. did , causing us to lose Federal road funds. We got it back last year, but that's not exactly something to brag about. We do however, have more trees within the city than many other larger cities do, so yep, right on that one. Cost of living is lower as well as you said (and home prices), but remember too, that the average pay scales are lower here as well, so for some it evens out. The people who come out ahead are those like you, who relocate here from NYC or L.A. who are able to sell their homes there for $$$ and bring it here, buy the same house for half the price (or less) and pocket the rest. Instant "nest egg".

Atlanta has certain areas that compare to L.A. regarding traffic. The beltway that goes around the city (I-285) can get pretty hairy during rush hour, especially the top-end of it which I've heard L.Aans compare to L.A. The entire metro area as a whole isn't as bad, but yes, certain parts can be. Considering the immediate metro area is growing by an average of 90,000 people per year, you can expect more "L.A. like" traffic as the years go on. Like L.A., you not only have people from various parts of the U.S. moving here but various parts of the WORLD (and all are bringing incredibly varied driving habits with them). This can be very interesting.

Just as others have suggested, don't fall into the same trap that many do when they come here, and find a job that's on the opposite side of the metro area - it's the reason our traffic is like it is now. Try your best to live close to where you work, or if you don't have something lined up before you come here, try to stick near where you live on your job searches. Explore the MARTA rail system alternatives too, but keep in mind that while L.A. is very enthusiastic about expanding their rail system, Atlanta is the opposite - suburban people fight it all the way, so it's not very extensive and isn't going to expand rapidly anytime soon.

And remember, they're GRITS, not squishy mashed potatoes.