Seattle to Atlanta--professional single woman mid 30's (Washington, Ideal: rent, home)

[svinsea]

Hi!

I'm a professional single woman in her mid 30's considering moving to Atlanta. Seattle is awesome, but I need a change and I can work for my current company in Atlanta. I'd like to be close-in with plenty of options of things to do. What neighborhoods would you suggest and what should I expect to spend on a nice 2 or 3 bedroom 2 bath house?

Thanks for your help!
svinsea

[BeyondInfinity]

Will you be working in the city of Atlanta or a suburb of ATlanta? This will determine the answers you will receive as you will not want to live too far from your job due to our horrible traffic.

[George Chong]

Where in the city will you be working?

[SGRLPS]

As a single woman that just moved here from Seattle last October, I'd say if you don't want to be subjected to extreme culture shock, you would do best in the northern part of the city, or in cool neighborhoods like Inman park.

Atlanta is a different beast then Seattle in almost every way imaginable, make sure you do plenty of research and really decide if this is where you want to live! There are many great things about Atlanta, and compared to Seattle transportation, MARTA is heaven. But I'll say again...proceed with caution!

[Archan]

I would also check out Midtown. Remember your SPF, the sun actually shines down here. Seattle is awesome, I love it there. Seeing Mt. Ranier in the distance is great! The natural beauty of Seattle is far superior to Atlanta. Property values here are not as expensive as the Seattle area. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[noah]

Many say the traffic is horrible in Seattle too and they just opened their first section of light rail this year so we are way ahead of them.

Originally Posted by ck26

Will you be working in the city of Atlanta or a suburb of ATlanta? This will determine the answers you will receive as you will not want to live too far from your job due to our horrible traffic.

[atlantagreg30127]

I have known and/or worked with several people over the years who moved here from Seattle and as per SGRLPS's comments, I too would suggest that if possible, you come here for a week or two and get the feel for the place first before making the decision to move.

You may wind up liking it a lot, or you may find the cultural difference too different to handle. There really is a difference in West vs East coast mindsets and for some that's good, others bad. Of those I've talked to about it, most were overall not very happy with the Seattle-to-Atlanta conversion, but a couple were ok with it - so really explore first. Ideally, your company would allow you a temporary transfer so you could test the waters first and rent a place, then after whatever time frame they allow you (90 days, etc) you may know if you want to make it a permanent move or not. Maybe they'll allow that.

[noah]

I was one that moved from Washington State (albeit not Seattle) to Atlanta and love Atlanta. Since the OP wants a change she is obviously ready for a different place. Having easy access to exploring a different part of the country is great, the warmer weather is great for most etc. Like any city you can find different areas that have different vibes.

[Archan]

I agree with AtlantaGreg30127. If there is anyway to check out Atlanta for a period of time that would be the best. The vision of Atlanta and the reality may be different. Also be aware that the Atlanta Metro area is very different than most of the rest of Georgia. An hour outside of Atlanta is more "Southern" and conservative in their views.

[svinsea]

I do project accounting work and will most likely work in downtown Atlanta, but each project will be with a different company (so it is tough to decide on one specific place to live related to my work). My company currently works with places like Home Deport, Delta, Coke, etc. The potential upside is that with project work if I'm not digging Atlanta I can move back after a project is complete. I'm really doubting that will happen, though.

My father was in the military and I've lived many different places (El Paso, TX for many years included). My family is from southern Missouri and I've spent tons of time there. I'm slightly nervous about the culture change, but mostly really excited to be in a more diverse area. Seattle is feeling really disconnected from everything else right now and I'm anxious to change that.

For those of you that have lived in Seattle before I'm currently in Ballard and love it. For those of you who don't know Seattle Ballard is less than 10 minutes from downtown and has it's own neighborhood feel with lots of places to eat and drink.

Thanks for all your help! And, I do plan on heading to Atlanta sometime in the Spring for a sanity check.