Atlanta or DC (Alpharetta, Dunwoody, Decatur: mortgage, gated, to live)

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Reston seemed like a nice mix of urban and suburban elements. If I worked out there, it would make sense to live out there as well. The only drawback is that it's not near a Metro station.

Metro is being built to Reston - will be at Wiehle Ave - the eastern edge of Reston, in about 3-4 years, construction of the station has already begun.

That said, Reston is suburban, not urban, and is no better for a single person than Marietta. The "town center" is just a mall without a roof and some adjacent office buildings. I used to live near there and it was minivan-central. Most single professionals end up moving to DC or Arlington and reverse commuting.

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

I assume the big snow storms of this past winter in DC were atypical.

winter before we had 5 inches all season, and the big storms this year all melted quickly

I'm a snow hater, and you do have to be prepared for it here unlike Atlanta, but whatever we get melts much faster than what we had growing up in New England - you never go weeks on end without seeing any grass in DC like you can in Massachusetts

our women are good looking, though not quite at Atlanta levels, but who is?

[kaday]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Thank you Henry. This has been BY FAR the most helpful response in this entire thread.

I don't consider myself a city-dweller type. At the same time, I don't like living in boring cookie-cutter suburbia where it's nothing but families and chain restaurants. My ideal place is a mix of the two, something that's away from all the congestion and noise of the city where you get more for your money, but not so far removed where you can't enjoy all that the city has to offer and have to suffer a ridiculously long commute.

The cost of living in DC scares me cause I know it's higher than Chicago's. But at the same time, I don't need a huge place since it's just me and a dog. What's funny is that DC rents aren't that much higher than Chicago's. But the cost of buying a home is a lot more. I wish I had a better idea of what my salary would be in DC.

As far as southern hospitality is concerned, I don't need people who are overly friendly, coming up to me out of the blue to chat or invite me over for a beer. I'm an introvert so I don't thrive on a lot of personal interaction and the idea of feeling obligated to hang out with neighbors I have nothing in common with definitely doesn't sound appealing. But the other extreme where people are positively icy is just as bad. I want to be able to walk my dog and have people wave or say hi or be able to walk into a grocery store and not have people who look like they're ready to snap at me over the littlest thing.

The humidity of Atlanta concerns me. I tend to sweat pretty easily in humid weather and I know I'll absolutely hate it. Every city has its share of good and bad weather and you can't expect 365 days of perfect weather. In DC, they told me the high humidity lasts a month and that's it. I can deal with that. But if it's several months of it, that might be too unbearable. Same with winter. Chicago winters tend to be long and brutal. You could have months where just snows and snows. And the cold temps and brutal wind chills make it so much worse. I don't mind the occasional snowfall. I assume the big snow storms of this past winter in DC were atypical.

If the intellectual focus in DC is on politics, I consider that a plus. I tend to be a politics junkie. Although I'm a huge liberal, I don't need to be surrounded by people who agree with me on everything. All I ask is their views be informed ones, not based on ignorance.

Lastly, I'm glad you brought up religion. I am not the least bit religious or even spiritual. Obviously, someone like me would not be comfortable in the rural parts of Georgia. But if people are shoving their religion in your face even in Atlanta, that would be a huge turnoff.

Listen to me on the humidity issue. I lived for ten long hot sweaty years in DC. I have been in Atlanta coming up on 4. Atlanta is dryer and more pleasant in the summer than DC ever was. The weather here is much better. If you are ruling out Atlanta for the weather then you are seriously mistaken. DC is a swelter in the summer. The humidity does not go away at night. Atlanta has its hot days but when the sun goes down it is quite nice. The air doesn't have that "I feel like I am swallowing water as I breathe" element at all.

[DennyCrane]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

That said, Reston is suburban, not urban, and is no better for a single person than Marietta. The "town center" is just a mall without a roof and some adjacent office buildings. I used to live near there and it was minivan-central. Most single professionals end up moving to DC or Arlington and reverse commuting.

I visited the Town Center. It was nice, but I agree with your description. It's a nice start at having a downtown, but I'd worry that I'd get tired of going there all the time. Arlington and DC are obviously more convenient if you want to be able to access a lot of different areas. But the big issue is cost. I could pay more to live in Arlington, but I wonder if I'd have any left over to go out to eat and do other stuff.

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

I'm a snow hater, and you do have to be prepared for it here unlike Atlanta, but whatever we get melts much faster than what we had growing up in New England - you never go weeks on end without seeing any grass in DC like you can in Massachusetts

our women are good looking, though not quite at Atlanta levels, but who is?

I can handle snow as long as it melts and doesn't stay for weeks.

So are the women really that much better looking in Atlanta?

Originally Posted by kaday

Listen to me on the humidity issue. I lived for ten long hot sweaty years in DC. I have been in Atlanta coming up on 4. Atlanta is dryer and more pleasant in the summer than DC ever was. The weather here is much better. If you are ruling out Atlanta for the weather then you are seriously mistaken. DC is a swelter in the summer. The humidity does not go away at night. Atlanta has its hot days but when the sun goes down it is quite nice. The air doesn't have that "I feel like I am swallowing water as I breathe" element at all.

Wow. You're the first person I've heard from that's said DC is more humid than Atlanta. Usually, people say it's the other way around. I'm going to have to research this some more because I was sure the humidity would be better in DC.

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Wow. You're the first person I've heard from that's said DC is more humid than Atlanta. Usually, people say it's the other way around. I'm going to have to research this some more because I was sure the humidity would be better in DC.

Believe it, it's true. This is an oft-repeated, very common mistake - usually made by people from the Northeast.

Think about it - DC is built on an old swamp, at the edge of a river.

Atlanta is in the foothills of the mountains, over 1,000 feet above sea level.

[DennyCrane]

Originally Posted by johnatl

Believe it, it's true. This is an oft-repeated, very common mistake - usually made by people from the Northeast.

Think about it - DC is built on an old swamp, at the edge of a river.

Atlanta is in the foothills of the mountains, over 1,000 feet above sea level.

I wondered about that too. Reston's elevation is 314 feet. Dunwoody's is 1040. And yet everyone I talk to says Atlanta is more humid.

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

I wondered about that too. Reston's elevation is 314 feet. Dunwoody's is 1040. And yet everyone I talk to says Atlanta is more humid.

Oh, we have our moments when a front moves up from the Gulf - but overall, I would take our summer over theirs any time.

I have been to DC in the middle of summer several times. In the District itself, I never cooled off. It is every bit as humid as Florida or St. Louis. Walk from your door to the car dripping wet humid.

We can get refreshing breaks occasionally that they could only dream of. Elevation has everything to do with it.

Interesting fact is that pre-air conditioning days, foreign governments would pay their diplomats additional "summer pay" for having to endure the swampy summer weather of DC if they couldn't make it home.

[DennyCrane]

So if this is true, why do so many people say Atlanta is more humid and what do they based that on? I can understand if you're coming from the Northeast or the West Coast. But how many people have actually compared Atlanta and DC? Or they just assuming based on some criteria I'm missing? I don't suppose you could provide me with any links that rank humidity levels for various cities.

[GaBison2007]

Originally Posted by johnatl

Believe it, it's true. This is an oft-repeated, very common mistake - usually made by people from the Northeast.

Think about it - DC is built on an old swamp, at the edge of a river.

Atlanta is in the foothills of the mountains, over 1,000 feet above sea level.

Lol how could I forget good ole DC humidity...I originally came from Southwest GA, aka right near Florida..supposed to be hot as heck in the summer (even hotter than atlanta) which it was...

HOWEVER, I remember the first time I came to DC and the first summer I spent here... I never for the LIFE of me understood how DC could be that hot in the summertime when I moved up north which was supposed to be cooler...I was sweating so much and I had to wear a suit? forgetaboutit...Yet the northerners I went to school with were rolling their eyes at me when I said DC basically had the same brutal summers as my hometown......after awhile I just thought maybe i just think it's so bad because there are less trees to shield you from the sun when you're walking in the city?? Which was true, my town had big trees lining the sidewalk for short bursts of comfort...but doing a 10 minute walk to work during high noon with nothing but you and concrete is the worse! Another reason why being close to a metro/bus for home and work if you can't have a car is ideal...you'll be a mess by the time you get to your job if you don't!

btw to the OP...here's a link showing humidity where DC is slightly more humid than ATL on a yearly basis...in terms of heat we aren't that far from ATL during the summer usually(that's kind of why I liked it at first) but when late fall/ winter hits that's when you'll really see the weather difference...
Moderator cut: link removed

I never understood why people say Atlanta is so hot and humid like we are the nation's microwave...compared to Texas, Nevada, or New Mexico it's paradise lol

[DennyCrane]

Originally Posted by GaBison2007

HOWEVER, I remember the first time I came to DC and the first summer I spent here... I never for the LIFE of me understood how DC could be that hot in the summertime when I moved up north which was supposed to be cooler...I was sweating so much and I had to wear a suit? forgetaboutit...Yet the northerners I went to school with were rolling their eyes at me when I said DC basically had the same brutal summers as my hometown......after awhile I just thought maybe i just think it's so bad because there are less trees to shield you from the sun when you're walking in the city?? Which was true, my town had big trees lining the sidewalk for short bursts of comfort...but doing a 10 minute walk to work during high noon with nothing but you and concrete is the worse! Another reason why being close to a metro/bus for home and work if you can't have a car is ideal...you'll be a mess by the time you get to your job if you don't!

btw to the OP...here's a link showing humidity where DC is slightly more humid than ATL on a yearly basis...in terms of heat we aren't that far from ATL during the summer usually(that's kind of why I liked it at first) but when late fall/ winter hits that's when you'll really see the weather difference...
Moderator cut: link removed

I never understood why people say Atlanta is so hot and humid like we are the nation's microwave...compared to Texas, Nevada, or New Mexico it's paradise lol

Wow. This has me concerned about DC now. All this time, I was under the impression that Atlanta's humidity was much worse. I'm not quite sure where I heard or read it first, but for whatever reason, I didn't really question it. I guess I just figured the closer you are to Florida, the more humid it gets. Stupid me forgot about elevation. I don't do well in extreme heat, which is why I would never move to a place like Texas or Arizona. But humidity is just as bad. In the summer, if I'm unloaded groceries from my car, I'd start to sweat. And I can only imagine how bad I would stink if I were standing on the Metro train for 30 minutes.