Game Over For Atlanta? This guy thinks so... (Sandy Springs, Alpharetta: employment, income)

[K-SawDude]

JSimms,

Thanks a ton for those numbers! Definitely a lot of intown growth (and projected growth).

Do you know how West Midtown is classified in these sorts of numbers? Is it considered part of Home Park, or Midtown, or is it its own unit? I'd be curious to see any numbers you have for it.

Also, similar question for Atlantic Station. How does it fit into the overall picture? (I hope it has some decent growth projections.)

[BobMane]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Atlanta gets this reputation for suburban sprawl, when many in this country don't really understand (or care to understand) how "urban" Atlanta really is.

really? i am about to move there, I have been there quite a bit a love it ----- > BUT...I have yet to find a WALKABLE , cool/hip/artsy type area with lots of local art shops, restaurants AND the national vendors - everything all in one area... I have not seen it...seems to be "get in your car and drive for.....anything and EVERYTHING ------> hell" + waaay to much traffic, I will prolly have to turn back to a night own to avoid all the exhaust!!!!!!


whereas In Hollywood, Seattle or other places I have live I could ditch the car all together.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by BobMane

really? i am about to move there, I have been there quite a bit a love it ----- > BUT...I have yet to find a WALKABLE , cool/hip/artsy type area with lots of local art shops, restaurants AND the national vendors - everything all in one area... I have not seen it...seems to be "get in your car and drive for.....anything and EVERYTHING .

You can find little pockets of it in Midtown, Buckhead, Downtown, Inman Park, Decatur, Virginia Highland, East Atlanta and a few other places. Granted it's not widespread, but there are places where you can go several blocks on foot.

[spfld751]

Originally Posted by bluepepper

Put me in the "observant" camp. For a while, Atlanta was the only game in town if you wanted the advantages of living in a large city in the Southeast (excluding Florida), and I think that's something that's going to change. I imagine in coming years, as the stigma of the Southeast wears off, and as people get more and more acclimated to modern telecommunications technology, the Southeast as a whole will boom. I imagine Atlanta steadily getting bigger and richer, but not having the kind of growth other cities will. It's hard to imagine any other city overtaking it as the "capital of the South" any time soon, but it's also hard for me to think the gap won't close a fair amount.

As for what Atlanta becomes long-term, my guess is something between Philly and Chicago. I think it has far, far too much going for it to become a Detroit (although it's not an entirely unfair comparison), but I can't see it blowing up the way New York did, simply because I don't think that's what Atlantans want. I always tell people what I love about Atlanta is that it's 90% of the benefit of living in Chicago or New York with 30% of the hassle, and I think a lot of other people, be they from the area or transplants, like about it too, and I think the people who live there will fight to preserve it.

30% of the hassle i would probably agree with but 90% of the benefit...PLEASE! Being someone who has lived in Atlanta for 14 yrs , it is very BORING!!

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by spfld751

30% of the hassle i would probably agree with but 90% of the benefit...PLEASE! Being someone who has lived in Atlanta for 14 yrs , it is very BORING!!

spfld - Where in Atlanta do you live? I've lived here for 22 years, and haven't found it boring at all. On the contrary, there are a multitude of things to do and see. Perhaps, though, we have different ideas of entertainment, which, of course, is okay.

[Hobgob]

Originally Posted by BobMane

really? i am about to move there, I have been there quite a bit a love it ----- > BUT...I have yet to find a WALKABLE , cool/hip/artsy type area with lots of local art shops, restaurants AND the national vendors - everything all in one area... I have not seen it...seems to be "get in your car and drive for.....anything and EVERYTHING ------> hell" + waaay to much traffic, I will prolly have to turn back to a night own to avoid all the exhaust!!!!!!


whereas In Hollywood, Seattle or other places I have live I could ditch the car all together.

If you hang out in Duluth then ofcourse you would have to drive everywhere. Plenty of walkable areas in town.

[amv4372]

I rarely go down to Atlanta even though it's only an hour drive. If there is a concert or the Supercross is in town then I'll venture down there or most importantly to see my dirty birds play! RISE UP! I still haven't been to the GA Aquarium...think I'll go online and purchase some tickets for this weekend now that I think about it.

Kudos to you all that live and work there and get caught in all that traffic. I would go postal lol!

Up until 3 years ago I could ride my horse through the drive-thru at the bank to make my deposit!!

I live in north Cherokee County in the sticks and I LOVE it! A city person that likes to walk to restaurants and other activities would not like it here I imagine. My idea of a good time is heading up to Helen, Young Harris, Hiawassee, Cherry Log, etc and staying in a cool cabin on a trout stream for the weekend, hanging out in town or drinking a few beers on the balcony and cooking out. I'm a hunter and avid troutfisherwoman.

Most of you might find that boring but it's what I call a good time!

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Hobgob

If you hang out in Duluth then ofcourse you would have to drive everywhere. Plenty of walkable areas in town.

Still, it's not really walkable. I remember returning after spending the summer in Europe and like others had told me before, it was amazing how spread out everything is in Atlanta. And Atlanta is not bike friendly either. I will never forget a MARTA bus passing me, literally one foot from my left. I could have easily reached out and touched it as it passed.

It'll take awhile but since there are no boundaries to growth, infill will be tough to encourage.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by amv4372

Kudos to you all that live and work there and get caught in all that traffic. I would go postal lol!

you're closer to bad traffic than you might think - i would say traffic is equally bad or worse near where my parents live in woodstock than where i live, near lindbergh center marta. rush hour happens in both places, but seems to last longer up there, and you have fewer alternative routes - once you're stuck, you're pretty much stuck.

i'm pretty familiar with traffic in cherokee - i gratuated from sequoyah high up in canton in '02, and some of my classmates were from ball ground

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by cabasse

you're closer to bad traffic than you might think - i would say traffic is equally bad or worse near where my parents live in woodstock than where i live, near lindbergh center marta. rush hour happens in both places, but seems to last longer up there, and you have fewer alternative routes - once you're stuck, you're pretty much stuck.

i'm pretty familiar with traffic in cherokee - i gratuated from sequoyah high up in canton in '02, and some of my classmates were from ball ground

Speaking of traffic, as I commute from Norcross to Buckhead, it's interesting to see a lot of the traffic exit off 85 on to 285 as I go inside the perimeter, and usually the traffic counts are lower, though not always. (and when I say lower, it's not like there aren't any cars, just a noticeable difference)