Atlanta = Over-saturated, Overpopulated, Overrated (Kennesaw, Blue Ridge: appointed, condos, employment)

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by K-SawDude

It's funny how vastly different experience can be. I've been pleasantly surprised by my Atlanta experience. Traffic is far, far easier to deal with than I expected. (If you stay off major highways during rush hour and/or know how to use side roads, you're golden.) It's been so much easier to make friends here than anywhere else I've lived in the U.S. People I met have been generally friendly, laid-back, genuine. There's top-notch dining at bargain basement prices compared to other cities. Affordable housing in decent neighborhoods. I'm scared of July/August heat-wise, but the weather here has been mostly stellar.

I really love this city so far. (And sure, you have to drive most everywhere, but the tree canopy is gorgeous.)

I won't lie to you, the late June to mid-August heat is pretty unbearable. Just remember it's only 2 months long and go to the lake a lot.

[jurban8]

Well someone drank a big jug of haterade today. Deuces.
Yep summer does suck, but there are ways to deal with it. Mainly drinking, shade, and A/C. LOL.
And there is one of the big reasons Atlanta (and the South) were able to explode post-WWII; if not for A/C, we would still be well, Mississippi :0)

[tahitiblue]

I've got to agree with you, I'm afraid. I'm an Atlanta native, we've lived in midtown for the last 5 years, and we're leaving too. The mismanagement of this city is just too much to take. Between the obscenely ridiculous water/sewer bills and the 42% property tax increase, I'm tired of paying through the nose and getting nothing but crappy schools and an incompetent police force in return. Yes, property taxes are higher in the north, but at least you get something for them. I'm tired of the constant violence and crime, tired of being surrounded by shootings (like the one across the street from our house recently - that makes me real happy with a small child at home), tired of seeing the police stand around and twiddle their thumbs while people get victimized. Tired of calling 911 and getting put on hold for 10 minutes.

It makes me sad, because I love this city and I think it could be so great. It has so much potential. But the idiots who keep getting voted into office seem intent on flushing it down the drain by refusing to look at the city's long-term well-being instead of what lucrative contracts they can pass to their cronies this month.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by tahitiblue

I've got to agree with you, I'm afraid. I'm an Atlanta native, we've lived in midtown for the last 5 years, and we're leaving too. The mismanagement of this city is just too much to take. Between the obscenely ridiculous water/sewer bills and the 42% property tax increase, I'm tired of paying through the nose and getting nothing but crappy schools and an incompetent police force in return. Yes, property taxes are higher in the north, but at least you get something for them. I'm tired of the constant violence and crime, tired of being surrounded by shootings (like the one across the street from our house recently - that makes me real happy with a small child at home), tired of seeing the police stand around and twiddle their thumbs while people get victimized. Tired of calling 911 and getting put on hold for 10 minutes.

It makes me sad, because I love this city and I think it could be so great. It has so much potential. But the idiots who keep getting voted into office seem intent on flushing it down the drain by refusing to look at the city's long-term well-being instead of what lucrative contracts they can pass to their cronies this month.

You could fix all of your problems by heading 30 miles north- why do you feel you need to head all the way to the Northeast? There are reasons so many people have left there (myself included)............

[tahitiblue]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

You could fix all of your problems by heading 30 miles north- why do you feel you need to head all the way to the Northeast? There are reasons so many people have left there (myself included)............

Because in return, I'll get a 1-1.5 hour commute (thank you Atlanta, for refusing to plan any sort of decent public transportation system!). With what we pay to live in Midtown, we can move to a city up north, live within reasonable distance of work and get decent city services in return for our tax dollars. Yes, the cost of living is higher, but it's actually not *that* much higher and the quality of life is better too (and I'll admit, I won't miss June-August either!).

Edited to add: We actually did live up north for a while and came back to Atlanta, so I've experienced both (and my husband is a yankee native). We thought the trade-off for the lower cost of living down here would be worth it, but unfortunately, it's not. Nor is the lower cost of living as low as we thought it would be, what with all the tax increases lately.

And it will be nice to have a decent newspaper to read once in a while!!

[jurban8]

Originally Posted by tahitiblue

Because in return, I'll get a 1-1.5 hour commute (thank you Atlanta, for refusing to plan any sort of decent public transportation system!). With what we pay to live in Midtown, we can move to a city up north, live within reasonable distance of work and get decent city services in return for our tax dollars. Yes, the cost of living is higher, but it's actually not *that* much higher and the quality of life is better too (and I'll admit, I won't miss June-August either!).

Edited to add: We actually did live up north for a while and came back to Atlanta, so I've experienced both (and my husband is a yankee native). We thought the trade-off for the lower cost of living down here would be worth it, but unfortunately, it's not. Nor is the lower cost of living as low as we thought it would be, what with all the tax increases lately.

And it will be nice to have a decent newspaper to read once in a while!!

While I don't exactly share your feelings about Midtown, I'm applaud you for realizing the solution is not hiking it up 75/575/85/400 and moving to sprawltown. Here's to finding what you're looking for !

[mike7586]

While I agree that the city has a lot of potential and room for improvement, I don't agree with just packing up and leaving. We can all make this city a better place if we stick around and stick together to make it happen. To just pick up and leave, well, that's how this city got to be the way it is - "white flight" - it just doesn't solve anything.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by mike7586

While I agree that the city has a lot of potential and room for improvement, I don't agree with just packing up and leaving. We can all make this city a better place if we stick around and stick together to make it happen. To just pick up and leave, well, that's how this city got to be the way it is - "white flight" - it just doesn't solve anything.

I agree with this.

Certainly, there are many things that need to be improved with Atlanta, but it's not exactly a lost cause that people need to runaway from. Turn your complaints into action and do something about it. Join your NPU and be vocal, lobby elected officials, heck run for office. Just wiping your hands and running off is not to solve anything if you love a city.

[OneloveU]

IF u black, atlanta probably the best places to be in america! hands down!

[tahitiblue]

Originally Posted by mike7586

While I agree that the city has a lot of potential and room for improvement, I don't agree with just packing up and leaving. We can all make this city a better place if we stick around and stick together to make it happen. To just pick up and leave, well, that's how this city got to be the way it is - "white flight" - it just doesn't solve anything.

Honestly, I'm just tired of it. I'm tired of trying, tired of calling and lobbying and voting when clearly, citizens like me are not the ones who get listened to (i.e. those of us without either large sums of money or the right political connections). I'm tired of being without a decent newspaper to read (and yes, we used to subscribe to and pay for the AJC until it became apparent that they were no longer employing editors or fact-checkers). I don't want to just hope that the schools will somehow get better despite the incredible amounts of money that get thrown at them.

I'm just frustrated - the city is willing to take my tax dollars (and more and more of them every year) and use them to line their own pockets while doing nothing to improve the city, and I'm frustrated with feeling so powerless to do anything about it. No matter how many letters I write, no matter how many calls I make, no matter how many complaints I file, no matter how many times I vote, it just goes nowhere. And I'm not willing to wait around and sacrifice my family's well being for this anymore. Sigh...I guess this became a bit of a rant, which isn't what I intended, sorry.