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The Atlanta crowd homers hard, almost as bad as people who think Houston is a subtropical paradise.
I honesty think Atlanta is pretty flat. Yeah there are some rolling hills, but nothing like Phoenix. Besides that its a bunch of trees, which is nice and all, but nothing special. You could make the argument that it is more scenic than say Austin, but Phoenix? Please.
I could see why someone would vote for Atlanta, but then again I can see why some might not be very impressed. Atlanta is a beautiful city in terms of it's lush environment, but with natural setting I personally don't think Atlanta has the most intense scenery within the Piedmont region.
Phoenix has a unique backdrop, being at the edge of the Sonoran desert nearing high-elevation forests. Lots of mountains yet flat at the same time. Big skies too and unique plant life. Phoenix has a huge edge compared to most cities due to its uniqueness in this regard.
The mountains in Phoenix are not too big to the point of ruining the sky views, albeit some of the ones around the edges (like the Estrella mountains) are rather tall, they are on the sidelines so they don't interrupt sunset and sunrise views. Some of them like the Superstitions are very funky looking, it's nice that sometimes they are not the main focus while other times they are (like Superstitions are usually a focus point versus the Estrella mountains no one seems to care about). In places like Seattle for an example, it appears Mount Rainier is THE focus, it's nice that the Phoenix valley has many focus points depending on where you are (not ragging on Seattle but Mount Rainier is such a tall, beautiful snow-capped mountain it detracts from anything else). For most of Phoenix it depends on your local mountain. Whether it's North Mountain, Camelback, Thunderbird, etc.
I have always felt that Phoenix had the best mix of mountainous/hilly and flat landscapes. Enough mountains to break up monotony, provide amenities, etc. but enough flat land to the point where it doesn't inhibit traffic, construction, destroy other views etc.
As far as general city landscaping, I wish many parts of Phoenix embraced more desert landscaping. While xeriscaping is common, many homes only have rocks in their front yards, not any cacti, palo verde, or any plant for that matter. Some places of the Phoenix metro like North Scottsdale north of the Reservation do incredibly well on desert landscaping. Cave Creek emphasizes it's desert landscape by limiting density and landscaping. Southeast Valley, particularly out by Queen Creek, has a more agriculture, farm-like feel in it's city landscaping which for some creates a healthy variety due to QC's history of recently being a farm town, now converting to a suburb. It's landscaping matches more of the Midwest which some prefer. It's interesting to see the variety of city landscaping in Phoenix as it is not consistent, but depends on each of the neighborhood's unique attributes and history. And income levels as well.
Atlanta is a beautiful city with a lot of greenery, which more people prefer over desert scenery, though I'm not sure it outdoes Phoenix in my opinion.
As the title mentions, this thread is a comparison involving solely the natural setting within and around each city. The only man-made features that can be included in discussion are public parks, green-belts, and general city landscaping.
I voted for Atlanta with low-lying mountains and vast Green Forest in it's Urban sitting.
I could see why someone would vote for Atlanta, but then again I can see why some might not be very impressed. Atlanta is a beautiful city in terms of it's lush environment, but with natural setting I personally don't think Atlanta has the most intense scenery within the Piedmont region.
On the flip side Phoenix is far from the most intense scenery in the Southwest.
I don't think anyone is disagreeing that Atlanta has a nice lush environment, but it isn't particularly exciting or dramatic. Stone Mountain is pretty cool though.
On the flip side Phoenix is far from the most intense scenery in the Southwest.
I don't think anyone is disagreeing that Atlanta has a nice lush environment, but it isn't particularly exciting or dramatic. Stone Mountain is pretty cool though.
Is it? Ever been to four peaks, saguaro lake, the salt river canyon, toms thumb, hidden valley, cave creek, Superstition Mountains and the list can go on and on.... Phoenix may not be right next to the Grand Canyon but it is surrounded by gorgeous Sonoran preserves and peaks that are easily accessible in Phoenix.
Is it? Ever been to four peaks, saguaro lake, the salt river canyon, toms thumb, hidden valley, cave creek, Superstition Mountains and the list can go on and on.... Phoenix may not be right next to the Grand Canyon but it is surrounded by gorgeous Sonoran preserves and peaks that are easily accessible in Phoenix.
The poster was referring those features as areas that can be reached via a short road trip, not that said features were actually by those cities. So the Grand Canyon and Baja California is a short trip away from Phoenix, same way that the Atlantic Ocean is a short trip away from Atlanta.
I voted for Atlanta with low-lying mountains and vast Green Forest in it's Urban sitting.
The "mountains" surrounding Atlanta are not actually mountains, Stone is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and Kennesaw is actually a ridge. Therefor if one values mountains within a cities natural setting then Phoenix really blows Atlanta out of the water in this regard.
As for the trees, Atlanta does have more trees but that's not nearly as unique of a feature as Phoenix's natural environment. You can find trees in many different cities but the natural environment around Phoenix is much more unique, especially for a big city in the US.
Just my .02 on the topic.
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