Atlanta vs Washington, D.C. (living, best, cost, state)
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Out of these cities chosen, which do you think has a better nightlife, transportation, schools, shopping, restaurants, museums, housing, etc.?
DC definitely has better public transportation, and holy cow the Smithsonian is the largest museum complex on the planet so anything in Atlanta (or any other city) pales in comparison.
Housing is more affordable in Atlanta. I think both DC and Atlanta have similar offerings in shopping and schools (both have lousy public schools). DC probably has a wider variety of ethnic restaurants.
Tough to say, I'd probably pick D.C. but Atlanta's more desirable climate (imo) and it's lower cost of living make it more competitive. Unfortunately I think most of these lower cost housing offerings are only in the suburbs and for now I'd want to live in an urban setting. While both have awful traffic I'd estimate D.C. as having it slightly worse.
D.C. wins on account of it's great Metro system which makes Marta look like a joke. I like it's location better than Atlanta's also. It's closer to the ocean, which is important to me and is quite close to Baltimore, Richmond, Philly, and NYC. Where is Atlanta close by? Macon, GA, Greenville, SC, Birmingham, AL, and Chattanooga, TN. I think it's location doesn't help Atlanta too much, except for the Appalachian mountains that North Georgia rolls into.
Of course D.C. it has unmatched cultural offerings such as the Smithsonian but honestly how often do people who live there visit? Both cities have good pro sports followings as well.
So I do pick D.C. but I'd be pretty happy to live in Atlanta as well.
Last edited by destinedtodave; 03-31-2009 at 12:07 AM..
Atlanta has a good transit system...D.C. has one of the best in the U.S....this fact doesn't make MARTA look like a "joke". I wouldn't expect someone who doesn't use MARTA to know anything about it.
I think you mean lower COST of living, not lower class of living...urban living in Atlanta isn't as cheap as suburban living, but it is still a fraction of the cost of urban living in D.C.
Atlanta is close to...Charlotte, Columbia, Augusta, Columbus, Birmingham, Greenville, Chattanooga, Macon, Athens, Asheville, Montgomery, Nashville, Huntsville, Savannah...all at least as close as Washington D.C. is to NYC.
Atlanta has a good transit system...D.C. has one of the best in the U.S....this fact doesn't make MARTA look like a "joke". I wouldn't expect someone who doesn't use MARTA to know anything about it.
I think you mean lower COST of living, not lower class of living...urban living in Atlanta isn't as cheap as suburban living, but it is still a fraction of the cost of urban living in D.C.
Atlanta is close to...Charlotte, Columbia, Augusta, Columbus, Birmingham, Greenville, Chattanooga, Macon, Athens, Asheville, Montgomery, Nashville, Huntsville, Savannah...all at least as close as Washington D.C. is to NYC.
As far as locations go you did list some interesting locations I should have considered but none measure up to the convenience of having cities of global importance at it's doorstep. I can also list plenty of random but interesting cities that are an easy drive from D.C: Baltimore, Virginia Beach, Richmond, Charlottesville, Annapolis, historic Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, and Dover come to the top of my head aside from Philadelphia and NYC.
D.C wins in this category, in my opinion.
Thanks for the typo correction. Living in urban Atlanta is going to be cheaper-I'm not going to argue this point. But not by leaps and bounds.
Lastly, look at the two rail maps I have attached and tell me the Metro doesn't stand head and shoulders over Marta. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers by calling it a "joke", especially considering Marta is a vast improvement over anything we have over here in SC.
Read my post...I didn't say that the D.C. Metro isn't a better, more extensive system than MARTA. I said that D.C. Metro is one of the top 2 or 3 systems in the nation...that doesn't lead to the conclusion that MARTA is a "joke" - MARTA rail serves 300,000 riders/day and is the 6th largest system in the U.S. If that is a joke to you, then okay, but my feathers don't ruffle that easily. How would you respond if I called Columbia a joke of a state capital? It's immature and silly to say such things. And you have to realize that many people who aren't familiar with MARTA tend to disparage the system as if it were a ride at Six Flags rather than 50 miles of track and 38 stations.
Also, I didn't say that Atlanta is near as many global cities as D.C., did I? I replied to your insinuation that Atlanta isn't near anything...with a list of cities that are nearby - within 3+ hours drive. Atlanta is near a whole list of cities, and no one said that they are more "global" than the cities near D.C.
The difference in the word "cost" of living and "class" of living is NOT A TYPO. Typing "lost" instead of "cost" would a be typo...you typed a different word. That isn't a typo, sorry.
I agree that D.C. has more to offer in most areas than Atlanta...but I don't have to blast Atlanta for D.C.'s advantages.
DC all day. Even though the cost of living is higher, There are more things to do. The smithsonian complex is top notch and it is free. DC is also on the I-95 corridor with richmond only a hour and a half away and the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston on the other end. The DC metro is better than the Atlanta system although it is not up there with the New York City subway. The nightlife is almost the same but DC has the slight advantage IMO because the people are classier.
If the counties outside of Atlanta ever get their act together and push for Marta service A-town would be a beast. They already have the bellmouths and the sections in some areas. I know that they have a section north of Arts center that trains would branch off and go Northwest towards Marietta I think.
DC all day. Even though the cost of living is higher, There are more things to do. The smithsonian complex is top notch and it is free. DC is also on the I-95 corridor with richmond only a hour and a half away and the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston on the other end. The DC metro is better than the Atlanta system although it is not up there with the New York City subway. The nightlife is almost the same but DC has the slight advantage IMO because the people are classier.
"The people are classier"...I take it you don't live in D.C.? What an un-classy statement.
The D.C. Metro is "up there" with NYC subway in many ways...it is often referred to as the best subway system in the U.S. - even though NYC subway is more extensive.
D.C. to Boston is 400 miles. If you're going to include Boston as being "near" D.C. then we can include many more cities as being "near" Atlanta: Indianapolis, Tampa, Orlando, Memphis, Raleigh, Louisville, St. Louis, New Orleans, Columbus OH, Cincinnati, Dayton, Charleston, Jacksonville, etc. All are as close to Atlanta as Boston is to D.C.
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