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View Poll Results: Favorite City For Urban Living (BESIDES NYC)?
Chicago 63 26.81%
Boston 30 12.77%
Philadelphia 41 17.45%
Atlanta 12 5.11%
DC 21 8.94%
San Francisco 40 17.02%
Los Angeles 13 5.53%
Other (list in thread) 15 6.38%
Voters: 235. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 09-08-2009, 03:39 PM
 
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,465 posts, read 14,896,767 times
Reputation: 7258

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Quote:
Originally Posted by bizchick86 View Post
Nope, it hasn't changed much. In fact, it seems to have gotten even more quiet in the last few years. Don't know if folks are moving out to the suburbs or what it is, but the activity level is eerily low sometimes. And yes, Atlanta traffic is waaay overhyped. Even in rush hour I get around easily in the city. Again it's those OTPers that make claims about Atlanta that really don't relate to much within the city limits.

If it's one thing I can change about Atlanta it's the number of folks in the actual city (500,000 vs. 5 mil in the entire metro). There is just way too much affordable housing in the city for people not to be taking advantage of it. If Atlanta's developments actually had people in it, and that density translated into more street activity and better mass transit, Atlanta would be perfect to me. Right now, it's just close to perfect :- )
Ok, Atlanta has changed a lot in 8 years. Especially in the urban living department. I'm pretty sure that anyone who has left Atlanta for 8 years and comes back now would hardly recognize it.

I don't know about you, but 416,000 people in the City of Atlanta in 2000 and 537,000 this year (a difference of 120,000 in 8 years) doesn't say to me that the city is emptying.
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Old 09-08-2009, 03:42 PM
 
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
8,465 posts, read 14,896,767 times
Reputation: 7258
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancer78 View Post
Admittedly "suburban" may not have been the best use of words on my part but what I mean is that the foot traffic, in general, in Atlanta is relatively low (by Chicago or northeastern standards). Vehicular traffic in the city itself is surprisingly light (although highways, at times, can get somewhat busy I don't consider it nearly as bad as many Atlantans say it is). Outside of the now defunct Freaknik, the city is rather "quiet," and at least to me, low density..Even major streets like Peachtree have relatively low activity levels.
I haven't lived in Atlanta in 8 years, and I know it's been through a growth spurt, but I doubt the general trends have changed that much.
Well, the foot traffic thing is all relative. Atlanta doesn't have many outdoor shopping destination. Most of it is done inside, but even that is an odd indicator to me.

Most cities outside the retail and touristy districts have few people walking down the street. Even in New York.
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Old 09-08-2009, 03:50 PM
 
339 posts, read 2,201,048 times
Reputation: 211
Well, I guess I should give some backgound on myself:

-I'm only 19, but I'm asking because I need to start looking for masters in accounting programs, and usually, the best MACC programs are in the region you want to work in, so the current job market isn't much of a concern for me, plus accoutants can generally work in most major cities.
-Although I don't care too much about whether, I enjoy burning hot weather more than freezing cold weather.
-I've lived in the PNW (Portland) all my life, and while I don't mind it here, I'd want to be in a bigger city or at least one with more amenities. In Portland, shopping for clothes (lack of high-end boutiques), going to concerts, even watching sports games (I hate the Blazers and they are our only team lol) is a problem, so I'd want someplace with much more to do.
-Although I'd love to be in a place with lots of outdoor activities or at least a culture of doing stuff outdoors, it's going to be hard to have a city with lots to do in the city as well as being nice for outdoors stuff (I like lake sports and skiing/snowboarding), so that's why I said lots to do in the city, but if it has lots to do outdoors, that's a plus.

hope that helps.
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Old 09-08-2009, 03:59 PM
 
Location: Atlanta, GA
927 posts, read 2,215,826 times
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The comment about Atlanta not changing is not in terms of its overall population growth, infrastructure or skyline. Atlanta has clearly grown significantly in that regard. My post was about Atlanta's foot traffic and feeling of being "quiet" not changing and, in fact, seeming worse.

And where in New York City are you talking about? One, a whole mess of places in New York are retail and tourist oriented, so it is active all over the place. Secondly, folks are eeking out of random crevices at all times of night in New York, whether or not it is a retail/tourist area. Of course the downtown Manhattan area, where it's all business and politics oriented, won't be bustling at midnight, but there are so many retail/restaurant/nightlife districts throughout Manhattan that it doesn't really matter. If a Saturday night on our main corridor of Peachtree can feel empty, unless you venture onto Crescent Ave at the right moment, we have some work to do. It wasn't like this just a few years ago, especially when Buckhead Village was at its height and Vision and 112 were open. You could travel down Peachtree and it felt like a party every weekend. Peachtree has fallen of significantly with both car and foot traffic at night in recent years.

Whether folks are shopping indoors or there are thousands of people who have moved to the city to live, the point is Atlanta's city's foot traffic is low. The fact that the intown population has grown, and it STILL feels relatively uninhabited (again compared to the cities to which it's being compared in this poll) makes it seem even worse. Whenever I drive around, I'm like, where the heck are the people? It has baffled me ever since I came back here from school in New York.

I think when most people are talking about a city's foot traffic, they're reffering to what you can see outdoors, not what's going on in a building. Seeing people walking around a city lends itself to the energy and liveliness that people look for in a city. They don't want to have to go inside a mall to feel like a city is busy.

Last edited by bizchick86; 09-08-2009 at 04:12 PM..
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Old 09-08-2009, 04:19 PM
 
Location: Tokyo, Japan
315 posts, read 660,722 times
Reputation: 240
^I agree with bizchick, particularly about the foot traffic comments:

Quote:
Of course the downtown Manhattan area, where it's all business and politics oriented, won't be bustling at midnight
Even then, Greenwich Village and LES are happening places at night.

Last edited by Lancer78; 09-08-2009 at 05:03 PM..
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Old 09-08-2009, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,623 posts, read 67,123,456 times
Reputation: 21154
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancer78 View Post
18Montclair, seeing as you are from Oakland, why would San Francisco not be
(I've never been to San Fran) as good for the OP as Chicago or Philadelphia?
San Francisco is not affordable and that is a major criteria for the OP.

Oakland is also more expensive than those 2. But this isnt about Oakland.
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Old 09-08-2009, 08:12 PM
 
Location: Bronx, NY
4,515 posts, read 9,655,088 times
Reputation: 5636
Tough one, I would say Philly, LA and Boston
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Old 09-08-2009, 09:25 PM
 
3,368 posts, read 11,630,222 times
Reputation: 1701
If you want to live conveniently without a car, eliminate Atlanta and Los Angeles. If you want a relatively low cost of living, eliminate Boston (though my favorite on your list), San Francisco (though my second favorite on your list), and Washington. That leaves you with Philadelphia and Chicago. For a great amount of career opportunities, diversity, and several, integrated urban neighborhood starting Downtown and going to the north along a scenic lakefront, choose Chicago. Philadelphia has some nice areas, but it isn't as diverse and doesn't have as many career opportunities as Chicago does. If you are willing to pay a little more, however, do consider Boston and San Francisco. They are two of America's great cities in terms of food, culture, and entertainment and, in my opinion, offer the most Euro-modeled urban standard of living outside of Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn.
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Old 09-08-2009, 10:06 PM
 
Location: roaming gnome
12,385 posts, read 28,372,317 times
Reputation: 5877
Quote:
Originally Posted by crisp444 View Post
If you want to live conveniently without a car, eliminate Atlanta and Los Angeles. If you want a relatively low cost of living, eliminate Boston (though my favorite on your list), San Francisco (though my second favorite on your list), and Washington. That leaves you with Philadelphia and Chicago. For a great amount of career opportunities, diversity, and several, integrated urban neighborhood starting Downtown and going to the north along a scenic lakefront, choose Chicago. Philadelphia has some nice areas, but it isn't as diverse and doesn't have as many career opportunities as Chicago does. If you are willing to pay a little more, however, do consider Boston and San Francisco. They are two of America's great cities in terms of food, culture, and entertainment and, in my opinion, offer the most Euro-modeled urban standard of living outside of Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn.
stellar post and totally agree.
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Old 09-08-2009, 10:26 PM
 
Location: Denver
6,625 posts, read 14,387,205 times
Reputation: 4191
Quote:
Originally Posted by grapico View Post
stellar post and totally agree.
I second that. Great post.
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