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OP is not asking anything about Chicago. He said it was unrelated.
Chicago doesn't hold a candle to Atlanta. Ethically, materialistically, POLITICALLY (Obamalites everywhere). Atlanta has less traffic, nicer people, better food, established employment, grander music... but regardless, hes not asking about Chitown.
You probably had more in common with "black people" in other areas because Atlanta doesn't typically care what color your skin is anymore. They look past it to the character of the human being. You simply making a point at the "black culture" proves that you're not from Atlanta.
Is that you, Tony?
Delusional and again spoken by someone who obviously never been to or lived in Chicago speaking as if they know what they are talking about.
The OP did ask if it's true that Atlanta is on par with Chicago because he laughed when others say that it is. Everyone has their own opinions. But to answer the OP's question. No, Atlanta is not even remotely on the same level as Chicago. It doesn't offer the same level of amenities or anything. A lot of Atlanta still doesn't even have sidewalks for God's sake!
As for all your talk about Atlanta not caring about color, it has been proven that Atlanta has the largest income disparity between blacks and whites--the highest of any other major city in the country (the average household income for whites in Atlanta is $86k vs $25k for blacks). And poverty in Atlanta definitely has a black face. Just take a walk around downtown Atlanta and see the hundreds and hundreds of black homeless and mentally ill milling about.
Is Atlanta better off than Detroit? Yes. Is Atlanta on par with Chicago? No.
That is an amorphous question without knowing details about you and what you value.
I have lived in Detroit and Atlanta. When I lived in Atlanta it was in the 90’s when the state of Georgia was not synonymous with metro Atlanta (tongue in cheek). I like Atlanta because everything seemed possible. I was in college and I could quit one job and have another job the next day. The people were very friendly, but there was crime, as in any big city.
Atlanta is Southern and Detroit is Northern. Hence, the geography, climate, culture and history are simply different. I tend to like the North better than I do the south. I like the 4 distinct seasons, I like the density, I like the close proximity of other large metropolitan areas. I like the older homes in dense walkable communities (although Detroit’s have been greatly diminished.)
Atlanta is “shiny”, like a new car. Often times when I see a new sharp car that I am attracted to, the first thing I ask myself is what it will look like to me a few years down the road when the shine wears off. The shine always wears off. Then how much will I like it? There are two extremes that have the most value and those are the new and the old. Old neighborhoods with old architecture and history are priceless and add character to an area. Brand new areas are shiny and new and that attracts people too.
I tend to favor the north because of its mix of the old and new. I think soon the shine will fade from places like Atlanta, as growth slows and problems increase and since the area was mostly built up over the last 30 years, a lot of the area will not be new or classic and it will lose a lot of attraction. The unfortunate thing about Detroit, however, is that it tore down much of its historic neighborhoods. It, Atlanta, will become like an inner ring suburb....bland.
In terms of population, for all intents and purpose not related to politics or marketing, there is not much difference between Atlanta and Detroit. Metro populations are determined by commuting percentages between counties. Hence, metro population figures are a measure of where people commute, not how many people live in an area. Detroit’s CBD is too anemic to create the type of commuting draw that would boost its metro population. But if you use the same footprint (square miles) that makes up metro Atlanta, and superimpose that over Southeastern Michigan/Southern Ontario, you will find that this area has as many, if not more, people in that same area.
In conclusion, I could be happy in Detroit or Atlanta, but given that I prefer living in the North, I would prefer living in Detroit to living in Atlanta. The proximity of Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland, The Great Lakes recreation areas, the 4 seasons, the old architecture…..I just like Detroit better…..even though I do not live in Detroit now, but another Northern City.
Lastly, the next 10 years for the Detroit area will be much better than its previous ten, while I feel that the next 10 years for the Atlanta area will not be as good as its previous 10, especially those years prior to recession. I am kind of bullish on the Detroit regions future with the caveat that it’s dependent upon the national economy, which I am not that bullish on. So my bullishness on Detroit is under the assumption that our national economy does not collapse. I think Atlanta will become less attractive to the business communities because it will be seen as "too black"......America being what it has been.
PS.....Atlanta does not come CLOSE to the feel of Chicago in my opinion. Houston....now that is a different story. Again, the North and South are simply different and represent different growth eras and culture.
Last edited by Indentured Servant; 09-13-2014 at 11:37 AM..
Atlanta is nothing like Detroit in any way. What is the point of this thread other to make people in Detroit mad.
Make Detroit jealous?
Most of Atlanta is doing much better than Detroit. The old neighborhoods have life. there are some great places to hang out (and there are actually people) like Atlantic Station.
Is it safer? I cannot say one way or the other as the week I was in the area I spent the nights down around Griffin.
Here is my second salvo. If there is anyone who lives in area of 3 million or more people, and is bored, then you are the problem. If you cannot find people to date and love, places to go and things to do, with 3 million people, then again, the problem is you.
Places can be like relationships. They are more exciting when they are NEW to you, than when they get older. There should always be more to do in a NEW place than and old place of similar size, because everything is NEW to you. If you lived in an area all your life and you move to someplace else, even if its smaller there should be more to do as you explore and learn the place.
I mean, if you shop at stores that are basically in every city, and you eat at restaurants that are virtually in every city (in the region or nation), you go to work, you date or are married……one place is not different from the other. I would suggest that for most people, one place is really no better than the next place unless you are talking about jobs, weather and recreational opportunities. On the typical day, and the things we do, one place is no better than the next.
Someone mentioned AA women. If you live in an area of 500,000 AA, 500,000 or so more is not going to make much difference in opportunities. You could never consume all the women available to be consumed if there were only 250,000 AA in the area. No one is that attractive or prolific and if you cannot pull them one place it’s likely that you will not be able to pull them in another place unless the locals are just attracted to people from other places. When I was in Atlanta, the southern women seemed to like Northern guys….so I took advantage of it…lol.
Here is another thing. What does a big city really give you? What does living in a metro area of 6 million people give you that living in an area of 3 million does not? When people say that one area is larger or more populous, why is that a good thing?
Other than jobs, climate, geography and weather……there is really not that much difference from place to place in America, as we make it out to be. I was not born and raised in Detroit. We came to Detroit from West Michigan. I then went to Atlanta for college before returning to Detroit. I honestly liked Detroit better than Atlanta because I like a more "urban feel". Atlanta felt like a big ole country town to me, notwithstanding downtown and 10 lane hwys.
Last edited by Indentured Servant; 09-13-2014 at 04:09 PM..
Atlanta is nothing like Detroit in any way. What is the point of this thread other to make people in Detroit mad.
Not true. When I rode the MARTA from downtown Atlanta to the airport, I saw plenty of poverty and burned out industrial areas that looked VERY similar to Detroit, only with dead brown grass from the Southern sun angle and heat, instead of the nice, lush, green grass we have in the abandoned industrial areas up here.
Not true. When I rode the MARTA from downtown Atlanta to the airport, I saw plenty of poverty and burned out industrial areas that looked VERY similar to Detroit, only with dead brown grass from the Southern sun angle and heat, instead of the nice, lush, green grass we have in the abandoned industrial areas up here.
Every US City has some improvised areas. I like Detroit but it doesn't compared to Atlanta in any way. Not saying I like one city better.. they are just about as different cities as you can get. Detroit is most similar to Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago.
Every US City has some improvised areas. I like Detroit but it doesn't compared to Atlanta in any way. Not saying I like one city better.. they are just about as different cities as you can get. Detroit is most similar to Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago.
I think the one reason Detroit and Atlanta are often compared is because they both have very large African American populations. That is the only way that they are similar. Comparing Detroit with Atlanta is like comparing the Industrial Midwest with the Southeast. The climate is different, the culture is different, the geography is different, the economy is different. Each city is kind of a microcosm for their regions and to the degree that the regions feel different....so do the cities.
Some 1.8 million people used to inhabit Motor City. Today, it’s home to 700,000. About 70,000 buildings within the city lie vacant, many of them now home to the estimated 50,000 homeless dogs. Detroit is as close to a third world country in the USA as it gets.
Some 1.8 million people used to inhabit Motor City. Today, it’s home to 700,000. About 70,000 buildings within the city lie vacant, many of them now home to the estimated 50,000 homeless dogs. Detroit is as close to a third world country in the USA as it gets.
And you ignorant idiots think Detroit is better than Atlanta, get a life.
Cities generally represent less than a quarter of an areas metropolitan area. Here is the thing, metro Atlanta is 5 million people while the city of Atlanta is only half a million. While the city of Atlanta may have it better than the city proper of Detroit, I would argue that suburban Detroit has it better than suburban Atlanta. Metro Atlanta has around 350 murders a year, with about 90 of those being in the city of Atlanta. Guess what? That means that means that there are over 200 murders in the suburbs of Atlanta. You will not find 200 murders in the suburbs of Detroit. So while the city of Atlanta may have a better core, the Detroit area has better suburbs with better schools.
When people from the Suburbs of large Northern cities move to the suburbs of Southern cities, they are usually in for a shock because they face more crime and poorer schools than they find in the typical northern suburbs. Thus, in the aggregate, its a wash. Atlanta proper is in better shape that Detroit proper, but Atlanta suburbs are not on par with Detroit suburbs, although Detroit suburbs have declined since the recession. The Detroit area has concentrated misery while the Atlanta areas misery is spread out through the metro region.
Atlanta and Detroit are similar for it's AA culture. As someone said about people from the ghettos of Chicago flocking to ATL, it's the same with Detroit. People from inner city Detroit are in love with Atlanta. And it's really the people who don't know sh*t about Atlanta (except for what they hear on rap songs or see on housewife reality shows) who want to move there the most. Blacks from inner city Detroit moved to Atlanta in droves, especially during the recession. I've had plenty of people who lived in both cities call Atlanta "The Detroit of the south" "Detroit 2.0" "The New Motown" ect.
They are both spread out metro areas, both are similar size, as for AA culture, both cities have the same taste in just about everything imo, blacks in Detroit and Atlanta look, dress, and act alike, both have good food, love strip clubs, like certain types of liquors, like to party, ect, ect. In that respect, yes, Atlanta is a shiny new Detroit. If they were cars, Detroit would be the 2008 impala and Atl would be the 2014 impala.
The funny thing is, most people I know that is not filmier with the modern hip hop culture or the ghetto ass reality shows that come on TV, don't see anything special about Atlanta at all. It's funny how different things are to different types of people.
Quote:
Atlanta does not have 50,000 wild dogs running loose on the street. Detroit is an American disaster.
Some 1.8 million people used to inhabit Motor City. Today, it’s home to 700,000. About 70,000 buildings within the city lie vacant, many of them now home to the estimated 50,000 homeless dogs. Detroit is as close to a third world country in the USA as it gets.
And you ignorant idiots think Detroit is better than Atlanta, get a life.
If someone thinks Atlanta is better than Detroit or Detroit is better than Atlanta, that is their opinion, who cares?
But you, you come on the forum to bash Detroit and tell people who have their own opinions based on their experiences to "get a life" because they don't agree with you? Ha, I think your the one who needs to get a life. Futhermore, all of that crap you said to make a point are problems of Detroit city proper, not the entire metro area which is how most people compare cities today.
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