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^ If you don't like extreme heat, I wouldn't advise Atlanta either. Houston's probably a little worse, but Atlanta can be downright brutal as well. It averages daytime highs in the summer well into the 90s, plus lots of humidity.
well yea, same in NJ, but it is still milder than Houston and has distinct seasons
Ok, lets not make this a flame war between Atlanta & Houston. To the OP if your desire is to go to Atlanta, I will advise you to spend a few days down there so you can get the feel of it. See what the city is all about to determined if you like it or not.
Ok, lets not make this a flame war between Atlanta & Houston. To the OP if your desire is to go to Atlanta, I will advise you to spend a few days down there so you can get the feel of it. See what the city is all about to determined if you like it or not.
yea, for sure
im considering chicago too now, as the summer heat/humidity bothers me much more than cold/snow and seems like chicago's heat is not as long
If you see cheap rent in Atlanta, be careful. There is a lot of crime in Atlanta, so you have to make sure those cheap apartments aren't in the bad areas. To live in the nice/safe parts of metro Atlanta, the rents are comparable to Chicago but Atlanta doesn't offer as much as Chicago. To rent in the nice parts of Atlanta is getting increasingly expensive.
Last edited by Atlanta_BD; 06-09-2013 at 05:01 PM..
If you see cheap rent in Atlanta, be careful. There is a lot of crime in Atlanta, so you have to make sure those cheap apartments aren't in the bad areas. To live in the nice/safe parts of metro Atlanta, the rents are comparable to Chicago but Atlanta doesn't offer as much as Chicago.
housing is still cheaper in atl, as well as property taxes
housing is still cheaper in atl, as well as property taxes
It really does depend on where you live. And housing in Atlanta proper is not cheap and anything being advertised as being cheap isn't in Atlanta all, it's in the suburbs and is far out with hellish commutes. I live in Atlanta proper and in the nice neighborhoods the houses aren't $150k-$250k, they are more like $750k-$6 million. You can find houses for $200k-$300k and only a few areas are there will only be a handful of houses at those prices.
The Atlanta metro area's population is nearly 6 million, yet only 420k plus live in the city. That's because housing in the city is not cheap. 92% of 6 million people don't live in Atlanta at all, they live in the suburbs and I don't recommend Atlanta's suburbs to any single person.
Even in Atlanta's nice suburbs, a one bed room can cost $1100. And you have to also be careful when places are advertised as being close to dining and shopping. Atlanta is one big suburban sprawl and what they mean here by being close to dining and shopping means being close to places like Target and Ross for shopping and Applebee's or Chipotle for dining. If you really must move here, I would suggest Midtown or Buckhead and not much else.
I am a Chicago native and I have lived in Atlanta for over ten years, if that's any point of reference for you. And I live in Buckhead.
It really does depend on where you live. And housing in Atlanta proper is not cheap and anything being advertised as being cheap isn't in Atlanta all, it's in the suburbs and is far out with hellish commutes. I live in Atlanta proper and in the nice neighborhoods the houses aren't $150k-$250k, they are more like $750k-$6 million. You can find houses for $200k-$300k and only a few areas are there will only be a handful of houses at those prices.
The Atlanta metro area's population is nearly 6 million, yet only 420k plus live in the city. That's because housing in the city is not cheap. 92% of 6 million people don't live in Atlanta at all, they live in the suburbs and I don't recommend Atlanta's suburbs to any single person.
Even in Atlanta's nice suburbs, a one bed room can cost $1100. And you have to also be careful when places are advertised as being close to dining and shopping. Atlanta is one big suburban sprawl and what they mean here by being close to dining and shopping means being close to places like Target and Ross for shopping and Applebee's or Chipotle for dining. If you really must move here, I would suggest Midtown or Buckhead and not much else.
I am Chicago native and I have lived in Atlanta for over ten years, if that's any point of reference for you.
ok, well atl metro is cheaper overall is what i meant even tho im pretty sure same apts will cost more in chicago proper than atl proper
and u can find places way cheaper than $1100 in the burbs and i like the burbs even tho im single, 1100 is not accurate because its not your average, regular price, i live in a much higher col area and some people pay that here,even tho housing quality is worse
chicago is not way more expensive, but still more expensive, u can see a lot of new construction in places like marietta for really cheap, much cheaper than comparable areas in chicagoland
ok, well atl metro is cheaper overall is what i meant even tho im pretty sure same apts will cost more in chicago proper than atl proper
and u can find places way cheaper than $1100 in the burbs and i like the burbs even tho im single, 1100 is not accurate because its not your average, regular price, i live in a much higher col area and some people pay that here,even tho housing quality is worse
chicago is not way more expensive, but still more expensive, u can see a lot of new construction in places like marietta for really cheap, much cheaper than comparable areas in chicagoland
Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. Rents in Atlanta are the same as Chicago in many places. I just looked at an apartment in the Atlanta area (it was also in the burbs) and it was over $1600 a month for a two bed room. You can get a 2 or 3 bedroom on the lake in Chicago for that price.
Again, places that are way cheaper than $1100 in Atlanta is in the ghetto or some unsafe neighborhood, I promise you that. And it is your average price if you want to live in a nice area in Atlanta, unless you are saying you are willing to live in a rough area in Atlanta to get cheap housing. I know that NYC is expensive but Chicago is cheaper than NYC and Atlanta isn't much cheaper than Chicago and the cost of housing in Atlanta is catching up to Chicago very quickly and has already caught up in many areas.
And remember you get what you pay for. A lot of this new housing here is cheap and very horribly built. They use the cheapest materials they can find then charge a lot for them. I had looked at a 2 bedroom condo for sale here and the doors were so flimsy you could punch through them, and the kitchen was an IKEA kitchen and the cheapest kitchen IKEA makes and they were charging $275k for that place. Most of this new construction in Atlanta gets their stuff from IKEA.
Housing costs may be cheaper in Atlanta but you are nickled and dimed for everything else. You have to pay to use public park facilities (such as pools and tennis courts), there are little to no free activities or events in the city, and the so-called amenities or attractions that are here are sub-par and over-priced. If you drive here (and you must own a car in Atlanta to get around), you have to pay a tax on your car every year, and the newer the car, the more you have to pay, and you could end up paying as much as $600 or more to renew your tags every year if you have a newer car. You also have to pay for emissions every time you renew your plates. Chicago doesn't have this annual tax and emissions is free in Illinois. You also have to be careful driving here because traffic violations are a criminal offense in Georgia and you can pay lots of money in fines if you get tickets and you can very easily lose your license here.
Also, I hope you are considering moving here with a job transfer and your NYC salary in tact. Jobs are very hard to get in Atlanta and the pay is very low. In the south, a low cost of living comes with low pay. Rent may be cheaper than NYC but it's not affordable when you are making a low salary. Some of my Chicago relatives moved here and went back to Chicago because they couldn't deal with the suburban commutes and minimum wage salaries they were making when they moved to the Atlanta area. They were making less than half the money they made in Chicago when they moved to Georgia.
**ETA: I am planning to leave Atlanta because there are no jobs here.
But hey, I've only lived in Atlanta for many years so I don't know what I'm talking about.
looks like i narrowed it down to chicago and atl now, but can't decide yet, visiting each would be good, but im not gon understand anything over a few days, not the same as living so to sum it up:
I like Chicago cuz its more urban with more amenities and culture, but might be still too big, and I like ATL cuz its somewhat cheaper, smaller so possibly more manageable and might have better nightlife for me. Most likely I would live in the suburbs, if that makes any difference. Like I said, things that concern me about ATL-much hotter (i hate heat/humidity) and southern culture might be more culture shock than Chicago. Which fits me best?
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