Should I move to Atlanta from Boston? can't take this long cold winter! (Roswell: transplants, new house)

[jimmy1234]

Hi guys,

I have been living in Boston since the past 7-8 yrs. My wife and I have good paying, stable IT jobs in Boston.

But, I'm just sick of this long cold winter which lasts for 6 months a year! It's all gloomy, gray and depressing. Probably, I'm just getting older (I'm 30 yrs old). Add to that Boston is super expensive! 70 year old homes sell for > 550k$ in good school towns + 6 months of high heating bills + super high property taxes!

I'm seriously thinking of moving to a warmer, cheaper city like Atlanta,Ga or Dallas,tx , etc.

I love Boston in the summer..but it's hardly there to enjoy. The beaches, the downtown, the harbor, great school system for kids and safe suburbs...its all nice...except for the winter.

I'm not sure if I'm being just a cry baby because of the weather or should I really follow my wishful dreams and make a move to these cheaper,warmer cities. Is it worth starting all over again in a new city?

I see all these brand new homes on HGTV selling for 300k$ in sunny atlanta and I feel sad about living in Boston. Are these worth moving for?..or its just grass is greener on the other side?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by jimmy1234

Hi guys,

I have been living in Boston since the past 7-8 yrs. My wife and I have good paying, stable IT jobs in Boston.

But, I'm just sick of this long cold winter which lasts for 6 months a year! It's all gloomy, gray and depressing. Probably, I'm just getting older (I'm 30 yrs old). Add to that Boston is super expensive! 70 year old homes sell for > 550k$ in good school towns + 6 months of high heating bills + super high property taxes!

I'm seriously thinking of moving to a warmer, cheaper city like Atlanta,Ga or Dallas,tx , etc.

I love Boston in the summer..but it's hardly there to enjoy. The beaches, the downtown, the harbor, great school system for kids and safe suburbs...its all nice...except for the winter.

I'm not sure if I'm being just a cry baby because of the weather or should I really follow my wishful dreams and make a move to these cheaper,warmer cities. Is it worth starting all over again in a new city?

I see all these brand new homes on HGTV selling for 300k$ in sunny atlanta and I feel sad about living in Boston. Are these worth moving for?..or its just grass is greener on the other side?

A few points to consider--

-Unemployment rate in GA/metro Atlanta is high--over 10% --no real indications that this is going to improve greatly in the near future. With your experience/qualifications there might be some hope that you could secure stable employment--you would need to immediately launch an aggressive search in a competitive marketplace.

-There are many, many threads about 'I thought Atlanta was so great and I can't stand it here...'---seemingly those who have lived in cities like Boston and Chicago do miss the access to water, the historical charm, walkability, better school systems and many other things.

--Many transplants who work in IT gravitate to the Alpharetta area and seem to settle in pretty well. Alpharetta is north of Atlanta---suburbia--good schools, nice homes--many new communities and prices vary--I'd say $300,000 might be an average price/starting point.
http://www.alpharetta.ga.us/

Roswell is adjacent to Alpharetta and I can only tell you that --'If' --you were able to secure stable employment in Atlanta --that would be one place that would go at the top of my list.
http://www.roswellgov.com/

Roswell and Alpharetta are located near the Chattahoochee River--many opportunities for outdoor recreation and a good quality of life for families--good schools, etc.

I really can't tell you if you are experiencing 'the grass is greener'--we have some pretty high taxes, high gas/electric bills and some truly challenging traffic issues.

I would visit Atlanta and see for myself--spring will be starting here in about a month--very lovely in late March and April.

hth

[BringBackCobain]

If you're moving for good weather, you really can't go wrong with Atlanta. It has four seasons, the average July temperature is 89 degrees (compared to 95+ in Dallas), and it snows only once a year. There are a lot of IT jobs in Alpharetta, a northern suburb with good schools.

However, Atlanta is in the "sun belt", so it is not very similar to a northeastern city like Boston in terms of lay-out and density.

[tonygeorgia]

Yes Atlanta is more diverse, cheaper, 4 seasons, closer to a REAL beach, less taxes, largest airport in the world is here which means no more changing flights, more stuff to do here in Atlanta, etc

[roxyrn]

If you truly love Boston, you probably won't care for Atlanta. Don't be fooled by HGTV- they show houses and not neighborhoods and towns.
Weather- hot hot hot in the summer, pollen in the spring, beautiful fall, and we had a week of snow days due to snow and ice.
Housing costs- much lower here than the NE but you get the most for your money in the suburbs, so be prepared to live outside the perimeter especially if you don't want to pay private school tuition.
Taxes- way cheaper in Atlanta except for the car tax you pay on your birthday.
Utilities- much cheaper in the winter, much higher in the summer and water bills can be killers.
Beaches-not nearly as close as Cape Cod, the Vineyard,or Marblehead.
History- Civil War here versus the establishment of the first colonies and the Revolutionary War.
Culture- no Boston Pops, Tanglewood in Atlanta and the art museums are not up to those in the Boston area.
Education- Emory here pales to Harvard, MIT, Wellesley, Northeastern, BU and the like.
ETC- from Boston, you are an Amtrak away from Newport, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore/DC.
Political- pretty much opposites which is good/bad depending on your point of view.

[TakeAhike]

Verizon Amphitheater is located in the Alpharetta area.
Atlanta Georgia Concerts | Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park

The concerts at Chastain are fun>>>
http://www.tourtracker.com/shows/dar...371247-1198389

The proximity to the North GA Mountains/Appalachian Trail is nice>>
http://northgeorgiaphotos.com/

If you didn't need to live in the metro Atlanta area you might enjoy living in Dahlonega, GA--about 2 hours north.
http://www.dahlonega.org/

[md911]

Originally Posted by tonygeorgia

Yes Atlanta is more diverse, cheaper, 4 seasons, closer to a REAL beach, less taxes, busiest airport in the world is here which means no more changing flights, more stuff to do here in Atlanta, etc

Now I agree..

[gypsy_dude]

I am a Boston transplant now living in Atlanta and am pretty happy here. I lived in Boston for almost 4 years and it just wasnt a match for me. I agree with the OP that the summers are absolutely beautiful in Boston, and the autumn is pretty amazing as well. The problem is you are busy trying to cram in the beaches and fun summer stuff in like 8 short weekends, along with everyone else so the traffic is crazy and things get very overpriced (cape cod, etc) However my biggest gripe with Boston was 1) people were abit standoffish and it seemed rather insular and provincial for a city its size 2) the weather. hated the winters...too damn long and cold for too long 3) cost of living. I just couldn't justify paying those rents, Boston was NOT worth it for me.

I am very content so far in Atlanta. I have a good job (actually getting paid MORE here than I was making in Boston believe it or not, I know I am fortunate), and just bought my own brand new house. I would have NEVER been able to do this in Boston. So for me, it was the absolute right decision. However we are all different. Just dont come here expecting Boston, or NYC or L.A. or any other city.......expect it to be Atlanta. Embrace the differences between Boston and Atlanta rather than resent them. Be open-minded and focus on all the positives in Atlanta. What I really love about this city is that there are so many people from all over the country who have moved here, so its a great mix of folks. I also love that we do have 4 seasons but that the winters are much shorter and not as severe as up North. I find the people here to be friendly and customer service is 1000 times better than in Boston.

I was pretty much done with Boston before I moved here, so if I hadn't got the job here in Atlanta I probably would have left Boston anyway. I also have most of my family in Florida now and its nice being much closer to them...quick 1 hour flight. And I dont care what anyone says I really love the airport here.....its huge and busy, but it moves fast and you can do some great shopping while you wait for your flight!

Bottom line: come visit for at least a week, longer if possible. Good luck and feel free to private message me with any questions.

[MathmanMathman]

I think Atlanta's best selling point is the short winters. We recently got hit by an unusually hard winter storm and the snow pretty much became ice and lasted for about a week because the temperatures barely rose above freezing. And I mean solid sheets of ice everywhere. I've seen snow hit Atlanta before but this was the worst. When snow hits, even if it is an inch, it shuts us down. That's because it happens so infrequently so it's not worth the investment of large amounts of snow removal equipment and supplies. The coldest I've know it here is 5 below.

Summers are long but there is a price to pay. Despite the "average" 89 degree Julys, summers can be brutal, sometimes getting to 100 but like our snows, not often. But we can get long stretches of hot temperatures and unlike the north, it doesn't cool down that much at night. You can't live in Atlanta without air conditioning and you can't count on the evening to cool things down like it does in the north. The hottest I've known is 105.

Springs are good. Not the fresh awakening I remember when I lived north though because Atlanta doesn't go into a deep freeze in winter. Also the flora is not as intense as it is in the north. I remember visiting the north after years in the south and was astounded how "green" it was up there. We do tend to get our bad storms in the spring and we do get tornadoes. But we are not exactly "tornado alley" and most of the really bad stuff happens in Alabama and loses some steam when it gets to us...hopefully . And rains usually don't last long. Weather here just blows in and blows out. Spring storms haven't been too bad lately. We are heavily treed and people with pollen allergies are really hit hard here in the spring.

Fall is the safest season we have.

Our best natural wonder is Stone Mountain which is 18 miles from downtown. No large bodies of water since Atlanta developed around the railway crossroads. Things are very spread out so we are a car culture although the downtown is becoming somewhat walkable and we have north-south/east-west commuter rail. Not well covered with public transit but ok.

[axemanjoe]

Florida is warmer, more beaches, better roads.