Can't decide whether to move to Atlanta or Houston (Dahlonega: real estate, amusement parks)

[Atlguy39]

Originally Posted by TJfromATL

I live here in Dunwoody and want to move to Houston a.s.a.p. Atlanta is very very cliquish, pretentious and segregated. Sad 2 say Im apart of a clique that I really want to remove myself from. I feel that Houston is accepting enough to make me feel like Im not in a segregated area. Im 28 and have lived here since 9 grade.I used to love Atlanta til it started to become a place that was feeled with people who came here looking for something and was met with reality. Alot of people in my circle and people at my jobs and people that I know hate it here with a passion because it not the place that they heard about fore they moved here. Now look at what that stage have put us. We are in a bad economy and is trynna rebuild ourselves from the recession. Atlanta will never be the place I used to love.

I also find it to be cliquish, especially professionally. I'm trying to rebuild my career and am a professional with a lot of education, yet I can't get meetings with people or returned phone calls. Maybe thats the case everywhere, but Atlanta seems particularly bad for business. I'm not the most charismatic guy, but I look good on paper. My Father's side of the family is from here and I was born here, but grew up in South Florida. I moved back in '96, and loved it for a while. But the last 4-5 years have been hell for me. I want out of this town with its pollution, rude people, and materialism. So many of the women here only care about what you drive and what you do for a living. I'm fed up, and I'm technically a native. The only redeeming quality for me is the sports because I love all the Braves and Falcons. But its not enough to keep me here.

[Minnie Mouse9]

Atlanta. More cosmopolitan, does not get as hot in the summer.

[tamlym]

Hey, we looked at Houston as well before choosing to move to Atlanta....but two things stood out for us that made us choose Atlanta -

Weather - it does get HOT here, but there are (I think, coming from CA) clearly SEASONS here, which we like.

Public Transit - Atlanta has MARTA, which is great and suprisingly inexpensive. My hubby uses it to get to work and we have no real complaints about his $2 one way commute cost. When we looked at Houston, he'd have to drive anywhere....

[Martaman2011]

Originally Posted by Caleb Longstreet

I have lived in both (Atlanta twice) and can tell you that OVERALL, Atlanta probably gets a slight nod. No offense to Houston, I have 3 siblings living there but, it's bit flat, definitely over-air-conditioned by need (the most air-conditioned city on the planet I believe, look it up).

Houston:

Pro's: Larger therefore a few more jobs. Relatively inexepensive housing by comparison. No state income tax. Better night life. 2 airports and either are much easier to deal with than Hartsfield. People are friendly. More state roads to get around through in the off hours. Definitely warmer winters.

Con's: Zoning is a joke. Oil rules. You can literally go down a street, see an apartment complex and literally right next door is an 8 story building with a house on the other side. Never seen anything like it. More humid, hands down. You leave your air-conditioned car to go to your air-conditioned building to leave in your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned home....tomorrow, repeat.....not that much different here mind you but here, you can go outside in the evenings. In Houston you will feel the stick and slime...kind of reminds you of burnt, moist wood....roads heave and buckle as the water table in Houston is 3-5 feet below ground....road flooding is common and is more prone to Hurricanes. Beaches are so so unless you like stepping on tar balls that float in from the Gulf after every storm.....homes are near zero or zero lot lines in a lot of places like Florida....nothing like hearing your neighbor farting or snoring to put you off....

Atlanta

Pro: Prettier landscape. More undulating terrain. Friendly culture overall. 3 great lakes. Weather is temperate overall. Not too hot, not too cold. Centrally located for the Southeast. North Georgia Mountains are beautiful year round. Coastal beaches are better and you have both the Gulf of Mexico at your disposal as well as BP's and the Atlantic....and then there is always Florida if you so desire.

Cons: Traffic but, then again, Houston ain't nooooo picnic either. Never was. Some racial tension. Housing is slightly higher. State income tax. Night life is not that great. One airport and unless you live on the South side, it can be a "journey" to get there unless you are on the Highway heading there by 6:00 AM or coming home after 8:00 PM. Growing but, still has a lot of old, run down structures in the downtown area....urban sprawl...believe it's one of the top 10 in the country for sprawl which leads to long commutes each way, each day. The kind of city where putting 20K miles on your car is steadily becomming the norm. Wait until you see/shop used cars here. They believe it's "normal" to have 60K-70K miles on a car in 2 or 3 years.....and want all the money for it....University system throughout the state is not as developed as Texas for whatever that is worth.....here, it's the big two (Georgia Tech and UGA) both quite excellent schools but, contrast that to: Rice, Baylor, SMU, UTEP, University of Houston, Texas A&M, University of Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, and so on and so on.....you get the idea....State income tax...6%....

And yet, despite all of that, I would rather live here than there. It just seems a bit more....."relaxing" than there....depends on your tastes. East Cobb and North Cobb (Kennesaw) offer excellent schools. Most suburban communities along the Northern Belt offer similar results with schools. Can't go wrong in that regard.

I am not sure where people get the idea that Houston doesn't have a sprawl problem or that it is somehow significantly more dense then Atlanta. I didn't feel like I could walk anymore places there then I do here in Atlanta and what with all this weather and nature crap?

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by Minnie Mouse9

Atlanta. More cosmopolitan,

Not at all, though. They're about even in that department.

Originally Posted by Martaman2011

I am not sure where people get the idea that Houston doesn't have a sprawl problem or that it is somehow significantly more dense then Atlanta.

I don't think that's what he was saying. It's mostly the lot sizes that people will notice a difference. The homes in most Texas cities are built on much smaller land, versus Atlanta where there's a lot of extra space between houses (which kind of takes away from the urban feel); not to mention, a lot of neighborhoods have no fencing. But despite what Caleb said, you do have privacy in the homes here, and no you can't hear your neighbor snoring. He was probably just joking, though.

[lookup138]

I don't know how overcrowded Houston is but Atlanta is "toppling over" with people. I'd have to say give Houston a try first. From what I understand the weather is much warmer there than Atlanta. I can't even imagine that because it gets sweltering hot here... There is good entertainment here in Atlanta but I think the pace is slower so it just depends.

[WestCobb]

Atlanta.. decision made. Welcome to Georgia.

[Math Commando]

Originally Posted by Bizurko

Through experience it seems like the people in Atlanta are more "real" than the people in houston. I don't know how else to explain that, just I would strongly suggest Atlanta.

As a native Houstonian I'd have to say that people in Atlanta are "really fake" in general but nowhere near as bad as Austin people.

[AnsleyPark]

Just for the record, most of the folks I've gotten to know in Atlanta over the last twenty-something years are genuine, kind and caring. Not fake. Until you've spent a significant amount of time in a place, I don't think it's possible to make a sweeping judgment statement that people are "fake." having spent probably a grand total of 10 days of my life in Houston, I can certainly say the folks I met there were very nice and likable.

[MikeandIke27]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Just for the record, most of the folks I've gotten to know in Atlanta over the last twenty-something years are genuine, kind and caring. Not fake. Until you've spent a significant amount of time in a place, I don't think it's possible to make a sweeping judgment statement that people are "fake." having spent probably a grand total of 10 days of my life in Houston, I can certainly say the folks I met there were very nice and likable.

Right what they need to say is" The people I have met were fake" because I am pretty sure no one on this site has met everyone to make such a comment.