What kind of city is Atlanta? (Alpharetta, Dunwoody: cliquey, condo, income)

[perth2198]

in other words, in 5 words or less, how would you describe it?

i've been to 5 of the 7 continents and about 43/50 US states, including hawaii....including sydney, melbourne, cairns, singapore, bangkok, tokyo, manilla, beijing, hong kong, shang hai, seoul, tel aviv, jerusalem, cairo, athens, barcelona, zurich, frankfurt, paris, lourdes, bourdeaux, london, carribean region, nyc, chicago, atlanta, la, seattle, houston, new orleans, san diego, and vancouver.

atlanta to me...is better than some places i've visited (El Paso, Cleveland, Pittsburg), it's got a good airport, OK train ride, enough diversity, clean air...but atlanta to me is not a *great* city that i could always visit and never grow tired of...great cities to me are sydney, tokyo, san diego, london, nyc, etc.

[ATLTJL]

5 words??? Hmmmm.....

Black, traffic, sunny, spread out (we'll call that one word!), money-driven

[bryantm3]

trees, railroad, history, beauty, over-development

[aries4118]

trees, hills, urban-forest, bustling, business

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by perth2198

atlanta to me...is better than some places i've visited (El Paso, Cleveland, Pittsburg), it's got a good airport, OK train ride, enough diversity, clean air...but atlanta to me is not a *great* city that i could always visit and never grow tired of...great cities to me are sydney, tokyo, san diego, london, nyc, etc.

Most of the cities you list are either the largest city in their respective countries or the capitol ... or both.

Atlanta isn't either one.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by perth2198

atlanta to me...is better than some places i've visited (El Paso, Cleveland, Pittsburg), it's got a good airport, OK train ride, enough diversity, clean air...but atlanta to me is not a *great* city that i could always visit and never grow tired of...great cities to me are sydney, tokyo, san diego, london, nyc, etc.

Before living there, I thought the same thing, but it's an easier city to live in than many other large American cities:
(a) 5 million people in the extended urban area and 3.5 million in the core urban area, so hardly hick - worldly view at this point
(b) differentiated economy
(c) great transit system (could be better if 2 more counties would "buy in")
(d) nice enough skyline
(e) good, newer housing stock of all kinds (SFD, condo/TH, apts) & affordable that, in some cases, is a little too "Stepford" and manicured
(f) forested urban setting in knolls with winding roads and boulevards
(g) all kinds of people live there (less "good ole boy" than it used to be, thank God)
(h) humid for about 2.5 months compared to 4 months in HOU or MIA
(i) into "conspicuous consumption" like Dallas because the housing prices make for more disposable income
(j) easy access to Florida and the Middle Atlantic/Northeast, oftentimes with favorable air fares

I think that Atlanta doesn't impress people with the WOW factor because it's not on a navigable port or river, thus making for a lesser dramatic skyline and lesser postcard value. However, I might say it is probably America's most attractive inland city.

[DTL3000]

1. Overrated
2. Cliquey
3. Multi-nodal(I think I got that one right) meaning many small centers instead of one large one(both good and bad)
4. Mismanaged
5. Balkanized

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by DTL3000

1. Overrated
2. Cliquey
3. Multi-nodal(I think I got that one right) meaning many small centers instead of one large one(both good and bad)
4. Mismanaged
5. Balkanized

Don't know about the non-highlighted things, but there tended to be a veneer of too much golf and mint juleps on the veranda (just like Southern aristocracy) on the more corporate north end...Dunwoody and Alpharetta, making it a little phony. With some work, you can find educated and down-to-earth people, but there is some cliquishness, comparatively speaking, for someone who moved there from the West.

Right, multi-nodal can be good and bad. If Cobb and Gwinnett wouldn't still be so "uptight," MARTA rail could easily go up to Vinings/Cumberland and up to Gwinnett Place, making congestion a lot less of a problem.

[atlanta28]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

but there tended to be a veneer of too much golf and mint juleps on the veranda (just like Southern aristocracy) on the more corporate north end...Dunwoody and Alpharetta, making it a little phony.

As a resident of Johns Creek/Alpharetta, I don't feel any of this, and it may only describe a small subset of my fellow residents. This is how I would describe the north end:
multi-national, educated, family friendly, beautiful (trees, river, and many parks/trails) NOT PHONY (wealth doesn't equal snobbery or phoniness, quite honestly I've found the opposite to be true, as to be successful it is important to be genuine and friendly).

[cqholt]

Diverse, urban tree canopy, great weather, large airport, historic core, and MARTA.
Atlanta is very diverse compared to other cities. Has the densest tree-canopy for any large city. Beatiful weather all year. Hartsfield-Jackson has connections to almost any city in America. The historic downtown and old street-car suburbs are full of rich and diverse architecture. MARTA can't compared to other large cities, but serves the Atlanta core well. Every bus route connects to at least 1 rail station.