What kind of city is Atlanta? (Roswell, Marietta: transplants, Home Depot, school)

[DTL3000]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

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.

I think intown Atlanta is cliquey as well and the multi-nodal nature of the city sort of amplifies it. You rarely get a good mixture of different "types" of people here and it ends up being like a big version of high school. Each little subculture hides out in its little "corner." The people who typically party in EAV turn their nose up at at the proposition of a night out in Buckhead and the people who typically party in Buckhead...And that doesn't even address the overall segregation(which isn't total and not exclusive to Atlanta).

And then there's the whole ITP/OTP thing. This is the only place I've ever lived where people actually feel superior to someone else based on what side of a highway they live on.

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by DTL3000

I think intown Atlanta is cliquey as well and the multi-nodal nature of the city sort of amplifies it. You rarely get a good mixture of different "types" of people here and it ends up being like a big version of high school. Each little subculture hides out in its little "corner." The people who typically party in EAV turn their nose up at at the proposition of a night out in Buckhead and the people who typically party in Buckhead...And that doesn't even address the overall segregation(which isn't total and not exclusive to Atlanta).

And then there's the whole ITP/OTP thing. This is the only place I've ever lived where people actually feel superior to someone else based on what side of a highway they live on.

What does EAV mean? I understand ITP/OTP.

My issue was that I didn't party. Even when I was in college, a few friends would just decide to go to a movie, go to dinner, or go camping/skiing/the beach...this was LA. Rarely was there are nightspot involved. And this is post-age 21.

I sort of functioned the same way in ATL. I still enjoyed the experience. I guess I didn't care for the throngs of people who went in packs to the nightclubs. I really think that finding the mix of interesting and not full of themselves in ATL takes some work. It's doable.

[MisterNY]

In 5 words:

1.Beautiful (the city, the suburbs, mountains)
2.Balanced (topography. It is not flat, not a concrete jungle either, lots of green space, variation in architecture etc)
3.Traffic (seen worse, but Atlanta can stand to improve on many fronts, especially its transit/rail system. Get over the fear of expanding light rail)
4.Affordable (With a decent salary and good money management, one can live well here)
5. Potential. (Atlanta has plenty of it. If the leaders and locals can put their minds together, and put their differences aside, this place can be better on many fronts).

Originally Posted by Atlguy39

Couldn't have said it better. I want out, mostly because of the traffic and money driven attitude. Just awful. Lots of pollution and rude people. So I'll add two more words: Pollution, rude.

Please ...Have you been to South Florida? Atlanta is a wonderland compared to that place.

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

What does EAV mean? I understand ITP/OTP.

I'm thinking East Atlanta Village. I guess being in and out of Atlanta constantly (on business), I don't have much time to deal with cliques and such. I've never been into that nonsense to begin with. I have a wife and kids, so no time to waste on sophomoric mindsets.

Originally Posted by DTL3000

I think intown Atlanta is cliquey as well and the multi-nodal nature of the city sort of amplifies it. You rarely get a good mixture of different "types" of people here and it ends up being like a big version of high school. Each little subculture hides out in its little "corner." The people who typically party in EAV turn their nose up at at the proposition of a night out in Buckhead and the people who typically party in Buckhead...And that doesn't even address the overall segregation(which isn't total and not exclusive to Atlanta).

And then there's the whole ITP/OTP thing. This is the only place I've ever lived where people actually feel superior to someone else based on what side of a highway they live on.

To a certain extent, isn't this a description of just about any major city in America? I see it in Los Angeles, San Fran, NYC, Chicago, and in Miami (in excessive amounts). So nothing new. People have to adjust with growing pains (in any large city). Compared to NYC and Miami, I think Atlanta does very well.

[muxBuppie]

Originally Posted by Atlguy39

Hilarious! I grew up in South Florida. Couldn't wait to get out. So I've lived in 2 unfriendly places. Maybe thats the problem. I liked Atlanta fron 1996 until about 2004-2005. What is a friendly city with lots of jobs? I need to go there.

Houston. Dallas.

[hotboi]

Good Nightlife

New clean city

Great Networking

Business/Corporate Hub

Very diverse

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by perth2198

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

Hood, Hyped, Hills, Women, Airplanes

[staywarm2]

1) Beautiful tree canopy
2) Wonderful airport
3) Reasonable home prices and decent weather
4) Lack of a city area where one can go for dinner and walk around afterward (and safely) window shop, people watch and simply enjoy the ambience a la South Beach or Las Olas Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale or Riverwalk in San Antonio.
5) Cliquish and often unfriendly

[ATLTJL]

I was told by several casual friends that I needed to wear khakis and a nice shirt (what a frat boy from a southern univ. might wear) instead of jeans, topsiders (at the time) and a college sweatshirt IN MY FREE TIME.

I think your friends were on crack.

I lived in Buckhead for 7 years. I mean, I lived in real Buckhead, not that fake area people refer to Buckhead that is really just kind of out there. I could walk to Lenox, Phipps, Bluepointe, etc.

I attended college in Florida and adopted that wardrobe, so my summer clothes consisted of t-shirts, shorts, and flip flops. Not once did I ever even get a second glance. I dress very casually, but my clothes are always very neat and clean (not ripped up, not faded, etc.) so maybe that had something to do with it.

I just walked around with the attitude of I live here and I belong here, and nobody questioned it. A lot of other folks were doing the same thing. I'm not sure why someone would have told you to wear khakis and a nice shirt unless you were going to a nice restaurant or out on the town, in which case you shouldn't have to be told that no matter where you live.

Buckhead has plenty of places for casual folks. Bucketshop comes to mind (after the post-work happy hour crowd has cleared out).

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by FlyiMetro

Hood, Hyped, Hills, Women, Airplanes

Funny...a good take on this!

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I'm not sure why someone would have told you to wear khakis and a nice shirt unless you were going to a nice restaurant or out on the town, in which case you shouldn't have to be told that no matter where you live.

I was living on the border of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs. I liked how treed it was up there. They were a couple of uptight Catholic American Princess type sorority girls about 5 years out of college. I went to work in a (pin-striped) suit, so I couldn't wait to get out of it. In the summer, it was the same as you: shorts/tee shirts/flip flops. I didn't really go to many nice restaurants - would usually go to the kind where nice new jeans, a polo shirt, and topsiders with socks would be the "norm." If I went somewhere really nice at night (an event), I typically wore a suit. You just have to know the people that made that request. That's what leads me to believe there's a segment of ATL society that still acts like they are on a photo shoot for Southern Living. As much as I liked ATL, coming from SoCal, I think I would have been more at home in South Florida (Broward and Palm Beach counties, not Dade...LOL) but the job offer I received at the time was for the ATL office and not the MIA office, which was my first choice.