Atlanta Vs. Sacramento (home, buy, public schools)

[Chilly Gentilly]

My wife and I have been city shopping for over a year now. WE'RE TIRED OF IT!

Finally, we've dwindled down our choices to ATL & SacTown! My wife and I are native Louisianans, she being from New Orleans and I from NW Louisiana. We're looking for a city with open-mindedness, affordability, good sports, close proximity to other climates, and business taxes that won't kill our business. We also want good public schools, as we have 2 small children who'll be starting in the next few years. Before we pull the trigger on either city, we want to know your thoughts!

Atlanta for us has been at the top of the list because:

1. Affordability ($1500 gets us a DREAM HOME)
2. Media Industry (My business partner wants to do short films)
3. Family (Close In-Laws & My 2 Brothers)
4. Sports (Braves, Hawks, Falcons)
5. and $1500 get us a DREAM HOME (Affordability)

Sacramento is in close 2nd place because:

1. Centrally Located (Proximity to SF, Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe)
2. Open Minded Cali People (We're Agnostics who are TIRED of the bible-belt)
3. Fresh Produce (Farmer's Markets EVERYWHERE)
4. Great Schools in Folsom()

By all means, DON'T HOLD BACK! Give us your honest opinions...preferably from experience. Ciao.

[atlantagreg30127]

Under normal circumstances I'd move this to the city-vs-city room but since they get feisty over there and Atlanta has been WAY overdone, I'm going to allow this simply because from your own list, you seem to be aiming toward Atlanta. Notice, your # 1 and # 5 are the same - so "affordability" seems to be an upmost priority with you as it would be to most, and Atlanta is definitely more affordable than Sacramento. You also mention proximity to family, and on the West Coast you've just added 3000 miles to a family trip.

The only thing on your Cali list is # 2, the more liberal minded people. You are indeed in the Bible Belt here, and while Atlanta is more liberal than the surrounding region as a whole, It's still vastly more conservative than Sacramento. If being the Bible Belt truly rubs you the wrong way then a moving out West would certainly be a completely different environment. But if you truly want to be confused now, you can throw Austin Texas in the mix of possible candidate cities... Austin is a VERY artsy, creative, foodie, etc type of city. Very mixed population wise, very liberal for the South even by Atlanta standards, and geographically is near other larger cities, etc. You might *almost* get a West Coast vibe and creative atmosphere there, and still be close enough to family to make it doable compared to the West Coast.

But if we go any further into adding a third city into the mix the thread will have to move to the city vs room. For now, the discussion really should focus on why you should pick Atlanta since it's the Atlanta room.

[Chilly Gentilly]

Ah! Seems I am still very new to the rules here. Thankfully I prayed to the City Data gods before posting.

Greg, you are correct! My mind is pretty made up on Atlanta being our choice. The only reason for opening the discussion is because my business partner is in Sacramento now and has utterly fallen in LOVE with the area. The climate and topography is just unbeatable according to him.

I guess I just want some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing by choose ATL.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by SHVtoATL

I guess I just want some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing by choose ATL.

As you will hear, no city is perfect, and what is right for one person is not right for another. I would suggest dipping your feet in the water here first - do not buy right off... rent. Do not plant permanent roots or completely unpack. Within a few months you'll know if this is for you or not, and if not, you can possible do a "do-over" elsewhere. It does happen that way for some.

[FromGA]

If you hate where you currently live in Louisiana, as you have stated in the thread you started, metro Atlanta is definitely a positive option. I always think of Atlanta as a definite option for people who don't like where they live.

However, since you question is ATL vs SAC -- this forum will be dominated by Atlanta folk, or east coasters who can't make a good analysis related to Sacramento itself (people know more about SFO, LAX than SAC). OP might want to re-post in city vs city, or request mod to do that? A better option is probably to ask a similar question in the Sacramento forum (with a note to forum admin to not move to city vs city, as you are asking in the respective city forums) - if that is allowed.

I think that the worst thing that will happen if you chose Atlanta is that after a few years, you might think that you can do better than Atlanta, and decide you want to move again. If your kids are young enough, and your family is adventurous enough, probably no harm in moving again depending upon your line of work.

[caligirlz]

Post your question in the Sacramento forum so we can give you some feedback too

[Chilly Gentilly]

Ok ok ok...I just added this to the City vs City section!

[atlantagreg30127]

Per the terms of service, duplicate postings of the same topic are not allowed. So since you opened another in the city vs room just ride with that one and see what additional responses you get - this one however, must close as a result. See the terms of service for additional rules.