Do you regret relocating to Atlanta? (Dallas, Nashville: best city, condos, crime)

[Humanista]

Originally Posted by Mia_Mia23456

Which city in the Northeast did you relocate from? I do agree that although things tend to be more expensive in the Northeast, you get a higher quality of life in return.

As an aside: I've never seen so many fast food restaurants in one place until I visited the inner suburbs of Atlanta.

I last lived in the Hartford area when I was in CT. I was looking to change industries (I was in insurance) and was choosing among NYC, Boston (my old college town) and Atlanta.

[Klassyhk]

Originally Posted by Mia_Mia23456

I'm very thin and I love to run. Honestly, I hadn't encountered so many obese individuals until I visited the South. Don't get me wrong, the Northeast has plenty of obese individuals as well, but it balances out because we also have a fair share of health conscious people too, who are in tip top shape.

The South, particularly Atlanta seems to have an over abundance of big people. I believe all of the fast food restaurants, lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyles explain why obesity is so prevalent in the area.

Mia Mia,

How long have you been away from NYC because that is not the case any more. Fat-Obese culture has arrived here in NYC too, especially among Blacks and Spanish-speaking populations. I was looking around lately and noticed the obesity here is unbelievable!! We rival any city in the South. I would say only in lower Manhattan up to UES & UWS (upper East side and upper West side to those unfamiliar with NYC abbreviations) are there still numerous people who you'll see fit and health conscious among any race. At any rate, I have a good friend who moved back to Atlanta from NYC about 5 years ago and she is doing very well and has a much higher quality of life with less stress than she had in NYC. She has suggested to me that I should do the same. I'm peeking in this thread to read others' experiences in consideration of whether relocation to ATL is something I should seriously consider.

[Mia_Mia23456]

Originally Posted by Klassyhk

Mia Mia,

How long have you been away from NYC because that is not the case any more. Fat-Obese culture has arrived here in NYC too, especially among Blacks and Spanish-speaking populations. I was looking around lately and noticed the obesity here is unbelievable!! We rival any city in the South. I would say only in lower Manhattan up to UES & UWS (upper East side and upper West side to those unfamiliar with NYC abbreviations) are there still numerous people who you'll see fit and health conscious among any race. At any rate, I have a good friend who moved back to Atlanta from NYC about 5 years ago and she is doing very well and has a much higher quality of life with less stress than she had in NYC. She has suggested to me that I should do the same. I'm peeking in this thread to read others' experiences in consideration of whether relocation to ATL is something I should seriously consider.

I think it really depends on the neighborhood that you're referring to. Most of my family is still in NYC, so I visit the area frequently. In poor communities, you often find high levels of obesity, but in middle and upper income areas, it's not very prevalent in NYC. BTW, I lived in Manhattan for a number of years and attended graduate school there.

Atlanta has far higher levels of obesity, even amongst middle/upper income individuals than NYC.

[GatorDude]

Originally Posted by Mia_Mia23456

Hi All,

I am curious if anyone regrets relocating to Atlanta. If so, why do you regret relocating to the area?

I often regret moving to Atlanta. It's an alluring, but tough place to live. Atlanta has a low cost of living and a mild climate. There is a lot to do. Shopping is amazing. However, most parks and cultural activities cost money. There are few "free" museums, concerts, or cultural activities. If you are used to having a coast line or a river, Atlanta can feel very landlocked. If you are gay, the city has been called the San Francisco of the South and is gay friendly.

I've gof a good job, but my spouse has had no luck at all. She hates it here. If you and your spouse have skills that are in demand, there is a vibrant high tech job market. Otherwise, the job market can also be very tough for trailing spouses. It's not easy to saunter down to a temp agency and find work. The job market is very competitive.

If you are middle class or aspire to be middle class, you should know that there is no escape from crime around Atlanta. There are heinous, violent, crimes that occur here each and every day and extend far out into the surrounding surburbs. Although we live in a "good area," I have already seen a murder victim lying in the gutter since moving back here. You have to live with your head on a swivel and a high degree of situational awareness no matter where you are. There are people here who will kill you dead for your shoes, iphones, or your laptop.

Racial issues are always present in Atlanta. While the city has called itself "Too Busy to Hate," that is wishful thinking. On the fringes that I call the "banjo zone" you will find small amounts of Klan activity. In the city, you'll find the New Jack City crowd eager to blow your brains out for your new cell phone. How people who have been blessed with a nice house and shiny Lexus can feel oppressed by "the man," I'll never understand. Meanwhile, corporate leaders here would love to replace Americans of all races, religions, and creeds with an H1B worker from India.

Despite all of this, if you are a Fortune 500 worker, it isn't easy to replace a city with the economic power and job opportunities of Atlanta. Good luck!

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by Mia_Mia23456

Atlanta has far higher levels of obesity, even amongst middle/upper income individuals than NYC.

Obesity rate, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA: 23.2%
Obesity rate, New York-North New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA: 21.5%

More Than 15% Obese in Nearly All U.S. Metro Areas

[atlantagreg30127]

NOTICE!! NOTICE!! NOTICE!! NOTICE!! NOTICE!!


Folks - people don't come here to be insulted when they ask a question. Read the 1st post. It's not flaming. Answer it, or, post a constructive argument as to why you disagree with it. But if folks continue to slander and call names then infractions and a closed thread will follow.

[Steelers10]

I agree that it is not fair to compare Atlanta to NYC, LA, and Chicago. They are simply much larger metropolitan areas and it would be difficult for Atlanta to live up to those standards. However, I do think it is quite apt to compare Atlanta to (fairly) similar sized metropolitan areas such as Washington D.C., Miami, Houston, Detroit, and San Francisco.

I have never hung out in Detroit and have no desire to based on what I have heard from friends and relatives who have (perhaps I should not be so narrow-minded but I have never heard anything good about Detroit) so I am not going to discuss it. Age of a city has little to nothing to do with its trajectory or development. Savannah and Charleston are older than Atlanta but that doesn't mean they had some competitive advantage given them as a result. I find it interesting that DC, Miami, San Fran, and Atlanta's metropolitan areas are all of similar size and perhaps not coincidentally established their fixed-rail mass transit systems roughly at the same time. For those who have been on all of these systems you probably find them remarkably similar.

I don't find Houston's nightlife and "urbane" development any more compelling than Atlanta's. I think that is likely the result of a lack of mass transit rail that fosters high density development. Probably the same deal with Detroit. However, Miami is a "younger" metro area than Atlanta. While Downtown Miami itself is ratchet much to the same level as Atlanta's downtown, Atlanta of course has nothing comparable to South Beach by far. Washington D.C. (the most similar metro area to Atlanta in the U.S. almost to the point of being eerie or perhaps ironic - Born2roll was spot on) is far more vibrant than Atlanta and certainly San Francisco has its spots.

IMO Atlanta's virtues actually lie in the suburbs that people on this forum are bashing. The middle class "Black Mecca" found in Atlanta OTP on the Southside would be preferable to the African American population largely being limited to hollowed inner cities as they are in the Rustbelt. Something tells me Motown would quite welcome a status as a "Black Mecca" over a "Black $#!thole". Outside of Washington D.C. I don't think I have seen suburbs with the level of development that Atlanta has.

However, it is the racial undertone that permeates the forums in Atlanta that prevents the metro area from being considered an "A" class city. Metro Miami is the same size as Metro Atlanta, has the same moribund downtown, an even less efficient mass transit system, and also has a Southern, stereotypical "redneck" area. But unlike Atlanta, you never hear about this population and I wonder how many people could even tell you where this population even lives in Miami.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by Steelers10

IMO Atlanta's virtues actually lie in the suburbs that people on this forum are bashing. The middle class "Black Mecca" found in Atlanta OTP on the Southside would be preferable to the African American population largely being limited to hollowed inner cities as they are in the Rustbelt. Something tells me Motown would quite welcome a status as a "Black Mecca" over a "Black $#!thole". Outside of Washington D.C. I don't think I have seen suburbs with the level of development that Atlanta has.

New York (Long Island/CT/North Jersey/Westchester), Los Angeles (Anaheim/Long Beach), and San Francisco (Oakland/San Jose) beg to differ.

[OliverATL]

I am from Atlanta and love it for many, many reasons. It has changed so much over the past 30 years, especially since we hosted the Olympics in 1996. Personally, the traffic and crime has become less than ideal for me. My partner and I are moving to Serenbe for a better quality of life for the same amount of money. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

[cqholt]

I love living in Atlanta. It offers living arrangements for everyone. From historic, streetcar suburbs to car-dominated, cul-de-sac suburban communities, townhomes, condos, brownstones, garden apartments, etc.
The tree canopy in this city is amazing. The landscape is unique in that Atlanta has a relatively high altitude, compared to other southern cities.