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Brief background:
Long time reader, first time poster.
Married, interracial (white/Asian) no kids, in our early 40's.
Lived in the DC area for about 7 years.
Moved here from the Midwest.
Like outdoor activities and live music.
I use city data a lot because I have been looking for another city for my wife and I for a while now. We are ready for a "change of scenery". When I get a job interview in a new city I go nuts researching it here and elsewhere. I've been lucky enough to land an interview at a good place in Atlanta. Never been other than the airport, but will obviously visit if things get serious.
Here's my take (all internet research) so far on Atlanta.
The good: Decent economy, lots of big companies, mild winters, outdoor opportunities, affordable housing, lots of trees, big lake nearby (we have a boat), decent night life.
The bad: race relations, bad traffic/road rage, diversity, land locked and no nearby cities worth visiting, local government.
Our concerns:
Being non-AA and how that impacts daily life and career is for now the question that seems the hardest to get an answer to. I don't think a short visit to the city could answer this, I think I need to hear from multiple pov's of ATL citizens. Obviously it's a touchy subject, but would like a mature, intelligent conversation about this.
Other than that big subject, just curious about taxes and taking road trips around the region. I have a motorcycle and like to explore back roads. We also like camping.
Also is there lots of outdoor green-space, like metro parks in the area? You know, just places to hang out in good weather.
I dont think you will have much of a problem. Race relations is more of a problem between White/Black and not other minorities (at least not significantly worse than most other cities). Visiting other cities- there are tons of places to visit, but they are a little more of a drive- avg 5 hours, but there are tons of things to visit- Fl beaches, Charleston, New Orleans, TN. If you are a motorcycle rider the famous snake? road is not that far in TN. The mountains for outdoorsy stuff is only 2-3 hours. Outdoor green space- Piedmont park in midtown is huge. There are also quite a few other parks such as Stone mountain, etc.
Brief background:
Long time reader, first time poster.
Married, interracial (white/Asian) no kids, in our early 40's.
Lived in the DC area for about 7 years.
Moved here from the Midwest.
Like outdoor activities and live music.
I use city data a lot because I have been looking for another city for my wife and I for a while now. We are ready for a "change of scenery". When I get a job interview in a new city I go nuts researching it here and elsewhere. I've been lucky enough to land an interview at a good place in Atlanta. Never been other than the airport, but will obviously visit if things get serious.
Here's my take (all internet research) so far on Atlanta.
The good: Decent economy, lots of big companies, mild winters, outdoor opportunities, affordable housing, lots of trees, big lake nearby (we have a boat), decent night life.
The bad: race relations, bad traffic/road rage, diversity, land locked and no nearby cities worth visiting, local government.
Our concerns:
Being non-AA and how that impacts daily life and career is for now the question that seems the hardest to get an answer to. I don't think a short visit to the city could answer this, I think I need to hear from multiple pov's of ATL citizens. Obviously it's a touchy subject, but would like a mature, intelligent conversation about this.
Other than that big subject, just curious about taxes and taking road trips around the region. I have a motorcycle and like to explore back roads. We also like camping.
Also is there lots of outdoor green-space, like metro parks in the area? You know, just places to hang out in good weather.
Rule number 1. Beware of any place that is inexpensive. DC and the other "expensive" cities are costly for very good reasons.
Rule number 2. Beware of any majority Republican-run states like Georgia. Education falls by the wayside. Religion is pushed into public policy. Research some of the senators and congressmen of Georgia to see some of their wacky beliefs. Do you want people like that coming up with your laws?
Rule number 3. Look at the housing markets. Why did Atlanta's values plunge to such low levels (the second worst real estate market in America) and recover so slowly? There are a number of reasons that are different than other markets. Racism and the duping of the AA population by adjustable rate mortgages is the biggest culprit. Do you want to invest in such a real estate market and lose your shirt? Fairfax is like Fulton County and all the other Atlanta counties are like Prince George's. All of them.
Listen to the arguments on this board back and forth about high crime, racism, religion, anti-taxation, anti-mass transit. Then glance at other forums and see if the drama levels even approach the discord in the Atlanta forums. Hint: they don't. And that's a testament to Atlanta's dysfunction.
You can contact me for more details. But do not make a mistake and be lured to Atlanta by its being "cheap", especially if you value all the incredible things the DC area offers you. I have friends there and take the train down from New York on weekends. DC's densification, urbanization and incredible growth are light years ahead of anything Atlanta is doing.
Listen to the arguments on this board back and forth about high crime, racism, religion, anti-taxation, anti-mass transit. Then glance at other forums and see if the drama levels even approach the discord in the Atlanta forums. Hint: they don't. And that's a testament to Atlanta's dysfunction.
You have never actually been on the Houston or DC or NYC or Dallas or Miami forums have you? Dude get a life and quit coming in here telling lies.
WHy do people from the Midwest think the south has bad race relations when the Midwest is the least desirable area in the USA with horrible race relations unless you are white
You have never actually been on the Houston or DC or NYC or Dallas or Miami forums have you? Dude get a life and quit coming in here telling lies.
To the original poster: This fly off the handle response is an example of the mindset you'll deal with in Atlanta (which is why I moved from there). It's called a lack of education and critical thinking skills and a testament to Georgia's crummy education system. This unwarranted accusation of lies (which lies?) and my not posting in other forums would be easily disproven by a simple post history.
Of course this is coming from someone whose screenname implies they no longer live in Georgia but in China. Oddly I haven't seen them in the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou forums.
Status:
"Pickleball-Free American"
(set 7 days ago)
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,467 posts, read 44,121,361 times
Reputation: 16866
I've lived in DC (McLean, VA, actually). You will no doubt hear some ballyhoo about Atlanta traffic, and it is a real issue here...but as you know, DC's is no picnic, either. In fact, IME I would deem DC's worse. It's saving grace is the rail system, which is IMO is one of best in the country. Atlanta has a serviceable system itself, but does not have the coverage of the Metro.
Atlanta, like DC, is a major metro and offers many choices. So let me ask you...where do you live in DC and are you looking for a similar situation if you move? I think it would be helpful for me to offer more pertinent information to you if I knew. Also, where would your employment be located? This also has some bearing on where to locate here.
My last stint here started in 1989, and I have enjoyed every year of it...its a fine town full of wonderful people.
I don't think you have much to worry about because I can disuade a lot of the issues on your bad list:
Quote:
The bad: race relations, bad traffic/road rage, diversity, land locked and no nearby cities worth visiting, local government.
Race relations - are fine. You might see some talk about it on this board, but white and black people get along just fine all over Atlanta. If anything, there is an open and healthy discussion about race. I noticed that up north they just shove black people into the poor part of town and forget about it and that's considered diversity. Not so down here, there is a ton of interaction between white and black all the time and for the most part it is fine. You can get into some really intelligent conversations about it if you want to and most people don't get offended because it is a part of the conversation.
bad traffic/road rage - no bones about it, this is terrible. It's a valid negative for Atlanta.
diversity - not to worry. Gwinett county actually has one of the highest diversity indeces in the entire country, even higher than New York city. There is no lack of diversity in many of Atlanta's neighborhods. White and Asian? No problem at all whatsoever.
land locked - yes it is. But there are lakes and river, and you are a 4-5 hour drive away from way better beaches than you can reasonably get to from Washington. A lot of people own condos in Florida and visit frequently.
no nearby cities worth visiting - there are tons. Nashville. Charlotte. Asheville. Savannah. Charleston. Plenty of daytrips.
local government - since you like the outdoors and want to live near a lake, it sounds to me like you're going to want to live up north near Lake Lanier or Lake Alatoona. I would recomend living around Suwanee for someone like you because there is TONS of outdoor recreation, it's 10 minutes from Lake Lanier, and there is a huge and thriving Asian population, mostly Korean. When people talk about how horrible the local government is, they are generally talking about city of Atlanta and Fulton/Dekalk county. Areas like Suwanee actually have great local governments. And Gwinnet county on a whole is pretty decently run despite a lot of high profile corruption lately.
So fear not, Atlanta is probably going to be fine for your list of concerns.
I don't think you have much to worry about because I can disuade a lot of the issues on your bad list:
Race relations - are fine. You might see some talk about it on this board, but white and black people get along just fine all over Atlanta. If anything, there is an open and healthy discussion about race. I noticed that up north they just shove black people into the poor part of town and forget about it and that's considered diversity. Not so down here, there is a ton of interaction between white and black all the time and for the most part it is fine. You can get into some really intelligent conversations about it if you want to and most people don't get offended because it is a part of the conversation.
bad traffic/road rage - no bones about it, this is terrible. It's a valid negative for Atlanta.
diversity - not to worry. Gwinett county actually has one of the highest diversity indeces in the entire country, even higher than New York city. There is no lack of diversity in many of Atlanta's neighborhods. White and Asian? No problem at all whatsoever.
land locked - yes it is. But there are lakes and river, and you are a 4-5 hour drive away from way better beaches than you can reasonably get to from Washington. A lot of people own condos in Florida and visit frequently.
no nearby cities worth visiting - there are tons. Nashville. Charlotte. Asheville. Savannah. Charleston. Plenty of daytrips.
local government - since you like the outdoors and want to live near a lake, it sounds to me like you're going to want to live up north near Lake Lanier or Lake Alatoona. I would recomend living around Suwanee for someone like you because there is TONS of outdoor recreation, it's 10 minutes from Lake Lanier, and there is a huge and thriving Asian population, mostly Korean. When people talk about how horrible the local government is, they are generally talking about city of Atlanta and Fulton/Dekalk county. Areas like Suwanee actually have great local governments. And Gwinnet county on a whole is pretty decently run despite a lot of high profile corruption lately.
So fear not, Atlanta is probably going to be fine for your list of concerns.
Diversity is very lacking in Atlanta if Gwinnett County is the only area in Atlanta that is Diverse with "Asians and Whites" unlike DC/Maryland/Virginia that Heavily populated with Latinos, Africans, West Indians, Asians, etc.
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