Why suburbia sucks (Atlanta, East Point, Peachtree City: gated, income, place to live)

[Domitian]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Few people between the ages of 20 and 35 would be interested in this place. It looks like somewhere you go in your twilight years when you're terrified of everything and want to spend your days playing golf and going to bed at 8pm. They list chic-fil-a, waffle house, and ihop on their list of top 30 restaurants....lol.

Younger, more adventurous people just aren't interested in that lifestyle. We want to meet our friends at the new wine bar or tapas place on the weekends. We might spend our afternoons checking out the new coffee house or visiting a festival or art exhibit. We like having new places to try or visit every day. The suburbs are just too stagnant and too sterile, and riding a golf cart around at 10 mph is not fun to anyone over the age of 13 and below the age of 40.

For comparison I just checked the age distribution of peachtree city and as expected over 50% of the population is over 45. Only 26% is betweem 18 and 44 years old. For reference I checked Inman Park, which I know is safe and fairly affluent but also trendy - only 30% over 45. A whopping 55% is 18 to 44.

The suburb vs city thing really has a lot to do with age and lifestyle more than anything else. When people are older and more interested in being a soccer mom, etc then the suburbs are fine. When people are younger and more into trying the latest restaraunts, meeting friends on a whim at the new coffee shop for a few lattes, or strolling through one of the many walkable downtowns to check out quirky shops, the city makes more sense.

OMG this guy is hilarious! Nothing makes me chuckle more than the irony of the a-stereotypical, "inclusive" and "open to all" generation being exclusive, presumptive, and closed-minded.

[Dkeating]

I thought the article linked to in the OP was critical of the built environment of suburbs, not of suburbanites. You don't have to think that people OTP are closed-minded, etc., to criticize what's wrong with the design of suburban roads, residential areas, and commercial areas.

I live ITP a mile or so from some fancy restaurants, but I cringe at the idea of eating tapas or going to a wine bar. I can't afford to even if I wanted to (cause the rent/mortgage is too damn high). To me, the best reasons for living intown are

1) You work around here and traffic isn't that bad to get to work

2) You like the architecture better

3) You realize your house will hold value better/maybe appreciate due to the great inversion/aka repopulation of the city with rich people (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Inversio...reat+inversion)

I think moving intown for diversity is misguided. There's a higher percentage of African Americans in Kennesaw than there is in Decatur now, and Kirkwood probably isn't far behind.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by Forhall

I don't mean to be rude, but you are clearly in your 60s or older. No one under 40 years old would be excited by a video of a city where you can meander around the chain restaraunts and identical homes at 12 miles an hour. Everyone in the video looked retired. I'll take world class restaurants, ponce city market, the beltline, etc over that retirement community any day.

Mean it or not, you were rude. Ever seen the movie Soylent Green? Logan's Run? You'd love them. They should put you on an Obamacare Death Panel.
PS one day you'll be there, too. You'll probably enjoy the insults of some clueless hipster even less than we do right now.

[BR Valentine]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Few people between the ages of 20 and 35 would be interested in this place. It looks like somewhere you go in your twilight years when you're terrified of everything and want to spend your days playing golf and going to bed at 8pm. They list chic-fil-a, waffle house, and ihop on their list of top 30 restaurants....lol.

Younger, more adventurous people just aren't interested in that lifestyle. We want to meet our friends at the new wine bar or tapas place on the weekends. We might spend our afternoons checking out the new coffee house or visiting a festival or art exhibit. We like having new places to try or visit every day. The suburbs are just too stagnant and too sterile, and riding a golf cart around at 10 mph is not fun to anyone over the age of 13 and below the age of 40.

For comparison I just checked the age distribution of peachtree city and as expected over 50% of the population is over 45. Only 26% is betweem 18 and 44 years old. For reference I checked Inman Park, which I know is safe and fairly affluent but also trendy - only 30% over 45. A whopping 55% is 18 to 44.

The suburb vs city thing really has a lot to do with age and lifestyle more than anything else. When people are older and more interested in being a soccer mom, etc then the suburbs are fine. When people are younger and more into trying the latest restaraunts, meeting friends on a whim at the new coffee shop for a few lattes, or strolling through one of the many walkable downtowns to check out quirky shops, the city makes more sense.

The overwhelming majority of millennials live OTP. The math isn't hard given the metro's population distribution. Even if we limit the definition of millennials to preening, self-absorbed whites aged 25 -34, I'm still not sure that the city would have a majority. But the city certainly punches above its weight in that category.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by wasel

I have a 30-something year old friend who has been making the painful work commute daily from Peachtree City to Dunwoody "for that lifestyle" and has continued this for the past 6 years. He does all sorts of fun things on the weekends. You really need to get out more.

Well he obviously needs to be committed.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Mean it or not, you were rude. Ever seen the movie Soylent Green? Logan's Run? You'd love them. They should put you on an Obamacare Death Panel.
PS one day you'll be there, too. You'll probably enjoy the insults of some clueless hipster even less than we do right now.

SOMEBODY needs to be taken out back behind the woodshed ... after he's forced to pick out his own briar switch of course!

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

So, you have to be in your sixties to enjoy a place like Peachtree City? Seriously?

It losing Millennials faster than any other county in the US.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by cqholt

It losing Millennials faster than any other county in the US.

Good riddance.

[Big L]

Originally Posted by bu2

PTC has a lot of Delta employees. Apparently very popular with pilots.

It's been that way for a long time. My late uncle retired from Delta and he lived in Fayetteville. Most of his co-workers were either in Fayetteville, PTC, or a few spots in Clayton County (mainly College Park, Riverdale, and Jonesboro).

[sedimenjerry]

Originally Posted by Big L

It's been that way for a long time. My late uncle retired from Delta and he lived in Fayetteville. Most of his co-workers were either in Fayetteville, PTC, or a few spots in Clayton County (mainly College Park, Riverdale, and Jonesboro).

Engineers and other support staff too. My uncle falls under that category (well, not anymore) and has lived in Fayetteville for over a decade now.