Atlanta - Closest to DC, Dallas, or LA (Washington, Boston: transplants, condo)

[Brian]

Like other posters said, Dallas and Atlanta are a lot alike.

I have read somewhere that by the year of 2020, Atlanta metro area is projected to become the fifth largest metro area in the US behind metro areas of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami-Dade County, but ahead of Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Boston, Washington, DC., Phoenix and Detroit.

I strongly doubt Miami-Dade would rank that high at all.

[atlantagreg30127]

If you hated Dallas, you will not like Atlanta.

Atlanta does however, have more trees. Lots more. Substitute some of the Hispanic occupants for a larger black community. Replace some of the country music with Rap/Hip Hop. That's about it. Poof - a southern Dallas. Ok, with fewer cows, too.

If you want culture, things to do, not a lot of bible thumping or "yeehaw" politics, you want Portland, Seattle, or maybe Denver (if you can handle the cold/snow and like outdoor activities).

[portyhead24]

Originally Posted by Brian

Like other posters said, Dallas and Atlanta are a lot alike.

I have read somewhere that by the year of 2020, Atlanta metro area is projected to become the fifth largest metro area in the US behind metro areas of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami-Dade County, but ahead of Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Boston, Washington, DC., Phoenix and Detroit.

I strongly doubt Miami-Dade would rank that high at all.

According to this that's not quite right but you know different sites have their own take and ways of making projections. And you're right that according to this Miami-Dade won't surpass Atlanta metro.

//www.city-data.com/forum/gener...os-2020-a.html

[Brian]

Originally Posted by portyhead24

According to this that's not quite right but you know different sites have their own take and ways of making projections. And you're right that according to this Miami-Dade won't surpass Atlanta metro.

//www.city-data.com/forum/gener...os-2020-a.html

Thanks for the link, Portyhead. The one I got was from City Mayors: World's largest urban areas in 2020 (1).

Yeah, I know they are not always accurate with the figures.

[BobKovacs]

IMHO, you'll like Atlanta if you liked Annapolis and Rancho Cucamunga. My wife grew up in LA, so I'm familiar with the area. I disagree with all of the posters who are pushing you toward the inner city though- for $350k you're going to get a home equivalent to what you'd get for $400-500k in RC, though even older and likely in need of work. And while they profess that the schools are good, they usually follow that up with "they have very active parent groups to lake sure that the students do well- I'm a firm believer in being involved in my kids' education, but at the same time, I shouldn't have to be "actively involved" just to make sure the schools stay on the up and up.

If it was me, I'd look at some of the suburbs- places like Marietta, Roswell, of even out into Cherokee County (Woodstock, Holly Springs). You'll get much more house for the money, and newer schools without having to worry about the "this school is good, that school stinks" issue as much. $350 out there will buy you what $1 million would buy in Annapolis or LA.

BTW- you mentioned having a job lined up, but didn't mention where it's located. That's a key factor in figuring out where to look, unless you're OK with dealing with an LA-esque commute.

[ECD9973]

Thanks All....

I was on the fense - And while I weight Bob's post highly, I think that is because it is what I wanted to hear. But You all know your city better then I do, and it sure seems like the risk would be high that I would end up in another Dallas.

I've decided to stay where I am....

[UNT_Eagle]

Originally Posted by ECD9973

And we hated Dallas based on the following
Weather sucked (Cold in Winter, and 100+ for weeks on end in summer... even at night)
Nothing to do (Only so many times you can look at a X in the middle of the road)
No history
Flat
Brown (Tress and grass were dean 9 months of the year)
Very Right politically
Very Religious people
Low college graduated rank
Policies that made no sense (Many towns were "Dry", but only parts of the town)

So - While the job seems great, and Atlanta seems good. I'm very worried about ending up in another "Dallas". Is Atlanta closer to Dallas, DC/Annapolis, or Rancho Cucamogna?

It's all relative about Dallas. Guess it's what you prefer among others. To say that Dallas has no history, nothing to do, and that the weather sucks is painting with a pretty broad brush. Personally, I'm glad that it's more right-leaning in areas, but Dallas is still very progressive, which is a good thing.
If the D/FW metro area exceeds 5 million, then something's going right!

[goozer]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

Personally, I think Atlanta ITP is an entirely different city/culture/lifestyle than the burbs.

Very true indeed. And when many non-Atlantans think of Atlanta, they immediately conjure up images of far flung, sprawling, cookie cutter subdivisions without sidewalks. Many of these same people would be (and are) amazed and impressed by the older ITP neighborhoods. I have had out-of-town friends visit my home in Decatur and comment that they didn't know places like it existed in Atlanta.

[plessthanpointohfive]

And while they profess that the schools are good, they usually follow that up with "they have very active parent groups to lake sure that the students do well- I'm a firm believer in being involved in my kids' education, but at the same time, I shouldn't have to be "actively involved" just to make sure the schools stay on the up and up.

Sorry, but that's the marker of ANY superior school - and I promise you that even if YOU'RE not active in your good school district you can easily find TONS of parents who are. I'm sure there aren't active parents in my son's inner city school, such as my husband. To HIM, he doesn't have to stay active to make sure our son is getting a good education.

[kagmypts]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

IMHO, you'll like Atlanta if you liked Annapolis and Rancho Cucamunga. My wife grew up in LA, so I'm familiar with the area. I disagree with all of the posters who are pushing you toward the inner city though- for $350k you're going to get a home equivalent to what you'd get for $400-500k in RC, though even older and likely in need of work. And while they profess that the schools are good, they usually follow that up with "they have very active parent groups to lake sure that the students do well- I'm a firm believer in being involved in my kids' education, but at the same time, I shouldn't have to be "actively involved" just to make sure the schools stay on the up and up.

If it was me, I'd look at some of the suburbs- places like Marietta, Roswell, of even out into Cherokee County (Woodstock, Holly Springs). You'll get much more house for the money, and newer schools without having to worry about the "this school is good, that school stinks" issue as much. $350 out there will buy you what $1 million would buy in Annapolis or LA.

BTW- you mentioned having a job lined up, but didn't mention where it's located. That's a key factor in figuring out where to look, unless you're OK with dealing with an LA-esque commute.

I agree with most of what you say... $350K in-town is not really going to buy you much house (probably pretty small, especially by Atlanta standards, with quite a bit of work needed). In the suburbs, $350K could buy you a mansion by LA or DC standards. However, based on what the OP said, his lifestyle and desires fit more with an ITP neighborhood. There are many, many people in Atlanta (my family included) who opt to pay the higher housing prices ITP in exchange for a better lifestyle and way of life. Of course, "better lifestyle and way of life" is subjective, and that is why some claim ITP housing is way overpriced while others think that paying the higher price for a place ITP is the best expenditure of money. As with all real estate, it is about trade-offs (size, location, and quality of finishing touches... ultimately all of which lead to price). For us, we are happy to give up a large house and lot for not having to be married to our cars, the ability to grab any type of non-chain food within 5 minutes, and being able to classify a destination more than 10 minutes away as "far".

Ultimately, as much as I hate to say it, I think that the OP made the best decision to stay in RC. With a budget of $350K, he probably would have been hard pressed to find a nice place ITP, and I think in the suburbs he would have thought Atlanta was exactly like Dallas. Granted that Dallas is not bad, it just was not for him. Good luck OP.

By the way, I know that this is a hard decision. My family went through this about a year ago when my husband was offered an awesome job in Manhattan. Ultimately we decided to stay in Atlanta because we just could not see raising our kids in NYC/CT/NJ.