Collapse of the suburbs north of ATL

[Saintmarks]

On my recent Thanksgiving trip to the area, the parts of Cobb I visited... Smyrna, Cumberland, East Cobb, Town Center and Acworth... looked more prosperous than when I moved to Texas 14 years ago.

[hal2814]

Originally Posted by linus1220

Just go anywhere near Lake Lanier or the Gainesville area. There are expansive trailer parks off the same main roads that million dollar lake homes are on.

It's not the trailer parks that are new. It's the million dollar lake homes. The trailer parks have been there since I was a kid, especially in Gainesville.

[Vanmichael]

Originally Posted by ATLfromJAX

Ummm...I'm not buying the original poster's alarmist thesis about the "collapse of the suburbs north of ATL".

The OP is a Georgia Tech student, so he or she should know you can't make conclusions based on perceptions, you need data.

This piece of data refutes any notion of a collapse in the Northern Suburbs - the 6th congressional district that Karen Handel won (which is completely in the north ATL suburbs) is the 6th HIGHEST EDUCATED district in the US (out of 435).

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/u...-is-close.html

And second, the city of Atlanta had very little impact on the northern suburbs "decline". The folks pushed out because of gentrification and the tearing down of ALL the housing projects went mostly south and west (clayton county, lithia springs, austell, etc.)

Just one correction to your post. 6th district is not completely in north atl burbs. I live in 6th district in dekalb county. Part of 6th is ITP near lakeside HS. Not a northern burn.

[jghorton]

My impression is that if one looks at the low-end areas and trailer parks, one will find the problems expressed by the OP. However, if one looks to the nicer, upscale areas, one will find shelter from the problems associated with the low rent district.

My son and his family have lived in the NE and NW suburbs of Atlanta (Woodstock, Canton, etc) for over 20-years and have not found trailer parks anywhere near their communities. OTOH, we've been in Florida for almost 45-years and have seen many areas where zoning irregularities leave people driving through congested apartments and trailer parks ... to get home or to work. (In the past, Florida zoning has been a real problem, but, I think it is more due to the rapid growth rate, rather than interleaved zoning).

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by jghorton

My impression is that if one looks at the low-end areas and trailer parks, one will find the problems expressed by the OP. However, if one looks to the nicer, upscale areas, one will find shelter from the problems associated with the low rent district.

My son and his family have lived in the NE and NW suburbs of Atlanta (Woodstock, Canton, etc) for over 20-years and have not found trailer parks anywhere near their communities. OTOH, we've been in Florida for almost 45-years and have seen many areas where zoning irregularities leave people driving through congested apartments and trailer parks ... to get home or to work. (In the past, Florida zoning has been a real problem, but, I think it is more due to the rapid growth rate, rather than interleaved zoning).

There is a good size trailer park right off of Dupree Rd. in Woodstock. I drive by it all the time. It is just outside the more affluent area of Towne Lake (where my family and I reside).

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by Iconographer

What is "Demographic Makeup" code for, I wonder?

Shorter version: The OP finds poor people, regardless of their color, to be icky.

At least their are an equal opportunity bigot.

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Man, many of you read way too many dystopian novels. There are very many good folks among us who lend hands to help the needy, who do good for our world, who love others and who are kind and giving. Of course, we read and hear about the other side of the coin more often because that is what sells news. The world isn't going to hell in a hand basket. Our global society is rapidly improving - worldwide poverty is way down compared to 20 years ago, infectious diseases are being eradicated (despite the flu that I'm still recovering from...) and so on. Sure we have problems we need to tackle, but it is certainly not a bleak outlook for the world.

Totally off topic I know (Or is it? I feel like it is.) but one of the more interesting things about the younger generations (like Millennials and below) is that they an almost have a universally bleak view of the future.

Where people in the older generations see this ever moving progress towards a better future that has flying cars or talking computers, they see nothing but this dystopian inevitability of a authoritarian life under the boot heel of purging and zombie viruses.

[hautemomma]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

On my recent Thanksgiving trip to the area, the parts of Cobb I visited... Smyrna, Cumberland, East Cobb, Town Center and Acworth... looked more prosperous than when I moved to Texas 14 years ago.

Right; the premise of OP is utterly unfounded and not grounded in reality or the trending developments. New commercial and residential construction continues, housing inventory is low and home prices continue to increase.

[arjay57]

I believe the suburbs will continue to grow and be very strong.

Not just in the ATL but globally.

City growth dips below suburban growth, Census shows

A planet of suburbs | The Economist

Maybe Cities Are the Future of Suburbs

[Tarzanman]

The OP is right. I saw evidence firsthand.

Drove past whole foods the other day near Johns Creek and the lot was filled with japanese cars! Lexuses, Infinities and even the occasional Acura. Clearly the bad element had already moved in and taken root.

I had my driver pull over to talk to one of the day laborers loitering outside the store. With his broken english, he told me that hard times had forced him to divest himself of his assets and return his leased Land Rover. No one had seen a british or german car parked in the lot since Q2 of 2017.

I gave him some stock so that the poor bastard could reinvest the dividends and then had my driver continue taking me on my way.

Truly, the northern suburbs have become a wretched wasteland