should I? (Atlanta, Decatur: transplants, crime, how much)

[meljee]

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I have a friend who lives in Atlanta and offered to help me move out there. I have wanted to leave new york for years. I'm just a little nervous about later regreting the move. I have a son who's nine years old and want him to grow up in a better place. Question is "Will Altanta be the better place or should I just stay in New York where everything is familiar and I'm doing ok?"

[SoBuKev]

Well, it will depend on what part of Atlanta you move to. You have to ask yourself what is it that you want in your neighborhood, and then seek that out in Atlanta because no matter what your preferences are, you can pretty much bet that you'll be able to find what you're looking for here in the metro area.

I would just hate to find out later that you tried it out but ended up living in the wrong area and then left without finding your true calling.

Just let us know what all the things you do want, plus all the things you don't want and folks in here will guide you in the right direction. Keep in mind that the most common delineation for Atlanta is Intown (inside I-285 - more urban) vs Suburbs (outside I-285 - less dense but more family-friendly). But there are tons of other factors that you will want to consider.

[gt6974a]

My bride to be's family (in 4 weeks) is from Nassau and Suffox originally (3 generations, spelling?). All they talk about every time they come down is how much they could afford compared to what they are in now.

If you move down here with the NY mentality it won't be good, if you move down here open minded and open to Southern culture (not love but accept it) I believe it would be your best move!

[meljee]

Originally Posted by meljee

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. I have a friend who lives in Atlanta and offered to help me move out there. I have wanted to leave new york for years. I'm just a little nervous about later regreting the move. I have a son who's nine years old and want him to grow up in a better place. Question is "Will Altanta be the better place or should I just stay in New York where everything is familiar and I'm doing ok?"

Thanks. I'm looking for a family friendly area with good schools and safe enviornment. I've been reading some pretty terrible reviews on atlanta concerning everything from traffic to crime and how finding a job is difficult. Even though my friend has a job prospect for me. You can never be to sure of anything. I would like to move somewhere nice but not too expensive because I'm a single mom. and it would have to be a short commute to work w/o the crazy traffic. I want it to be different from New York but not a complete culture shock either.

[Iconographer]

Lord knows that there are plenty of former NYers that made the move here before you thought of it. Some of them will likely weigh in on this thread sooner or later.
I've talked to plenty of NY transplants over the years and have heard very little regret expressed over the move. The concensus seems to be that while there are things they miss that are authentic to NY, the positives here outweigh the negatives.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by meljee

it would have to be a short commute to work w/o the crazy traffic. I want it to be different from New York but not a complete culture shock either.

As Decatur said, many New Yorkers move here and are happy with the move, but, many of them were aware of the difference from previous visits and WANTED a change in culture. Yes, it's a vastly different city than NYC, and yes, if you're not at all prepared for it or know next to nothing about the city, then it'll be a huge culture shock.

First, our subway system (MARTA) is not nearly as extensive as NYC's. It would be very difficult to find a place to live near a rail station AND also have a job close to one too - though some are lucky enough to have those fall together. Atlanta is very spread out - the L.A. of the East - so owning and using a car is almost a complete necessity unless you want to have a pretty restrictive existance here.

Second, you're in the Bible belt. You'll note quickly that religion leaks over into things here like school, political decisions, etc. It's much more pronounced as you leave the city and go further into the burbs, but generally speaking the climate here is a lot more conservative and "morally correct" than it is in NYC (that's good or bad, depending on you, what you want, what you can tolerate, etc).

Third, the cost of living/housing is cheaper here, but pay scales are also lower. Depending on your occupation, it probably averages out about the same as it would in NYC unless you have a nicer white collar type job in which case you might come out ahead here a good bit.

Since you say you know people here, maybe you can swing a visit. Come down for a week and have them show you around and see as much as you can - the good, bad, ugly, etc. Only by visiting first can you get any kind of feel for it and decide if it's right for you or not.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Second, you're in the Bible belt. You'll note quickly that religion leaks over into things here like school, political decisions, etc. It's much more pronounced as you leave the city and go further into the burbs, but generally speaking the climate here is a lot more conservative and "morally correct" than it is in NYC (that's good or bad, depending on you, what you want, what you can tolerate, etc).

That's an excellent point from atlantagreg. Anyone moving from a more secular culture is apt to be surprised ... perhaps positively, perhaps negatively ... by the influence of religion in the culture down here. At my kid's suburban middle school, her little group of friends turns out to include the Roman Catholic, the Unitarian, the Presbyterian, the Episcopalian, the LDS ... while everyone else goes to those big Baptist or Baptist-like churches. I don't think it's a coincidence that the handful of kids who aren't Baptist or Evangelical has washed up together. This is not to suggest the other kids are prejudiced against religious outsiders. I expect it's just that they see each other at church activities, their parents know each other, etc. Religion just permeates everything in a way it doesn't, up north.

As a Christian but not of the Baptist/Evangelical flavor myself, I find positives and negatives in all this. Regardless, it's certainly different.

[meljee]

Thank you all for the feed back. I have to wait for my friend to get back to atlanta. He came down here to visit family. Hopefully, when he gets back he'll call me with a definite job proposal if everything works out ok. God willing that it does, it will happen very fast. As early as june which is just around the corner. So I will try to make a short visit before I do decide to go, but I think that it will have to be one of those chances you take in life. So I really need to know which town or area would be the nicest and reasonably affordable to move to. Including all the things I mentioned before. The position I believe he said would be close to or in Fulton County. As to what the last member said about religion. I do not belong to any religion. However, it is something that I've been trying to find my way into. I believe that people do need some type of spirituality. Especially, in New York city.