Thinking of Relocating to Atlanta area, Single Jewish Guy 41 Software Dev (Sandy Springs: apartments, condominiums)
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I am looking to leave Nashville as soon as I can and seriously considering the Atlanta area. I've only lived in Nashville a few months, but really do not like it here. modcut Nashvilles's cost of living looks like it has even surpassed Atlanta, yet I am seeing the jobs are more plentiful and higher paying in Atlanta. As well, Atlanta is starting to be recognized as an emerging tech sector as many software people are fleeing the overpriced tech cities such as Seattle, Bay Area, NYC and Boston for places where they can afford more than a tiny apartment with their salary. modcut
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Everyone tells me that being a single guy in your 40s that Atlanta is the best place in the Southeast to be. I am wondering what people can honestly tell me about this? modcut
I am 41 year old single Jewish guy and it would also be nice to find a place where I can find a variety of Jewish communities. modcut modcut As well, it would be just nice to find a city with a variety of people, where your social life doesn't just revolve around going to bars or going to churchmodcut
I would like to find a place with some culture, arts, activities that revolve around other things than just drinking and listening to music , etc. modcut
Also, I don't know being a single Caucasian Jewish male in his early 40s what the dating scene would be like. I don't need to date another Jewish person (as many will think), but it would be nice to be in a place where people aren't just all rushing into marriage at a young age. modcut
I am also fairly conservative Libertarian type (live and let live) and do like my personal freedoms like owning guns and such. I have heard Georgia is going more liberal and don't know how that would affect me in the long run, but for now it sounds like a state that could accommodate me there. modcut I've heard Atlanta is fairly liberal and don't know if I will be looked down on for being more on the conservative side; especially, if I lived in an area like Midtown.
I will be looking at taking out a large loan and relocating to Atlanta without a job. My credit is pretty stellar and I will be employed by the family business or another 6 months , so I will still be acquiring some income. My goal is the next year to try to launch my own software business, but I will also be rigorously studying for interviews since I have not been on the job market in over 15 years. If my business ventures fail, I may try (and very likely will have to) try to find some type of software work in Atlanta. I'd be interested to hear from others their opinions about Atlanta's emerging tech market. It has managed to hit quite a few articles on the technology and career sites I frequent.
I've also heard about Atlanta's dreadful traffic. modcut I guess planning on neighborhoods would be essential. My goal is to live as cheaply as possible. I am going to be selling off even more of the last possessions I have and coming to Atlanta with the bare minimum amount of items. I've even considered finding a roommate, but because I own firearms, it probably won't be an option, as I would assume most people in the city looking for roommates would shun firearms. Even though I would be tempted to find a place out in the suburbs like Marietta (drove there and was impressed by scenery), I understand if the traffic is as terrible as they say and I end up getting a job in downtown I would be suffering. I'm not sure how much honestly a good apartment would be in Midtown area that everyone seems to talk about as the best place for the single older professional? If anyone has ideas I would like to here and how much I should be budgeting. I am planning on storing whatever bigger possessions I have here in Nashville and could even squeeze into a 1 bedroom apartment if necessary.
BTW, Driving through Atlanta area I was very impressed by how green and lush the area was. It really reminded me a lot of Portland and Seattle as far as the city being in a dense forest. Growing up in Oregon I really miss the greenery and lushness, so the scenery of Atlanta is a major plus for me. Also, being situated close to the Appalachian mountains is another great benefit. I spent my whole life hiking through the mountains of the Northwest. modcut Georgia and Eastern TN have immaculate scenery.
I thank people for their advice and help..
Last edited by Beretta; 12-08-2019 at 09:37 AM..
Reason: Atlanta centric, please
I do not necessarily know if Atlanta would be a perfect fit for you.
But considering your unique set of needs, I do think that Atlanta is a city/metro that you probably should definitely take a very, very close look at to see if you would enjoy living here.
I do know that Atlanta does have a very large Jewish community for a Southeastern city/metro outside of Florida, with metro Atlanta being reported to have the 9th-largest Jewish community in the entire U.S.
Even with the explosive growth of the Nashville metro area and region over much of the last decade, Atlanta is still a much larger and more diverse metro area than Nashville, with a much larger, faster-growing and much more deeply-rooted Jewish community than Nashville.
Like with much of the larger population of the Atlanta metropolitan area as a whole, much of metro Atlanta's fast-growing Jewish population seems to migrating into the area from New York and the urban corridor of the Northeastern U.S.
I'm not employed in the tech industry in Atlanta, so I do not know the intimate ins-and-outs of the apparently and seemingly very robust tech market here.
But what I do know is that the presence of an institution of higher learning like Georgia Tech (Georgia Institute of Technology), the world's busiest airport (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) and Atlanta's very central location in relation to the rest of the Southeastern U.S. has made the Atlanta area a very attractive place for the tech industry.
Relative to other robust interior Southeastern metros like Nashville, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham; Atlanta is a much more urban city/metro with a much larger urban core... Though a Southeastern city/metro like Atlanta is still admittedly extremely very suburban in nature when compared to large metros in the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S. (like New York, Boston, Philly, Chicago and Detroit), particularly as one moves outside of the I-285 Perimeter loop highway.
As a single Caucasian Jewish male in your early 40's, you likely will find more opportunities for arts, culture, networking and socializing in Atlanta than in Nashville.
Utilizing the Atlanta page of a social networking website like Meetup.com likely might be a good place for someone like you to start to find the type of social opportunities you are looking for as a single 41-year-old professional... Meetups near Atlanta, Georgia (Meetup)
Becoming active with the local chapter of your college alma mater and/or your favorite college athletic team might also be a really good place to find social opportunities and make new friends in a city/metro (Atlanta) and a part of the country (in Georgia and the Southeastern U.S.) where much of the culture revolves around college athletics (particularly college football, but also college basketball).
You might also see if you might be able to become active with the local chapter of your favorite professional sports team in a heavily transplanted city/metro (Atlanta) where various other parts of the country (particularly the Northeast, Great Lakes/Midwest, Texas, West Coast, other parts of the South/Southeast) are well-represented in the local population.
(Along with a social networking site like Meetup.com) I recommend local chapters of college alumni organizations and pro sports fan clubs as a place to look for social networking opportunities and as a place to make new friends because those groups do not just get together to watch sports games, but also often function as families that are often active in participating in other group social outings like going to pro sports games (Braves, Falcons, Hawks), volunteering in the community, going out to dinner, parties (like holiday gatherings, wine tastings, summer cookouts, etc.), cultural outings (museums, theaters, etc.), outdoor recreation, etc.
Being within a relatively very short driving distance of the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachians mountains region of North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee (where the mountain ranges and peaks are the highest in the U.S. east of the Rockies) along with the increased urbanity and diversity of the Atlanta area seems like it would make Atlanta a really good (if not excellent) fit for you, with your desire to be near the type of green, lush rainforest type of area that rivals the coastal Pacific Northwest.
I'm thinking that Sandy Springs (inside the perimeter) might be close to what you are looking for. You can get north on 400 fairly easily or south into Midtown without too much trouble. Lots of trees and sidewalks and the community in general doesn't seem too young. Several temples and Jewish day schools in the area mean that there is a comfortable Jewish presence.
Sounds like Brookhaven might be a good fit for you.
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Originally Posted by pinetreelover
I'm thinking that Sandy Springs (inside the perimeter) might be close to what you are looking for. You can get north on 400 fairly easily or south into Midtown without too much trouble. Lots of trees and sidewalks and the community in general doesn't seem too young. Several temples and Jewish day schools in the area mean that there is a comfortable Jewish presence.
Yes, good advice.
For the OP: Central+Southern Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, and Chamblee.
Don't move here without a job. Even in the best of times, one's skill set almost never takes precedence over having an 'in' for a particular position. If the market really is as great as you think it is, I would write a resume with a local address on it, and apply using that.
Check to see what kind of response you get and whether you get invited to any on site interviews. Nashville is close enough to where you can take a day or two off to drive down for an interview.
If people are chomping at the bit to hire you, then you might be ok to move without something already arranged.
Don't move here without a job. Even in the best of times, one's skill set almost never takes precedence over having an 'in' for a particular position. If the market really is as great as you think it is, I would write a resume with a local address on it, and apply using that.
Check to see what kind of response you get and whether you get invited to any on site interviews. Nashville is close enough to where you can take a day or two off to drive down for an interview.
If people are chomping at the bit to hire you, then you might be ok to move without something already arranged.
Agreed - 250 miles from Nashville to Atlanta, which is totally doable as a "there and back" over 2 days.
Miami and Fort Lauderdale would be perfect for a single Jewish man in 40s. Beautiful scene down there.
The OP is in the software sector, which is much stronger in Atlanta than South Florida. Atlanta would also be a better fit given he prefers a more hilly and forested setting. The vast majority of jobs tend to be north of downtown, and unfortunately heavy traffic is very difficult to avoid for those working standard business hours.
From my understanding the highest concentration of Jewish residents is around the Emory University area, but I know there are a number of synagogues in Cobb County. Single persons tend to reside more inside the perimeter (I-285), or areas outside the perimeter close to the major highways where more apartments and townhomes/condominiums are located.
I think the software industry is in reasonable shape in Atlanta but moving without a job is always a big red flag. I know you said you have support for a few months but a different twist to this is to see if you can get a consulting assignment and can transition from flying into TN -> flying into ATL as far as your home base. If you can get that going then you will be in ATL and can feel out the areas where you want to live and also becomes easy to secure a local job in ATL. You are single and I think you can afford that luxury right now.
Traffic is a mess, there is no way around it and its not going to be better, and since you are single stay inside the perimeter and enjoy the singles scene.
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