Updates – Are you happy w/ your decision to move to ATL? (Atlanta: transplants, apartment)

[AtlantaCruiser]

I would love to hear from those of you who have moved to Atlanta within the last year or two how you have come to like the city? (especially from Backfist & XXman777 as they moved here from CO as did I)

[jxu66]

I like Atlanta. I moved from West Plano to Norcross/Duluth area two years ago. I went to school in Atlanta about ten years ago and I am always fond of city. At least for me, it offers better job opportunity.

One thing about Atlanta is divided between have and have not places. It is more obvious here than it was in Dallas. In northern Dallas, sure there are nice places (West Plano) and there are not so nice place (East Plano). But the price difference between two neighborhoods are not that great. And school performance between two neighborhoods are not that great either. In atlanta, if you want your kids in nice neighborhood and nice school district, you better pay for it. For example, West Norcross have a lot of houses between $500,000 to 1 millions dollars. In Gwinnett village of Nocross, you can find a house around $150,000 or even less.

Same for rent. If you paid $1000 for two bedrooms, you got nice new built apartment. But if you paid just $200 less, you got a dump location. That's just amazing. I just don't see that when I was in Dallas.

[backfist]

Hey AtlantaCruiser

It's been a few months since relocating. The hardest part was not having my family here, but now that we're all together, things are better.

One thing that I've noticed about Atlanta is how "busy" it is. From an economic standpoint, I like that. Denver was getting so stale that my job was constantly in jeopardy.

The traffic sucks, primarily because metro Atlanta is where Colorado was 7 or 8 years ago in terms of objecting to tax dollars increasing public transit. But just like metro Denver, there will be enough transplants to flex their muscle and get their way (notice how Light Rail now goes out to Aurora and down to Highlands Ranch?) Still, this traffic takes some getting used to.

People are great, for the most part. There are some exceptions, but that's anywhere. The area is a little light on recreation choices, but few places compare to Colorado in that regard. I'm into martial arts and fishing, so I'm OK. Plenty of kids' activities, but you gotta hunt for them.

I'm not a nightlife guy, so I can't tell you about that one way or another.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that--minus the Rockies--Atlanta is beautiful, with excellent, excellent potential.

[AtlantaCruiser]

backfist
Traffic DOES suck, just as everyone said it would. I have been here for 6 months & although I have a gotten a good job and my dream home for much less $ I am having a much harder time adjusting than I thought I would. I really miss CO. Not sure if I am just, as they say, looking through rose colored glasses or that I am now realizing how good I had it.

[backfist]

I think the lack of familiarity might play a role in missing CO. At the same time, metro Atlanta is a highly populated area compared to Denver metro.

Still, there's nothing like spending a sunny day in Breckenridge. Or a powder day at Winter Park. Soon enough, though, you'll get into a routine here, and the good things about GA will become real.

[xxman777]

How have I adjusted to Atlanta? This could be a long winded answer but I’ll try to make it brief. There are definitely some things which I think Atlanta is missing and kind of feel homesick because I’m missing them. There are other attributes which I like about Atlanta but generally feel like most other cities can offer them. Overall I don’t really think there is much that Atlanta has to offer that isn’t offered by other major cities except for the lower cost of living.

One thing I really miss is the weather. As you know I grew up in Denver where it snows and gets cold once in a while. Also the summer (even though it gets as hot as Atl) isn’t humid and doesn’t last for five months. I really miss the snow and cold. Sure it’s getting a little cold tonight, but as I write this post it is 35 degrees warmer here then in Denver (where it is two hours earlier). I have used my heat twice so far this winter. I know cold and snow isn’t for everybody but it’s something that I miss.

Another problem I have with Atlanta is how spread out the city is. I’m used to Denver where you can bike or walk just about everywhere. In Atl even if something is close enough to walk to, there probably won’t be sidewalks or if they are they will be in such disrepair that you feel like you are in a third world country. Most of the roads are windy, two lane roads (which is really pretty and I really enjoy driving on the roads at 2am) and overly congested. There is little to no redundancy within the system which seriously increases traffic congestion. Virtually all the shopping is in suburban style strip malls which have little to no pedestrian access. I know Denver has a lot of strip malls but it also has many pedestrian friendly areas and is becoming even more receptive to it. I’m rambling on this and I think you got the point.

My other major issue is how segregated the city is. When I went to bars (I’m young so yes I go to the bars once in a while) in Denver you would have all types of people going to the same bars. There weren’t certain bars that you didn’t go to because you didn’t have the right skin color. We accidentally went to a club on “black night.” The six of us literally doubled the white population in the club and the three of us who were male where the only white males in the club. All the other patrons of the club seemed to be of a similar background as us, similar income, similar age, probably similar education levels and job status. No reason why we shouldn’t be able to get along with others. To start the bouncers almost didn’t let us in. Once we did get in we constantly received dirty looks from the other patrons. Of course I can’t say for sure that it was because we were white and stuck out like a sore thumb but I can’t really think of another reason. In general Atlanta seems to segregate along both racial and economic lines. In Denver I was used to segregation along economic lines but the races did a good job of mixing.

Now I promised there were some things that I do like about the city. The economic opportunities available are far greater then in Denver or many other cities across the country. It is an exciting city; there is plenty to do here (although no any more then in Denver but plenty more then other places). We are close to the mountains. Even though they are much different then the mountains of Colorado they are still gorgeous and I love spending time in them. I also think the people down here are really nice. From what I’ve seen southern hospitality really does exist. They aren’t any better then Colorado but compared to other places like the northeast it’s a whole different place. I actually think the food is pretty good. Again it isn’t something that can’t be found in other major metro areas but if you get into the city there are lots of independent restaurants. If you take a drive down Buford highway you will feel like you are in another country. I also like that it isn’t impossible to live in the city here. A few cities (LA, NY) are so expensive that it has become impossible to actually live in the city. There are other cities where you can afford to live in the city (Denver) I just like for a major city with a lot going on in the city it’s nice that you can still afford to live here.

Overall I’m happy with my experience here, I don’t think I will stay here for ever but I might be here for a while. I guess that kind of sums it up. I guess that wasn’t really brief. Sorry about that.

[LLD]

Great to read these things. Thanks to all for taking the time to post them.

[south-to-west]

AtlantaCruiser,

Thanks for the advice on the Denver board. I guess I'll return the favor.

xxman did a very good job in describing all of the pros and cons about Atlanta. Overall, Atlanta is what you make of it. The city is actually really cool with different neighborhoods with character. Atlanta also has a larger concentration of historic buildings than most cities in the Sun Belt. Some neighborhoods to check out are Little Five Points, East Atlanta, Cabbagetown, and Downtown Decatur. The Oakhurst section of Decatur is also very cool. All areas are walkable and unique. Cabbagetown has a kind of New Orleans feel to it.

Another cool thing about Atlanta is the Spring season. A lot of color and warm weather, but not too overly humid. Everything blooms and greens earlier than most of the country.

The downsides to Atlanta are the traffic, pollution, racial tension, and economic disparity. Also state and regional governments are lacking...and not from a conservative or liberal perspective, but rather from a mere functional perspective. For example, Denver is going to expand its light rail system and build communter rail lines over the next ten years while Metro Atlanta still doesn't have a system or plan to expand transit to the entire region. The racial tentsion won't be noticeable at first, but after a while you see it when you notice that people of different backgrounds don't hang out outside of work, and also many people use loaded code words to refer to other ethnicities.

My girlfriend moved to Atlanta for a change of pace after she graduated from Boulder. However, she missed the laid back Western lifestyle and the scenery in Colorado and has moved back. In fact, a lot of people come to Atlanta and stay for only a few years.

I know I'm rambling, but if I were to sum up Atlanta...as a 29 yr. old, I can say that it is an excellent place to spend my 20s, but a change is always nice.

[AtlantaCruiser]

Thanks for your posts everybody!
A little backround on me: I moved out to Denver, for college, from the DC & New England areas. I was tired of the East Coast. I IMEDIATLY felt a click with Denver. I loved the size & always had the feeling of both the city and the people as being completely manageable (I lived there for a total of about 8 years, 4 in college & 4 after). I do not have that feeling of DC or Atlanta at all.

I am going to really continue to try to like it here as it simply has not been long enough. I am trying to plan many weekends of exploring both the "mountains" and the city to try to get out of this rut I seem to have already gotten into.

xxman777, I completely know what you mean about the snow. People keep coming up to me and saying "arent you glad you arent still in Denver with the blizzards." They couldn't be more wrong!

Thanks again everyone!

[backfist]

xxman. Well said. And, for the most part, all true. I'm also dismayed by how segregated the city is. When you described the night club scene, I couldn't help but have a 'welcome to my world' moment. I've been to clubs in Colorado (in my old nightclub days) where I was the "only one". It's a little uncomfortable sometimes. So how ironic it is that us integrated Denver-types wound up in Atlanta.

Heck, maybe there'll be enough of us to make a difference.