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View Poll Results: How would you rate Atlanta?
I Love the ATL! 25 36.23%
Happy days 10 14.49%
Decent 14 20.29%
Boring 4 5.80%
Awful! 16 23.19%
Voters: 69. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 07-11-2006, 11:09 AM
 
7 posts, read 41,101 times
Reputation: 18

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I moved here last Oct. 2005 to start a new life...

My Short Informative Story

---------------------------> //www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...t-park-ga.html


Atlanta, GA was highly rated in a very informative book published in 2004 called "Cities Ranked & Rated." Out of 400 cities representing every area you could possibly move to or live in... Atlanta, GA is rated number 7! It's the highest ranked BIG city in the entire country! Does this surprise you? Some other chart toppers were Minneapolis, MN at 24 and New York at 40... For a TOP 50 list right from the book check out the NBC coverage of the book here

removed


My personal ratings of life here in Atlanta 1-10 (Bad-Good)

Air = 7 Spring pollen could keep the allergenic away... A couple hazy days here and there too
Jobs = 9 - Plenty of opportunity for anyone who has the will...
Crime = 6 Recent reports show that Atlanta crime has dropped while other cities have risen...
Parks = 8 Plenty of places to have a picnic and walk the dog!
Radio = 10 - News Talk 750 WSB & Clark Howard are the only reasons you should need to move here!
Taxes = 9 - The Georgia tax system has proved fruitful for the state and its people
Traffic = 3 - I don’t drive, but I did get caught in traffic with a friend once...
Leisure = 9 - Just relaxing at the pools are enough for me!
Culture = 9 - Whoever you're looking for, you can find them here!
Housing = 8 - Avg rent for one bedroom is around $500 - $600
Schools = 9 - This is no doubt a college town... The MARTA train even runs right through Georgia State College!!!
Weather = 10 - AVG never drops below 32 degrees!
Shopping = 10 - Malls everywhere!
Hospitality = 10 - People who love people!
Mass Transit = 8 - MARTA Trains and Buses get you there fast and easy!
Cost of Living = 9 - It's just a tad higher than Canton, OH (My Hometown) & 94% less than NYC
Survivability w/o car = 8 - You can take a bike on the train and buses have racks as well!

Last edited by Marka; 07-14-2006 at 02:59 AM..
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Old 07-11-2006, 03:28 PM
 
5 posts, read 35,689 times
Reputation: 16
Thank you for your detailed post. I just got offered a job opportunity in Atlanta and I am in the process of doing some research to see if we want to move to Atlanta. Your post was extremely helpful. What part of Atlanta do you live in? Any recommendations for cities to live that are close to Peachtree Street? Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 07-13-2006, 08:54 PM
 
7 posts, read 41,101 times
Reputation: 18
When I moved here from Canton, OH I started in Forest Park, GA...

My Story ------------------> //www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...t-park-ga.html

I now stay in a small studio apartment in Stone Mountain which suits me, a 23 year old bachelor with plans to goto college, quite well... It's hard for me to say where a good spot for you to start would be, or anyone for that matter considering how "new" I am to Atlanta. It's even worse for me because I don't drive which in turn keeps me from doing much exploring...

My best suggestions for anyone would be to move somewhere close to a MARTA train station especially with the gas prices rising. A lot of people drive to the train station, jump on the train, and get to there destination while saving time and money... It's also good to live close to a bus route because every bus in the MARTA system leads to a station where you can hop on a train.

MARTA System Map --------> http://www.itsmarta.com/maps/viewer.asp (broken link)

If it looks like you'll be working at your new job for years to come, try moving as close to work as possible to aviod traffic... When I started working at Jackson Hewitt, my commute lasted about 5 minutes... I lived directly across the street and walked to work! For those of you who like stats and have cars, studies can be found online which have data on the developing traffic flows of the city... I stress the importance of traffic again because of rising prices, and Atlanta's growing traffic situation... This is why I give Atlanta a "3" as my Traffic rating.

***REMEMBER*** Atlanta recently placed in the TOP 5 for most hospitable drivers so don't be discouraged by the traffic... Everything else more than makes up for it. Also understand that 80% - 90% of Atlanta is worthy of property investment or home ownership and when I am ready I'll be taking advantage of the growing trends myself...

Last edited by Intrepid; 07-13-2006 at 08:57 PM..
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Old 07-17-2006, 02:28 PM
 
Location: West Cobb County, GA (Atlanta metro)
9,191 posts, read 33,772,690 times
Reputation: 5308
People have commented about negative comments regarding the city, but I do need to point out a few online stats since the original seems rather idealistic regarding the city. The URL links on here don't always seem to work, so you will most likely have to copy/paste the URLs.

Atlanta's crime rate compared to NYC:
Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed


A story regarding the traffic/air quality here:
Atlanta pollution going nowhere

There are more, but you get the idea.

Atlanta has good points, and Atlanta has bad points. Atlanta was hyped up just before and after the Olympics as being a golden place to live, but truth be told, the crime, traffic, and air quality do drag it down considerably. It usually gets good rankings as far as having an abundance of jobs (high end white collar, etc), and it does, but one must consider quality of life as well before relocating.

Atlanta is fine for some folks, and not for others who think it will be. I always strongly suggest people do some investigation before moving here. People who like living here will paint a rather "Susie Sunshine" image of it, and those who hate it will make it sound like a pool of human waste - it's really somewhere in-between. Study before you move.

Last edited by Yac; 01-09-2008 at 07:34 AM..
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Old 07-17-2006, 03:12 PM
 
4,407 posts, read 9,091,841 times
Reputation: 4299
If you dont drive how do you get around? Atlanta is tough without a car. If you have any answers let me know. Im in the minority of people who are without a license. If there's a way to get around without a license Im open to hear about it.
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Old 07-17-2006, 05:32 PM
 
1,088 posts, read 6,325,581 times
Reputation: 497
If you don't drive you are SOL. If you locate on a MARTA line and are going to work on a MARTA line then you can get around. Some people also bike, but you are limiting how far you can go.

Props to Atlantagreg, awesome post.
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Old 07-17-2006, 07:35 PM
 
7 posts, read 41,101 times
Reputation: 18
Default Atlanta... Highly Rated City

Atlanta does have a rather high amount of crime in comparison... The crime rate though has been dropping steadily and is at its lowest since 1971 down by 12%. Here's more crime statistics at the Atlanta Police Foundation's website.
----- http://www.theapf.org/APD/CrimeStatistics.aspx


Some better info on the air quality of various areas including Atlanta at this site.
----- http://www.scorecard.org


A REAL TIME traffic map here.
----- http://wsbradio.com/MARKET/traffic/map.html

In my original post I provided a link to NBC coverage of the book "Cities Ranked & Rated" which was covered shortly after the book was published in March of 2004. The link has been removed for whatever reason so here's the list taken directly from the book showing the TOP 10 cities out of the original list of 400...

1. Charlottesville, VA
2. Santa Fe, NM
3. San Luis Obispo, CA (includes Atascadero and Paso Robles)
4. Santa Barbara, CA (includes Santa Maria and Lompoc)
5. Honolulu, HI
6. Ann Arbor, MI
7. Atlanta, GA
8. Asheville, NC
9. Reno, NV
10. Corvallis, OR

... as you can see, Atlanta, GA is rated #7 out of the total list of 400!

This is of course based on every aspect and detail of each city which was calculated by a computer which made the final analysis.

The best way to get around Atlanta without a car is by MARTA's trains or buses, which are very reliable. MARTA's buses even have racks on the front to transport your bike while you ride! You can also take your bike with you on the train. Again, here's a link to the system map.
----- http://www.itsmarta.com/maps/viewer.asp

Atlanta is also supported by other Transit Authorities such as the following:

- The BUC - I haven't used it, but it runs in Buckhead and is free of charge!
- Xpress GA (GRTA) - I haven't used this one... but I've heard it's very nice!
- Gwinnett County Transit - I have yet to ride this one as well.
- Cobb County Transit (CCT) - Rode a few times and was very pleased!
- Clayton County Transit (C-Tran) - Very bad with being on time especially on the weekends. I moved out of Clayton County partly because of C-Tran's instability.

YOU ARE NOT "SOL" IF YOU DON'T DRIVE... It does take time to get around and things are very spread out but if you have the thinking capacity to read schedules and plan trips you'll be fine... BEWARE... you just might have to use your brain! There are a lot of people who can't imagine life without a car and I don't blame them... but I save a lot of money by not driving or having to pay insurance and I'm not going back unless I'm getting paid to drive...

Last edited by Intrepid; 07-17-2006 at 07:59 PM..
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Old 07-17-2006, 11:25 PM
 
Location: West Cobb County, GA (Atlanta metro)
9,191 posts, read 33,772,690 times
Reputation: 5308
Well, when I moved to Atlanta at the age of around 18 in the early 1980s, I was in school and had no car. At that time and shortly after, I lived near a rail station and also worked near a rail station as well, so getting around wasn't THAT bad. Not long after however, I moved a bit further out and had to rely on a bus route to get around and at that point, commuting in Atlanta became hell.

If you can get around by rail, it's acceptable and fast. If you have to rely on the buses, it's frustrating, slow, and unreliable. Atlanta's rail system is unfortunately not as extensive as those in NYC, Chicago, San Fran, or Washington DC. It only covers the basics, some tourist spots, a mall or two, and the airport. From there, it's buses or cabs.

Let's see - my commute is about 15 minutes from where I live to where I work now. If I had to ride the bus, with wait time and commute it would be around 50 minutes or so each way in my area - and that would be in 97 degree heat with 75% humidity. I'll choose a car anyday. Preferably a fuel efficient, low emmission car, but regardless, a car.

I am all for rail service being extended throughout the metro region, but we know that's never going to happen. The last governor created the Georgia Regional Transit Authority to override local authorities that were stalling out efforts to expand transit in the whole area... the current administration severely cut their budget. The best they are doing or able to do now is to try to plan some "express bus routes" here and there in the burbs which do not help many, and make little impact. It will be years if not decades before rail (light, commuter, or heavy/subway) is expanded enough to make it a viable option for many residents, and that is only if (and a big "if") we get a number of elected officials that place a higher priority on transit options in office.
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Old 08-03-2006, 03:24 PM
 
Location: Triangle, North Carolina
2,819 posts, read 10,370,553 times
Reputation: 1518
Oh Heck, I will put in my 2 cents.
I have lived in the following cities over the past 20 years due to my job and transfers.

Philadelphia
Baltimore
Atlanta
Chicago
New York

Now if I had to compare in order it would be difficult so I, being an optimist will pick the best each has to offer.

Philadelphia - History
If you want and love history you would love Philly. From Independence Hall to to Society Hill, nothing gives more than this. No other city matches the town of our founding fathers..

Baltimore-
One thing, crabs!!!
No place in America can you find Crab Cakes like Baltimore Maryland.
Inner Harbor

Chicago-
The "Best" large city in America. No large city is more friendly, offers more, and most of all CLEAN. From O'hare Airport to Navy Pier the Midwest hospitality is vibrant. It is the only city I have ever lived which the taxi drivers even stop to let you cross the street.

New York- It's too large for me. But the food. New York and Northern NJ offer more food from more ethnic locations than anyplace in the world. If you live there you can find the hole in a wall off the beaten path. If your a tourist, don't be afraid to ask a local. He or She will guide you in the right direction.

Now to the area:
Atlanta -
Weather - It's the best of all. The larges aquirium in the world.
Atlanta city is small by geographic standards so you have to see the burbs to get the true feel. It is truly the Empire State of the South and Atlanta is the small New York City of the South even though the locals wont admit it.
Why?
It is a melting pot. You have everything under the rainbow when it comes to race and ethnicity. Heck, you even have the rainbow. Outside of San Fran and the North Cape. Atlanta probably has the next largest gay population.
Stone Mountain, Shopping, and festivals.
And lastly.... Cost of living = quality of life.
With Atlanta, for now, it's rising fast!!! You can have the big city life without massive taxation, outlandish home costs, and low sales taxes.

Just my 2 cents

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Old 08-04-2006, 10:20 AM
 
Location: West Cobb County, GA (Atlanta metro)
9,191 posts, read 33,772,690 times
Reputation: 5308
Well, I think the OTHER nickname for Atlanta ... "L.A. of the East", is much more appropriate, but for different reasons: Sprawl, traffic, smog alert days, and did I mention sprawl and traffic?

Here is the odd thing about Atlanta - it DOES have a very broad range of people from all over the world living here. The problem is, you never HEAR about them! The suburbs here are all governed by whites, so you hear whitewhitewhite. The city itself is governed by majority blacks, so you only hear blackblackblack. You almost never hear anything about the Latinos/Hispanics, Asians, etc. They're here, you just never see much evidence.

Every-other month you hear about the "celebrate the heritage" stuff which turns out 95% of the time to be an African-American themed event. You have the black arts festival, black film festival, hiphop and rapper fest this and that. Where are the Latino festivals? Greek fests? Asian fests? Chinese new year parades? No no no... I'm not talking about the little events you see in a mall or church parking lot for these groups (which we have)... I'm talking about REAL events. NONE. It's a black-fest this or that, or in the burbs, it's some kind of white bubba-fest thing.

The multi-cultural stuff you hear about here is limited to foreign owned businesses along Buford Highway or parts of Smyrna, but not actual CULTURAL events for these groups. So no - Atlanta 'aint no New York City of the South. Harlem mixed with a little East Hamptons (Buckhead) maybe - but certainly no New York. A Latino friend of mine from South America once half jokingly said Atlanta should put welcome signs up as you enter the city saying, "Welcome to Atlanta - black and white welcome, no others need apply".
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