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GA is ALWAYS underrated. Atlanta is the best big city in the southeast. As kay said, a million reasons why. Another great town is Athens. I haven't had the chance to go to Savannah but will someday. I have only heard good things about the city and that it is a more laidback and quirky version of Charleston.
ATLANTA is the best party city in been to and I love Atlanta but then again its the best big city near me so I am partial to it. Cincinnati and Louisville don't compare to Atlanta. Nashville is a great place to live my gf is from TN but everyone knows Atlanta is the best city in the South overall.
Seattle is great, but expensive. Also, if you ever plan to buy a house, know that houses in the Seattle metro area are very expensive with high property taxes.
Seattle is great, but expensive. Also, if you ever plan to buy a house, know that houses in the Seattle metro area are very expensive with high property taxes.
Seattle's scenery is nice sweet mountain views I would love to visit Seattle someday. PNW is the only region of the US i never been to. I have been to SF/Northern California a few times and I loved it but that was the closet I got to Oregon and Washington. I heard Seattle is a pretty cool city to visit.
I would encourage you to visit both places before you decide if possible because there is nothing like experiencing a place for yourself. I currently live in MSP and typically spend 2 weeks a year in Atlanta.
That said, I think Seattle would be the better fit especially if your favorite city is San Francisco.
Atlanta is definitely the best major city in the SE or South IMO.
We also considered moving there (ATL) since my wife’s family all live in the area but we decided against for a number of reasons. One big one for us is that MARTA is not really that great and the area has bad traffic congestion. I love being able to use public transportation and it is lacking compared to what I am used to. Also, if you think MSP has hot and humid summers (I don’t) then Atlanta will not be pleasant during the summer. Our family members often have electric bills in the $2 to$ 400 range due to constant AC use to keep down the mugginess inside. Sure, ATL has a better summer than the majority of the South but it just isn’t for us. I would say that the late Fall through early Spring time has nice comfortable weather and that is when we visit now after learning what to expect in the Summer.
There are a lot of great things about the area though. Salaries are good (by Southern standards) housing is pretty affordable and overall most of the people I met are friendly. You do have an international vibe to the city, great food, a large downtown with cool architecture and tons of history. The metro is in a really pretty area with hills and a cool urban forest like environment. Another cool thing is that there is a strong black middle class which you don’t see in all US metros. There is a lot of history there and remember Georgia was one of the original colonies as well. They have a pretty good economy and respectable percentage of residents with college degrees. The nightlife is better than many other cities I have spent time in and I love the strip clubs there.
Something else to be aware of is that there is a higher prevalence of violent crime in the area. One thing I will share is that New Year ’s Eve is crazy in the sense that you have whole neighborhoods shooting guns into the air. This is in the city of Atlanta and not the country either. I have been places where this is done but I have never seen it so widespread. We brought our children into the basement because we were concerned about a stray bullet falling through the roof into the house.
On the other hand Seattle seems very similar to MSP with a more temperate climate. Both places have pretty good transit systems that are expanding. SEA would be closer to SFC as well which might be worth considering.
I would encourage you to visit both places before you decide if possible because there is nothing like experiencing a place for yourself. I currently live in MSP and typically spend 2 weeks a year in Atlanta.
That said, I think Seattle would be the better fit especially if your favorite city is San Francisco.
Atlanta is definitely the best major city in the SE or South IMO.
We also considered moving there (ATL) since my wife’s family all live in the area but we decided against for a number of reasons. One big one for us is that MARTA is not really that great and the area has bad traffic congestion. I love being able to use public transportation and it is lacking compared to what I am used to. Also, if you think MSP has hot and humid summers (I don’t) then Atlanta will not be pleasant during the summer. Our family members often have electric bills in the $2 to$ 400 range due to constant AC use to keep down the mugginess inside. Sure, ATL has a better summer than the majority of the South but it just isn’t for us. I would say that the late Fall through early Spring time has nice comfortable weather and that is when we visit now after learning what to expect in the Summer.
There are a lot of great things about the area though. Salaries are good (by Southern standards) housing is pretty affordable and overall most of the people I met are friendly. You do have an international vibe to the city, great food, a large downtown with cool architecture and tons of history. The metro is in a really pretty area with hills and a cool urban forest like environment. Another cool thing is that there is a strong black middle class which you don’t see in all US metros. There is a lot of history there and remember Georgia was one of the original colonies as well. They have a pretty good economy and respectable percentage of residents with college degrees. The nightlife is better than many other cities I have spent time in and I love the strip clubs there.
Something else to be aware of is that there is a higher prevalence of violent crime in the area. One thing I will share is that New Year ’s Eve is crazy in the sense that you have whole neighborhoods shooting guns into the air. This is in the city of Atlanta and not the country either. I have been places where this is done but I have never seen it so widespread. We brought our children into the basement because we were concerned about a stray bullet falling through the roof into the house.
On the other hand Seattle seems very similar to MSP with a more temperate climate. Both places have pretty good transit systems that are expanding. SEA would be closer to SFC as well which might be worth considering.
You make some valid points but one thing I disagree with is every year from about late June to early or mid September Atlanta gets blasted on City Data for it's hot muggy summer weather. People act as if that is a major reason to avoid the city but totally forget that for all the rest of the year Atlanta has beautiful or decent weather.
I mean does hot muggy weather in part of June, most of July (this year July wasn't too bad), August and part of September really cancel out great weather in October, November, April, May, half of June and part of March and mostly mild winter in December, January, February, and part of March?
You don't hear a peep about Atlanta weather from those City Data posters during all those months when Atlanta is often experiencing marvelous weather.
Also. MARTA does need a lot of improvement but is it really that much less than MSP or any worse than Seattle? One great thing about MARTA is it gets you to a lot of stations that are right at a multitude of important places in Atlanta as well as quick trip to the Airport. Atlanta rapid rail is more heavily used than MSP and Seattle light rail and commuter rail. Seattle surpasses Atlanta in bus ridership.
Last edited by Galounger; 09-04-2014 at 01:12 PM..
You make some valid points but one thing I disagree with is every year from about late June to early or mid September Atlanta gets blasted on City Data for it's hot muggy summer weather. People act as if that is a major reason to avoid the city but totally forget that for all the rest of the year Atlanta has beautiful or decent weather.
I mean does hot muggy weather in part of June, most of July (this year July wasn't too bad), August and part of September really cancel out great weather in October, November, April, May, half of June and part of March and mostly mild winter in December, January, February, and part of March?
You don't hear a peep about Atlanta weather from those City Data posters during all those months when Atlanta is often experiencing marvelous weather.
Also. MARTA does need a lot of improvement but is it really that much less than MSP or any worse than Seattle? One great thing about MARTA is it gets you to a lot of stations that are right at a multitude of important places in Atlanta as well as quick trip to the Airport. Atlanta rapid rail is more heavily used than MSP and Seattle light rail and commuter rail. Seattle surpasses Atlanta in bus ridership.
Yes, MARTA is that bad. Considering Metro Atlanta is more populated than both SEA & MSP and still doesn't offer more thorough bus or rail service for that matter it is worth noting. Its not the worst transit system in the US but it was a deciding factor in our decision not to move to Georgia. A great example is how few park and ride locations there are for Marta.
If you want to see how you compare take a look at the report below. Atlanta has lower ridership than both Seattle and Minneapolis-St Paul. http://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/repor...son-report.pdf
Did you miss my point about the weather being pretty nice for half the year? We visit during the late Fall, Winter, and Spring because of the comfortable weather down there. We live in Minneapolis now so believe me its great to escape from a frigid Winter to Georgia. Or maybe you did and you were bringing up how people talk about how bad the Summer is in Hotlanta. I get that trust me MSP gets the same thing all Winter.
I really do have love for Atlanta but others have raised valid points. Outside of the core there are lots of sprawling suburbs. Even in parts of the city it feels like you are driving on a narrow country road. I'm referring to residential areas in SE and around East Point. Also I feel like the poverty is more pronounced and the public schools are not that great. The city itself is not as "clean" as cities like Seattle, MSP or even Denver.
I don't mean to come across as looking down on Atlanta but those are just honest differences I have seen.
Some mentioned mountains and ocean, they aren't that far away in Atlanta. You could also choose to live up in the mountains if not set on city life.
Another huge advantage over living in Seattle is Atlanta allows you to take numerous day trips to different cities with more varied characteristics. You can easily take trips to Asheville, Charleston, New Orleans, Nashville, the Outer Banks, etc.
What choices do you have in Seattle? Portland? The west is too spread out. You will never get bored with options in Atlanta.
Great, now I think I am talking myself into moving there. Lol.
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