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Atlanta and DC are similar in some ways but are way more different when considering lifestyle everyday. Many people I know from Atlanta come to DC and say its crowded, it's too busy, there's no parking, there are too many people living so close to each other, it's too expensive etc. etc. etc.
The major difference between these two cities is lifestyle. You can't find the lifestyle DC offers in Atlanta. This really can't be overstated. Now the suburbs in DC are very similar to Midtown and downtown Atlanta. For people who prefer a less intense living environment, DC's suburbs are just like Atlanta's urban area's. Now to find area's without sidewalks in the suburbs like Atlanta suburbs, you have to travel pretty far from DC.
Completely agree. It's struck me how similar metro Atlanta and metro DC look. Tons of trees, similar layout with windy, extremely congested roads, sloppy, poorly planned strip malls and development, random edge city office parks, etc. DC is much more sophisticated and traditionally urban than Atlanta. In Atlanta, the city caters to the car. Most places outside of downtown and midtown have parking lots, even in the city. DC residents walk and use transit much more than Atlanta residents. MARTA has its place, but relative to the metro area's population, it's not widely used. Transit in DC is leaps and bounds better than what you'd find in Atlanta.
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Originally Posted by MDAllstar
Atlanta has one of the worst economies in the nation right now. Their housing market is one of the absolute worst in the nation. This is only going to continue to get worse because almost everybody is under water there. The region has seen it's personal income fall to where it was in 1990. You might want to catch up to 2012. This is not the year 2000.
Housing starts in metro Atlanta increased 50.3 percent in the third quarter ended in September compared to the same period a year ago, according to a report by Metrostudy, a real estate research and consulting firm.
Clearly, everyone is not "underwater there." You might want to catch up to reality. Look at the topic of the thread. Trying to turn in this into a DC vs. Atlanta thread, you might want to focus on that even though Atlanta has tons of shortcomings, it's still the city where young black professionals and entertainers are locating. DC just isn't it. I know you're from Maryland and it's hard for you to accept that DC doesn't win in this category. Sorry.
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Originally Posted by pgm123
I won't argue DC is 24 hours, but when you add up all the late-night destinations (Adams Morgan, Dupont, Georgetown, U-St, H-St, Columbia Heights, even a part of Glover Park), you end up with a sizeable chunk of the city.
You end up with a decent part of the city, yes. There are still plenty of areas that are dead by 7.
12 years ago the two cities could be compared to one another as a black mecca (the time of the 2000 census). As another poster pointed out early in the post DC has a rapidly falling black percentage in the city core and a slightly declining black percentage in the metro as a whole. If not for all the black immigrants that move to the DC MSA both numbers would have declined even more.
Atlanta 'had' a rapidly shrinking black percentage in the city core throughout most of the 2000s. The Great Recession put an end to that and whites are not moving to the city like they used to. Outside of the city core the MSA black popuation increased more than in any other city in America, in both percentage and numeric gains.
Demographics aside, I think both cities are good for people of all races. I am a white guy and I lived in Atlanta for a Summer a few years back (in Midtown, not some suburb), and I greatly enjoyed myself. I do enjoy DC much more though. lol.
Well no one is moving into the city like they were.Blacks are moving out faster than whites.Its because of a weak economy.Atlanta has a very large black immigrant population moving here also.Has for years.What it does not have is D.C.'s economy.
I agree that it is a good city for all races,thats why it disturbs me when people(mostly white)make those untrue assertions about Atlanta .
Completely agree. It's struck me how similar metro Atlanta and metro DC look. Tons of trees, similar layout with windy, extremely congested roads, sloppy, poorly planned strip malls and development, random edge city office parks, etc. DC is much more sophisticated and traditionally urban than Atlanta. In Atlanta, the city caters to the car. Most places outside of downtown and midtown have parking lots, even in the city. DC residents walk and use transit much more than Atlanta residents. MARTA has its place, but relative to the metro area's population, it's not widely used. Transit in DC is leaps and bounds better than what you'd find in Atlanta.
Clearly, everyone is not "underwater there." You might want to catch up to reality. Look at the topic of the thread. Trying to turn in this into a DC vs. Atlanta thread, you might want to focus on that even though Atlanta has tons of shortcomings, it's still the city where young black professionals and entertainers are locating. DC just isn't it. I know you're from Maryland and it's hard for you to accept that DC doesn't win in this category. Sorry.
You end up with a decent part of the city, yes. There are still plenty of areas that are dead by 7.
A lot of what you say was more true(regarding surface lots etc..) 10 years ago.Im not saying theres' no truth to it today ,but there has been a remarkable amount of density infill that many cities just dont have in such a short amount of town.I mean really,how many cities put something like Atlantic Station up with its own zip code within a few years?The Belt-Line?Streets of Buckhead/Buckhead Atlanta?
Trying to turn in this into a DC vs. Atlanta thread, you might want to focus on that even though Atlanta has tons of shortcomings, it's still the city where young black professionals and entertainers are locating. DC just isn't it. I know you're from Maryland and it's hard for you to accept that DC doesn't win in this category. Sorry.
I think since the recession, around '08 or so, DC has probably been winning the contest for luring young Black professionals for obvious reasons. Like I said, it's more anecdotal, but I know of lots of people from this group that have located to DC within the past few years or are looking to do so.
I think people think Atlanta is a large, diverse metro area. I don't think it's so much that people view it inaccurately; they just don't see it as particularly interesting, at least compared to Boston, San Francisco, DC, etc.
When you think of the latter cities, you think of dense, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods with sidewalk cafes, upscale sandwich shops, multiple transit options and girls wearing $200 scarves riding Vespa scooters. That faux European lifestyle is highly enchanting to many people, and unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), Atlanta doesn't really offer that in any meaningful way. That's why you never hear liberals go nuts over Atlanta.
In short, Atlanta's not all that appealing to the liberal arts college-educated, Obama-voting, 30-something that has a subscription to the New Yorker and worships the ground David Sedaris walks on.
That's the problem Atlanta does have that stuff. Midtown and nearly the whole east side has gone through, or is going through urban gentrification. Maybe not The New Yorker, but even The NY times noted this.
But we need get back to the topic the OP didn't ask for popularity among liberals. He abstractly asked why isn't Atlanta more popular among whites as other cities? And why Atlanta is cast as only good for blacks? Basically.
What I'm saying people including blacks don't know anything of substance about Atlanta. When you have posters saying and believing Atlanta is full McMansions there's a clear ignorance. When you have people thinking most of the city is "plastic" when the city's neighborhoods were establish before WWII there's a clear ignorance. The city would go further if the beauty of region was promoted, the city would go further if the history and culture was promoted more. "large, diverse metro area." what does that mean? Does that give a image of Atlanta from another large, diverse metro area?... NO. Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston leaders needs to prompt themselves what distinguish themselves from another "large, diverse metro area." Is the actually larger point.
I'm not taking a shot at you, but there's a ignorance in itself thinking Atlanta is not liberal, The political culture of Georgia is Georgia vs Atlanta in case you didn't know. Then factually Georgia is projected to become a swing states because liberals are moving to the metro from up north, so that has nothing to do with anything.
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Originally Posted by miamiman
Completely agree. It's struck me how similar metro Atlanta and metro DC look. Tons of trees, similar layout with windy, extremely congested roads, sloppy, poorly planned strip malls and development, random edge city office parks, etc. DC is much more sophisticated and traditionally urban than Atlanta. In Atlanta, the city caters to the car. Most places outside of downtown and midtown have parking lots, even in the city. DC residents walk and use transit much more than Atlanta residents. MARTA has its place, but relative to the metro area's population, it's not widely used. Transit in DC is leaps and bounds better than what you'd find in Atlanta.
Most neighborhoods outside of Atlanta's core have parking lots, most of Atlanta intown core neighborhoods don't. The neighborhoods weren't built with the car in mind go back a page over or so and look at the pics I posted. The cars are mainly park long the sides on the roads.
Last edited by chiatldal; 11-20-2012 at 06:47 PM..
I think Houston should ride in the same boat with these metros now in regards to blacks. When I visited Houston last week, I saw that it was NO different than Atlanta and DC as far as African Americans. Blacks were literally everywhere in large numbers! (I promise I'm not exaggerating.) They seem to live good lifestyle and a similar lifestyle to blacks in DC and Atlanta. The good thing about Houston is that it is really diverse at the same time. I think Houston is a great place for blacks just as much as Atlanta and DC.
I think Houston should ride in the same boat with these metros now in regards to blacks. When I visited Houston last week, I saw that it was NO different than Atlanta and DC as far as African Americans. Blacks were literally everywhere in large numbers! (I promise I'm not exaggerating.) They seem to live good lifestyle and a similar lifestyle to blacks in DC and Atlanta. The good thing about Houston is that it is really diverse at the same time. I think Houston is a great place for blacks just as much as Atlanta and DC.
I hope you already moved there.
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