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My wife and I work in medicine (NP / PA), live in Arizona, and are trying to get local perspective between Dallas (north of Dallas like Plano), and Atlanta (north of Atlanta like Johns Creek / Alpharetta). Nice houses seem abundant in both areas in the 400's, Georgia looks more green, but other than that, we'd like to know how it "feels", how the people are, demographic differences, weather (I've seen the numbers but how it really -feels-), etc etc. Anything you can tell us is helpful!
Side note: We are middle ground people politically, non-religious, we chose not to move to Portland (we loved Portland) just because of the extremism and we don't want to move to another place that is politically extreme on the other side of the isle either. We are white and asian and wonder which place we may feel has more of that culture if at all. We enjoy outdoor activities like biking trails / kayaking, but also dinner theater, plays, art and culture, etc.
Last edited by CirculateRX; 02-14-2021 at 09:05 AM..
I've lived on the northside of Atlanta (north Fulton County) for nearly 30 years, and have visited north Dallas a number of times. The demographics, amenities, and lifestyles are very similar, and if you are comfortable in one, you'll be comfortable in the other. We have lots of transplants (particulary the further out you are), it is family-oriented, and the schools are good. Politics tend to be middle ground. There is a considerable east and south Asian population - especially in Alpharetta, Johns Creek, and south Forsyth County. The primary differences between Dallas and Atlanta are visual - Atlanta is lush and green, forested, and hilly. We have lots of rain. In addition, the weather is more equable - cooler in the summer (not cool, but less hot), and with fewer extremes in the winter (like Texas's arctic blast this week). Atlanta is more humid than Dallas - but not gulf coast or Florida humid. Another difference - Dallas has an abundance of freeways. Atlanta - not so many. Atlanta's hilly, wooded terrain makes road construction more difficult and expensive. You'll notice heavier traffic, and you should make every effort to live close to where you work. I think you'll find that real estate prices are similar - location, location.
Portland's (and Seattle's) setting and recreational opportunities are unmatched, but I can appreciate your hesitation with wanting to move there. And the weather out there is like 90% gloomy.
I've lived on the northside of Atlanta (north Fulton County) for nearly 30 years, and have visited north Dallas a number of times. The demographics, amenities, and lifestyles are very similar, and if you are comfortable in one, you'll be comfortable in the other. We have lots of transplants (particulary the further out you are), it is family-oriented, and the schools are good. Politics tend to be middle ground. There is a considerable east and south Asian population - especially in Alpharetta, Johns Creek, and south Forsyth County. The primary differences between Dallas and Atlanta are visual - Atlanta is lush and green, forested, and hilly. We have lots of rain. In addition, the weather is more equable - cooler in the summer (not cool, but less hot), and with fewer extremes in the winter (like Texas's arctic blast this week). Atlanta is more humid than Dallas - but not gulf coast or Florida humid. Another difference - Dallas has an abundance of freeways. Atlanta - not so many. Atlanta's hilly, wooded terrain makes road construction more difficult and expensive. You'll notice heavier traffic, and you should make every effort to live close to where you work. I think you'll find that real estate prices are similar - location, location.
Portland's (and Seattle's) setting and recreational opportunities are unmatched, but I can appreciate your hesitation with wanting to move there. And the weather out there is like 90% gloomy.
Thank you BobHoward! I have a couple Korean friends that live in Alpharetta and they seem to love it. Do you feel like there's a difference between "Georgia people" and "Texas people"? And it seems like other than a little more humid, GA>TX for weather? Seems like GA has better proximity to other cities too. I guess I'll have to travel to both and see how it feels on the ground.
I grew up in metro Atlanta, went to college out in Texas and spent plenty of time in the DFW area. Lived in Allen for a year which is right next to Plano. Moved back January last year and now live in Alpharetta. Really you can't go wrong with either place. Some people will swear up and down that Dallas is better and others will swear up and down than Atlanta is better but really they aren't that different. I like both places a lot but my family is still here in Atlanta so that was a big reason for moving back plus I do like it slightly more.
Plano and JC/Alpharetta are about as similar as you can get. Lot of well paying jobs. Premier burbs of their respective metros. Great schools. Similar distance to downtown.
The DFW area will probably seemed more planned out than metro Atlanta. Here developers just grabbed whatever land they could seemingly without rhyme or reason. Roads are curvy, hilly, and I think often pretty, but they're kinda just going all over the place. The DFW area developed much more methodically. Extensive suburban grid with major N-S thoroughfares. Developers seemed to develop an area extensively before moving out farther away unlike Atlanta. Very easy to navigate plus a system of toll roads that criss cross the suburbs. It's much easier to get around and I do miss that aspect.
Also cities take a more active role in development and planning. The vast majority of Johns Creek developed before the incorporated city ever existed. A lot of it was just in unincorporated Fulton County which is pretty common across Atlanta. Counties take a more active role. Some people really dislike this, others don't really care.
Road quality is about the same IMO. Having driven in Pennsylvania for 2 years and crossing through the states of AL, MS, and LA for many years, both TX and GA have pretty good roads in comparison and I can't complain. Texas in general does a ton of concrete while GA seems to prefer asphalt, especially for local roads. You honestly might not even care but some people do. Like I mentioned DFW burbs have their grid system, but all the roads start looking the same. Just nonstop concrete. Metro Atlanta roads at least have some variety.
In terms of things to do, I didn't get explore too much of Plano but it seems pretty comparable. I like downtown Alpharetta better than downtown Plano. It's also more central to the rest of Alpharetta. "Plano" is pretty freaking big. Downtown is way off to the SE part of the city. Western Plano is pretty far away and has Legacy Town Center (Which I never went to) off the Dallas North Tollway. Also close to Frisco which is expanding like crazy. Central Plano is more like Johns Creek. Seemingly endless suburbia with no real focal point. Eastern Plano along 75 has the option of heading to Watters Creek which I think is technically in Allen. Allen also has a "town center" shopping mall and an outlet mall. Johns Creek has a "town center" but it's basically a series of strip malls. But JC isn't that far from Avalon in Alpharetta, downtown Alpharetta, Halcyon in southern Forsyth, downtown Duluth isn't that far either.
As far as scenery/outdoors, Atlanta definitely has the upper hand. DFW is just the southern plains. Not as flat as Houston, but not super hilly. There are some areas that are more forest-y along some of the creeks, but there's otherwise no comparison to Atlanta where you have tons of tall hardwoods and a lot of pines providing some greenery even in winter. You can actually do some trails right here in metro Atlanta. Plus you're just an hour or so outside of the Appalachians. There's nothing comparable anywhere close to Dallas. Also the lakes in N Georgia are better than anything near Dallas. Also if you wanna go to the beach, the FL Panhandle beaches are only a little longer of a drive compared to Plano to Galveston, but the beaches are wayyyyy better. There were a couple times when I lived in Houston that I went to the beach in Galveston and literally turned around and went home cause it was just so nasty. Clear water in Galveston literally made the news.
Weather wise, really depends on your preference. Dallas (and the rest of TX) gets HOT. Consistently hotter in the summer and people don't realize it, but Dallas gets just as humid as Atlanta a lot of the time. The Gulf is right there to the south and southeast. Atlanta gets hot too, but I find it's not as bad as TX. I can still go out after work for a walk when it's 90 here. But when it started hitting 100 in Dallas I just couldn't do it. Some people will say they still go out but I just couldn't. 100 with decent humidity and the lack of extensive tree cover is just not a good combo. Here you have many more opportunities to stay in the shade. And up in the mountains in summer you can get high enough in elevation where temps will be in the 80s. Some towns in NC aren't that far away and will have highs below 80 when it's 90+ here in Atlanta. You can escape the heat easier here. Winters here average a little cooler than DFW, but DFW is more variable.
Atlanta definitely gets more rain. 20 inches more a year on average. A lot of that is in the summer. July and August can be really dry in Dallas which is part of why it gets so hot. If you don't like rain, DFW will definitely give you less of it. Sometimes that's nice, but week after week of dry hot weather in July and August got old for me. But then some summers here it seems like every afternoon you're getting ready to do something outside and a storm rolls through.
People I'd say are fairly similar. "Texas pride" is more of a thing in DFW suburbs than "Georgia pride" here. A lot of Atlantans don't even want to be associated with Georgia whereas many Texans love being Texan. Honestly even though I like Texas a lot, the state pride was a little overbearing for me. It wasn't as bad in the suburbs, but still, it exists.
Friendliness is about even compared to the rest of the country. I always felt welcome in Texas which I can't say for Pennsylvania. DFW and Atlanta are about the same in that regard to me. Houston was probably the most welcoming honestly.
Politically, as evidenced by the election results, GA just flipped red to blue while Texas as a whole is still red. But really GA is more purple. Rural areas are strongly Republican, urban areas are strongly Democratic. Suburbs are often a mix and that's really true for both states. I don't know the percentages but Plano and Alpharetta/JC are pretty moderate at this point. I saw tons of Biden stickers and tons of Trump stickers. Really you aren't gonna find anything like Portland here. Maybe a few pockets here and there in intown Atlanta but in N Fulton most of your democrats are gonna be more moderate. I mean, a lot of people in the burbs voted for Trump in 2016 and then Biden in 2020. Same is true in DFW.
Plano and nearby cities are known for having a significant Asian population. Same with Alpharetta and especially Johns Creek. The area around Duluth and Johns Creek has a very large Asian population, particularly Korean. The area in Gwinnett County that borders Fulton County is very diverse and known for having a wide range of shops and restaurants that cater to various minority groups. There's a shopping center near my parents that's between Duluth and Suwanee and literally the entire sign has the names of the places written in Korean with maybe one or two English words.
Trying to think of anything else worth mentioning.
No state income tax in TX but they make up for it with higher property tax and usually your sales tax is higher too. Total tax burden is pretty similar I'd say. I do know my car insurance dropped by over $30 a month which is pretty significant to me. DFW has a huge hail risk. I got nailed my 2nd month of living in Allen. Over $6,000 worth of damage to my car. Roofers do a booming business in DFW. A neighborhood by my apartment complex had roofers doing work for over half a year after the storm. We don't really get that bad of hail here. Also tornado risk is lower and I don't think basements are very common in Texas but you can usually find a house with a basement here in Atlanta.
No toll roads here but a few toll HOV/HOT lanes like on I-75 and I-85. So easier to get around DFW but you will pay for it.
Plano has pretty easy access to the DFW airport and Love Field (KDAL) isn't that far away either. Here it's just Hartsfield and it's SW of downtown. You can take the MARTA train there but you'd still have to drive to the station. Peachtree Dekalb airport doesn't have any big commercial flights. So frequent flying would be easier out of Plano.
I grew up in metro Atlanta, went to college out in Texas and spent plenty of time in the DFW area. Lived in Allen for a year which is right next to Plano. Moved back January last year and now live in Alpharetta. Really you can't go wrong with either place. Some people will swear up and down that Dallas is better and others will swear up and down than Atlanta is better but really they aren't that different. I like both places a lot but my family is still here in Atlanta so that was a big reason for moving back plus I do like it slightly more.
Plano and JC/Alpharetta are about as similar as you can get. Lot of well paying jobs. Premier burbs of their respective metros. Great schools. Similar distance to downtown.
The DFW area will probably seemed more planned out than metro Atlanta. Here developers just grabbed whatever land they could seemingly without rhyme or reason. Roads are curvy, hilly, and I think often pretty, but they're kinda just going all over the place. The DFW area developed much more methodically. Extensive suburban grid with major N-S thoroughfares. Developers seemed to develop an area extensively before moving out farther away unlike Atlanta. Very easy to navigate plus a system of toll roads that criss cross the suburbs. It's much easier to get around and I do miss that aspect.
Also cities take a more active role in development and planning. The vast majority of Johns Creek developed before the incorporated city ever existed. A lot of it was just in unincorporated Fulton County which is pretty common across Atlanta. Counties take a more active role. Some people really dislike this, others don't really care.
Road quality is about the same IMO. Having driven in Pennsylvania for 2 years and crossing through the states of AL, MS, and LA for many years, both TX and GA have pretty good roads in comparison and I can't complain. Texas in general does a ton of concrete while GA seems to prefer asphalt, especially for local roads. You honestly might not even care but some people do. Like I mentioned DFW burbs have their grid system, but all the roads start looking the same. Just nonstop concrete. Metro Atlanta roads at least have some variety.
In terms of things to do, I didn't get explore too much of Plano but it seems pretty comparable. I like downtown Alpharetta better than downtown Plano. It's also more central to the rest of Alpharetta. "Plano" is pretty freaking big. Downtown is way off to the SE part of the city. Western Plano is pretty far away and has Legacy Town Center (Which I never went to) off the Dallas North Tollway. Also close to Frisco which is expanding like crazy. Central Plano is more like Johns Creek. Seemingly endless suburbia with no real focal point. Eastern Plano along 75 has the option of heading to Watters Creek which I think is technically in Allen. Allen also has a "town center" shopping mall and an outlet mall. Johns Creek has a "town center" but it's basically a series of strip malls. But JC isn't that far from Avalon in Alpharetta, downtown Alpharetta, Halcyon in southern Forsyth, downtown Duluth isn't that far either.
As far as scenery/outdoors, Atlanta definitely has the upper hand. DFW is just the southern plains. Not as flat as Houston, but not super hilly. There are some areas that are more forest-y along some of the creeks, but there's otherwise no comparison to Atlanta where you have tons of tall hardwoods and a lot of pines providing some greenery even in winter. You can actually do some trails right here in metro Atlanta. Plus you're just an hour or so outside of the Appalachians. There's nothing comparable anywhere close to Dallas. Also the lakes in N Georgia are better than anything near Dallas. Also if you wanna go to the beach, the FL Panhandle beaches are only a little longer of a drive compared to Plano to Galveston, but the beaches are wayyyyy better. There were a couple times when I lived in Houston that I went to the beach in Galveston and literally turned around and went home cause it was just so nasty. Clear water in Galveston literally made the news.
Weather wise, really depends on your preference. Dallas (and the rest of TX) gets HOT. Consistently hotter in the summer and people don't realize it, but Dallas gets just as humid as Atlanta a lot of the time. The Gulf is right there to the south and southeast. Atlanta gets hot too, but I find it's not as bad as TX. I can still go out after work for a walk when it's 90 here. But when it started hitting 100 in Dallas I just couldn't do it. Some people will say they still go out but I just couldn't. 100 with decent humidity and the lack of extensive tree cover is just not a good combo. Here you have many more opportunities to stay in the shade. And up in the mountains in summer you can get high enough in elevation where temps will be in the 80s. Some towns in NC aren't that far away and will have highs below 80 when it's 90+ here in Atlanta. You can escape the heat easier here. Winters here average a little cooler than DFW, but DFW is more variable.
Atlanta definitely gets more rain. 20 inches more a year on average. A lot of that is in the summer. July and August can be really dry in Dallas which is part of why it gets so hot. If you don't like rain, DFW will definitely give you less of it. Sometimes that's nice, but week after week of dry hot weather in July and August got old for me. But then some summers here it seems like every afternoon you're getting ready to do something outside and a storm rolls through.
People I'd say are fairly similar. "Texas pride" is more of a thing in DFW suburbs than "Georgia pride" here. A lot of Atlantans don't even want to be associated with Georgia whereas many Texans love being Texan. Honestly even though I like Texas a lot, the state pride was a little overbearing for me. It wasn't as bad in the suburbs, but still, it exists.
Friendliness is about even compared to the rest of the country. I always felt welcome in Texas which I can't say for Pennsylvania. DFW and Atlanta are about the same in that regard to me. Houston was probably the most welcoming honestly.
Politically, as evidenced by the election results, GA just flipped red to blue while Texas as a whole is still red. But really GA is more purple. Rural areas are strongly Republican, urban areas are strongly Democratic. Suburbs are often a mix and that's really true for both states. I don't know the percentages but Plano and Alpharetta/JC are pretty moderate at this point. I saw tons of Biden stickers and tons of Trump stickers. Really you aren't gonna find anything like Portland here. Maybe a few pockets here and there in intown Atlanta but in N Fulton most of your democrats are gonna be more moderate. I mean, a lot of people in the burbs voted for Trump in 2016 and then Biden in 2020. Same is true in DFW.
Plano and nearby cities are known for having a significant Asian population. Same with Alpharetta and especially Johns Creek. The area around Duluth and Johns Creek has a very large Asian population, particularly Korean. The area in Gwinnett County that borders Fulton County is very diverse and known for having a wide range of shops and restaurants that cater to various minority groups. There's a shopping center near my parents that's between Duluth and Suwanee and literally the entire sign has the names of the places written in Korean with maybe one or two English words.
Trying to think of anything else worth mentioning.
No state income tax in TX but they make up for it with higher property tax and usually your sales tax is higher too. Total tax burden is pretty similar I'd say. I do know my car insurance dropped by over $30 a month which is pretty significant to me. DFW has a huge hail risk. I got nailed my 2nd month of living in Allen. Over $6,000 worth of damage to my car. Roofers do a booming business in DFW. A neighborhood by my apartment complex had roofers doing work for over half a year after the storm. We don't really get that bad of hail here. Also tornado risk is lower and I don't think basements are very common in Texas but you can usually find a house with a basement here in Atlanta.
No toll roads here but a few toll HOV/HOT lanes like on I-75 and I-85. So easier to get around DFW but you will pay for it.
Plano has pretty easy access to the DFW airport and Love Field (KDAL) isn't that far away either. Here it's just Hartsfield and it's SW of downtown. You can take the MARTA train there but you'd still have to drive to the station. Peachtree Dekalb airport doesn't have any big commercial flights. So frequent flying would be easier out of Plano.
Wow, thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I am honestly leaning towards the Alpharetta area based on what you've said. If nearly all things are equal and I'm looking only at the differences, the greener environment seems to be the biggest difference. Again, thank you so much. I read that out loud to my friend, my wife, and his wife. Very helpful.
My wife and I work in medicine (NP / PA), live in Arizona, and are trying to get local perspective between Dallas (north of Dallas like Plano), and Atlanta (north of Atlanta like Johns Creek / Alpharetta). Nice houses seem abundant in both areas in the 400's, Georgia looks more green, but other than that, we'd like to know how it "feels", how the people are, demographic differences, weather (I've seen the numbers but how it really -feels-), etc etc. Anything you can tell us is helpful!
Side note: We are middle ground people politically, non-religious, we chose not to move to Portland (we loved Portland) just because of the extremism and we don't want to move to another place that is politically extreme on the other side of the isle either. We are white and asian and wonder which place we may feel has more of that culture if at all. We enjoy outdoor activities like biking trails / kayaking, but also dinner theater, plays, art and culture, etc.
There may be some people here who have lived extensively in both cities that likely may be able to go into much more detail about both the differences and comparisons between Dallas and Atlanta.
Both city/metros have one significant similarity in that they both are very large major Southern metropolitan areas whose heaviest metropolitan growth patterns predominantly seem to extend to the north more than any other direction away from the city.
The north side of the city and metro is the most affluent side of town in both Dallas and Atlanta.
Both Dallas and Atlanta also generate much growth from attracting and being major relocation destinations for out-of-state newcomers.
Dallas seems to attract very heavy numbers of out-of-state newcomers from states like California, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and even parts of the Great Plains, Upper Midwest and Eastern Seaboard, amongst other places.
While Atlanta attracts an extremely heavy amount of out-of-state newcomers from the Northeastern U.S. (starting with the New York-New Jersey area, etc.), the Great Lakes (including Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and seemingly especially Michigan), other parts of the South and even California (where migration from appears to be ticking up significantly as of late to Atlanta).
Dallas’ relatively much flatter and less heavily-wooded terrain enables it to have a much more extensive metropolitan arterial road network than Atlanta whose much more heavily-wooded rolling/hilly/low-mountainous terrain has prevented further development of the metropolitan/regional arterial road network.
Dallas is basically a Southern Prairie culture and environment, while Atlanta is basically Southern Appalachia meets Piedmont culturally.
Compared to Atlanta, Dallas is relatively much more sparsely wooded.
While, compared to Dallas, Atlanta is much more ‘woolly’ with the heavily wooded environment of the Southern Blue Ridge/Appalachian/Piedmont region motivating locals to very often favor a very heavy green look with very generous amounts of vegetation.
Atlanta also is a much more entertainment-based culture and economy than Dallas, with Atlanta being a major focus of the Hip-Hop/R&B music genre since the early 1990’s (with at least a few noticeable Country Music influences). And with the Atlanta city/metro becoming the largest international hub of television and film production outside of Southern California during the decade of the 2010’s, with the area reportedly producing more big budget movies than California since about 2016.
Atlanta has also emerged as a major tech industry hub over the last decade or so, with the North Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta becoming a major focus of tech industry activity in recent years.
While Intown Atlanta continues to grow its very robust tech industry presence with tech giant Microsoft announcing the construction of a large urban campus that is slated to become a major hub of the company’s corporate operations on the East Coast.
Both Dallas and Atlanta seem to feature their highest-rated public schools in their very expansive, highly-affluent and increasingly diverse northern suburbs.
The highly-rated public schools in Atlanta’s northern suburbs has created a massive boom in the minority population throughout that area, including a massive influx of South Asian and East Asian newcomers in North Fulton, South Forsyth and Gwinnett counties.
Both Dallas and Atlanta are generating massive amounts of population growth that are helping to push both their respective states’ historically conservative social and political climates noticeably towards the center.
Though, Atlanta’s status as a major (massive) relocation destination for Democratic-leaning African-Americans as well as moderates and progressives of all races and ethnicities appears to have Georgia noticeably further along in its continuing move to the political/social center and left than Texas.
Both Dallas and Atlanta feature significantly wetter climates than Arizona.
Dallas receives about 38 inches of precipitation on average each year, while Atlanta receives about 50 inches of precipitation on average each year.
Average relative humidity appears to be only slightly higher in Atlanta than in Dallas.
Both cities feature relatively very mild winters generally, though cold spells along with some winter precipitation are not completely unusual for both areas.
Both areas feature hot, humid summers, though Atlanta’s higher elevation (about 1,000 feet above sea level) and location (near the very southern end of the Blue Ridge/Appalachian mountains) seems to temper much of the worst heat and humidity.
If you like outdoor activities like biking trails and kayaking, Atlanta is a very good spot with its expanding network of multi-purpose outdoor recreational paths.
... That’s including popular paths like the Atlanta Beltline (an increasingly popular Intown path that is generating transformative economic development opportunities), the Big Creek Greenway (which runs for miles along a major creek corridor through affluent Northside suburbs like Alpharetta and Cumming), the Silver Comet Trail (which runs along a former railroad corridor through Atlanta’s western suburbs), etc.
The Southern Terminus of the famous Appalachian Trail is located only about 80 miles or so north of Downtown Atlanta. Atlanta’s northern outer-suburbs and exurbs actually extend into the foothills and low mountain ranges of the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachian mountains, which are located relatively very close by north of the city.
Atlanta also has a growing visual and performative arts and cultural scene that, while not as high-profile as its Northern peers, is still nonetheless robust during normal times and has much upside going forward.
Atlanta also has a fantastic but often unheralded dining scene that is very diverse and much more extensive than many often might expect.
There may be some people here who have lived extensively in both cities that likely may be able to go into much more detail about both the differences and comparisons between Dallas and Atlanta.
Both city/metros have one significant similarity in that they both are very large major Southern metropolitan areas whose heaviest metropolitan growth patterns predominantly seem to extend to the north more than any other direction away from the city.
The north side of the city and metro is the most affluent side of town in both Dallas and Atlanta.
Both Dallas and Atlanta also generate much growth from attracting and being major relocation destinations for out-of-state newcomers.
Dallas seems to attract very heavy numbers of out-of-state newcomers from states like California, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and even parts of the Great Plains, Upper Midwest and Eastern Seaboard, amongst other places.
While Atlanta attracts an extremely heavy amount of out-of-state newcomers from the Northeastern U.S. (starting with the New York-New Jersey area, etc.), the Great Lakes (including Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and seemingly especially Michigan), other parts of the South and even California (where migration from appears to be ticking up significantly as of late to Atlanta).
Dallas’ relatively much flatter and less heavily-wooded terrain enables it to have a much more extensive metropolitan arterial road network than Atlanta whose much more heavily-wooded rolling/hilly/low-mountainous terrain has prevented further development of the metropolitan/regional arterial road network.
Dallas is basically a Southern Prairie culture and environment, while Atlanta is basically Southern Appalachia meets Piedmont culturally.
Compared to Atlanta, Dallas is relatively much more sparsely wooded.
While, compared to Dallas, Atlanta is much more ‘woolly’ with the heavily wooded environment of the Southern Blue Ridge/Appalachian/Piedmont region motivating locals to very often favor a very heavy green look with very generous amounts of vegetation.
Atlanta also is a much more entertainment-based culture and economy than Dallas, with Atlanta being a major focus of the Hip-Hop/R&B music genre since the early 1990’s (with at least a few noticeable Country Music influences). And with the Atlanta city/metro becoming the largest international hub of television and film production outside of Southern California during the decade of the 2010’s, with the area reportedly producing more big budget movies than California since about 2016.
Atlanta has also emerged as a major tech industry hub over the last decade or so, with the North Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta becoming a major focus of tech industry activity in recent years.
While Intown Atlanta continues to grow its very robust tech industry presence with tech giant Microsoft announcing the construction of a large urban campus that is slated to become a major hub of the company’s corporate operations on the East Coast.
Both Dallas and Atlanta seem to feature their highest-rated public schools in their very expansive, highly-affluent and increasingly diverse northern suburbs.
The highly-rated public schools in Atlanta’s northern suburbs has created a massive boom in the minority population throughout that area, including a massive influx of South Asian and East Asian newcomers in North Fulton, South Forsyth and Gwinnett counties.
Both Dallas and Atlanta are generating massive amounts of population growth that are helping to push both their respective states’ historically conservative social and political climates noticeably towards the center.
Though, Atlanta’s status as a major (massive) relocation destination for Democratic-leaning African-Americans as well as moderates and progressives of all races and ethnicities appears to have Georgia noticeably further along in its continuing move to the political/social center and left than Texas.
Both Dallas and Atlanta feature significantly wetter climates than Arizona.
Dallas receives about 38 inches of precipitation on average each year, while Atlanta receives about 50 inches of precipitation on average each year.
Average relative humidity appears to be only slightly higher in Atlanta than in Dallas.
Both cities feature relatively very mild winters generally, though cold spells along with some winter precipitation are not completely unusual for both areas.
Both areas feature hot, humid summers, though Atlanta’s higher elevation (about 1,000 feet above sea level) and location (near the very southern end of the Blue Ridge/Appalachian mountains) seems to temper much of the worst heat and humidity.
If you like outdoor activities like biking trails and kayaking, Atlanta is a very good spot with its expanding network of multi-purpose outdoor recreational paths.
... That’s including popular paths like the Atlanta Beltline (an increasingly popular Intown path that is generating transformative economic development opportunities), the Big Creek Greenway (which runs for miles along a major creek corridor through affluent Northside suburbs like Alpharetta and Cumming), the Silver Comet Trail (which runs along a former railroad corridor through Atlanta’s western suburbs), etc.
The Southern Terminus of the famous Appalachian Trail is located only about 80 miles or so north of Downtown Atlanta. Atlanta’s northern outer-suburbs and exurbs actually extend into the foothills and low mountain ranges of the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachian mountains, which are located relatively very close by north of the city.
Atlanta also has a growing visual and performative arts and cultural scene that, while not as high-profile as its Northern peers, is still nonetheless robust during normal times and has much upside going forward.
Atlanta also has a fantastic but often unheralded dining scene that is very diverse and much more extensive than many often might expect.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful response. This is why I love city-data. Full of helpful folks willing to go the extra mile for a stranger. Based on your and others responses it does seem as though North Atlanta is a bit more "our speed". Thank you again, truly.
Wow, thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I am honestly leaning towards the Alpharetta area based on what you've said. If nearly all things are equal and I'm looking only at the differences, the greener environment seems to be the biggest difference. Again, thank you so much. I read that out loud to my friend, my wife, and his wife. Very helpful.
You are more than welcome.
If you're really into outdoor activities and greenery, Alpharetta is the way to go.
In Plano I did go to Arbor Hills Nature Preserve a few times which was pretty nice.
Then on the east side Oak Point Park was pretty nice. Other than that it seemed harder to find really nice parks that were more than just quarter mile loops with sports fields.
Cutting along the east side of Johns Creek and the south side of Roswell is the Chattahoochee river which has a lot of different trails/paths along it. Plenty of recreation opportunities along the river.
I've been to this park just outside Roswell's old city center.
I'm on the Roswell/Alpharetta Big Creek Greenway a lot. At the southern end is a nice area to walk around and has a lot of decent mountain biking. The Greenway itself is very popular with runners, walkers and cyclists. It's a concrete path in pretty good condition. It does flood a lot but they do a good job of clearing all the mud off. The Roswell/Alpharetta portion is around 8 miles long but eventually it'll be connected to Forsyth County's greenway. I think they're working on a section at the northern end now. Stone Mountain isn't too far from Alpharetta and provides really good views of downtown and when the skies are clear you can see up to the N GA mountains.
I haven't been to Kennesaw Mountain yet but it's near Marietta which isn't that far from Alpharetta either.
You should definitely check out Sawnee Mountain. It's a quick shot up 400 to Cumming. Really nice trails and at the top has the "Indian Seats" which provides a really good view to the NW. What I like is you can do a very short trail to the top, or you can go a longer route and get a few miles in. Plus on the other side of the road you can do a 5 mile loop if you wanna get more steps in. Views aren't great cause of the trees but you will be in the forest which is pretty on its own.
Then of course there's the mountains and a lot of creeks and streams. Plenty of kayaking opportunities or places have the river tubes you can just float on. I know Texans really like to float the Rio Frio, but that's like 5 or 6 hours from DFW. You can do the same in Dahlonega, Helen, and other places all within an hour or two from Alpharetta. And for serious hiking there's tons of trails in the mountains. I mean the Appalachian Trail itself starts in GA. And once you exhaust N GA, you still have everything in far eastern TN and western NC. There are a lot of groups online based in Atlanta that will do day trips into the mountains for hikes.
Long story short, there are plenty of outdoor activities to do here. Maybe not Denver level but you can stay busy and won't have to drive as far as you would from DFW.
I have a house in Keller, which I have used as a rental for over 15 years. Although I have never lived in Dallas, I do know the market as I keep tabs on my rental, plus I have been there a lot for business. I moved to Atlanta back in Sept. of 19 for work, I up in South Forsyth county. Mainly due to the overall quality of the schools, lower property taxes than Alpharetta/Fulton, I'm still only 15 minutes to Avalon & 15 minutes to Duluth, & have local stores within 5 minutes. The whole area Suwannee, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, & South Fulton, run together as far as housing & amenities. In a lot of ways it's pretty much upper class suburbia with a lot of swim/tennis communities between $400k to 800k, & several gated golf clubs over $1 million.
With this many people earning over $100k a year in a small area means we have an abundance of strip malls, bars, & restaurants. There is also a amphitheater in Alpharetta which gets national acts.
A couple of things about housing here vs. Dallas. There are more semi-custom homes in this area than national builder homes, also if you look at an established neighborhood a lot of the homes are on 1/4 acre to 1//2 acre wooded lots vs. 1/8 acre newer neighborhoods in Dallas. You also have the ability to have a walkout basement.
Recreation
Gwinnett County recently won an award for the best park system in the nation. The further north you are also means you are closer to the national parks. There is a lifetime fitness of 141 in Johns Creek which is were I go, climbing wall, tons of classes, & indoor/outdoor pools.
This is interesting. I have only been to Texas once, so I'm enjoying reading about the differences. Any comment on how much history plays a role in the city's functioning today? How is diversity, what different groups live out there vs. ATL and which city is more integrated? Is there a "Dallas accent" like there is an Atlanta accent?
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