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Atlanta’s subtropical latitude is also moderated by its elevation—sitting at about 1,100 feet above see level on the Piedmont Plateau and in the Appalachian Foothills.
At the same time Boston isn’t really that cold. The coldest month has an average high of like 36F.
If you don’t do outdoor activities much you can easily get thru a Boston winter with only a sweatshirt and a rain jacket
Atlanta is about 11.5 degrees warmer than Boston throughout the year. Winter is like 12-15 degrees warmer and Summer 8-10 warmer. Spring is not the most different objectively but it feels the most different since early spring is usually in the 60s and by now we are getting weather in the 70s and 80s so it's the difference between hoodie/jacket weather in boston vs tee shirt weather down here. Whereas most winter days here are still long sleeves at least
Atlanta's heat is not too bad. for another thread I tracked hot/humid days for different cities where the heat index goes above 38 degrees C or 100F . Atlanta is cooler than most of the other cities in the south by that metric.
Spoiler
The vertical axis is the heat index temperature in celsius. each line represents a day where the heat index hit that number. Heat indexes below 38c are ignored for the charts.
COL: Atlanta
QOL: Subjective
Culture: Boston
Economy: Boston
Character and Charm: Boston
Transit: Boston
Transportation (roads, etc): Atlanta
Urban life and vibrancy: Boston
Suburbs: I prefer Atlanta’s suburbs to Boston’s but a lot of people on this forum like Boston’s more.
Walkable suburban towns: Boston
Downtowns: Boston
Higher Education: Boston
Schools (K - 12): Boston
Climate: Atlanta
History: Boston
Geography (proximity to other areas): Boston
Topography (the prettier area): Boston barely. Both are in very pretty locations with lots of nearby scenery imo
Outdoors/Parks/Rec: I honestly prefer Atlanta in this area but Boston does well too.
Taxes: Atlanta
Potential in the 2020s: Atlanta
Overall I prefer Atlanta since I actually like sunbelt cities. Atlanta has good weather, a good economy, lower taxes, and it also has great scenery nearby. I wouldn’t mind living there again. Boston is very nice too but the significantly more expensive COL and the winters would drive me away. Atlanta also seems more diverse across the metro area whereas Boston itself is diverse but I felt it’s suburbs aren’t as diverse as Atlanta’s
It may shock some folks to learn that most people who are not in poverty or income-millionaires are subject to higher income tax rates in GA than in MA. And a lot higher sales tax (MA has no municipal-level sales taxes except on hotels/prepared food).
Atlanta’s subtropical latitude is also moderated by its elevation—sitting at about 1,100 feet above see level on the Piedmont Plateau and in the Appalachian Foothills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by btownboss4
At the same time Boston isn’t really that cold. The coldest month has an average high of like 36F.
If you don’t do outdoor activities much you can easily get thru a Boston winter with only a sweatshirt and a rain jacket
Yet people act like it’s Siberia 4 months a year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Space_League
Atlanta is about 11.5 degrees warmer than Boston throughout the year. Winter is like 12-15 degrees warmer and Summer 8-10 warmer. Spring is not the most different objectively but it feels the most different since early spring is usually in the 60s and by now we are getting weather in the 70s and 80s so it's the difference between hoodie/jacket weather in boston vs tee shirt weather down here. Whereas most winter days here are still long sleeves at least
Atlanta's heat is not too bad. for another thread I tracked hot/humid days for different cities where the heat index goes above 38 degrees C or 100F . Atlanta is cooler than most of the other cities in the south by that metric.
The vertical axis is the heat index temperature in celsius. each line represents a day where the heat index hit that number. Heat indexes below 38c are ignored for the charts.
You will see that, outside of the Mediterranean climate and a few of the Semi-Arid climates of the West Coast and Southwest, there is a swath of ideal climate/weather in the United States that includes North Georgia (at its high elevation), small parts of South Carolina, large parts of North Carolina, and small parts of Virginia.
Racial diversity isn’t the end-all/be-all. Of Atlanta’s white people, how many are WASPs? Of its black population, how many are AA? Of its Hispanic population, how many are Mexican?
It doesn’t take “granular minutia” to see that Boston wins for diversity if you go just one level of specificity down.
Do you know about the large, consistent influx of white people from other regions of the country into Metro Atlanta from about 1960 to 2010?
Did you know that Atlanta is also a magnet for Black immigrants from around the world?
Do you know about the specifically-heavy Midwestern (mostly Catholic) influx into Metro Atlanta from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s?
Did you know that the "New York Influx" into Atlanta of the 1990s and 2000s contained both whites and Blacks - with a lot of the Blacks being of Caribbean descent?
One example:
I mostly grew up in an Atlanta suburb in the 1980s and early/mid 1990s. Of my white peers - just at my grade-level, just in my subdivision of 171 homes, and just the ones that were actually my friends:
Three were born in Ohio (Cincinnati, Greater Cleveland, Lorain), moved to Atlanta as toddlers, and all were Catholic.
One was from Chicago (River Forest), moved to Atlanta in Grade 3 - and was also Catholic.
One was from Chicago (Naperville), moved to Atlanta as toddler - and was half-Lebanese.
Atlanta would probably feel sweltering compared to Boston during the summer but I can't do New England winters and shoveling snow off my driveway. So I go with Atlanta.
Atlanta would probably feel sweltering compared to Boston during the summer but I can't do New England winters and shoveling snow off my driveway. So I go with Atlanta.
In terms of extreme heat days (heat index over 38C) it's not really that different. Boston gets them here and there too
If you look at days over 35c/95f instead of 38/100f, Atlanta does have quite a few more of those.
Depends on what your comfort level is. To me the heat isn't particularly oppressive until around a heat index of 100 but some people will be uncomfortable at 90. Atlanta's summer is pretty much going to hit a heat index of 90 every single day unlike Boston
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