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Winter time in Miami is perfect much better than Atlanta winter of cold and rainy. Summer here is still hot and the air quality is bad. At least in Miami if your close to the beach you have a sea breeze whereas here in the middle of summer its dead heat with the humidity and bad air quality. Atlanta has changed alot too, this is coming from a native. It's become a melting pot people moving here from all over and many bring their rude attitudes with them, not all but many. Traffic is a beeyotch although Miami has that too. I don't know much about Las Vegas never been there so can't compare. I would think Miami especially at the beach would be a much better bachelor paradise than Atlanta.
I never really felt connected to Metro Atlanta as a young single. Even once married, it took moving to downtown Marietta for both of us to feel like we'd found a community. This we truly love, though I imagine we'll retire elsewhere in 10-15 years, just to get a more relaxed pace of life.
That said, I would choose Atlanta over either Las Vegas or Miami 100 times out of 100.
I haven't spent much time in Las Vegas but the time I did it was fun but I noticed some of the dark underside from gambling. I've been to Miami a few times. The latin culture is obviously predominant in Miami where African American culture is predominant in Atlanta. Most of the local Latin/Cuban people in Miami I met were very friendly and open to sharing their culture. The Brickell area is really similar to Midtown & Buckhead with some posh and uppity attitudes. I found traffic a bit worse in Miami with some of the toll roads and geographic boundaries. We went to some dive Cuban restaurants and the people were really welcoming whereas if I go to a latin restaurant on Buford Highway I will get some looks. Atlanta and Miami do have a lot of similarities but I found Miami's party/social scene a bit more open and friendly. In Atlanta I feel like you need to know people in order to go party/socialize in an area.
I haven't spent much time in Las Vegas but the time I did it was fun but I noticed some of the dark underside from gambling. I've been to Miami a few times. The latin culture is obviously predominant in Miami where African American culture is predominant in Atlanta. Most of the local Latin/Cuban people in Miami I met were very friendly and open to sharing their culture. The Brickell area is really similar to Midtown & Buckhead with some posh and uppity attitudes. I found traffic a bit worse in Miami with some of the toll roads and geographic boundaries. We went to some dive Cuban restaurants and the people were really welcoming whereas if I go to a latin restaurant on Buford Highway I will get some looks. Atlanta and Miami do have a lot of similarities but I found Miami's party/social scene a bit more open and friendly. In Atlanta I feel like you need to know people in order to go party/socialize in an area.
This is so strange to hear. I'm a blonde haired, blue eyed WASP, and I'm welcomed with open arms at Latin restaurants up and down Buford Hwy. The Cuban-owned Havana in particular is very welcoming, and the food is just as good as any Cuban I've had in Florida.
I would say if OP was moving here back in the 90s it would be a fun choice for a bachelor, especially with the old buckhead clubs/bar scene, ever since they tore that down when things started getting out of hand (Ray Lewis incident) buckhead was never the same, and the dating scene seems completely different now. I do think part of it is how millennials are so engaged in their phones and all the online apps they don't seem to know how to socialize, kinda sad but true. Anytime I've been in Miami, mostly the beach areas or even Ft. Lauderdale the nightlife seems much more exciting!
I would say if OP was moving here back in the 90s it would be a fun choice for a bachelor, especially with the old buckhead clubs/bar scene, ever since they tore that down when things started getting out of hand (Ray Lewis incident) buckhead was never the same, and the dating scene seems completely different now. I do think part of it is how millennials are so engaged in their phones and all the online apps they don't seem to know how to socialize, kinda sad but true. Anytime I've been in Miami, mostly the beach areas or even Ft. Lauderdale the nightlife seems much more exciting!
Haha all those freewheeling dating bachelor(ette)s from the 90s are now the same people who have the Kia Tellurides shuttling their kids around in Gwinnett county.
The dating scene may be muted some, but it seems like younger people divorce less, so maybe being picky and more prudish isn't the worst.
I have lived in both Las Vegas and Atlanta so I'll only compare those two cities.
1. Weather--Las Vegas. Yes, Las Vegas gets hot in July and August. However, Atlanta winters absolutely suck. Summers in Atlanta are no picnic either. For me, Vegas wins hands down.
2. Beauty----Las Vegas. Yes, Vegas is one huge parking lot. However, it is surrounded by mountains. So for natural beauty there is no comparison. I can also get to the mountains within 30 minutes. However, yes, Atlanta does have better parks. It also has more aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods. But for me there is nothing like being able to have a mountain view.
3. Hospitality---I'll call this a toss up. You're going to run into nice and not so nice people everywhere.
4. Events----Atlanta. Lots of big festivals just about any weekend during the Spring/Summer.
Also from a food perspective, Vegas beats Atlanta hands down. Everyone always points to how "great" Buford Highway is. Buford Highway is a joke. Chinatown in Vegas blows Buford Highway away. Plus you actually have multiple Michelin Star restaurants to choose from in Vegas. I can go into Chinatown in Vegas and be at multiple Asian grocery stores, an Eastern European grocery store, and an African grocery store all within a few minutes of each other.
LA has more money than Atlanta. YOu can buy a $150,000,000 home in LA. You cant come close to that type of home in Atlanta. Again, LA is far superior to Atlanta in most categories. It's hard to compete with a city on an ocean.
Atlanta will always be a second rate large city.
For food, Chinatown Vegas doesn't blow Atlanta away. If you combine Doraville/Chamblee with Duluth/Suwanee options, the Korean and Chinese food is superior in Atlanta. You also have better Vietnamese food, Soul food, and ramen choices in Atlanta. Atlanta also has much larger East Asian groceries (5 Super H-Marts, a Mega Mart biggest Korean mart in the U.S., Zion Market, Assi Market, Namdaemun, biggest Great Wall supermarket, Hong Kong Supermarket, Jusgo, along with Buford Highway's Farmer's Market (which is basically multiple cultures mixed in one store). The thing that's better for Vegas is that these food options are a lot closer to the strip (just a few blocks away) whereas in Atlanta you have to out to the burbs.
For the weather, Vegas is unbearably hot in the summer, not even close. 124 degrees (hottest this summer in Vegas) versus 93 degrees (hottest this summer in Atlanta), not even close. The winter's aren't even that bad in Atlanta (average highs of 65 in November, 55 in December, 53 in January). You do get a blizzard once a decade or so though.
Also, why would you bring up LA when talking about Vegas? You can get homes as big as those you find in LA (like Tyler Perry's or Rick Ross's mansions), it's just the prices aren't in the 9 figures.
For food, Chinatown Vegas doesn't blow Atlanta away. If you combine Doraville/Chamblee with Duluth/Suwanee options, the Korean and Chinese food is superior in Atlanta. You also have better Vietnamese food, Soul food, and ramen choices in Atlanta. Atlanta also has much larger East Asian groceries (5 Super H-Marts, a Mega Mart biggest Korean mart in the U.S., Zion Market, Assi Market, Namdaemun, biggest Great Wall supermarket, Hong Kong Supermarket, Jusgo, along with Buford Highway's Farmer's Market (which is basically multiple cultures mixed in one store). The thing that's better for Vegas is that these food options are a lot closer to the strip (just a few blocks away) whereas in Atlanta you have to out to the burbs.
For the weather, Vegas is unbearably hot in the summer, not even close. 124 degrees (hottest this summer in Vegas) versus 93 degrees (hottest this summer in Atlanta), not even close. The winter's aren't even that bad in Atlanta (average highs of 65 in November, 55 in December, 53 in January). You do get a blizzard once a decade or so though.
Also, why would you bring up LA when talking about Vegas? You can get homes as big as those you find in LA (like Tyler Perry's or Rick Ross's mansions), it's just the prices aren't in the 9 figures.
I agree... I was very perplexed by that particular comment. In Gwinnett that list of things to find in close proximity doesn't seem like a big deal.
Las Vegas has a suburban style shopping plaza with a few that line up on a busy street, as we do here in Atlanta.
His statement could describe a number of areas throughout Gwinnett County and it really still describes Buford Highway.
Clark County is only about 4.5% non-filipino Asian. (Filipinos make up about half of all Asians there, so I separated them out not being relevant to china town. Filipino culture is something Atlanta doesn't have as much of, so that is a unique noteworthy point for Vegas.)
The mention on wealth was weird too. Las Vegas is a vacation town, not wealthy across its populace. There might be a few mega-rich people as there are in most major cities.
The Las Vegas GDP per capita was $43k (2017 data, inflation adjusted to 2009), ranked 155 of metro areas in the US. Atlanta was $56.8k (ranked 43 of US metro areas).
In 2019 Atlanta MSA has a median household income of $71,700 (2019 dollars). Las Vegas has a median household income of $62,100. And in using both of these statistics I'm being fare in controlling for the population difference, but there are more people in Atlanta with more money.
Las Vegas definitely does not have more money. I'm sure they sell it that way to appeal to the gambling image of their tourist hub.
Where did I ever say Vegas has more money? Uh, I didnt. I mentioned LA simply because the OP mentioned LA and compared it to Atlanta.
I'll try to describe Chinatown in Vegas one more time. It's shopping plaza after shopping plaza lined up one right after the other one for miles. Please, show me in Atlanta where literally over 100 ethnic restaurants exist within a 2 square mile area. I mean I guess you COULD open up google maps and take a look for yourself, but why bother doing that, right?
Noted about LA. I didn't notice how we want off topic from Vegas, Miami, and Atlanta.
I got to say I'm not convinced by your Vegas arguments at all. I see the strip mall you're talking about, but it is contain to a few in a small area. I saw it in google maps... You're argument is not very unconvincing. There is no need to try to cover up the substance of your argument over personal arguments on how to use the internet.
Buford Highway has the same thing as you drive up into Doraville, into Norcross, and going further north.
Not to mention the Gwinnett Place Mall area and a number of smaller neighborhood centers in Duluth, Lilburn, Johns Creek, and areas along Jimmy Carter Blvd.
The argument your making here about having themed ethnic strip malls is simply perplexing. It's almost like you don't really know the Atlanta region very well. We literally have corridors were ethnic business are predominate not just in 1-3 blocks, but over 6 to 7 miles up and down the road.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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In addressing the OP's original criteria:
1. Weather--Miami...only one of the 3 that has a beach/ocean which, if you live on or near the coast, the summers are tolerable bordering on enjoyable as one gets comfortable breezes most of the time. If you live inland much warmer--though not sure why one would live in Miami not to be on or near the water. November - end of May (7 months) is arguably the best in the continental US in Miami....I cannot tolerate desert heat in the summer (gives me dehydration headaches) nor prolonged winter weather in the 50's or lower.
2. Beauty--Miami...aqua green ocean and Biscayne Bay. Nice palm trees, some areas with more variety of trees--Coconut Grove, Coral Gables. Great skyline and views from high rises.
3. Hospitality--Atlanta
4. Events--Miami....hard to beat annual Art Basel, Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Wine Spectator and Cigar Aficionado events, Ultra, Art Deco Weekend, International Boat Show, Carnaval Miami, Miami Open, SOBE Wine & Food Festival, Miami International Auto Show, and beginning in 2022 Formula 1 Racing, among others.
Follow up questions:
1. Are Vegas and Miami materialistic?.....I find more of the poseurs are those vacationing rather than locals who live there.
2. Are Miami and LA transient?...to a certain extent....really depends on one's career path--if you are a service industry person who "lives life to the fullest" which is code for paycheck to paycheck or trying to make it big in Hollywood, very likely....if you have an established career path (law, medicine, finance, business owner/entrepreneur), much less the case.
Atlanta is the most stable/safer bet of the 3 for many; Miami is the most exotic and expensive of the 3; Vegas comes across as the most transient of the 3.
Last edited by elchevere; 08-06-2021 at 05:00 PM..
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