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Okay, so how does the average person outside of Atlanta view the city? Even internationally would be great!
Do you see it as another version of Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle, Houston, and Dallas - or bigger, smaller?
How about the culture? Do you only view the city as a center for black people?
Let me summarize this for you, if you met a person who said they were from Atlanta, what would come to mind? "Whoa, nice city!" or "Small-town person."
Also, do you view it as "cool" or "hip", as in a place to be in 2012 and in the future?
Additionally, any outsiders heard of Emory University and/or Georgia Tech? Thoughts on it? Thoughts on a student attending that school - what would come to mind?
I would be really great to hear some responses. I would also be willing to return the favor and give an outsider's perspective/view of your city or state! Thank you!
Here's the perspective of an outsider, 13 years ago.
Granted I was a severely uninformed European at the time...when I received an opportunity to go to grad school in Atlanta. For whatever reason, I was under the impression that this city was...THAT! A city - as Europeans understand it: big metropolis, tons of sidewalks and pedestrians, tons of stores, outside cafes, huge public transportation network, historic buildings, the works. The Olympics had probably created that illusion for many outsiders.
When the person who picked me up at the airport was driving on the Interstate, through the city, I asked when we get to Atlanta and he said "we are in Atlanta".
From that moment on, the shock of my life began and it never ended to this day.
When we drove on Peachtree Rd. through the middle of Buckhead I was told that this is where very rich people live.I could not comprehend how rich people can live in an area where the public spaces look as impressive as a modest village or province in Europe, with minimal if any sophistication. I had not yet seen the huge palaces hidden away in the forest nearby, but the bottom line is that the public spaces looked extremely rudimentary.
They built a lot in that area over the past decade but at the time, it looked sub-provincial.
Overall you can't possibly call this a city...and yet, this is what people in the area do. They call it a city.
I ended up living here because I got married here and found good professional opportunities, which would be very hard to come by in majestic Europe...but I am still dreaming of moving back to Europe somehow.
The areas considered nice in Atlanta look like a very well manicured, well-taken care of cemetery to me.
Sometimes it feels like people live in tombs - certainly so for people with families. It's as if you need to bury yourself under the ground once you have children.
The suburb life and 24/7 365 a child-oriented lifestyle where nothing truly adult-worthy ever happens. People's entire lives revolve around micro-managing their children andf signing them up for activities. Invariably the children end up little spoilt Centers-of-the-Universe no matter how you twist it. The entire infrastructure and collective lifestyle is conducive to that even if you have different values.
But hey, you get some big-bang-for-the-buck house.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Atlanta doesn't figure much on my radar. I first heard of it as a 10 year when the Olympics were held there, but I don't remember learning much about the city itself.
Other than that, I know it for Coca Cola, CNN, having the busiest airport in the world, and Gone with the Wind. I doubt most Australians know more than that. It just seems like a typical, generic, sprawling Southern city without the charm and history of New Orleans or Richmond. I know it's big in the hip hop scene but I'm not interested in that so it means nothing to me. I have no real desire to visit, although if I'm in the area I might as well check it out.
I have been to many major US cities and had a good deal to compare it to.
Atlanta is a place that I would visit if I had a reason to go there or if I was passing through the area, but I probably would not suggest somebody take a vacation there just to go to Atlanta.
It's a cool city. It has your hip districts for young people (Little 5 points), your upscale districts (Buckhead) and your decaying downtown.
Public transportation seems so-so and the diversity seems decent. The sprawl is pretty bad. The city it reminds me most of is Los Angeles. Spread out, with very rich districts and very poor districts and seems you need to drive to get anywhere.
It would be a decent place to live for a while if I got transferred there or something, but I don't think I would choose to live there.
Other than the 1996 Olympics and Coca-Cola I have no concept of what it's like as a city, although I know from reading this site that a lot of black people have moved there recently for some reason. I have been through the airport though and missed one of the most beautiful photo ops I've ever had: when we were landing we had the low evening sun directly to my left illuminating the two planes landing at the same time at the adjacent runways to the right and the skyscrapers almost directly behind them - the whole effect really did look stunning
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