Despite all the SF fever... tell me about Atlanta, GA

[Zeze]

As you know I'm at a cross road to find a place to settle in. I've been having SF fever, but it's just so damn expensive.

I've visited Atlanta and the metro area few times. It's a big city, but it didn't seem to have too many things to do (SF got wineries, hours from many national parks, ocean, mountains, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite etc).

My parents are looking to retire there. Shits SO cheap. They found a beautiful 3 BR 'european' condo for freakin'... 150K, just 15 mins from the city.

This does make me reconsider ATL. What can you tell me about it?

-How is general growth of the city?
-Attractions 1-5 hours from the city?
-Overall pros and cons?

 

[Gibson486]

From what I heard, Atlanta is pretty cool, but once you get outside of Atlanta, it gets sketchy.

 

[Zeze]

From what I heard, Atlanta is pretty cool, but once you get outside of Atlanta, it gets sketchy.

Yeah I remember I being shocked of how everything was cheap.

My friend and I went out and parked his car in the prime downtown location. In Boston (where I'm originally from), you're looking at $20~. NY & SF, $30+.

We freakin' paid $4.50 for 4 hours of parking. WTF.

It's amazing how a huge metropolis can be so CHEAP, you'd expect only hickvilles to be like so.

 

[Dman8777]

I went to school there and found it to be a little boring. It's not as walkable as other large cities, there's not as much going on. Plus it's in Georgia. There's a reason it's cheap.

 

[Demo24]

A few things.

A)Most people don't actually live in the ATL, most reside in the Atlanta metro area (which is massive) and commute in. Thus, traffic sucks. Public transport is hardly ideal, and you really only take that if you need to. While MARTA buses are probably ok, the light rail is sketchy. I've taken it once and don't intend to take it again on purpose.

B) Some of the areas can really differ in terms of 'niceness', so you should tell us what area they are looking at. South side in general from what I know is a bit more on the sketch side, but not all of it. North side in general is a bit nicer imo.

C) I don't go to ATL that much these days (am looking to move there next year) but there are some things to do there, and a decently wide variety of restaurant types. Also 1-5 hrs outside there's a decent bit. A number of parks, wineries, mountains about 1.5hrs(depending on where in atl), coast in roughly 2-3rs, etc. Plus the major airport on the south side means you could easily get a ride there and go where ever you want.

D) In general it should be cheaper than SF, taxes aren't too bad, a 7% sales tax, and the housing bubble hit Georgia pretty hard so there are usually a lot of options there.


There are some downsides in that it's not that walkable of a city so you'll really need to drive everywhere. And at times if you aren't careful you can find yourself going down some less than pleasant neighborhoods.

 

[Zeze]

A few things.

A)Most people don't actually live in the ATL, most reside in the Atlanta metro area (which is massive) and commute in. Thus, traffic sucks. Public transport is hardly ideal, and you really only take that if you need to. While MARTA buses are probably ok, the light rail is sketchy. I've taken it once and don't intend to take it again on purpose.

B) Some of the areas can really differ in terms of 'niceness', so you should tell us what area they are looking at. South side in general from what I know is a bit more on the sketch side, but not all of it. North side in general is a bit nicer imo.

C) I don't go to ATL that much these days (am looking to move there next year) but there are some things to do there, and a decently wide variety of restaurant types. Also 1-5 hrs outside there's a decent bit. A number of parks, wineries, mountains about 1.5hrs(depending on where in atl), coast in roughly 2-3rs, etc. Plus the major airport on the south side means you could easily get a ride there and go where ever you want.

D) In general it should be cheaper than SF, taxes aren't too bad, a 7% sales tax, and the housing bubble hit Georgia pretty hard so there are usually a lot of options there.


There are some downsides in that it's not that walkable of a city so you'll really need to drive everywhere. And at times if you aren't careful you can find yourself going down some less than pleasant neighborhoods.

I assume jobs pay less accordingly?

1. What do 'standard' Project Managers make- (70-90K typical in NYC & Boston).

2. What is the big industry of ATL? Boston has LOTS of pharmaceutical, healthcare, medical companies. NYC is finance and tech.

3. Can you tell me about the housing bubble? The one that happened 4 years ago? I remember my friend telling me all the high rises stopped its construction and they were just left bare alone in the city.

 

[manimal]

Come to Indianapolis. City recovering well and adding jobs....
And its hella cheap to live here..

oh tons of tech jobs, just ask Indicoltsfan.

 

[Fausto]

Come to Indianapolis. City recovering well and adding jobs....
And its hella cheap to live here..

oh tons of tech jobs, just ask Indicoltsfan.

My folks lived there for years. It's a nice city, but it's lacking much in the way of character.

 

[Fausto]

I assume jobs pay less accordingly?

1. What do 'standard' Project Managers make- (70-90K typical in NYC & Boston).

Atlanta is going to be less than those cities, but you'll still be making more than you would in a smaller town.

2. What is the big industry of ATL? Boston has LOTS of pharmaceutical, healthcare, medical companies. NYC is finance and tech.

I don't know that there really is one particular industry here. We have our share of F500 companies, but we're really all over the map as employment goes.

3. Can you tell me about the housing bubble? The one that happened 4 years ago? I remember my friend telling me all the high rises stopped its construction and they were just left bare alone in the city.

I am not aware of this sort of thing going on. I know there are vacant buildings downtown, but certainly it's not some kind of fogotten wasteland. Honestly, the housing bubble is to your advantage as someone moving into town. Property can still be had relatively cheaply in some areas of town.

 

[paperfist]

Buckhead and Little Five Points FTW!

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Come to Indianapolis. City recovering well and adding jobs....
And its hella cheap to live here..

oh tons of tech jobs, just ask Indicoltsfan.

This.

For the money you save by living here, you can visit SF (or for that matter, just about anywhere) as much as you want.

Oh, and PM jobs in NY and Boston are $70K-$90K? That's what they run here in Indy (and more), and the cost of living is so much cheaper. You can buy a mansion here for what you'd buy a run-down piece of crap in NY or SF.

 

[Fausto]

Buckhead and Little Five Points FTW!

If you like wannabe rappers and homeless people, sure.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

My folks lived there for years. It's a nice city, but it's lacking much in the way of character.

It is rapidly improving, with lots of ethnic restaurants popping up and several older areas of town (such as the Fountain Square district) being renovated and growing. There are frustrating aspects of the city (constant road construction and sometimes the weather), but it is a nice place to live and raise a family.

 

[JS80]

It's cheaper than SF, but it's still pretty expensive unless you go way out into the suburbs. Even then IMO it's expensive for being in the South.

Wages aren't as high as SF. Humid as fuck. A lot of Koreans. My FIL lives in Atlanta and also my best man (he's Korean)...it actually reminds me a bit of LA.

Stick to SF brah.

 

[Fausto]

It is rapidly improving, with lots of ethnic restaurants popping up and several older areas of town (such as the Fountain Square district) being renovated and growing. There are frustrating aspects of the city (constant road construction and sometimes the weather), but it is a nice place to live and raise a family.

I completely agree that it's a very nice city. It's just very whitewashed to my eyes after living in Atlanta all this time. The other issue is that you're essentially landlocked and surrounded by nothing but flat farmland for miles.

I guess it all depends where one is in life. Atlanta is going to be more fun for a couple without kids, whereas Indy is probably a better place to raise kids. You can make it work here, but putting kids through good schools is expensive as shit here unless you live way out in the sticks.

 

[Fausto]

It's cheaper than SF, but it's still pretty expensive unless you go way out into the suburbs. Even then IMO it's expensive for being in the South.

Wages aren't as high as SF. Humid as fuck. A lot of Koreans. My FIL lives in Atlanta and also my best man (he's Korean)...it actually reminds me a bit of LA.

Stick to SF brah.

Atlanta is a shitload cheaper than SF. There are still areas of town inside the perimeter (I-285) where you can get a nice house for less than $300k.

As for "lots of koreans" you must be referring to Duluth, which is not exactly "in town".

 

[lokiju]

Not as well known but GA does actually have a decent winery footprint and is the primary growing location of the kind of grape that produces my favorite wine which is White Muscadine.

There are a bunch of vineyards in the mountains. I discovered a really nice one two summers ago over near Blairsville, GA.

The terrain of GA varies greatly from flat swamp lands to urban and city to mountains and lakes.

All lakes in the state of GA are man made, but there are some amazing lakes (IMO) such as lake Lanier and lake Chatuge (in the mountains and beautiful).

I live in Gwinnett county in a northern suburb and work in Alpharetta, GA which is a nice and most consider upscale suburb north of the city that as a ton of big name fortune 500 businesses, one of which I work for.

There are waterfalls, national parks, lakes, mountains, all within an hour or two drive depending on where you're at.

The city does offer plenty to do but of course that's all relative to you and where you're coming from and what you're used to.

Yes commuting sucks in most areas but I've driven much worse when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and had to drive to Miami every day.

I'm happy to answer anything I can for you. Feel free to PM me.

EDIT:

Mid-town in the city has the fastest growing gay community in the country last I heard. Which should help dispel any stubborn mindsets that GA is full of a bunch of backwater hicks.

 

[Capt Caveman]

It's cheaper than SF, but it's still pretty expensive unless you go way out into the suburbs. Even then IMO it's expensive for being in the South.

Wages aren't as high as SF. Humid as fuck. A lot of Koreans. My FIL lives in Atlanta and also my best man (he's Korean)...it actually reminds me a bit of LA.

Stick to SF brah.

This.

 

[Fausto]

Not as well known but GA does actually have a decent winery footprint and is the primary growing location of the kind of grape that produces my favorite wine which is White Muscadine.

There are a bunch of vineyards in the mountains. I discovered a really nice one two summers ago over near Blairsville, GA.

The terrain of GA varies greatly from flat swap lands to urban and city to mountains and lakes.

All lakes in the state of GA are man made, but there are some amazing lakes (IMO) such as lake Lanier and lake Chatuge (in the mountains and beautiful).

I live in Gwinnett county in a northern suburb and work in Alpharetta, GA which is a nice and most consider upscale suburb north of the city that as a ton of big name fortune 500 businesses, one of which I work for.

There are waterfalls, national parks, lakes, mountains, all without an hour or two drive depending on where you're at.

The city does offer plenty to do but of course that's all relative to you and where you're coming from and what you're used to.

Yes commuting sucks in most areas but I've driven much worse when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and had to drive to Miami every day.

I'm happy to answer anything I can for you. Feel free to PM me.

EDIT:

Mid-town in the city has the fastest growing gay community in the country last I heard. Which should help dispel an stubborn mindsets that GA is full of a bunch of backwater hicks.

Good post.

Atlanta might as well be it's own state. We're pretty much the polar opposite in all respects to the rest of GA with the possible exceptions of Athens and Savannah.

...and I've been here 20+ years so I can probably assist with any specific questions you might have.

 

[Zeze]

Thanks you two. I'll PM soon.

 

[alfa147x]

Not as well known but GA does actually have a decent winery footprint and is the primary growing location of the kind of grape that produces my favorite wine which is White Muscadine.

There are a bunch of vineyards in the mountains. I discovered a really nice one two summers ago over near Blairsville, GA.

The terrain of GA varies greatly from flat swamp lands to urban and city to mountains and lakes.

All lakes in the state of GA are man made, but there are some amazing lakes (IMO) such as lake Lanier and lake Chatuge (in the mountains and beautiful).

I live in Gwinnett county in a northern suburb and work in Alpharetta, GA which is a nice and most consider upscale suburb north of the city that as a ton of big name fortune 500 businesses, one of which I work for.

There are waterfalls, national parks, lakes, mountains, all within an hour or two drive depending on where you're at.

The city does offer plenty to do but of course that's all relative to you and where you're coming from and what you're used to.

Yes commuting sucks in most areas but I've driven much worse when I lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and had to drive to Miami every day.

I'm happy to answer anything I can for you. Feel free to PM me.

EDIT:

Mid-town in the city has the fastest growing gay community in the country last I heard. Which should help dispel any stubborn mindsets that GA is full of a bunch of backwater hicks.

This. I grew up in Gwinnett county. (Sugar Hill / Suwanee) By far one of my favorite places to live. Not too far from Atlanta but far enough away that if you work near by you don't deal with traffic. I've lived in downtown Atlanta (Edgewood) and loved it but that's as a young person. I was only there for a few months. I hated living in Douglasville. Don't go west of Atlanta. Shitty. Suwanee will always be my back up plan. I plan on moving to San Diego but if I can't settle down there I'll probably move back to either Edgewood or Suwanee.

 

[highland145]

Upside for you, you'd be 3 hours from me.
Downside for me, you'd be......


kidding.


Too crowded for me. But I'm ~1.2 miles to work and ~4 minutes. And I hate traffic.

 

[jacc1234]

Atlanta is a horrible city. I live north of the city and rarely bother to go. Its full of crime and homeless, is dirty and has no character. If you are coming from any "real" city like SF or Boston you will be disappointed.

Its is not very walkable and the mass transit is laughable when compared to other cities. I agree its cheaper then many other options but I think you get what you pay for. If you prioritize saving money then it could be a good option. Its what im doing now and once I have enough cash and can sell my house im going west or north.

 

[alien42]

i have lived in Decatur, Grant Park, Reynoldstown, Cabbagetown, East Atlanta Village, Virginia Highlands and Sylvan Hills (as well as the Gwinnett burbs) so if you want info on specific neighborhoods in Atl i can likely answer them.

as for nothing to do, we drove two hours north to Helen this weekend and camped out in the mountains above a 150 ft waterfall. you can also head east to the Atlantic coast or south to the Gulf.

 

[Fausto]

Atlanta is a horrible city. I live north of the city and rarely bother to go. Its full of crime and homeless, is dirty and has no character. If you are coming from any "real" city like SF or Boston you will be disappointed.

Its is not very walkable and the mass transit is laughable when compared to other cities. I agree its cheaper then many other options but I think you get what you pay for. If you prioritize saving money then it could be a good option. Its what im doing now and once I have enough cash and can sell my house im going west or north.

Heh, spoken like a typical frightened OTPer.