Tell me about Atlanta, GA
Jasconius
sword criminalmad onlineRegistered User regular
sword criminalmad onlineRegistered User regular
I'm being offered to fly to Atlanta to interview for a job. I really don't know anything about Atlanta but I need a job and I have the means to relocate. A present coworker told me that I would enjoy it and some parts of the place are quite nice, but she was vague overall.
The office is located on what appears to be the northern fringe of the city (zip: 30309). What's the traffic like, how are the people, what's the cost of living, is this a growing city that I will not regret moving to if this company evaporates in a couple of years, etc.
Educate me about Atlanta.
Hopefully someone here has been there before.
thanks in advance
The office is located on what appears to be the northern fringe of the city (zip: 30309). What's the traffic like, how are the people, what's the cost of living, is this a growing city that I will not regret moving to if this company evaporates in a couple of years, etc.
Educate me about Atlanta.
Hopefully someone here has been there before.
thanks in advance
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we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
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That being said, I like it. The city government is fucked and it's a terrible place to be a firefighter, but other than that it's kind of like any major city.
I'll put some more thought into a post tomorrow.
The people are a mixed bag like every major city. You have your really nice people, and you have your outright assholes. I'm from Los Angeles so I'm used to some mega douchebaggery, and it seemed pretty comparable in Atlanta. Traffic could get bad going into the city, but it's not as bad as some other metropolitan areas. Cost of living, to me, was cheap, which I know isn't saying much since CA is expensive as all hell. It's pretty normal to find decent places out there from $400-700/month (this was 2 years ago).
Overall it's a decent, big city with lots to do. If you're used to the traffic/people from other big cities, then you'll find it alright.
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One major concern I have/had is that the crime in Atlanta seems to be absurdly high.. is this concentrated in certain areas or what?
P.S. that zip code and the area in general is just north of Midtown on Peachtree (Blvd??). Apparently Midtown is the fancy part of Atlanta.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
There is an interesting phenomena here, where you can be in a really nice part of town, and then walk across the street and be surrounded by bums and weed dealers every 5 feet.
There's a thriving music scene here. You can go see any kind of band you like.
There's an interesting part of town called Little 5 Points, which is a congregation of scene kids, awesome restaurants, drug dealers, and "alternative" stores. Some people love it, some people hate it. I go there all the time because that's where a lot of the best restaurants are. The Vortex (a bar and grill) has such good burgers that it is a religious experience to go there (though there is also one in Midtown).
Now I'm just rambling, but Ponce de Leon is pretty much Atlanta's red light district. If you go down it past dark there are hookers EVERYWHERE. Ponce also has some awesome restaurants, though (Mary Mac's is pretty much heaven on Earth if you like southern food).
Atlantic Station is another interesting part of town. I mostly only go there for the theatre, but there are lots of nice (and more expensive) restaurants there.
There are several ethnic areas in and around Atlanta, if you just gotta have that authentic pho or Korean BBQ.
Georgia Tech and Emory attract a good number of big names who give talks, if you like that. I know Emory had the Dalai Lama give a talk last year, and Tech is having both Sir Roger Penrose and Ron Jeremy (yes, that Ron Jeremy) this week alone.
Other than that, I couldn't say a whole lot about what there is to do in Atlanta since I'm a poor college student.
The people are surprisingly friendly as far as big cities go, and the youthfulness means that people are always willing to try something new or meet somebody interesting. Racially, the tension will always be there, but much of Atlanta "royalty" is actually black, and as a result the mixing of races is just a given in every situation, so it's rarely a problem. Crime is a major issue, though.
Traffic is brutal, and Atlanta is one of the 5 worst traffic situations in the country, but if your company is in the northern part (probably in Buckhead), you could probably find an apartment to live in within walking distance. It may be less attractive at first than just finding some nicely-priced cookie-cutter development on the fringe, but in the end you save yourself a lot of hassle and will meet a lot more interesting people. Compared to most major cities, Atlanta is somewhere in the middle in terms of cost-of-living.
I can't think of what else you might want to know off the top of my head. Keep asking questions, we can give yo answers.
I went to Georgia Tech and for some the reasons FCS stated would love to move back to Atlanta (I currently live in CA). Here's some more information:
- You may hear that Atlanta has a population of about 4 million. Strictly speaking, the City of Atlanta has a population of about 520,000. As a result, the city itself is not very dense except in three major areas (Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown). The rest of the city is mainly apartment, SFHs, and small businesses.
- Residents of the area refer to living either "ITP" or "OTP": Inside or Outside The Perimeter. The Perimeter is I-485 which forms a loop around Atlanta. The entirety of the City is inside the perimeter. The past 40 years saw an explosion of the areas and towns OTP like Marietta, Roswell, Alpharetta, Lawrenceville, etc. People form these areas will say they are "from Atlanta" even though they can be as far as 45 minutes to an hour away from downtown. Assuming you're a 20-something, you almost certainly want to live ITP, as OTP is basically indistinguishable from every other suburban area in the US.
- Traffic is bad. However, if your job is ITP (and from the zip code, it is) then you can live near your job and avoid the worst of the traffic, which is on the perimeter on and the Downtown Connector (which is the name of the I-75/85 multiplex through downtown). Atlanta has a rail system, but it only has 2 or 3 major lines. While it can be useful if you live near it, many use just for going to/from the airport. In other words, you'll want a car.
- The areas I mentioned earlier (Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown) run roughly north-to-south along Peachtree Rd./St. Buckhead and Midtown have seen a lot of gentrification over the past 10 years and currently there is a huge housing surplus in the area, which means low, low prices for you.
- The city government is very incompetent.
- ITP, Atlanta is good for 20-somethings. There are a lot of bars, clubs, and non-chain restaurants to choose from. It is possible to find something to eat after midnight.
- Crime is a problem. Atlanta constantly shows up on those "most dangerous cities" lists and there has been a recent spate of crimes that have gotten media attention. That said, violent crimes have actually gone down on the whole over the past 10 years, but petty crime has increased. You need to be alert like you would in any other big city environment.
That's all I got for now.There is plenty to entertain yourself here with. The music scene is fantastic, everything from Hip-hop to Death Metal; check out the Tabernacle if you get the chance. It is an old church previously owned by Dan Akroyd when it was known as the House of Blues - great venue. Tons of bars of all sorts, especially in Little 5 points, Midtown and Virginia Highlands. Dark Horse Tavern has a live karaoke thing in their basement (Ten High is the name of the establishment i believe) called Metalsome, where you have a band back you up as you sing rock classics like Metallica, AC/DC, Maiden, etc. We love us some sports down here, and you have to pick either UGA or Georgia Tech to root for
As others have stated, traffic blows. Getting around when you are new to the area isn't much fun since the city's layout is just awful. It looks like you will be working in Buckhead which is generally a very upscale part of town, but may reduce the traffic headache if you live ITP. Cost of living is pretty reasonable, although I'm 15 min. outside the perimeter so ymmv.
Atlanta is a huge business and travel hub, and is still growing, though not quite as quickly as say, 10 years ago. Career opportunities seem pretty strong here, given the current economic conditions. Pretty typical big city with plenty to see and do, and surprisingly culturally diverse as well. This is where I plan to start my family within the next few years, for what that's worth to you
- Traffic is creatively awful. I got stuck in traffic once because a bank robber drove onto I-75 and they shut down the highway. Cars were literally sitting bumper-to-bumper for miles on a six-lane highway because they had set up a road block and were checking the cars one at a time. Highways are definitely hit or miss, as well as the Georgia Tech/10th Street area (construction through 2010) and Buckhead (especially during lunch hour). MARTA (the subway system) isn't full of scary weirdos (well, not aggressive ones), but you want to leave it for airport trips.
- People in the city are pretty friendly overall. There are definitely some areas where you need to watch your surroundings (downtown areas), but I have done massively stupid things (walked alone from Georgia Tech to the Fernbank Museum and back, a four-mile round trip down Ponce de Leon) and came back none the worse for wear.
- Restaurants you want to visit: The Vortex, Mary Mac's, RuSan's, Noodle, The Flying Biscuit. The Buckhead Backlot is a movie theater/restaurant and it was my favorite date destination. There are surprisingly few Indian restaurants inside the city but my favorite in the area was Swapna off I-75, exit 258.
My fiance and I moved from Atlanta about a year ago and we've been coming up with ways to get back there ever since. I would definitely recommend giving it a shot.
I'm sure I will have more questions once I go up there. It will be a week or two though.
Thanks!
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
To be honest, I hate Atlanta. It's dirty, nasty, and there are people everywhere. You can't get away from them. It's futile to even try.
I'm really not sure how fair it is to judge Atlanta this way, though—I suspect I'd be just as unhappy in any large city. If you're the type of person who likes living in a city, and whose idea of a fun Friday afternoon is hanging out in a bar or going to a restaurant and a show, it's probably a great place. If you enjoy the outdoors, I'd stay the hell away. I came here from Colorado Springs, and almost every day I find myself wishing I'd gone somewhere else. I can't even see the stars at night.
[Edit: Oh, wait. You're from Tampa. Assuming you don't have any strong objections to living there you probably will not have any to living here either.]
The weather in Atlanta is just flat-out terrible. The air is so thick you can almost swim through in. The weather will settle into a pattern of either intermittent rain or blazing summer heat and stay that way for nearly a week. In winter, there's very little snowfall, but you'll instead find yourself walking through 33-degree-fahrenheit weather with near-constant rain.
Again, though, if you're from Tampa you are probably used to most of this. I have a friend who had previously lived in Miami his whole life, and he occasionally marvels at how unpredictable (and how cold, if you can believe it) the weather is here. I suppose it's all relative.