LaurenLinden

I am debating between moving to Charlotte or Atlanta after graduation. I can work for the same firm in either location and am trying to decide which will be the best location for a young single professional. Advice please??

Brian_in_Charlotte

I had a great life in Atlanta right after college, but by the age of 35 was ready to move somewhere a little less hectic and wild and lawless. Charlotte was a good fit - not as exciting as Atlanta, but at least I can reliably get city services and don't have to deal with as many crime issues and traffic. The political/racial issues started to get to me in ATL too. My experiences were/are with intown neighborhoods, I have no idea how the suburban areas compare.

If you're looking for cool neighborhoods, great clubs/restaurants and can deal with the traffic and big city issues, then I say go for Atlanta. If you're looking for a more sedate place to settle down and raise a family while still having some big city benefits, Charlotte.

palmettoprincess

I live in between. My impression is the Charlotte metro area is on the way up. It is visionary.

Atlanta is struggling not to sink. It is reactionary. I would look at both of their online newspapers for about a month while you ponder your choice.

jill_h

My son (mid-20s) lives in the Midtown area of Atlanta and loves it! There is so much to do and a lot of young people.

AtlTravelr

I moved to Atlanta 25 years ago from Los Angeles and was in culture shock for many years. Have to say I enjoy it now more than ever before- we are finally a great eating destination with a bigger focus on local, fresh, fusion, etc. definitely a more lively town than when we arrived, which is something I like. A small, but vibrant arts community and a great mix of people from all over to give it a more cosmopolitan feeling than some other southern towns. Neighbors who have moved away have felt the same way as Brian-ready for a slower, nicer, less crowded feel. I'm hopeful every time some new building goes condo/loft that we'll get a real downtown some day with loads and loads of people out walking about. We still have a big problem with race-local politics, employment issues, schools, crime-it always ends up being about race. I wish that would change. We've visited Charlotte and it's a really nice city-certainly if you'd prefer a smaller town with some perks that would be a good choice. One other big consideration for us (because we like to travel...) - the Atlanta airport is great. You can get to so many places quickly. With Charlotte, you'd be looking at many flights that would probably have a stop in ATL before going on. So yes, one thing I love about Atlanta is the ability to leave!

Brian_in_Charlotte

I do miss the Atlanta airport and its multitude of non-stops worldwide. We have a handfull from CLT, and can fly non-stop to most US cities, but we also have less price competition.

I remember enjoying urban hiking through our neighborhood in Midtown Atlanta during the 90s thinking, boy, when they finally build on all these empty lots and get rid of these derelict buildings, this place is going to change completely. But today, while there are lots of shiny new buildings (and lots of great places to eat that I'm jealous of), the neighborhood still has its issues with crime and homelessness. I'd think it'd still be a great place to be in your 20s though.

LaurenLinden

Thank you for all the responses. Is Charlotte an older crowd or is there a decent pool of young professionals? My concern with Atlanta is that the city is rather dirty and extremely bad traffic but I also love that it's an SEC hub and still in the south. What are the negatives to Charlotte?

Brian_in_Charlotte

There are plenty of young people in Charlotte, working and living Uptown or in other parts of the city. I wouldn't worry about that. To me, this choice is about whether you want the big city with it's associated pluses and minuses, or a medium-sized one with the same considerations. You may also want to think about what your firm's presense and culture is like in each of the 2 cities. May present different advancement opportunities and/or have very different cultures.

While there are no ACC schools here, Charlotte is an ACC hub (ACC football championship game is here).

jent103

Can you visit each before you decide? Atlanta does have a lot going on, as others have mentioned, but for me personally the traffic is a major negative. I go a few times a year and it makes me crazy. You might find that it doesn't bother you so much, though.

As an SEC girl who moved to ACC country for grad school, I know they are not the same! Especially if your loyalty is to an SEC school. If that's really important to you, Atlanta would be a much bigger draw. People can get into football in the ACC but it's nothing like the SEC. It sounds silly, but it took some getting used to when I moved there!

Gretchen

If you look in your other thread, I had some comments on the crowd. Our kids are very much in a young people's crowd. Charlotte has and is undergoing a true sophisticated "growth spurt" in the past 10 years, in my opinion. We have major league sports in football and basketball, and the coming of a downtown baseball stadium will open that. The arts scene is wonderful. The downtown museum row is stellar. Lots of restaurants.
But as I mentioned on the other thread, Charlotte is a much more accessible city to me. The major corporate community keeps the city very amenable to good things happening.

AtlTravelr

Brian really sums it up nicely-big city versus small city. Coming from LA I didn't (and still don't) find traffic to be a problem-I was used to much worse. Certainly Atlanta does have all the problems associate with living in a big city (crime, etc), but I was surprised to find how green it was-it's really a jungle, hard to keep things from growing!.Big running community here (our Peachtree Road Race Has 60,000 runners), great weather most of the year so lots of outside dining, festivals, farmers markets, etc. I miss the ocean, but Charlotte doesn't have that either. Good corporate feel (Delta, Coke) but Charlotte has big corps too. For me, I would have a hard time living in any city smaller than Atlanta. If my husband would do it, I'd retire in Manhattan. So if the grittiness of a city, the traffic hassles, and general busyness of city life would not be for you, then Charlotte would be a great pick.

Gretchen

But we can be at the beach in 4 hours, and in the mountains in 2. LOL
I've lived in NYC. Great city, needless to say, but just like most large cities, you "live" in your neighborhood in these mega cities, and travel to your destinations--museums, restos, etc.
In Charlotte, you really live in the city--and can see it. Not so much concrete.

palmettoprincess

Lauren why do you condider ATL a SEC hub? Athens is nearly an hour a way and Georgia Tech in Atlanta is ACC. Charlotte does have a major college team either but UNC Charlotte usually does well in basketball.

hoppock20

Atlanta is the number one city for young professionals. I work for an advertising agency and just did the research and it has more than NYC and DC and #2 and #3. The joke here is that you'll never meet anyone from here cuz everyone is a transplant. Huge melting pot.

I just moved to ATL from Wichita, KS where there is no such thing as traffic and I didn't really have to worry about crime much, so those were both concerns of mine as well. I work downtown and live in Virginia Highlands and it takes me 15 minutes to get to work. And after months of exploring neighborhoods/bars/restaurants I consider it the best neighborhood in ATL. I live close and it doesn't feel like I'm "in" the city. My point is, if you choose where you live carefully, you won't have to deal with the traffic.

With anything, you'll learn to adjust. I've been to Charlotte and it's a great place that I'm sure you'll love, but with any larger city, comes more opportunities (jobs, volunteer pops, guys, music, art, etc.). Cons, yeah there is prob more crime here. Gotta take the bad with the good. I def recommend visiting both before making a decision.

If you come visit, hit me up and I'll give ya an itinerary so you can get a good feel for the city. [email protected]