dlo

I moved to Atlanta from NY 8 yrs ago. I live in a condo in Dunwoody. I work downtown. I drive 3 minutes to the MARTA station and take the train 3 days a week. THe other 2 days I drive in, nice and early. I have also lived in Norcross and Alpharetta. The GA 400 corridor does suck, but if you are able to time it right, it's not bad.

But the weather is phenomenal. We can wear shorts in February, and into November. There are a lot of great restaurants and malls. But we also have a lot of great festivals in the parks downtown--Inman Park Festival, the Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park, the Yellow Daisy Festival in Stone Mountain...

The North Ga mountains are great too. Plus, with Delta & Airtran based here, flights to major cities are very well priced. I really love it here.

ATLien

Well, I've lived in Atlanta since July of 2000 and have mixed reviews. I really enjoy the restaurants, night life, weather and large numbers of young people. However, I would agree with the earlier comment that much of the city is 'fake', particularly the North side. Atlanta has a strong 'car culture', and everyone in Buckhead seems to be attempting to show off their wealth, both day and night. Some of the houses going up near Northside Drive just disgust me - gratuitous, showy attempts to create 'Italian mansions'.

I'm lucky enough to avoid the traffic, because I live inside the perimeter and take back roads to work. But I'd never live in the 'burbs here. That being said, it might be right for someone else. As a frame of reference, I'm 23, and working as a business strategy consultant in Buckhead, living in a house (renting with friends) in Sandy Springs. Sandy Springs, by the way, is great. Tall trees, winding roads, established neighborhoods, near the Hooch (which, sadly, just isn't as impressive as advertised). If you can deal with the lengthly eye-sore that is Roswell Rd., a super place to live - very family oriented too.

Although Atlanta is consistently 'fun', I would not consider settling down here unless I wanted to buy a downtown or midtown urban loft or an old bungalow in Virginia Highlands, which I don't.

The people who live north of the city and commute on 400-S or 85-S are just insane, in my humble opinion. Atlanta is a city full of strangers...no sense of community. Yes, it's diverse, but everyone 'keeps to their own'. To give you a sense of my background, I was born and raised in CT and went to school at UNC-Chapel Hill. Both areas were less focused on $ and had stronger senses of community.

The lack of urban planning here is disturbing...as are the strip malls. And since when is the 4-5 hours to the beach (if you speed) close?? The mountains are beautiful, however, and it's hard to be bored with all that's going on around town. If you find your niche here, Atlanta could be great. However, be prepared for the 'redneck' element and the mindset that 'melting pot' means letting people of all races live here, as long as they stay in 'their' part of town and don't go the nice malls. This is a problem everywhere, but I think it's worse here.

All in all, I think Atlanta is a blast to 'play' in, but I'd never settle here. I think San Diego is calling my name...

julie

I know people will get mad at me for adding to this but I just read it and I have to add my two cents! Yes, Atlanta isn't perfect but it is a very nice place to live. I has very nice weather over all - lots of sunshine in the winter,great spring and fall,is close to some beautiful lakes, has tons of trees (and while they do cut down a lot of them, they also plant a lot and the trees do grow fast and tall! The trees are so thick on many of the main highways you don't see some of the commercial growth. You can still get a lot of house for the money compared to other cities and many of the houses come with walk out basements as opposed to the purely underground variety, the people are very nice,you can drive to some of the best beaches in the states (in the panhandle of FL and also for different kinds of beaches go to SC AND NC. The mountains are very nice and close. Great hiking and waterfalls are within an hour of the metro area. Tennis and outdoor sports like running are big here. The economy has almost always been in a growth mode which of course makes it a great place to find a job. The soul of Atlanta is the in the mix of southern and transplanted/adopted natives and just because you don't recognize it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Come visit one warm day in March, sit on a deck in shorts and a sweater under some of our tall trees and tell me life isn't sweet here. It is also very hilly in many places here (not downtown)which makes in a very attractive place. I've lived in FL, CA and TX and GA and have great feelings for the Atlanta area. We need people who want to improve it - it wouldn't hurt us to get better - we have so many positives to work with. Look at all the bike trails that have grown. Atlanta will continue to improve. PS WE HAVE A LOT OF TRAFFIC BECAUSE LOTS OF PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE HERE. PSS I was more critical of Atanta before I lived in CA and realized that while it has some beautiful areas and great climate it is not perfect and has plenty of problems too. Like many places.