Hello

I was recently offered a position in Atlanta. Not sure if I want to take it, it's an attractive salary but too far from my aging parents. I can drive home now in a pinch, Atlanta would be across the country.

has anyone here either lived there, or live there currently, who could give me some pros/cons about living there?

thank you

Amy

Hi Amy-

My husbabnd and I relocatd to Atlanta about 8 yrs ago from the NY Metro area. We have three young children and find that Atlanta is a wonderful place to raise a family, if not as exciting as NY.

The climate is lovely (July and August are HOT), the cost of living is very reasonable and the attitude is very warm and friendly - much less competitive than the East Coast. One doesn't have to be a big shot (i.e. wealthy or famous) to enjoy all that the area has to offer.
Although Atlanta is a 4 -6 hour drive from any beach (Atlantic or the Gulf), it is close to beautiful mountains, great biking, hiking and water sports. Atlanta is Delta's hub, making for generally affordable air travel.

Relative to the East Coast (I've lived in NY, Boston and Chicago), I'd say there's less of a premium on intellectualism and more focus on hospitality, church, family and enjoying the great outdoors.

Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

Faith

Hi Amy,
Been living here in Atlanta now since '91 and wouldn't want to live any place else! Great weather - which is conducive to an active lifestyle (you will be playing tennis within 6 mos of moving here - it's the social thing to do!)and beautiful gardening. Great restaurants and killer shopping, if that's what you enjoy. Proximity to awesome mountains,lakes and all Florida has to offer. The down side is the horrible TRAFFIC! You have to plan your driving to avoid the rush hour and hope for the best at other times. You will love it otherwise!

The two locals are being a bit too generous about the weather.
It gets hot, but the humidity is the killer.
Atlanta is all about summer steambaths.
So if Amy is from a dry climate, that'll be a challenge.
I'd agree with the rest of the above.
Traffic is pretty bad. Cost of living is good versus east coast and Bay area. People are friendlier than northeast. Church is big. Society is a little more polite, formal and old fashioned.

Atlanta is great. I lived there in the past and would like to go back. My job keeps me in Florida. The area is filled with trees and rolling hills. The biggest problem is traffic but if you time it right, the expressways are some of the widest, newest in the country.

Hi, Amy!
I've lived in the Atlanta area for almost 7 years now. My husband was transferred here with his job & we moved from our hometown of Memphis, so I'm used to the heat & humidity. It does get HOT here in the summertime. I don't care for the stifling heat & humidity, but if you live here, I guess there's no choice but to put up with it! However, this is a great city except for the traffic. Ridiculous! When we first moved here, we lived in midtown for the first 3 years which was great, but got tired of the hustle & bustle of city life, so we moved out into the suburban metro area & like it much better. However, my hubby has to get up at the crack of dawn to drive into the city to go to work, but he says it's worth the drive just so we don't have to live in the city. Atlanta has so much to offer. Beautiful parks, evening concerts in the summer at Chastain Park, great restaurants, fantastic shopping....! I could go on & on! Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

..Atlanta wanted for so long to be in the "BIG Leagues"and a "world class city"..and to some degree it is..but it has changed so much.I am in mid 40's and it has tripled in population in my lifetime..the traffic is unbearable..and people are from everwhere so you won't nesc. feel the southern thing..the Residential areas are some of the prettiest anywhere, but the commercial strips are ugly...big contrast..it IS very suburban..but that is changing fast..real estate is getting expensive but there is a lot of new construction intown and 'burbs..you should never be bored (it is a SHOPPERS paradise), the area has things to do for everybody and in fact opperates on several scenes..very diverse..Blacks have there own world. very political trendy ..BIG GAY community
..very snobbish HIGH SOCIETY SCENE.. and alot of Greenpeace nik types as well
..and an legions of Soccer Mom/dad types

it is curcial to live in the area that suits you mindset/politics/style ..people are very "secular"..they are even snobbish about AREA CCODES( you want 404!!)..isn't that silly???....but a good example!!!
..the Burbs are all different some much nicer that others...TRAFFIC IS NO JOKE..and it is main Problem..lot of old Atlanta people hate it now..and it is not the easiest place to live ..but when you find the part of it that works for you it is still a great place to live..yes, it is HOT in summer..but we don't general like snow(1 a year day is fine thanks)!!!

I agree with the above post. He/she nailed it right on the head.

Kennesaw, a town in the northern suburbs has an ordinance requiring homeowners to purchase a gun.

Last week a sinkhole in midtown swallowed an immense truck.

After lining his pockets and those of his cronies, the ex-mayor left the city with a $70 million dollar deficit.

Atlanta's suburbs can boast of Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr and Cynthia McKinney and her father, none of which are the sharpest knives in the drawer.

The speaker of the house has just wangled legislation regarding a new reservoir that will guarantee that he and his family members will have lakeside lots.

Bureaucrats responsible for designing and authorizing the construction of a northern arc highway to alleviate traffic problems have spent years accumulating property in the area in order to sell it back to the state at outrageous profit.

Two young people were gunned down at one of Atlanta's toniest shopping centers.

Cobb county, a northern suburb fought the concept of MARTA's rail system for years to ensure that residents of the inner city wouldn't use public transport to invade and infest the suburban lifestyle.

If your parents are indeed elderly, you may want to think twice about moving too far from them, especially if you are an only child. You may end up regretting the move.

I agree with Hans.
If your aging parents are truly a concern for you, you should think twice, then thrice, about relocating so far from them.
Another option would be that if that salary is truly *attractive* purchase a large enough single story home/condo and be prepared to have your parents join you in Atlanta.
Good luck whatever you decide. You do, after all, have your entire life ahead of you.

Atlanta has one of the largest and busiest international airports in the US. If your elderly parents became ill and needed you, there would be no need to drive cross country, you can get a direct flight to wanywhere in the US from Atlanta and get there pretty quickly if that is what you are worried about.

I find Atlanta to be a city rife with problems. Its ugly and suburban..downtown is a ghost-town after dark, its eerie. If you like huge highways, air pollution, traffic Atlanta is for you. You can forget about driving because the traffic is so bad. 20/20 and Dateline have done stories on the growing outer suburbs of Atlanta. Sure its cheap but who wants to get up at 4AM in order to get to work on time. What ever happened to family life. If you do move try to live near a train stop or other transit center.