Georgia (Atlanta, specifically) On My Mind

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m trying for a job in Atlanta. No assurance I’ll get it, but it’s got me to thinking about the pros and cons of moving there. My sister lived in Marietta for ten years, so I have seen the suburbs and I’ve been to Atlanta exactly once.

• Is the city as hideous as I remember it, or are there actually attractive parts? I know Sherman burned it in 1865—but it looks like it was entirely rebuilt in 1978!

• Public transport (from the suburbs to the city, and within the city)—does this exist? Or does one need a car? I’m used to the NY area, where you’d have to be insane to own a car.

• Is it possible to live in a nice part of the city, or must one live in the 'burbs?

• How cosmopolitan a city is it? I know there are “arts,” but how are the libraries, shops, etc.?

• How long will it take and how much will it cost for me to fly to Phila. (to see family) and NY (to see friends)?

• My sister says they really resent us damn Yankees—s’trewth?

Hmmm, can’t think of anything else for now. Probably won’t get a job there anyhoo . . .

2

My ex-gf lived in Atlanta, so I’ve been there a few times. It felt like home to me (where I actually lived didn’t).

I found parts of the city to be attractive, but I expect that our opinions would vary widely on this point.
Some public transport does exist, but in general, you’d have to be insane NOT to own a car.
It’s quite possible to live in a nice part of Atlanta itself. It’ll probably cost you an arm and a leg, but there are some very nice places.

Atlanta is an airline hub, so airfare deals should be available whenever you look for them. I know deals to and from Atlanta (from Houston) were easy to find, so deals from and to should be as well.

3

I can second that on the airlines. I’m afraid that’s all I can answer as I mainly stay on the Buckhead/Marietta side of Atlanta whenever I go.

Very easy to fly from Atlanta, actually I think, even if you’re going to heaven you have to get a connection there.

4

I’m a bit farther south myself, and all I can say is I’m amazed at the number of people who are still fighting the War Between the States. There are times I want to scream: “It’s OVER! Get over it!!” Maybe it’s just me - my “people” haven’t been in this country 100 years yet. But I digress… My experience has been that in metropolitan areas the resentment seems less blatant than in trailer parks.
And, personally, I’m ready to move back to Maryland… I miss the Bay…

5

Buckhead? Wasn’t he the little black kid in the “Our Gang” movies?

Fairy—My sister said the city had much less of that than did the suburbs, where she lived. A certain amount of anti-gay, anti-Jew, anti-Yankee sentiment. Being an atheist, anti-smoking, gay-rights Yankee, I might as well just bring my own burning cross with me. One reason to try and find a place in the city, if I could afford it . . . I also haaaaate driving, so it would be really nice to not have to have a car.

Hmmm . . . How much do I want this job?

6

[q]• Is the city as hideous as I remember it, or are there actually attractive parts? I know Sherman burned it in 1865—but it looks like it was entirely rebuilt in 1978! [/q]

Yes, it is still hideous. Actually, rebuilding started in 1978, and they haven’t finished yet.

[q]• Public transport (from the suburbs to the city, and within the city)—does this exist? Or does one need a car? I’m used to the NY area, where you’d have to be insane to own a car. [/q]

Public transportation is a major joke. Unless you are going to a ball game, or into the city for an event, don’t bother with MARTA. You will definately need a car

[q]• Is it possible to live in a nice part of the city, or must one live in the 'burbs? [/q]

There are a few enlightened areas. Little Five Forks is renovating nicely, Buckhead is good if you a yuppie with lots of disposable income and like bars and crowds of people. Otherwise, stick to the burbs. Gwinnett County is okay but is rapidly changing. Marietta is still all right, I suppose.

[q]How cosmopolitan a city is it? I know there are “arts,” but how are the libraries, shops, etc.? [/q]

We are fairly enlightened. You should find plenty of stuff to do.

[q]• How long will it take and how much will it cost for me to fly to Phila. (to see family) and NY (to see friends)? [/q]

Hartsfield Airport is an international one. Not a great one as airports go, but an international one nonetheless. Prices are not really any different. Should take you about 2-2-1/2 hrs to get to NY. However, wear your walking shoes to the airport.

[q]My sister says they really resent us damn Yankees—s’trewth? [/q]

Most of us are resigned to the fact that you are going to keep coming regardless. True Southern ladies and gentlemen will welcome you cordially and will be quite hospitable. Of course, we do talk about you amongst ourselves. :slight_smile: I have lived here all my life (so far), and native Georgians are becoming a rarity. Just don’t start off on the wrong foot by saying things like “NY is so much better, I miss NY, we did it this way in NY” and you will be just fine.

Expect things to run at a slightly slower pace than you are used to. Understand that every street in downtown is called “Peachtree”. In the winter, do not mock our driving skills just because you have driven in the snow before. It doesn’t snow here, it ices. Power lines go down, roads are hazardous, schools close. Expect to have trouble breathing in the summer. Very high temps and very high humidity. It’s like trying to breathe under water. Expect your ice tea to be sweetened automatically. Coca Cola is the state beverage.

7

I can’t add anything to the pros and cons about living in Atlanta, having never lived there, but as a Southerner I may be able to help with the resentment question.

Let’s skip the discussion about why the war was fought in the first place. Instead, let’s take a look at the effects. The South, in general, was so completely crushed from an economic standpoint that it was only after World War II that much of a recovery could be said to have taken place. In Stafford County, VA, where I was born and raised, there was so little of anything that people moved out of the area in droves in the 1870s. More people lived in the county in 1800 than lived there in 1950. Those that stayed had a hardscrabble existence, living hand to mouth. Ture, life before the war had probably been no picnic for the majority of people, but after the war there just wasn’t anything to be had - the countryside had been stripped of every usuable commodity. No trees for lumber or firewood, no livestock, no crops, no prospects for an improvement. I’ve seen a few pictures of Richmond and Fredericksburg immediately after the war and there really isn’t anything there. Ruins as bad as anything seen in WWII newsreels. Those conditions would no doubt cause some resentment, and those feelings get passed down. Kids live what they learn. My grandfather, for instance, was the son of a Confederate veteran and, even though he never owned a slave in his life, he never celebrated July 4th. It just wasn’t done. I live in Richmond now and you can bet your boots that there are a whole lot of people here who still harbor resentments - and these aren’t people in trailer parks but movers and shakers. What my Mama calls “old money Virginians.”

Add to that the peculiarly Southern preoccupation with family history (first question you’re likely to hear upon being introduced to a native Virginian: “Now, who were your people again?”)and you have folks who are regularly reminded of their families having been through depravations that few of us could endure.

On the other hand we are, by nature, awfully friendly once we get to know you. Come on down, Eve. We’ll make a big pitcher of tea and talk about it some. Spring is almost here and by God this is lovely country when the azaleas bloom.

8

It’s not great looking. However, I don’t think it looks as bad as you remember, either.

There is public transportation. However, it’s mostly within the city limits. The bus system (as opposed to the trains) sucks sour frog ass, though. As a practical matter, you need a car unless you are going to live very near a train station.

There are nice, and, attractive neighborhoods intown. There’s also a very recent trend for a lot of upscale “loft” housing to get built into existing downtown buildings. Prices are much higher inside the Perimeter than in the suburbs (see the bit above about needing a car).

The actual Atlanta city libraries are notoriously worthless. Most surrounding area libraries offer “out of district” cards (you pay a fee based on what homeowners in the district are assumed to contribute in taxes), which you will find much, much more useful.

I don’t know about your shopping tastes, but Atlanta generally does well on this score (of course, we also have the GAP and Starbucks everywhere, but you can’t win 'em all.

I don’t fly much, so I can’t answer on the cost. However, as people have noted, we’re a major airport hub. You can probably find something cheap just by dint of volume.

Erm, not “they”. You’ll run into this attitude, sure, but Atlanta is much more diverse and progressive in its attitude. Fair warning: we have NASCAR races down here.

9

Buckwheat (William Thomas) 3/12/31 - 10/10/80

10

Well, there goes my plan to greet everyone with “Howdy, Cletus—I’m from up North, where everything’s better!”

Hmmm, now I’m depressed . . . Gotta live in the suburbs and own a car . . . Hideous architecture . . . Gotta fly everywhere instead of hopping on a train . . .

" . . . first question you’re likely to hear upon being introduced to a native Virginian: ‘Now, who were your people again?’" . . .

—My deah, I’m from Philadelphia, where the exact same question is asked. Well, thought—no one would presume to ASK it.

“The actual Atlanta city libraries are notoriously worthless.”

AAUUGGHH!

“Fair warning: we have NASCAR races down here.”

[Eve collapses prettily onto a convenient fainting couch]

11

I have lived in Atlanta briefly and periodically over the past few years, so I will try to answer your questions.

Atlanta has experienced tremendous growth in the past ten years - I believe either Newsweek or Time did an article on population growth not to long ago and stated Atlanta during the last decade had grown faster than any population center in human history. Unfortunately, Atlanta’s leaders have shown the lack of foresight so common to our elected officials nationwide, and the growth has been unplanned and completely chaotic.

Therefore, Atlanta’s traffic is probably the worst in the nation. A fifteen mile drive can easily take an hour on I-75 or I-85 (longer if it’s raining) if you live in the 'burbs and try to go into Atlanta proper. Public transportation does exist, but it’s nothing like what you’d find in NYC. You’ll need a car. And try to keep your commute as short as possible…it’s going to be worse than you think.

The city has, unfortunately, become “uglier” even in the last few years, as bazillions of fast food restaurants and strip malls have sprung up to satisfy the influx of people and their lust for consumption. But the city is better than some I’ve been to (Baltimore springs readily to mind, hehehe) The city has little of historical interest. Heck, I think most of the buildings from '78 have been demolished and built over by now!

There are nice parts of metropolitan Atlanta (the Virginia Highland is one such section, parts of Buckhead too) but they are relatively pricey (nothing like the New York area though).

Atlanta is somewhat cosmopolitan, I guess, but nothing like, say, Chicago. If you’re looking to discuss Klimt, Mahler or Pynchon with your new neighbors, you’ll probably be disappointed, but such people can be found here…they just tend to be in hiding.

I lived in Dallas for many years, and much prefer Atlanta…for what that’s worth. I now live in Athens, about an hour outside Atlanta. Nice small town atmosphere, and within an easy weekend drive of the big city.

I’ll close with this thought: I suspect if you move to Atlanta and find your enjoy your job, have a satisfactory love life, meet some friends, etc. you’ll probably like the city alot. If not, Atlanta will become a veritable hellhole. But this is true no matter where’d you’d live…

YMMV, of course.

P.S. Of course we resent the damned Yankees. Why shouldn’t we? :slight_smile:

12

Oh dear oh dear oh dear . . . Worser an’ worser . . .

“I lived in Dallas for many years, and much prefer Atlanta…for what that’s worth.”

—Well, yeah, I’d prefer a punch in the stomach to a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, but . . .

" . . . the city is better than some I’ve been to (Baltimore springs readily to mind) . . . "

I lived in B’more in the '70s and there was much to dislike about it—but the lovely turn-of-the-century architecture was one of the few delights, I thought!

" . . .if you enjoy your job, have a satisfactory love life, meet some friends . . . "

Yeah. Right. Like all of THAT’S ever happened to one person.

13

Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel recently that was set in Atlanta. Can’t remember the title offhand, but I enjoyed it. He gave a very good thumbnail sketch of life in Atlanta.

14

Thomas Wolfe died in 1938—it can’t have been THAT recent a novel!

15

Strangely enough, when I first wrote that sentence I named PHILADELPHIA, but remembered a friend once assured me that Philly had some nice sections (I am still skeptical) so I substituted Baltimore. I must say, the part of your hometown I visited (near the stadium) was the most filthy, decrepit, ugly part of the country I’ve ever seen. And the racism I encountered was equal to anything the South has to offer.

Oh, by the way, Atlanta does have one architectural masterpiece: The Big Chicken.

We’ll explain when you get here. :slight_smile:

16

I believe that was Tom “Bite Me, Norman Mailer!” Wolfe, and the book was A Man In Full, or, What If “Bonfire” Took Place In The South?

17

Oddly enough, Mood, I grew up in Phila. and went to college in B’more. Both towns have perfectly hideous sections, and both have lovely 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods, too.

PL—I figured it must be “Tom.” I was just being a sarcastic bitch.

So, any Atlanta move sounds hellish . . . Well, I’m off to 34th Street, where I will do an Evelyn McHale and jump off the Empire State Building—hopefully with a good enough dismount to make it back down to Fifth Avenue and into a Life magazine photo . . .

18

Eve,

I was a grumpy northerner who thought that moving to Atlanta would be the worst thing ever. I figured I’d have trouble finding someone with more than 5 teeth to hang out with.

I’ve been here for closing in on 5 years now, and I love it. I don’t think I’ll ever leave. (Take that, spoke – another carpetbagger here to stay!)

This is all relative. Coming from NYC it’s probably going to be an eyesore. For me, coming from Pittsburgh, this place is like the Taj Mahal.

Living within the city is possible without a car, but not recommended. Living outside the perimeter without a car is not even an option.

As has been stated, there are some nice areas inside the city, but they are pricey. Although, compared to NYC, it might not be so bad. You can seriously cut down on your living costs if you live in the ‘burbs (I do) – but this is a trade off….traffic is pretty bad here, if you have to work a 9-5. My job allows me flex time, so I usually work 10.30 to 7.30 – Traffic is not bad at all then.

I see a fair amount of small bands play here. There is always that. There is the High Museum, which is, well…there. Not horrible, but not fantastic. I probably am not in a position to comment on shopping, as I do most of mine in the suburbs.

Airtran flies out of here, so with a 3 week advance purchase, you can always get round trip to Philly for $140. I don’t know about NYC, but as was mentioned, this is a BIG airport (Delta’s stomping ground)…so it probably isn’t bad

Heh. Bastards. There’s more of us down here then there are original southerners now, so that is nothing to worry about. One of these days I’m going to round up all the born-and-raised hillbillies and ship them off to Alabama. Seriously, though, many people will kid you about being a Yankee, but I have yet to meet anyone who has been an outright jackass about it.

19

Good Lord, man, don’t do that – it would lower the average IQ in both states.

My apologies on the Tom Wolfe mixup before, Eve.

20

I figured as much, Eve, but when an opportunity comes up to type “Bite me, Norman Mailer!” you have to grab for the brass ring.
FWIW, my boss used to work in Atlanta, and she informs me that the drivers down there should all be corralled and beaten.