Atlanta

#15

Any boardsies live in or near Atlanta? I may have an opportunity to move there in the next year.
Wondering if anyone can shed any light on life there? Cost of living, lifestyle, crime, etc.
Thanks

Black Swan

"US News released its annual list of the most dangerous cities in America, which sees Atlanta at number two on the list."

Source: http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=178242&catid=3

boarddotie

My colleague used to live there and said the sprawl of the city if a nightmare, need a car to get everywhere (but thats like many cities, just the distance makes it even worse).

On the plus side she said the nighllife was fab.

tallaghtoutlaws

Atlanta can be a rough city. If you are going to work there, there are plenty of cities and towns on the outskirts of the city that are beautiful and not too far of a commute. I have friends living in Buckhead and Madison just south east of Atlanta and its 50mins by train or 1 hour 22mins by car from the city.

If you do decide to live in the city up and around Georgia Tech University would be the best area which is the northern part of the city.

There is a certain part of the city that brings the whole rep of the city down. Walking around on your own at night is not a good thing to do either. But for the most part its like any other city in the world especially if you are only commuting in and out of it.

tallaghtoutlaws

boarddotie wrote: »

My colleague used to live there and said the sprawl of the city if a nightmare, need a car to get everywhere (but thats like many cities, just the distance makes it even worse).

My buddies always say its like the city planners were drunk when designing Atlanta

On the plus side she said the nighllife was fab.

+100 to this excellent excellent nightlife.

southsiderosie

boarddotie wrote: »

My colleague used to live there and said the sprawl of the city if a nightmare, need a car to get everywhere (but thats like many cities, just the distance makes it even worse).

On the plus side she said the nighllife was fab.

That's pretty much Atlanta in a nutshell. The worst sprawl in the nation, but people bring it after dark.

dave2pvd

I live in Atlanta.

Sprawl? Not an issue: live and work in the city.

Crime: highly localized. Probably not where you live. At least, that's the case for me and I'm 1mi from downtown. I'd rate ATL a lot safer than Dublin when it comes to walking around at night. And I know Dublin pretty well.

Live near GA Tech? I wouldn't.

OP: where is the job offer exactly? That's #1 in determining where to live.

Cost of living is amongst the lowest in the nation, compared to other cities. Very vibrant nightlife. Traditionally a strong economy. Weather in the Spring and Fall is amazing. In the Summer it is hot. In the Winter it is as cold as Ireland. And it snows sometimes.

Also, ATL is a liberal city in the middle of a conservative state. What may apply to GA and the South, probably does not apply to ATL.

There is a really big airport here. Huge. Lots of direct flights to anywhere else in the US and many destinations beyond.....Caribbean, Vegas, San Fran, NYC, Vail, Key West, Chicago,...and Dublin.

I've lived here for 14 years. I've traveled all over the US. There are a few other US cities I'd consider living in, but not many. ATL has a lot to offer.

#15

Thanks for the replies. Not too excited by the crime rate:eek:

What is the local culture like? Is it a pretty conservative place?

edit: Dave2pvd has just given a great answer, thanks Dave2pvd

gsi300024v

http://www.abovetherestcabins.com/dreamcatcher.htm#calendartop
I wanted to go to a cabin something like this, just wondered are there things I should look out for? Will they be clean? I'm going to Atlanta late August for 2 weeks holidays and want to get a cabin out of the city for 2 or 3 nights.

ProudDUB

I lived there until 2011 & I agree with most of dav2pvd's post. Disagree about the winter weather. Yes, it can get a very cold snap of weather in Jan/Feb, but overall the winter is a lot milder and shorter than it is here. The summer heat and humidity can be overwhelming, if you aren't used to it, or you don't deal well with heat. I do, so I was fine, but I had a lot of friends from cold weather cities & they were miserable from May to September. So do give some thought to that. It's one thing to say you love hot weather, when all you ever do in it, is lie by a pool on your holidays. It's another thing when you have to go about your day to day life in 90 degree heat & humidity.

Where you are going to work will dictate pretty much everything else...where you live, where you socialize, crime rates etc etc. The sprawl and traffic is so bad, your willingness to travel long distances for any reason, will be greatly diminished. If your job is in the outlying communities (outtside of I-285, their version of the M50) such as Alpharetta or Roswell (where a lot of companies are located) you'll be living up there too and your life will revolve around there. Same with working in Marietta, Kennesaw or Douglasville etc etc.

If your job is in Buckhead or downtown, you won't be able to afford to live there, unless your job pays very, very well. Midtown, Buckhead, the Highlands & Decatur are all great places to live, but you'd want to have a few bob, unless you are ok with having a room mate. Try and get the address, of where you'll be working. A lot of companies say that they are located in Atlanta, but they are really in the greater Atlanta metro area, which is a very large & sprawling place.

OP, do you drive? Having a car is essential in Atlanta.

dave2pvd

gsi300024v, search around for reviews online. Tripadvisor is often a good place to start.

The cabin you chose is in a great location. ~1:45 from downtown, outside of rush hour.

vrbo and airbnb are good resources for finding cabins.

Late August could be pretty hot. Although the mountains will be >10F cooler than the City.

billy few mates

I've been there quite a bit recently and it's a beautiful city downtown, it's not that nice out by the airport and in a few other places but you could say the same about NY, LA and a lot of other US cities. It's cheap and easy to get around on the MARTA, and the locals are very friendly with their good old southern hospitality. Nightlife is good with lots of top bars and restaurants, a couple of decent Irish bars with Irish staff so you can watch the Rugby, the Hurling and the Gaelic football. Some beautiful countryside not far out of the city. Weather can be variable, it's hot now but a couple of weeks back it was quite rainy, thunderstorms are never far away this time of year. It's nice, I could live there quite easily...

ProudDUB

The MARTA service is very limited, considering the size of the city. If you live in or near downtown/Midtown/Buckhead, or the suburbs close to downtown, it's great. If you live/work in the suburbs further out, it's not great.

gsi300024v

It's Marietta area if that helps, we're getting a car for most of the time there.
Hope to get an bigger car cause they've no tiny ones like we ordered.

InTheTrees

gsi300024v wrote: »

It's Marietta area if that helps, we're getting a car for most of the time there.
Hope to get an bigger car cause they've no tiny ones like we ordered.

You don't want a "tiny" car.

The whole infrastructure is built for large vehicles. Big lanes on the road. Big freeways. Big parking lots with big parking spaces. And cheap petrol.

So embrace it and blend in.

ProudDUB

Yeah, the Yanks don't really do tiny hatch backs the way that we do here.

billy few mates

If you want to blend in, get a truck...

gsi300024v

InTheTrees wrote: »

You don't want a "tiny" car.

The whole infrastructure is built for large vehicles. Big lanes on the road. Big freeways. Big parking lots with big parking spaces. And cheap petrol.

So embrace it and blend in.

I'd love to but money an issue, found a site that does older cars rentals cheaper, like old s class mercs an dtrucks
https://relayrides.com/truck-rental/dunwoody/chevrolet-silverado-1500/87519
I like older stuff too.

dave2pvd

If you want cheap, don't rent in the airport. You'll save on the added on airport fee that way.

Look at this: Orbitz Search. It's going to be your cheapest option. Don't forget insurance.

InTheTrees

dave2pvd wrote: »

Don't forget insurance.

Insurance can be as much as the rental cost.

gsi300024v

Got one away from the airport and insurance for an extra driver is included, it's a Kia Rio, really hope they run out of them and we given something bigger and more fun.

InTheTrees

gsi300024v wrote: »

Got one away from the airport and insurance for an extra driver is included, it's a Kia Rio, really hope they run out of them and we given something bigger and more fun.

Ask at the office when you got o pick it up. The next size up is probably only a few $$ a day. insurance should be the same. You never know...

gsi300024v

I looked today and the next size up is 3 euro! I also looked that you pay your deposite, and then you don't actually get the deals until you pay the balance, so the deal has to be going the day you pay the balance, or that's how I've interrupted it.

InTheTrees

gsi300024v wrote: »

I looked today and the next size up is 3 euro! I also looked that you pay your deposite, and then you don't actually get the deals until you pay the balance, so the deal has to be going the day you pay the balance, or that's how I've interrupted it.

That doesn't sound right.

You have a contract with a price you agree on. Ive also found car rental places to be a lot more flexible than one expects, especially the smaller off airport locations with fewer vehicles. Ive frequently got a larger car than ive reserved for the same price.