Questions for those living in the Atlanta area...

[Joolskie]

DH has been getting a lot of pressure from his employer to relocate to the Atlanta area. And we are currently considering it for a few reasons... I have family in Savannah, we could live like kings (housing prices are MUCH more affordable than here in the Northeast), milder weather (did I mention we now live in the Northeast? LOL!), more job opportunities for me, a raise for DH...

But living just north of Baltimore, we have a lot of things which would make it very hard to leave... my kids are in a GREAT school (it is a small Catholic school and it seems as though the Catholic schools in the Atlanta area are few/far between and have high tuitions... like triple what we pay now), DH''s family is close by in the Baltimore area, our closest and dearest friends are here, it would be hard to give up Orioles and Ravens games (LOL!) yadda, yadda, yadda.

Anyway, I would love to hear about life in the ATL from those in the know. My husband''s Atlanta area office is in Alpharetta. And from what I hear regarding traffic, we would absolutely have to live near the office. His boss recently relocated from up here and lives in Cumming. Any other areas I should investigate?

So... what''s it like down south y''all?!?! Got room for a few more Yankees?!?!? Not sure yet if we will make the move but getting the inside scoop would definitely help the decision process!

 

[krispi]

Well, I was born and raised in Atlanta, have never left, and love living here, so I might be a bit biased.

I think Atlanta has a lot of great things to offer - culture, sporting events, great restaurants, shopping - that you''d want if you''re coming from a larger city, plus the hospitality and climate of being in the south. It does get REALLY hot and humid here during the summer, but on the flip side the winters aren''t that harsh.

A few things to consider - traffic in the Alpharetta area can be really bad, so you''d need to live close by. But there are lots of nice, pretty houses in that area. Atlanta has almost no public transportation to speak of (MARTA is pretty much a joke if you''re in the suburbs) so you''d have to be okay with driving everywhere. The city would be fairly accessible from Alpharetta, but it would be difficult getting into the city during rush hour, if you ever wanted to to go a sporting event or concert or something - you''d have a LOT of traffic to deal with, plus paying toll on 400.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions. If you''re serioulsy considering it, come spend some time here. There''s lots of fun things to do. And there are a lot of non-natives in the Atlanta area, so chances are that you''d be able to make lots of friends in the same situation as you.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

When Paul and I married, I moved to the North, north end of the Atlanta Metro area. I love it. We''re in Cherokee County, which boasts even better housing prices than the more central counties of the Atlanda metro.

It''s a great place, in my opinion. I''ve found there are a lot of "transplants" in the area, and for the most part, the "southerners" are nice to us, too!

The school system isn''t the best, but is FAR from the worst, too. And one cool thing to think about, if you were to ever put your kids in the public school system is that Georgia offers the "HOPE Scholarship;" a full ride to college (state colleges of course) for all four years, if you maintain an adequate GPA. Standards have risen, but it''s somewhere around 3.5-3.75 now.

I also love the housing costs out here. In Cali, we''d be suffering in a tiny condo, most likely. And the market is HOT here, too. It''s nice, it''s nice.

My husband is an Atlanta buff, so if you have any specific questions, he could definitely answer them (or at least find links to the answers on the internet for you).

But, I must add, we did get snow two days last week.

All 1/2 inch of it! Hee hee... melted by noon the same day....

 

[Joolskie]

Thanks for the responses guys...

I should probably mention that we have been to Atlanta a few times. My dad did some work at CNN and we visited him while he was there. So we have done all the touristy stuff... ate greasy, delicious burgers at The Varsity, took in a Braves game, cruised the Underground, ran through the singing fountain, went to the aquarium, saw Thomas The Tank Engine Live On Stage at Symphony Hall, etc.

All of the above are definitely temptations for moving. Atlanta has totally got it going on as a major metropolitan city. Having only been as a visitor, it is really helpful to hear from those who actually live and drive there though! LOL!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

The traffic can be nuts, but it''s not as bad as Los Angeles.

MARTA is not my favorite mode of transit (at all), but it''s good for getting to Braves and Trashers games. Plus, you get to look around the car at all the other fans, some of whom got drunk before going to the game (maybe to save on the cost of alcohol once there), which is always fun. I just love the random comments they can come up with.

Maybe not the best reason to consider a move, but a fun memory of MARTA, none the less.

 

[steph72276]

I was born and raised in Atlanta and just last year moved to Florida when my husband got a job transfer. If we ever get a chance to move back, I would take it in a heartbeat! Alpharetta is a great area for familys. Plenty of nice homes and good schools. Housing prices are so wonderful and now is a great time as the market there is flooded with houses, you could get a great deal. We lived in Woodstock, which is 2 towns over and were very happy there. You should also investigate Roswell, which is right next to Alpharetta. But yes, traffic is really bad there, so you should live close to work. Hope this helps!

 

[redfaerythinker]

Born and raised through Catholic School in Atlanta. There are far more options than there were when I went through but as far as grammar school it isn''t that expensive. I personally went to Our Lady of the Assumption, very small, about 500 students k-8. And then I went on to Marist School, also very small, about 1000 students G7-12. Atlanta is a great place to live, traffic is horrible but you get used to it. Where you would live would really depend on your finances. Norcross is lovely but a bit pricey. I live in the west side of Cobb county where prices are very reasonable. Marta is indeed terrible but works well if you are going to a football/basketball/baseball game or the high museum. like I said, i''ve lived there for over 20 years so it would be safe to say I know it well. Just ask away! It also seems that northerners really love it there, many atlantans came for the Olympics and then never left! So come on down!

 

[piccolascimmia]

I've lived in various intown areas of Atlanta for 15 years, and really enjoy it here. There are still a lot of other cities I'd love to live in, but until a solid opportunity takes me away, I don't have a real desire to leave.

I work and live in midtown/downtown, so traffic isn't much of an issue for me. If you move, I would highly recommend living as close to work as possible...even if you move to Alpharetta and avoid downtown traffic, there is still a ton of suburban traffic around the bedroom communities like Alpharetta. Growth planning in this area has been practically nonexistant and growth so explosive; traffic seems to be a problem everywhere, not just the city center. But there are great housing deals to be had in the burbs...the housing market here has definitely slowed, so buyers seem to be in control.

Also, depending on conservative you are, I've found Atlanta to be less liberal/more conservative than I'm used to (I grew up in California). I don't notice it daily, but there are times when politics or religion comes up and I'm surprised at how conservative some things still are around here. You can't buy liquor on Sundays!

And...I hate to say it since I'm a Braves, Falcons and Thrashers fan, but Atlanta isn't much of a sports town. Granted, we've had some pretty tough sports times lately, but the mood in the city doesn't much help counteract the bad kharma either. It's a weird dynamic of having some good/some bad teams, and the fans tend to gang up on them very quickly. And since there are so many transplants here, you'll go to a falcons vs steelers game and there seem to be more steelers fans there, which is pretty disappointing.

Good luck! I'm happy to provide more details if you have questions...