Quote:
Originally Posted by GTviajero81
Thanks galaca. It's funny how people here are quick to not read everything that someone posts. Not a very good conversational trait.
What I intended to demonstrate was that for all my daily needs, Atlanta CITY has it all for me and for many of us who choose to make it home. If I need to travel (and I presume you yourself like to take little weekend jaunts from time to time?) I don't have far to go. In fact, I am writing this from my hotel room here in Frankfurt, Germany (travelling here courtesy of taking MARTA 25 minutes from Edgewood/Candler Park to ATL and then Delta non-stop to FRA). As far as having an interest in the dynamics of cities? Please, talk to me after you've completed some of the upper level courses in City Planning at Georgia Tech (which I've done). Besides, have you ever lived in New York? I have and I will tell you, yes there are beaches, but I do not fancy water temps barely reaching 75 in the height of summer with trash occasionally making an appearance (yes, it has gotten a lot better over the years), there is skiing nearby (I never said there wasn't there), and really, why would anyone from NYC want to go to Philadelphia or the Hamptons (would much prefer hanging out in Cape May or Fire Island)? Again, and I'll go slower this time, Atlanta CITY has every thing that we city dwellers here really require for day-to-day needs. And since it is currently 0106 here in Frankfurt I am too tired to relist my aforementioned points, so I will politely suggest you review them...and this time a bit slower so you don't miss it, ok hon?
Wow, was that a little bit of Southern 'smile-in-your-face-but-really-want-to say-other-things' popping out? My goodness.  |
I read your entire post my friend. If I took something out of context, then that is my bad, but you were the one that said some of the reasons you like living there is it's proximity to skiing and the fact that you can 'get gas at $2.37 then go have a margarita for five bucks' (among other things). You act like I made up the idea that you prefer Atlanta primarily because of the cost of living, it's proximity to other stuff, and the weather. Few, if any, of the eight things you listed have anything to do with what the bricks and mortar, physical city of Atlanta itself. I'm not saying that is bad, but i'm saying if you want to compare the weather of New York to the weather of Atlanta, then fine, but the city has no part in that discussion.
In anycase, my point is this: if you like Atlanta better than any of the cities you listed, then by all means that is fine by me. What I am confused about is the fact that most, if not all the qualities you listed as reasons you prefer Atlanta are qualities that Atlanta, by most accounts, falls behind the other three cities in. I'm not saying this makes Atlanta bad, i'm just saying it makes me not understand your reasoning. I'll go through point by point just to make it clear as to what I mean. I'll put my comments in bold to set them apart.
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Originally Posted by
GTviajero81
I have lived in Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, and now Atlanta. And my favourite out of the three? Atlanta, hands down. Why are people moving here in droves, as the latest Census report has shown? Because we have almost everything needed, and if it's not here you can get it rather quickly. Let's look at it:
1) Cool winters, with a few days to make you feel sorry for our fellow Northern countrymen. I relish the idea that I can be in Fargo with a lovely high of -8 in late February and get to Atlanta with temps hovering in the upper 60s (or even 91 degrees about 3 weeks ago in ATL).
I am no fan of the snow, but NYC winters really aren't that bad, Paris winters are nothing, and LA winters are even more mild than Atlanta winters.
2) Long summers. I can go hang out with friends at the lakes around the State or enjoy nights out grilling from early March to early November. Awesome!
Yes, that is nice, I agree. But come on, LA summers are even longer, and you make it sound as if Paris and NYC are in Siberia. Are they really that bad?
3) Beaches. I know most of you all are like, "WHAT?!?" But it's true. The closest beach would be Tybee Island outside Savannah, about a 4 hours drive. Pensacola is 4.5 to 5 hours away, Tampa is 6, Naples about 7 and change. Going to the beach for us in Atlanta is a nice little weekend getaway. If you can afford to fly there, then SAV becomes 40 mins, PNS becomes 55 mins, and Tampa just about one hour. Awesome!
As you well know, there are many beaches actually IN the city of LA and NYC. Also, some of the best beaches in the world are much closer to each of those three cities than tybee island is to atlanta.
4) Skiing. "WHAT?!?!" Believe it or not we do have skiing in the South. North GA mountains is about 1.5 hours way and N.C. is 2 to 2.5. Again, totally doable in a day, but great for a short weekend trip.
Similar to the point about the beaches, there is actual world class skiing within a two hour drive (or closer) to each of the cities Atlanta apparently has the advantage on in this category.
5) Jobs. You hardly ever hear anyone in Atlanta complaining of not being able to find a job. Jobs are easy to come by here. In any level. And with so many institutes of higher education in the Metro area? Gosh, it's so easy to earn an MBA or Master's Degree here on your own time.
Come on, we're not talking about Detroit or Scranton here. Nobody would ever have a problem finding a job in any of the three cities you listed as long as they were adequately qualified for the position they are going for. And institutes of higher education? You're really saying that Atlanta has better and more numerous institutes of higher eduaction than New York, Los Angeles, and Paris?
6) Housing Costs. So what it's cheaper to live here? Is it somehow better to pay out the arse for housing? It is still so cool to know that one can get a condo at Twelve Centennial Park (Downtown Atlanta) starting at US$190K (those might have sold out already). People complain that we are materialistic here in Atlanta --- it may because we have more disposable money for luxury items and for fun!
This is one category that i'll give you. There is cheaper living there, obviously. In some aspects that could definitely be a plus. If it were me personally though, i'd prefer to pay the extra cost for the chance to live within close proximity of the world class amenities that New York, Los Angeles, and Paris offer. That's just me though. I'm not saying that Atlanta doesn't offer some world-class amenities, but, well, you get what i'm saying.
7) Airport. I can fly to five out of the seven continents non-stop. And take the subway there. And only take 15 minutes from downtown with the train station RIGHT in the airport. Not too many other places can claim that (with the exception of O'Hare, but that is a 45 min trip from the Loop, and DCA is not International).
The numerous airports in the Los Angeles, New York, and Paris areas offer a far wider range of international destinations than Hartsfield does. And while I agree that it is somewhat irritating that LAX, JFK, and CDG don't have subway stations IN the airport itself, there is something that should be noted. CDG has an RER hub in the airport, and LAX and JFK both have subway stations just a five minute shuttle ride away. Either way, personally it's not something i'd move to another city over.
8) Cost of living. You folks up North seem to enjoy paying such high prices for gasoline. And groceries. And entertainment. I love that I can pay (as of today) 2.37 for petrol and enjoy a pitcher of margaritas on an outdoor patio in April for 5 bucks.
The majority of neighborhoods in New York, Paris, and even Los Angeles are built in a way that makes it not just possible, but easy to live without a car or then, by default, the worry over gas prices. So that throws that out the window. And it sounds as though you're saying that cheap liquor and outdoor patios are things only found in Atlanta. I know that probably wasn't your point, but I don't get really get this point myself.
So you see there are many reasons why people move here. I wish folks would also differentiate between the Atlanta suburbs and the city itself. Living in the city I can get to anything I really want with our public trans. We have everything that is in the suburbs now. I can't tell you the last time that I really had to either drive or take the train outside of our Perimeter to buy anything. Yeah, if I wanted to go to buy guns for hunting then yes, but since I could not even tell you the start of any of the hunting seasons then I obviously have no need to go to any of these type of outdoor stores.
Again, that is all fine and good. I'm glad Atlanta is beginning to build up it's inner city. However, if we're comparing Atlanta with cities like Paris and New York in the context of mass transit, the ability to get around without a car, and the proximity of amenities, then how does Atlanta come out on top there in your personal comparison?
And driving in rain is WAY more preferable to driving in snow. Most folks may not be able to drive well in the snow down here, but we can sure drive the heck out of rain. Thunderstorms? Bring 'em on! We'll still be screaming down the freeways at 70mph (with a few folks messing it up for the rest of us).
Here is something for locals. Don't you also love how when someone let's you get in front of them in traffic or turn in front of them how we wave to acknowledge them? I sure as heck didn't learn to do that in driving school back in NYC.
In New York, Paris, and many parts of Los Angeles, you don't drive at all.
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So again, i'm not trying to start anything and if Atlanta is your preference then that is fine by me. These are all nice things of course, and all make the Atlanta area an attractive place to move to, but I don't understand the line of logic you went through to determine in your mind that Atlanta is better in these categories than the three cities you mentioned. I like Atlanta. I've spent many a childhood summer there. I'm not trying to say it's terrible, or start any competition of any kind. That isn't my intention. I'm just confused about the logic you used when deciding you preferred Atlanta to the three cities you are comparing it to. To me, saying "I prefer Atlanta to Paris because of all the international destinations at Hartsfield" is kind of like saying "I prefer the Mustang to the Ferrari Enzo because of how fast the Mustang is." Know what I mean?