Anyone from Atlanta? London lass looking for advice!

Alive 79

The hubby has been asked to consider a transfer from London to Atlanta but neither of us know anything about the place! This is the only link I have with the States so figured some of my fellow PJ fans might be able to enlighten me. So, are any of you from or familiar with Atlanta? Need to know best area to live etc :?

81

I drove theu once...

Number of pj peeps here live there

intodeep

I had the pleasure of living in London for a Semester while i was in school Now that does not make me an expert on the location (and it was back in 1999) I currently live in Atlanta and have lived here for 7 years so I can speak to both.

Atlanta is no London.
I like Atlanta a good bit for what it offers but Atlanta has a metropoloton sprawl. Areas are starting to sprout up with Mixed Use living that gives it a little more of an urban feel but mostly you don't walk anywhere. The "tube" goes north and south that is it and it is not always easy to get to places using it. NOTHING like the London tube.

The weather.... well you are coming to the SOUTH and they don't call it HOTlanta for nothing. The summers can be brutal.

Now it is not a terrible place, but it is hard to compare to London. It is a major city though and has lots of good food, arts, theatre, and such but really nothing on the level that compares to London.

so its not like you will be in the middle of no where with nothing to do.... You just have to keep in mind it is quite different.

Traffic is a nightmare. You want to live near to were you work or set it up so you have a reverse commute. The North side of town and the northern suburbs tend to be nicer then the South side. Although on the east side you get some very cool "hip" places to see concerts and such, but if you have a family the better school systems are on the north side of town

If you have specific questions I might be able to help you more.

he.who.forgets

Never lived there, just visited. But if you move you can become Braves fans Lots of cool music venues too. But like intodeep mentioned the summers down here in the south are very hot and humid. Atlanta can also get pretty cold in the winter too; just last week they experienced the most snow & ice the city has seen in quite some time. Hartsfield (the airport) is a major international airport so you'll have no problem getting out of town if you choose.

dcfaithful

intodeep wrote:

I had the pleasure of living in London for a Semester while i was in school Now that does not make me an expert on the location (and it was back in 1999) I currently live in Atlanta and have lived here for 7 years so I can speak to both.

Atlanta is no London.
I like Atlanta a good bit for what it offers but Atlanta has a metropoloton sprawl. Areas are starting to sprout up with Mixed Use living that gives it a little more of an urban feel but mostly you don't walk anywhere. The "tube" goes north and south that is it and it is not always easy to get to places using it. NOTHING like the London tube.

The weather.... well you are coming to the SOUTH and they don't call it HOTlanta for nothing. The summers can be brutal.

Now it is not a terrible place, but it is hard to compare to London. It is a major city though and has lots of good food, arts, theatre, and such but really nothing on the level that compares to London.

so its not like you will be in the middle of no where with nothing to do.... You just have to keep in mind it is quite different.

Traffic is a nightmare. You want to live near to were you work or set it up so you have a reverse commute. The North side of town and the northern suburbs tend to be nicer then the South side. Although on the east side you get some very cool "hip" places to see concerts and such, but if you have a family the better school systems are on the north side of town

If you have specific questions I might be able to help you more.

I'm not going to help much, but my girlfriend is an Atlanta native. I lived there briefly with her nearly 4 years ago. Anyway, I think what intodeep has provided is some great information.

pandora

Alive 79 wrote:

The hubby has been asked to consider a transfer from London to Atlanta but neither of us know anything about the place! This is the only link I have with the States so figured some of my fellow PJ fans might be able to enlighten me. So, are any of you from or familiar with Atlanta? Need to know best area to live etc :?

Hey :wave: the normal greeting in the south.... not 'Hi' like I grew up with.
I'm a yankee moved here in 91 from Milwaukee WI. We have not been disappointed.

We live on a beautiful lake 15 minutes south of the airport.
A motorboat/ jet ski lake. Great fishing.
Some exceptionally good deals right now in the neighborhoods on the lake, by the way.
Really all over Atlanta with the massive number of foreclosures.
I agree, if possible try to live close to where you work although our printing company is a 30 mile one way commute running about an hour in rush times. Not bad if PJ is spinning.

Summers are hot but not as bad as Texas and Florida. We have been in a drought a good lot of the years I've lived here so the humidity is actually better than Milwaukee's! I love summer but it helps we have a pool.

The people are very friendly here...they like to wave a lot
and it has become a melting pot of people from all over the states and world.
I like the friendly southern ways of small talk and the lovely politeness of the locals,
raised proper. Nothing like a southern gentleman.

I can't really add anything to the places to go cause we normally hang at the local biker bars and listen to a lot of local Southern Rock. But in years past we spent time in the Virginia Highlands and Little 5 Points... young and trendy hippie type areas. Midtown/ Buckhead too lots of very cool bars and restaurants. Lots to do.

I must just say we came here on a whim...running down a dream.
I never imagined and was taken aback by the fact I was so homesick.
Atlanta will be very different than London, I've never visited but can imagine
the cultural shock. I sure felt it when I came here just from up north.
In my opinion ....I say go for it if it is a dream of yours or hubby's
if not, there is no place like home and no amount of money worth leaving it.
Good luck to you!
Oh and PJ doesn't play here much as of late but I think that may change this year
I feel it's in the air