re: Relocation: Atlanta or New Orleans? (Update pg5: Central City here we come!)

LOL

You have a wife and small children. Why would you even consider NOLA?

I know right? Who wants to raise their kids on bourbon street in a city that is 95% black and filled with loss and bums.
I couldn't imagine raising a family where people piss in the streets all day.

If you have a choice between New Orleans and anywhere else, you will rarely go wrong picking anywhere else. And this is not one of those times.

Atlanta has its problems, but it also has many very nice areas. NOLA is one giant ghetto. Even the nice are pretty crappy.

If you are raising kids then Atlanta.

Single and looking for fun then New Orleans.

Atlanta is nicer. East Cobb and Sandy Springs area are great.

Unless you're making ot baller money, as a parent to young children, the suburbs of Atlanta like Sandy Springs may be best for you. New Orleans is a young man or a rich man's game. The close affordable suburbs are all pretty terrible (New Orleans East, Chalmette, Westbank, Kennah brah, Metaire). The nearest decent public school district is in St. Tammany Parish and it's a rough commute across the causeway.

Unless you can afford to live in Uptown, Old Metaire, or Lakeview and send your kids to private schools, Atlanta is probably your best bet.

I'm not sure how you bike to work in Alpharetta unless you have tank/bike hybrid. Traffic is nuts.

Alpharetta has some very nice areas and schools are very good. Biggest drawback to the Atlanta area in my mind is traffic but if you are willing to live close to your office that's a nonfactor. It's a nice area to raise a family, would be much better than NOLA to me. And I lived in NOLA area until after graduating, then moved to the Atlanta area.

FWIW, I'm currently parked in the heart of Central City, New Orleans. My son is playing a concert at the new jazz hall on O. C. Haley. The neighborhood is gentrifying before our very eyes.

You see, my son goes to a public school in New Orleans, a magnet/charter. It's a top school in the state. He is in the school's jazz band, being taught by a jazz legend.

New Orleans has it's problems, but it has a history and authenticity that Atlanta does not, IMO. Atlanta is a materialistic slice of anywhere USA and Alpharetta is it's prime suburb.

So, even though this thread is a troll, and just an opportunity for New Orleans haters to sound off, I'd like to add that I live in New Orleans, Carrollton to be exact, and work in the CBD, and there's no place I'd rather live.

For those who agree with me, I'll see you at the French Quarter Fest this weekend!