re: What Are Your Thoughts On Atlanta?

Time changes -- people, places and things.

Lived in Atlanta 1987-1990 while I attended grad school at Georgia Tech, then 1993-94 when my wife did her first-year medical residency at Emory. Lived in Ansley Park and then Decatur, both of which were nice and picturesque as can be.

At that time, I loved it. This was during the oil bust in S. Louisiana, and Atlanta really seemed a step up in many ways: incredible growth, number of jobs and work, better facilities and shopping, bigger size, etc. But in some ways, it seemed a little more rural/backward; such as when you couldn't buy ANY retail booze on Sundays (I learned that when I went to buy a bottle of wine to have with the steaks I was going to grill one Sunday evening).

Leadership was pretty good, there was Andrew Young and then the 2nd go-round of Maynard Jackson, decent governors and congressmen and senators (Sam Nunn, for example).

Scenery and looks-wise, I really enjoyed the rolling hills and amount of tree cover. I also liked the in-town vibe of the east side of Midtown-- Ansley Park, Virginia Highlands, Little Five Points, Poncey Highlands, Decatur, etc.

When Katrina hit, we stayed there for almost a week and you could tell things had definitely changed. Much more built-out (hell, when I lived there, half of Midtown was cleared vacant lots), it was far more ethnically diverse, and much more liberal.

When I passed through the last few times (in 2019 I spent a week there for a class; in 2020 we passed through there during Christmas break) it was like a different place. Much more crowded in terms of buildings, people and traffic. Bucktown itself looks like it has a bigger skyline than Orlando or Tampa. MUCH more liberal (couldn't believe the number of "Turn Georgia Blue" signs and bumper stickers I saw driving around in-town) and just a totally different vibe. Yet, for all its size and vitality during the day, at night the place seems DEAD and even a little scary. No one is on the streets in-town except the many homeless people and shady characters. About the only crowds you see are people congregating around the many Atlanta strip clubs.

So, for me (and my family, who have noticed the same thing) it has become a big no for me, dog.

It's funny; when I lived in Atlanta in the late 80s and early 90s, Charlotte was coming into its own, getting the Hornets then the Panthers. Some older Atlantans who had visited Charlotte then said it reminded them of Atlanta back in the 60s and early 70s. Just a couple of years ago in 2020 my family passed through Charlotte on that same Christmas break road trip, and damned if Charlotte didn't give me that same vibe of Atlanta in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Like I said, time changes- people, places and things.

I live here. It's cool. I don't really have any complaints.

I don't plan on being here the rest of my life however.

3-28

If I don’t have to go there I’m def fine with that

Think of it as Mogadishu with a more hostile indigenous population and without the beach.

cess pool

It's funny to read these comments and then look at what city/state these posters have listed. I never have to go into Atlanta proper but there are some great areas both within and outside the perimeter. I would argue the numbers of areas outside of Atlanta are far greater than anything LA, AL, MS, etc have to offer. For jobs and opportunities alone I don't think New Orleans and Baton Rouge are even close.

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What Are Your Thoughts On Atlanta?

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Lived in Atlanta for a while about 12 years ago. Didn't hate it, but I'm not in love with it.

It's a giant, more white collar version of Baton Rouge in the sense that it's overcrowded, the infrastructure and traffic are horrible, and there is a growing crime problem.....but there are some southern charms about it that makes you appreciate it even if you don't love it.

In the 1970s-2000's, Atlanta differentiated itself from other major southern cities like New Orleans, Birmingham, and Memphis by focusing on growth above all else. That's reflected in their impressive white collar job market, airport, and status as a major distribution and transportation hub. Atlanta left those cities in the dust, with Memphis and Birmingham being mostly stagnant while New Orleans took a nose dive and never recovered.

Like Houston, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, and Charlotte....Atlanta is always going to be an economic powerhouse and overshadow most other southern towns.

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Think of it as Mogadishu

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You have Atlanta confused for New Orleans.

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Most politicians are corrupt.

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Hey, we had like a 4 year streak going of no former mayors being federally indicted for corruption before the last one fricked up.