re: What does the OT think of Atlanta?

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They dont call it Black Mecca for nothing

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Well because its not 1990 anymore. Those days are over.

LINK

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Without fail every time this thread comes up weekly, what you'll notice is that the ones screaming the loudest about how bad it sucks are also the ones that have never even been there other than for a concert or sporting event...in other words they've never left the tiny little bubble in the heart of downtown.

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I lived in Duluth/Lawrenceville until I could no longer bear it after twenty-two years. The traffic is absolutely atrocious no matter where you go or what time of day. I-85 sucks. 316 sucks. Hwy 20 sucks. Peachtree Industrial sucks. Scenic Highway sucks. No matter what you hear about people in Atlanta driving too fast, it ain't true. It is physically impossible to drive fast when traffic simply does not move. Surface streets are no better than the main thoroughfares.

Quite simply, it's too crowded, and that crowding stretches all the way up I-85 well into Hall County. Forsyth and Cherokee counties are feeling it more and more as well. Traffic along I-75 north of ATL is hell until you're past Kennesaw.

The exchange ramps from interstate to interstate in the heart of the beast are lined with urban outdoorsmen constantly in search of their next prey as they stare into your vehicle while you're stuck trying to merge from I-20E to I-85N. They make it easy for you though - they have their go-fund-me page listed on their cardboard signs so you can send them money when you get home.

On the good side - the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area provides some excellent trout fishing on 48 miles of the Chattahoochee River from Buford Dam to Paces Mill Park near Marietta, so it's got that going for it.

Overall, I just don't see the attraction of Atlanta. I've been quite happy to have finally escaped the metro area and moved out closer to the Alabama state line. Much more peaceful out this way. Heavy traffic now means there are a couple cars on the highway about a half-mile or so ahead of me.

Hated it except for my visit to the CFB HOF...

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overrated food scene

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I visited ATL and left having no idea what the identity of their food scene was even supposed to be.

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I assume based on the guy's post, he must have had some business there.

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Is he a Federal Government employee? The majority of private sector businesses left for Midtown, Buckhead, or Dunwoody years ago and the ones that haven't left will be gone to those places eventually.

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It’s just a bigger New Orleans

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2025 city of Atlanta has nothing in common with New Orleans. Atlanta and New Orleans are going two different directions in just about all aspects and especially demographically.

Yeah Atlanta and Houston are good comparables. Sprawl and trade offs.

Houston is a bigger economic engine, but Atlanta's topography and weather are much better.

I don't really see anything similar about Atlanta and New Orleans unless you're talking about demographics. Atlanta metro is 100x the family suburbia quality of life place that NOLA metro is IMO, and I think the number of people leaving/moving to each would certainly reflect that. Atlanta is also a much larger economic driver than New Orleans.

New Orleans is more interesting by a lot, of course

Atlanta isn't for everyone and certainly is not perfect and has its warts but its very easy to tell the people on here who haven't been to the actual city proper in quite some time. Like I said its not 1990 anymore the city has completely changed.

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That's called Chattanooga. It probably would have been more efficient to drive to Nooga, and connect in ATL on Monday mornings from the burbs.

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If you live in Cartersville or Canton, maybe. Otherwise ATL is still closer/easier to get to.

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One security line. One. I loved when it wrapped around the luggage carousels, and out to the street for arrivals.

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There are four checkpoint areas, North/Main/South in the Domestic Terminal and one for International (which you can use for domestic flights if you're not checking luggage).

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Last time I went was 2019, Coke place was fun

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You were in the wrong part of Atlanta. Nobody goes there but gullible tourists. Much better options even in 2019 where you won't deal with any of that.