And I say, Atlanta is as plasticized as big cities get. The place has no character at all. I will agree with Carol though that inevitably, you should probably go to a place yourself before making a final decision.
Have your buddy drive you all around north Atlanta and the main suburban points of interest (golf courses, Perimeter and Lennox Malls basically.. wo hoo)... if you're not unimpressed after two days of driving around that place, I'd be amazed. That's if you're coming from a place with some culture and diversity such as OC... obvioulsy someone from bumfvck Nebraska might think Atlanta is amazing but...
Have your buddy drive you all around north Atlanta and the main suburban points of interest (golf courses, Perimeter and Lennox Malls basically.. wo hoo)... if you're not unimpressed after two days of driving around that place, I'd be amazed. That's if you're coming from a place with some culture and diversity such as OC... obvioulsy someone from bumfvck Nebraska might think Atlanta is amazing but...
Have him drive him around the golf courses, perimeter and Lennox Mall? Of course he'll be bored. You might as well tell him to take a drive and check out the airport and maybe a Wal-Mart while he's here. How old are you Moogs... 50-60? There more to Atlanta then just the north perimeter suburbs and golf courses. \ Assuming you're still young, Northgate... you may also check out Little 5 points, Virginia Highlands, Piedmont Park, and there's plenty of nightlife in Buckhead, Midtown, Virginia Highlands, L5P, Ponce, and Decatur. If you're into sports (I'm not) there's the Hawks, Braves and Falcons.
Like I said before, I've never been to LA and am sure compared to Atlanta it's better in most ways. But Atlanta is still a nice city and may be what you're looking for.... of course, only you can make the decision.
I have lived in Houston and New Orleans. So I got to know Atlanta a bit. All 3 cities basically have the same weather. Right Akumulator?
As a SoCal guy like Northgate, it took me about a year to comfortable with the HUMIDITY... I thought Atlanta was a pretty cool place. There are ignoramuses of all colors in Atlanta just like any other big city. I liked it more than Houston but less than New Orleans. At the time (the '80's) it also had less crime than the other two cities.
Must agree. Been to SoFL, wondered what everyone was whining about. Honestly, I agree that Atlanta is humid, but south Florida is worse, DC is worse than Florida (less temp, but you're expected to wear suits, which are usually made of wool. . . hot), and Houston is worse than them all.
LA people are soft. Perfect weather all year. DC is a few steps up, with ugly summers, ice storms in the winter, but nice springs and falls. Then there are places in the midwest where it goes from brutal winter to brutal summer in the span of a week, and back the same way in the fall. Atlanta has damn nice weather. If you decide to stay in Atlanta, you will be doing your kids a favor, because they won't grow up quite as soft.
You've never lived (and when I say lived, I mean baked) through a Chicago summer, have you?
Humidity is a killer, it hurts to be alive in the middle of July in Chicago.
How many times do I have to re-iterate. . . Chi-town is humid, but it's not that bad. New York is worse. DC is worse than both. Houston is worse than all. One summer you should work construction on a metal roof in DC, cutting holes in it with an acetylene torch. The humidity is made even worse than the 90% ambient because your pools of sweat are boiling on the roof. Chicago is fricking cool in the summer. They tell me you're a fireman. I hear it's pretty bad in those suits near the fire, but at least that's not how you spend ALL F-ING DAY.
Akumulator: it was sarcasm. My point was that once you leave the city, there is nothing but golf courses, hotels and malls. Well, there is Stone Mountain and Lake Lanier but that is not a reason to relocate. Stone Mountain vs. Yosemite, Lake Lanier vs. Lake Tahoe, etc etc.
There is just no comparison in terms of culture in the city, or things to do outside the city. Atlanta is a suburban nightmare....
First off, it would be great to have Northgate join us here in Atlanta...regardless of our political differences I'd go drink beers with him anywhere in town.
And what about that town upon which Moogs has unceremoniously pooped?
It's fantastic.
Atlanta has EXPLODED since I graduated Georgia Tech in 1991. It's dramatic, unprecedented and without a doubt one of the most exciting times in the city's history. The "white flight" from the 60's/70's has been reversed by a younger, hipper generation who value the merits of in-town living and racial equality.
It's almost impossible to find an empty warehouse or office tower these days, they're all being converted into lofts, pick your style and it's there.
If you're fond of the nouvelle culture of LA then stay put.
Just don't let Moogs BS you into believing that we're a parochial backwater. His assessment would be like me telling everyone that Los Angeles is the asphalt wasteland of The Valley...conveniently leaving out Malibu, Santa Monica, Palisades, etc.
What we DON'T have is the ocean. If you think you're going to miss it then add that into your considerations.
I never found Chicago to be humid. It doesn't even get all that hot for too long.
Chicago can be very humid in the summer, but it changes from year to year. One year summer will be a swelter-fest (thank God for Lake Michigan), and the next our average daytime temps will be in the high 70s / low 80s and the humidity under 70%. Just like the winters: you never know with Chicago.
In Atlanta, it's a foregone conclusion that by the first week of June your undershirt is going to be stuck to your chest and back... and it's going to get stuck nearly every day thereafter until mid-October.
And Drew... common man. I haven't said anything about Atltanta that is untrue (even if I have taken some liberty in adding my own flavor of creative writing into the mix).
? The weather is great from March 1 to June 1, and October 10 (roughly) to December 1. Everything between those dates is a sweat-ridden hell. The winters are an odd mix high pressure cold snaps, ice storms and balmy 45 degree days.
? Downtown Atlanta has very typical / average corporate architecture along the skyline, does not have any large central park type area, no great museums or cultural centers, etc. There is just not that much to do there orther than shop, eat, drink or go to a ballgame (plenty of empty seats at Turner Field or Phillips Arena).
? The airport sucks. It's the only modern airport I know of with a train system, and yet is still a PITA to get from terminal to terminal.
? Suburban Atlanta, while relatively good for getting full acre plots cheap and building relatively large homes on them, is a poster-child for poor urban planning and development.
-The traffic hell is second only to Boston in my opinion (and I live in Chicago where we have a traffic hell of our own every day). The system of connectors and local throughways is one of the absolute worst road layouts I've ever seen, even absent the traffic. The only thing I've seen that compares is suburban Detroit, which is equally horrible but for different reasons. If you're new to Atlanta, it is a royal PITA to learn your way around it... I doubt even you would deny that.
-Very poor environmental management in terms of protecting natural lands and using them to provide barriers between large communities. Chicago was legendarily bad at this until recently (last 12 years or so), when many of our wetlands and lands along small rivers started gaining full protection as more houses went up.
-Hotels and strip-malls galore (though many of the strip malls are from my day and not current day I admit).
? The really cool places (like the afore-mentioned Stone Mountain or Lake Lanier) are fairly long drives, from the suburbs bordering the city, although the sprawl has gotten stretched so far out from the city that now large numbers of people are much closer than used to be the case. And btw, you do have an ocean... it's just a four hour drive, basically. Not bad. And you thought I couldn't admit the good points.
Oh ya... the Chattahoochee! I used to live a stones through away and go fishing all the time when I was a kid. Too swift and cold to swim in generally though. Still, it's a nice point in some areas.
I hate to admit this, but it is probably true the "weather" wise, people who are born and bred from Santa Barbara down to San Diego are probably "softer" than the rest of the nation...
Is it our fault it's the most temperate weather in the country?
I'm going to have to agree with everything Moogs said. He is not exaggerating at all. Atlanta is decent for a Yuppie type who just wants to watch TV and live the standard Yuppie life but there's almost nothing with character here. NYC is of course NYC, but even Philadelphia, while old and dirty, had a much more interesting feel than Atlanta.
Every little bit of space is used up in Atlanta so there is no mystery. You always feel like you are 50 yards away from the highway. There are no nice quiet neighborhoods that just happen to have a restaurant there to surprise you. There aren't shopping places that have a unique entrance or layout. You just drive right into the strip mall and park. Since the South is too hot for people to want to stay outsied in the summer, there are almost no parks. Grant Park is supposed to be a big deal but it's just a little patch of land in between some streets. You won't find places with a small lake, and paths to walk bike ride along, all nestled within a quiet neighborhood. In NYC there are hundreds of places you would want to go just for the sake of being there for the afternoon. In Atlanta, there's Stone Mountain, maybe Piedmont Park, and that's about it. A lot of the neighborhoods don't even have sidewalks so you don't have the same neighborhood feel. The only place I find really interesting is Buford Highway, which is Chinatown
The people are definitely Yuppie types. You just aren't going to see people dressed in interesting ways.
The good thing I can about Atlanta is that it is definitely pleasant. People are more laid back than they are in Washington D.C. or other big cities. There are trees all over and all the buildings are very new.
i'm going to have to have to call bullshit on this one. as akumulator mentioned above, there are plenty of places that break way out of the "suburban yuppy sprawl" that you two imply in your posts. as far as traffic goes, atlanta has it's share, but i'd hardly call it unbearable, and certainly nowhere close to what i've experienced in many other places. besides, i don't care what city you live in, if you hanging out in the suburbs, your going to be dealing with traffic.
regarding the weather, i find it quite nice. mild even. but then again i live in texas. go through a summer or two here, and you'll never think atlanta is hot and humid. now be a dear and pass me another mint julip please.
Comments
Have your buddy drive you all around north Atlanta and the main suburban points of interest (golf courses, Perimeter and Lennox Malls basically.. wo hoo)... if you're not unimpressed after two days of driving around that place, I'd be amazed. That's if you're coming from a place with some culture and diversity such as OC... obvioulsy someone from bumfvck Nebraska might think Atlanta is amazing but...
Originally posted by Moogs
Have your buddy drive you all around north Atlanta and the main suburban points of interest (golf courses, Perimeter and Lennox Malls basically.. wo hoo)... if you're not unimpressed after two days of driving around that place, I'd be amazed. That's if you're coming from a place with some culture and diversity such as OC... obvioulsy someone from bumfvck Nebraska might think Atlanta is amazing but...
Have him drive him around the golf courses, perimeter and Lennox Mall? Of course he'll be bored. You might as well tell him to take a drive and check out the airport and maybe a Wal-Mart while he's here.
Like I said before, I've never been to LA and am sure compared to Atlanta it's better in most ways. But Atlanta is still a nice city and may be what you're looking for.... of course, only you can make the decision.
I have lived in Houston and New Orleans. So I got to know Atlanta a bit. All 3 cities basically have the same weather. Right Akumulator?
As a SoCal guy like Northgate, it took me about a year to comfortable with the HUMIDITY... I thought Atlanta was a pretty cool place. There are ignoramuses of all colors in Atlanta just like any other big city. I liked it more than Houston but less than New Orleans. At the time (the '80's) it also had less crime than the other two cities.
Do it Northgate.
Originally posted by billybobsky
humidity shmudity...
all yall are wimps. wimps i say...
Must agree. Been to SoFL, wondered what everyone was whining about. Honestly, I agree that Atlanta is humid, but south Florida is worse, DC is worse than Florida (less temp, but you're expected to wear suits, which are usually made of wool. . . hot), and Houston is worse than them all.
LA people are soft. Perfect weather all year. DC is a few steps up, with ugly summers, ice storms in the winter, but nice springs and falls. Then there are places in the midwest where it goes from brutal winter to brutal summer in the span of a week, and back the same way in the fall. Atlanta has damn nice weather. If you decide to stay in Atlanta, you will be doing your kids a favor, because they won't grow up quite as soft.
Originally posted by billybobsky
humidity shmudity...
all yall are wimps. wimps i say...
You've never lived (and when I say lived, I mean baked) through a Chicago summer, have you?
Humidity is a killer, it hurts to be alive in the middle of July in Chicago.
Originally posted by DMBand0026
You've never lived (and when I say lived, I mean baked) through a Chicago summer, have you?
Humidity is a killer, it hurts to be alive in the middle of July in Chicago.
How many times do I have to re-iterate. . . Chi-town is humid, but it's not that bad. New York is worse. DC is worse than both. Houston is worse than all. One summer you should work construction on a metal roof in DC, cutting holes in it with an acetylene torch. The humidity is made even worse than the 90% ambient because your pools of sweat are boiling on the roof. Chicago is fricking cool in the summer. They tell me you're a fireman. I hear it's pretty bad in those suits near the fire, but at least that's not how you spend ALL F-ING DAY.
8)
There is just no comparison in terms of culture in the city, or things to do outside the city. Atlanta is a suburban nightmare....
First off, it would be great to have Northgate join us here in Atlanta...regardless of our political differences I'd go drink beers with him anywhere in town.
And what about that town upon which Moogs has unceremoniously pooped?
It's fantastic.
Atlanta has EXPLODED since I graduated Georgia Tech in 1991. It's dramatic, unprecedented and without a doubt one of the most exciting times in the city's history. The "white flight" from the 60's/70's has been reversed by a younger, hipper generation who value the merits of in-town living and racial equality.
It's almost impossible to find an empty warehouse or office tower these days, they're all being converted into lofts, pick your style and it's there.
If you're fond of the nouvelle culture of LA then stay put.
Just don't let Moogs BS you into believing that we're a parochial backwater. His assessment would be like me telling everyone that Los Angeles is the asphalt wasteland of The Valley...conveniently leaving out Malibu, Santa Monica, Palisades, etc.
What we DON'T have is the ocean. If you think you're going to miss it then add that into your considerations.
I could go on for days about the ATL, just ask.
Originally posted by Scott
I never found Chicago to be humid. It doesn't even get all that hot for too long.
Chicago can be very humid in the summer, but it changes from year to year. One year summer will be a swelter-fest (thank God for Lake Michigan), and the next our average daytime temps will be in the high 70s / low 80s and the humidity under 70%. Just like the winters: you never know with Chicago.
In Atlanta, it's a foregone conclusion that by the first week of June your undershirt is going to be stuck to your chest and back... and it's going to get stuck nearly every day thereafter until mid-October.
[snipped out my response to Drew (below)]
Originally posted by DMBand0026
You've never lived (and when I say lived, I mean baked) through a Chicago summer, have you?
Humidity is a killer, it hurts to be alive in the middle of July in Chicago.
you are a fool, and i mean that in the kindest of ways...
i grew up in a place where 100% humidity is standard with temperatures above 100...
? The weather is great from March 1 to June 1, and October 10 (roughly) to December 1. Everything between those dates is a sweat-ridden hell. The winters are an odd mix high pressure cold snaps, ice storms and balmy 45 degree days.
? Downtown Atlanta has very typical / average corporate architecture along the skyline, does not have any large central park type area, no great museums or cultural centers, etc. There is just not that much to do there orther than shop, eat, drink or go to a ballgame (plenty of empty seats at Turner Field or Phillips Arena).
? The airport sucks. It's the only modern airport I know of with a train system, and yet is still a PITA to get from terminal to terminal.
? Suburban Atlanta, while relatively good for getting full acre plots cheap and building relatively large homes on them, is a poster-child for poor urban planning and development.
-The traffic hell is second only to Boston in my opinion (and I live in Chicago where we have a traffic hell of our own every day). The system of connectors and local throughways is one of the absolute worst road layouts I've ever seen, even absent the traffic. The only thing I've seen that compares is suburban Detroit, which is equally horrible but for different reasons. If you're new to Atlanta, it is a royal PITA to learn your way around it... I doubt even you would deny that.
-Very poor environmental management in terms of protecting natural lands and using them to provide barriers between large communities. Chicago was legendarily bad at this until recently (last 12 years or so), when many of our wetlands and lands along small rivers started gaining full protection as more houses went up.
-Hotels and strip-malls galore (though many of the strip malls are from my day and not current day I admit).
? The really cool places (like the afore-mentioned Stone Mountain or Lake Lanier) are fairly long drives, from the suburbs bordering the city, although the sprawl has gotten stretched so far out from the city that now large numbers of people are much closer than used to be the case. And btw, you do have an ocean... it's just a four hour drive, basically. Not bad. And you thought I couldn't admit the good points.
Oh ya... the Chattahoochee! I used to live a stones through away and go fishing all the time when I was a kid. Too swift and cold to swim in generally though. Still, it's a nice point in some areas.
Is it our fault it's the most temperate weather in the country?
Every little bit of space is used up in Atlanta so there is no mystery. You always feel like you are 50 yards away from the highway. There are no nice quiet neighborhoods that just happen to have a restaurant there to surprise you. There aren't shopping places that have a unique entrance or layout. You just drive right into the strip mall and park. Since the South is too hot for people to want to stay outsied in the summer, there are almost no parks. Grant Park is supposed to be a big deal but it's just a little patch of land in between some streets. You won't find places with a small lake, and paths to walk bike ride along, all nestled within a quiet neighborhood. In NYC there are hundreds of places you would want to go just for the sake of being there for the afternoon. In Atlanta, there's Stone Mountain, maybe Piedmont Park, and that's about it. A lot of the neighborhoods don't even have sidewalks so you don't have the same neighborhood feel. The only place I find really interesting is Buford Highway, which is Chinatown
The people are definitely Yuppie types. You just aren't going to see people dressed in interesting ways.
The good thing I can about Atlanta is that it is definitely pleasant. People are more laid back than they are in Washington D.C. or other big cities. There are trees all over and all the buildings are very new.
regarding the weather, i find it quite nice. mild even. but then again i live in texas. go through a summer or two here, and you'll never think atlanta is hot and humid. now be a dear and pass me another mint julip please.