Travel Atlanta

babypie

babypie

Member
Jun 3, 2007
18,877
2
#1
What advice or info would you give to someone considering moving there? We're a couple in our late 20's/early 30's and aren't familiar with the area.

What are the "good" areas? -- In terms of apartment prices, safety, closeness to downtown etc.

What is the employment situation like? Weather? Entertainment/shopping?

Any info is much appreciated. TIA:flowers:
 
#2
The good areas intown/near downtown are:

Buckhead- affluent area. Where all the major shopping, restaurants, and entertainment are.

Vinings - Great area! Kinda a suburban- hip area. Hip because they are building alot of condos/apts and mixed used developments that are attracting a younger crowd (your age). I will buy my next home there probably.

Alpharetta -affluent suburban area

Midtown/Piedmont area -funky hip area

Virginia Highlands -funky hip area. This area has great boutiques and restaurants, entertainment.

All the areas I listed are very close to Buckhead/Downtown area.

If someone were moving from out of town I would suggest Buckhead. It is a safe area and is super close to EVERYTHING. Rent prices can vary. You can find a one bedroom in a great safe area in Buckhead for $900 and up.

The weather isn't bad. This winter was strange. I swear I was wearing t-shirts in some days in January! The summers can get pretty hot (to me. I hate heat) Maybe mid 90's as a high in the summer (it varies though). Overall I would say we have pleasant weather.

The main shopping/entertainment/ restaurants district is in Buckhead. Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza. That is pretty much where everyone goes to shop. But there are great boutiques and great restaurant's all over the city.

As for entertainments Atlanta has a wide variety of clubs and bars. We have a few festivals that are pretty popular, sporting events, artsy events at museums, theaters etc.. . Stone Mountain Park, Piedmont Park, Aquarium

I suggest having a car. BUT we do have a rail system is pretty good -MARTA. If you live intown you will be fine without a car, I guess. If you live in the suburbs forget it, you need a car.

I'm really not sure about the employment.

I hope this helps. I'm sure others will chime in, If you have any other questions just ask!
 
#4
I'm a born-and-raised Atlantan so hopefully I can help you out. :smile: Everything wordpast said is very accurate! If I was young and married, I would definitely recommend living in Buckhead, Virginia Highlands/Morningside, or Ansley (area in b/t VaHi and Midtown), especially if you don't want to commute on a freeway. That being said, LIVE CLOSE TO WHERE YOU WORK! If you work in Alpharetta, LIVE THERE. If you work in Marietta, LIVE THERE. The traffic here is such a nightmare.:cursing: And there are nice areas both in town and in the suburbs.:tup:

If you want to live in a condo, I would look in Buckhead or Midtown. If you want a house, check the suburbs (if you work out there), Garden Hills (neighborhood in Buckhead), VaHi, Peachtree Hills..basically everything in b/t Buckhead and Midtown.

Prices here are cheaper than say, NYC or San Fran, but are probably on par with Dallas, Charlotte, Nashville, etc.. Due to the down economy, there are lots of buyer incentives on condos currently being built, and if you're into renovating, there are always "diamond in the rough" houses to be had.

Winters are mild, summers are HOT. Winters are short, summer are looooong.:rolleyes: But hey, it's the South, what do you expect?

A car is 100% necessary. Public transportation here is a joke. The one exception being I always take MARTA to the airport.

Atlanta has fantastic restaurants, boutiques, and malls, especially in Buckhead and VaHi. :yes: You will not lack for shopping or fine dining of all types here. There are also the "touristy" attractions, like the World of Coke, Aquarium, Stone Mountain, etc.. Braves games are a BLAST to go to in the summer! The Hawks/Falcons/Thrashers aren't great, but the games are still fun to go to.

In terms of jobs, it really depends what type of profession you're in. Atlanta is great for mid-career people and upward, but hard if you're a young professional starting out (welcome to my world:rolleyes:). Lawyers and doctors can always find jobs, as well as anyone with an engineering degree, although you'll have stiff competition from GA Tech grads. Companies such as Deloitte, Accenture, and McKesson have a huge base here.

Several companies are headquartered here, such as Coca Cola, BellSouth, etc.. and they are always looking for a wide variety of people. If you're into broadcasting/TV, Turner is based here as well.

Hope that helps! :smile:
 
#7
I'm a native Atlantan, born and raised, except for the past few years when I've lived in Athens to go to The University of Georgia (Athens is America's best college town and about an hour and a half eat of Atlanta).

Based on my 20 years there, everything that Sassy said is very accurate and good advice. A car is a MUST unless you never plan to leave your house, even if you live in town. Since Atlanta has exploded in the last two decades and has no natural barriers like many cities (NYC is an island, Chicago is bordered by a lake, Boston has the bay, etc), things in Atlanta are much more spread out than most of the large cities people are used to in other parts of the country.

Atlanta is also a very 'young' city as far as average age of residents, it's great for people in their 20s and 30s. The job market is effected by the economy, of course, but is generally a little better than average because of the large amount of growth in the region and the significant number of companies moving operations here (Coca Cola, UPS, CNN, Delta Airlines, Rubbermaid, BellSouth, AT&T Wireless, and Chick-fil-a have their world headquarters here, Porsche is one of many companies that have their N. American headquarters here).

Because of your age, I'd recommend Buckhead, Vinings, or the VaHi (Virginia Highlands) areas for living, as long as you're going to be working in the city. If you're going to work in the suburbs, you'll probably want to live there for sheer convenience, since the commute in Atlanta is second only to Los Angeles in average length. This is highly debatable, but the northern suburbs are often considered the most 'desirable,' Alpharetta, Marietta, and Sandy Springs in particular (as far as school quality, crime rates, average income, etc. go).

What I want to tell you more than anything, though, is that I love, love, LOVE living in Georgia. I went to a fantastic public school (Cobb County Public Schools are the best in the state), and now I go to a fantastic public college, all for free. The weather is great (if a little hot in the summer), it's within driving distance of beaches and Disney World, and there are tons of fun things to do and see. For a while I wanted to move and try a new city, but the longer I stay here, the more I think that I want to continue to stay here. Good luck making your decision!
 
#9
Hi
I am going to visit my sister in knoxville and she wants to take a day trip over to atlanta--any suggestions on the best place to shop and or fun things to do?
thanks for your help!
 
#10
shopping...lenox and phipps are two huge malls directly across the street from each other. there are great boutiques (and restaurants and bars) in the virginia-highlands. for other fun things i recommend the botanical gardens, the aquarium and the world of coke (right next to each other), and a braves game (tickets are cheap and always available at turner field). atlanta is a lot of fun, you should go!
 
#12
As I live in Knoxville, I can say that I hope that you enjoy your visit with your sister here. Shopping in Atlanta is a must though. I love Lenox and Phipps or even a day at perimeter and all its surrounding shopping. Eating in and around the lenox area are worth it also. I love the clubhouse in lenox and the buckhead diner, and maggianos, and roasters and so on and so on.
 
#13
I second the Virginia Highlands area! A few cute boutiques: Mitzi & Romano and Bill Hallman. If you're in Buckhead shopping at Lenox/Phipps, you should also check out boutiques in the surrounding area, like Blue Genes, Tootsie, and Luna.
 
#14
^^^Thank you all for your suggestions--its so cool to have this forum where everyone is from all over and we can share--I want to go to all the places you suggested--thanks again and I will let you know which were are faves! :tup:
 
#15
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