Atlanta: Don't waste your money

Pangloss62 · 05-04-2006, 10:25 AM

There are people who would defend Atlanta to the end, but I can't see why anyone would "choose" to live here, let alone visit. Dirty, sprawly, ugly, rife with racial segregation, chicken bones, vomit, urine odors, trash and feces on the ground, a huge population of homeless people, incompetent governance, horrible traffic, off-the-chart pollen and smog, religious fanaticism, etc.

That said, there are some good things too, and I'm willing to fill you in on those, but if you're thinking of taking a vacation, save your money for another place.

wolf · 05-04-2006, 01:05 PM

Sounds just like Philadelphia, but with higher humidity.

Lady Luck · 05-04-2006, 02:53 PM

There is a very large gay population in Atlanta. It is the San Francisco of the south. I have two relatives that just moved there to join in the fun.

Pangloss62 · 05-04-2006, 03:45 PM

Yes, there are many Gays here, but it's no San Fran. And there are lots of closeted Gay men and women; their Baptist upbringing and traditional Southern homophobia keeps them to themselves.

Funny you mention the Gays; they seem to be the best people I've met down here. If I were Gay I would "choose" to move here. I came for a job.

Sperlock · 05-06-2006, 10:57 AM

I've been down to Atlanta the last two years for a conference in the area where CNN and Coca Cola are. The conference would generally finish each day sometime after 5 and I was surprised at how quickly things closed up there, including a mall. Not being one to wander or drive around a town I do not know, it does not lead to having much to do.

Pangloss62 · 05-06-2006, 12:21 PM

100% correct. After 5:00, it's "roll up the carpet" in "downtown" ATL. There are a few areas (Buckhead, The Highlands, Little Five Points) that have an active nightlife, but I've never seen a city with such a dead center. Much of the people that work in the ATL are family-oriented types who live Outside The Perimeter (OTP).

Kitsune · 05-06-2006, 11:44 PM

I lived there for 13 years and will say the place has come a long way since 1989, but it still has a lot of problems. With the way downtown is changing and the flood of people returning to live inside 285, I'd go back if I could find a place to live that wasn't in the suburbs. That's not affordable, though. A still rumored I-685 is something I greatly fear, as it would push the insane cookie-cutter growth well beyond Hall and Cherokee counties and into the mountains. Life outside of I-285 is bad enough as it is. I don't miss much of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pangloss62

Dirty, sprawly, ugly, rife with racial segregation, chicken bones, vomit, urine odors, trash and feces on the ground, a huge population of homeless people, incompetent governance, horrible traffic

Oddly enough, out of all the problems associated with living in Atlanta (traffic, sprawl, humidity, lack of parks, etc) there was one thing that annoyed me to no end about Atlanta: The people that whined day in, day out, about how much they hated living there. Around 1998, a huge number of west coasters moved in with the dot com boom and from listening to them you would have been easily convinced that they were being held, against their will, to live there. My prayers for an end to the tech boom couldn't be answered soon enough to get these people to move away. One such girl that I worked with, known only to me as "SanFran", began her mornings with a scheduled bitch session to anyone who happened to be in earshot about how much she despised the city because "no one lives in Atlanta to live there or have a family. They just come here to make money and leave."

Which was funny, you know, because that was the exact reason she was there.

nyet · 05-06-2006, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pangloss62

There are people who would defend Atlanta to the end, but I can't see why anyone would "choose" to live here, let alone visit. Dirty, sprawly, ugly, rife with racial segregation, chicken bones, vomit, urine odors, trash and feces on the ground, a huge population of homeless people, incompetent governance, horrible traffic, off-the-chart pollen and smog, religious fanaticism, etc.

That said, there are some good things too, and I'm willing to fill you in on those, but if you're thinking of taking a vacation, save your money for another place.

it has some of the cheapest real estate in the u.s.a. i think that's a big part of it's popularitie.

Pangloss62 · 05-07-2006, 08:13 AM

I'm afraid I can be one of those whiney, bitch & moan types too, but I try very hard to resist that mind set (it's hard sometimes). I want to be one of the people that works to make it better, but now the McMansion people are taking over ITP as well. They just tore down a ranchburger two houses down from where I live to place two new McMansions. Their price? Over 1 million each. I'm serious. For the life of me, I don't know who these people are. Some don't even have kids. I never see them. They are very anti-social. If this is the New American Dream, I want no part of it.

Kitsune · 05-08-2006, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pangloss62

For the life of me, I don't know who these people are. Some don't even have kids. I never see them. They are very anti-social. If this is the New American Dream, I want no part of it.

I had the same complaints when I lived there, too, and a lot of them have stuck even after my move to Tampa. Besides the general issues of the city, the anti-social problem is a big one and exists where I live, now, just as everywhere else. The great white flight to the suburbs has given way to the dash to the gated communities and ultra-secure compounds of condos and country clubs. Several gated communities in Naples have the school system located at the center of the subdivision and the entire city of Weston, Florida, is gated complete with the homes priced over $2 million having their own gate within the gated community.

You'd think the safety of living behind a guard house would allow people to relax and be neighborly, right? It is very much the opposite, according to the people that grew up in them that I've spoken with.

Of course, with my previous four addresses here, I've managed to meet and chat with one of my neighbors. The rule around here: have your front door open no longer than it takes to get the groceries inside. Following that, the deadbolt clicks and you answer to no one.

Pangloss62 · 05-08-2006, 03:10 PM

Jesus H. Christ in a chicken basket!!

That's insane. I fear for the generation of kids that grow up in such a place. Are these the people to whom W. is giving the tax breaks? What could they possibly "do" to make so much money? At least a brain surgeon has a special skill, but I swear, some of these executrons just move money around and talk bullshit jargon like "adding value" and "leveraging our human capital." I know because I once had an internship in the Corporate Communications dept. of a large telecom company. I never heard such bullshit as came out of that place. And these people were DUMB! REALLY DUMB! You could tell after 5 minutes of conversation with them. But they all made 6-figures!!

xoxoxoBruce · 05-12-2006, 11:10 PM

Quote:

You'd think the safety of living behind a guard house would allow people to relax and be neighborly, right?

That's what the internet is for?

05-04-2006, 10:25 AM	#1
Pangloss62 Lecturer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 768	Atlanta: Don't waste your money There are people who would defend Atlanta to the end, but I can't see why anyone would "choose" to live here, let alone visit. Dirty, sprawly, ugly, rife with racial segregation, chicken bones, vomit, urine odors, trash and feces on the ground, a huge population of homeless people, incompetent governance, horrible traffic, off-the-chart pollen and smog, religious fanaticism, etc. That said, there are some good things too, and I'm willing to fill you in on those, but if you're thinking of taking a vacation, save your money for another place.

05-04-2006, 01:05 PM	#2
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Sounds just like Philadelphia, but with higher humidity. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

05-04-2006, 03:45 PM	#4
Pangloss62 Lecturer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 768	Gay Atlanta Yes, there are many Gays here, but it's no San Fran. And there are lots of closeted Gay men and women; their Baptist upbringing and traditional Southern homophobia keeps them to themselves. Funny you mention the Gays; they seem to be the best people I've met down here. If I were Gay I would "choose" to move here. I came for a job.

05-06-2006, 10:57 AM	#5
Sperlock Elite Elitist Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Reno, NV Posts: 322	I've been down to Atlanta the last two years for a conference in the area where CNN and Coca Cola are. The conference would generally finish each day sometime after 5 and I was surprised at how quickly things closed up there, including a mall. Not being one to wander or drive around a town I do not know, it does not lead to having much to do. __________________ Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground. - Anonymous http://informationthreshold.blogspot.com, http://spiritualthreshold.blogspot.com

05-07-2006, 08:13 AM	#9
Pangloss62 Lecturer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 768	I'm afraid I can be one of those whiney, bitch & moan types too, but I try very hard to resist that mind set (it's hard sometimes). I want to be one of the people that works to make it better, but now the McMansion people are taking over ITP as well. They just tore down a ranchburger two houses down from where I live to place two new McMansions. Their price? Over 1 million each. I'm serious. For the life of me, I don't know who these people are. Some don't even have kids. I never see them. They are very anti-social. If this is the New American Dream, I want no part of it. __________________ Things are never as good, or bad, as they seem.

05-04-2006, 02:53 PM	#3
Lady Luck Non-Newbie Sort Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 6	There is a very large gay population in Atlanta. It is the San Francisco of the south. I have two relatives that just moved there to join in the fun.

05-06-2006, 12:21 PM	#6
Pangloss62 Lecturer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 768	100% correct. After 5:00, it's "roll up the carpet" in "downtown" ATL. There are a few areas (Buckhead, The Highlands, Little Five Points) that have an active nightlife, but I've never seen a city with such a dead center. Much of the people that work in the ATL are family-oriented types who live Outside The Perimeter (OTP).

05-08-2006, 03:10 PM	#11
Pangloss62 Lecturer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 768	Executron McMansion Nightmare! Jesus H. Christ in a chicken basket!! That's insane. I fear for the generation of kids that grow up in such a place. Are these the people to whom W. is giving the tax breaks? What could they possibly "do" to make so much money? At least a brain surgeon has a special skill, but I swear, some of these executrons just move money around and talk bullshit jargon like "adding value" and "leveraging our human capital." I know because I once had an internship in the Corporate Communications dept. of a large telecom company. I never heard such bullshit as came out of that place. And these people were DUMB! REALLY DUMB! You could tell after 5 minutes of conversation with them. But they all made 6-figures!! __________________ Things are never as good, or bad, as they seem.

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