Tell me about Atlanta

[PhoenixAzul]

So being nothing but a PA girl, I know very little about Atlanta. I've visited once, been through the airport a couple times, but don't really know a whole lot about how much it costs to live there, what sort of arts opportunities there are, etc.

My fiance has tentatively been offered a job there. Nothing has been set in stone, but right now we're trying to get an idea of what its like to live there. I'll be going away to Scotland for a year for my masters work, then I'm coming back and we're gettin' hitched in Pittsburgh, but after that we've got to make a decision about where we're going to live. I'll have a masters in art history, specializing in curation/galleries. Are there lots of museums/galleries/colleges that I could jump on to for this? What's the cost of living like? How's public transportation? What is your major gripe about the city? What do you really love about the city? Lay it down for me, I'd really like to know.

[ZTAngel]

Are there lots of museums/galleries/colleges that I could jump on to for this?
High Museum of Art. It's the largest art museum in Atlanta. As for colleges, there's SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design). They have a satellite campus in Atlanta.
What's the cost of living like?
Not too bad compared to most cities. It's no where near as costly to live in Atlanta as it is to live in NYC, Los Angeles, Miami, etc. A lot of young professionals have been moving to Atlanta in recent years because of the great opportunities and the inexpensive living costs. With that said, the suburbs are much less expensive. Living in Buckhead or Midtown is not cheap at all.
How's public transportation?
Sucks. MARTA is the subway line. There's no where near enough stops and stop locations are miles from people's homes. It's not very convenient. I only use it when I'm going to the airport or a concert/football game since Atlanta traffic is infamous for being terrible. Plus, MARTA has a reputation for not being very safe at night.
What is your major gripe about the city?
Traffic, traffic, traffic. Atlanta is a major US city and has one of the worst public transportation systems. The locals drive every where so the highways get very congested.
What do you really love about the city?
There's a lot to do. There's the touristy type stuff such as the Georgia Aquarium and the Coca Cola Museum. The night life is pretty good. Also, if you're into outdoor type activities, there's a lot of hiking trails just north of the city. If you're willing to travel an hour to two hours north of the city, there's some great white water rafting places on the border of Georgia and Tennesse.

[shinerbock]

Unfortunately, Atlanta is having an identity crisis. People are flocking to it, and its on the verge of becoming like a dirtier Charlotte.

[christiangirl]

Originally Posted by ZTAngel

How's public transportation?
Sucks. MARTA is the subway line. There's no where near enough stops and stop locations are miles from people's homes. It's not very convenient. I only use it when I'm going to the airport or a concert/football game since Atlanta traffic is infamous for being terrible. Plus, MARTA has a reputation for not being very safe at night.

Ditto. When I lived in Atlanta, I was terrified of the MARTA. This was back before I had a car. The stations and trains are filthy and it's a high traffic area for beggars. Don't be fooled--ATL beggars are off the chain, and a lot of them are off their nut. If you don't give them money, you may get cussed out or followed.

I disagree about the nightlife--that was my biggest gripe. If you didn't like to go to clubs (or weren't old enough to do so, though that's not the case with you), then there wasn't a whole lot to do outside of restaurants, bowling, skating, and movies. There's a ton of plays that go through the Fox Theater, but plays are expensive (usually). Maybe there just wasn't a whole lot for people of my age and financial status to do but I was constantly bored at night. On the other hand, it's full of culture and there's lots to do during the day. The Botanical Gardens, the museums, Coca Cola world, the King Center, etc. The Aquarium's only fun the first time, though. There's more to do the further away from downtown you get, though. As for colleges, the Atlanta University Center is definitely a place to look. If I'm not mistaken, at least one of the school's have art galleries, maybe more than one.

ETA: ATL weather is CRAZY!!! There's only 2 seasons, summer and winter. It snows maybe 2 days a year, if that much, but when it does, the whole city shuts down like it just doesn't know what to do. It's mostly just ice and rain that you have to watch out for. When it's hurricane season, ATL gets a lot of the backlash of rain and wind, but not much more than that. When it's hot, it's HOT. It's not as humid as the rest of the south, but it's pretty up there. As a guy standing near me once said, "It feels like I'm in somebody's mouth!!"

[AGDLynn]

http://www.atlanta.net/Visitors/index.html

Atlanta Convention and Visitor's Center

As they said, traffic is the pits, especially for some parts more than others.

Housing prices..it will depend on where you want to live, how little/much you would be willing to pay for the size of the house/apt.

And how far/near you want to be to stuff. We live on the southwest side but hope to move to the northeast side later this year.

http://www.ajc.com/

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website>>the main paper for Atlanta.
(FYI, the Constitution was the am paper, the Journal was the pm paper..owned by the same people..a few years ago, they just put out 1 paper..of course, the Sat. paper comes out Sun. afternoon to get a headstart.)

Weather is pretty good but it can get extremely hot during July and August. Winter-wise, it wasn't that cold this year..it's like it takes turns.

I've lived in Ga off and on for most of my life...moving from South Carolina when I was 4.5.

[Xidelt]

There are lots of colleges in Atlanta that offer museums/galleries/special collections. Atlanta is actually considered a large college town with:
Morehouse
Spelman
Oglethorpe Univ
Georgia State
Georgia Tech
Kennesaw State Univ
Agnes Scott College
Clayton State Univ
Emory Univ
Clark Atlanta Univ
Southern Polytechnic State Univ
Just outside of Atl:
Brenau Univ
North Georgia College and Univ
UGA
Virginia Highlands and Buckhead offer lots for my friends and me to do! I grew up in New York (Rochester), and living down here is MUCH more affordable. The economy (job market) is much better as well. My husband and I just bought a house. Our property taxes will be between $1000-$2000. Many of my friends from high school that stayed in Rochester are beginning to buy houses. Their property taxes for a home comparable to mine are between $4000-$6000. And the economy in my hometown has slowly been dying for the past several years. If your choice is between the southeast vs northeast, my vote is on the southeast!

[BabyPiNK_FL]

I went to Atlanta once for SEPC, this is my true story! lol
The transportation is a novelty-there really arent' enough stops, we had to walk forever to the station and walk forever to the museum for Titanic and we ended up taking a cab back.
side noteAre all/the majority of the cab drivers from Africa? our 2nd one was from Somalia, the 1st, i dunno...)
The guys are so "fratty"! I've never seen people frat so hard before!
The "clubs" are not "clubs" they are bars, I'm used to clubs.
There drivers and transportation are very similar to Miami, so are the areas.
Money-wise, everything felt fairly priced...
The one thing that shocked me the most was that there was so little of this "Southern Hospitality" people speak of. It was a big thing with my group, we expected people to be super nice and friendly and it seemed as if we were the more outgoing ones wherever we went. (Except for those fratty guys!)
I could live there, it wasn't awful, it was pretty much like your normal city.

[shinerbock]

"Everytime I look at Atlanta I see what a quarter of a million Confederate soldiers died to prevent." -- John Shelton Reed

[JWithers]

I love Atlanta! I lived in midtown for 6 years and worked at Atlanta Botanical Garden for 5 years. I miss it so much. Atlanta is more of my home than my actual hometown!

[christiangirl]

Originally Posted by Xidelt

There are lots of colleges in Atlanta that offer museums/galleries/special collections. Atlanta is actually considered a large college town with:
Morehouse
Spelman (both part of Clark Atlanta Univ)

Spelman and Morehouse are NOT a part of Clark Atlanta University. Not the point of the thread, but I just wanted to point that out.

[Xidelt]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

Spelman and Morehouse are NOT a part of Clark Atlanta University. Not the point of the thread, but I just wanted to point that out.

No, but they are affiliated through the Atlanta University Center. Don't really understand what that is. Maybe they share facilities.

[christiangirl]

Originally Posted by Xidelt

No, but they are affiliated through the Atlanta University Center. Don't really understand what that is. Maybe they share facilities.

The AUC is a consortium of 6 colleges and universities: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Interdenominational Theological Center. Basically, they're all separate institutions, but they're all connected by streets and a couple of their campuses even overlap. The students are allowed to register for classes at each other's schools, have access to some of each other's resources/facilities, etc. Each of them have their own special collections of art and artifacts and a lot of famous people donate their "papers" to the schools. Any one of them would be a good place to work (with the exception of Morris Brown, until it gets accredited again) because they have art galleries, collections, and what have you. Ya know, the good stuff.

Okay, I'm done rambling.

[Texas Beta]

Just listen to any rap song. Why are you moving there?

[AGDLynn]

Be careful or I'll start a "Why Would You Want to Live In Texas?".

Yes, I did live there for several years and moved back to Georgia.

Anyway, as for "Southern Hospitality", there are rude people everywhere.

Depending where you are in "Atlanta", you may actually be meeting more transplants from other parts of the country. (Yes, it's widely known that the Atl drivers are from another planet.)

Hubby and I are vaguely consideirng moving to another part the country in a few year...just a thought...but I know it most likely be "in the South'.

As for MARTA, I avoid the buses, primarily because they don't go where I need to go but I do take the train when we go to downtown events. My hubby sometimes takes the train to his work. I've never known anyone to have any problems.

Hear everyone's advice and do what you feel is best for you.

[Texas Beta]

Originally Posted by AGDLynn

Be careful or I'll start a "Why Would You Want to Live In Texas?".

Indeed you should, maybe we can convince PhoenixAzul to move here instead!