Thinking about relocating from Detroit to Atlanta, any advice?

Has anyone recently relocated to Atlanta? Is it as economically prosperous as I have heard and read? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

I've been in exile for years. Don't do that. There are no coney islands. The mayor's no fun at all. Baker's isn't there. The city flag is stupid. It isn't north of Canada. And their sports teams win things.

 

Ah Jank,

I can tell you've never had a Varsity meal or sampled the patois.

"Gimme two nekkid dawgs walkin" is the counterman's message to the cook the customer wants two plain dogs to go. Its quite a show.

Not to mention Atlanta is that much closer to the absolute center of the barbeque world; which is Zeb's on highway 29 in Madison County just north of Athens. Great barbeque with a side of Brunswick Stew. Mmm good.

What I really miss about Georgia is Lewis Grizzard's humor.

Then again, nothing touches the gastronomic delight of a cheesesteak at Pat's on 9th Street in South Philly.

 

It was 16 years ago that I was last in Atlanta. I was 19 years old. All I remember was that I thought the traffic was terrible and that I thanked God for allowing me to survive the terror that was the highway until I got out of town...

Of course, since then I have driven in Helsinki, Finland and I expect that my opinion of Atlanta might not be so bad, traffic-wise, were I to visit again.

clint

 

I think there are definitely more economic opportunities in Atlanta than in Detroit. On the other hand the local economy is not nearly as strong as it used to be in terms of hiring at major Atlanta corporations (Bellsouth, Delta, UPS, etc.). The following industries are pretty big in Atlanta: telecommunications, construction and real estate, banking and finance, media and entertainment. I moved here ten years ago from Florida. Ask yourself the following questions:

1) Can I live in stifling, humid summers?
2) Do I never want to shovel out my driveway or put on snow tires again?
3) Can I live with long commute times in horrible traffic?

Atlanta is still growing rapidly... one big demographic trend is a number of black people whose families left the south several generations ago are moving back to middle and upper-class neighborhoods in Atlanta. Another major movement is gay/lesbian, since your average gay person raised in small-town Podunk, Alabama gets the hell out as soon as they can and moves to Atlanta. There's also lots of ex-Floridians like me, who got really sick of Florida but can't face living anywhere where it actually snows in winter. There's also a rapidly growing new-immigrant population of Mexicans, assorted Asians (mostly Vietnamese and Korean) and Africans (Nigerians, Somalians and Ethiopians).

 

Snow tires?

 

C'mon Janko, you don't know snow tires???

They are required here by December 1. They look innocent enough, until you get close and see that there are little metal spikes sticking out of the tread so it will grip the snow and ice. Looks sorta like a sprinters shoe, only round.

does pretty good, we don't do much slipping and sliding around.

clint
I should mention that I had no idea that such a thing existed until we moved to Estonia

 

Why the relocation.. !! Detroit is da best !!

 

You could simplysay "stand up and tell them you're from Detroit!"

 

I travel to Atlanta often and I think it is great. I had the chance ot move their but turned it down becasue it was too cold compared to Florida. The traffic is brutal (and I lived in NY) but there is mass transit.

I have never been to Detroit but Atlanta is a great place.

 

Required? Hmm. I don't think that snow tires are required anywhere, ever. Most snowy-winter states do, however, limit when studded snow tires may be used. A law stating that studded snow tires can only be used after December 1st through sometime in March would be in keeping with what I've seen in colder states. But I've never seen snow tires -- either the studed or the non-studded kind -- required anywhere.

Ah! There we go... I should have kept reading your post. I was right: You're thinking of studded snow tires, not just plain, ol' snow tires. They're two different things. In most states, regular, non-studded snow tires are treated by the law more or less like any other tire and can be used year-'round... though snow tires will marginally decrease gas mileage, and so should not be used unless absolutely necessary. Their salient benefit over regular tires is (or at least used to be) that they're made of a bit harder rubber with a deeper, wider, more aggressive tread that allows them to pull the vehible through piled-up snow. But in most places in the U.S., they've become almost no longer necessary as most of this country's roads -- even the back-roads -- are now paved and routinely plowed in the winter. Plus, modern all-season radial tires -- at least the good ones -- really are all they're cracked-up to be and, for most drivers, eliminate the need for snow tires at all... even in Detroit.

Studded snow tires, on the other hand, are a decidedly different thing -- illegal, completely, in at least some states; and limited to use only during the the months when it's most likely to snow in others... and rightly so since they both damage the pavement and are significantly more dangerous to use on anything but roads with hard-packed ice on them.

Then you're not trying hard enough. Studded snow tires are about as tractionless (is that a word?) as a tire can get on asphalt that's got anything other than hard-packed ice on it -- which is the other big reason, aside from how they destroy the road surface, why they're flat-out illegal in many states, and time-limited in others.

 

Hotlanta

I am in the process of relocating from Chicago to Atlanta.
Been traveling Atlanta on business for years.

Here the deal.

The city itself, in my opionion can be compared to Detroit but warmer.
The city itself is #4 in the nation in crime. Detroit ranks #3.
Now, the outskirts are much better with the exception of Clayton county.
The "Points North" suburbs are the best like Gwinnett, Cherokee, Hall, and Forsyth county.

One can buy alot of home for the money, but really need to check out the school rankings if you ever want to resale promptly.

Traffic is equal to Chicago and LA in my opinion except most of the locals think they are NASCAR drivers and there is a high NYC snowbird transplant population that does not equal safety on the highway. I-85 and I-20 are pure hell. The parameter of I285 is rather nutty too.

If you have an expensive car such as a Lexus, Beemer, Mercedes, etc. Either plan on selling it or paying high tag fees. Georgia, as with much of the south has a wonderful personal property tax.
On a high cost car, one can look to pay 700+ annual tag renewal.
Yep, that is per year.

Income tax 6% over 17K per year in earnings.

Anything else let me know.

Here is link for all that provides much info for all points of the country.

http://www.city-data.com/

Enjoy,

Dave

 

Thanks, Veteran!

 

Thanks, Veteran!

 

Maybe in the US, but in Estonia, where I am....

That may well be true, as I mentioned, I had no knowledge of winter things until I moved to Estonia (where they still required by law from Dec 1 until April 15, though you can put them on as early as mid-Oct and remove them as late as June1. They are illegal other times of the year.)

No doubt, when it is slushy you can slide a bit, but the majority of the time here it is either asphalt or packed ice. These winter tires dig into the ice very well and grip. You are correct in that they destroy the roads, though. Driving on packed ice is much nicer than on the asphalt because it is smooth...

clint

 

tractionless=distracted

 

I Love Atlanta

Although, yes, the Falcons let me down yesterday--I moved here 5 years ago, and would be happy to spend the rest of my life here...

 

So it is a word... just not meaning what I intended it to mean. I knew it was wrong when I typed it (hence my mention of it immediately thereafter), but I was in too much of a hurry to look it up; plus, is there really any doubt about what I actually meant... howsoever wrongheadedly? [grin]

I've been to Atlanta many times. It's peachy.

Okayokay... here's another one: I've been to Atlanta. I spent a month there one week.

 

Yes, eat at the Varsity, other ways to assimilate with the natives:

1. Dont bring the snow blower; yes it does get cold and even snows...but dont bring the blower, they will laugh at you!

2. When in the Waffle House order Grits with butter and when almost done, look realistic, swoosh up the last amount with your toast!

3. They hate to hear how things are done in North Carolina much less in Detroit!

4. When the conversation seems to lag or you need to sidetrack the political discussion say " Ted Turner being a dyed in the wool southerner should have known better than marry Hanoi Jane...what got into him...Gosh what would have Lewis Grizzard thought?!"

5. You will need a bumper sticker that says: "Vote for Teddy K. A blond in every pond!"

6. Remember it is better to call a redneck a roust-about than a redneck!

7. Say things like: "Myrtle beach is cool but Savannah is classy!

8. Ditto, "Andersonville was only a holding pen for the inncorrigibles!"

9. If you enjoy exercise and like a marathon run occasionally but need a crowd to stay to stay motivated yell out "Sherman's da Man!"

10. But above all, don't make fun of Magnolia blossoms or Debutant's!

anything else goes!
Gavin

 

An alternate version of the list for new Atlanta residents:

1) learn a filthy, derogatory joke about people who live Alabama
2) learn a second filthy, derogatory joke about people who live in Alabama
3) learn a third... etc.