Atlanta Off-Topic

[teshadoh]

I used to work at Ria's Bluebird and she would come in there on Sundays. I always loved that she would do the Hollywood sunglasses & cap thing, as if no one would recognize her outside of her Barberella outfit if she was wearing a baseball cap.

But yes, she lives or lived? off of Ralph McGill & Freedom.

Did you? I know Ria (& her significant other) myself

[krazeeboi]

^ I'm telling!

Thanks - would you believe I even had a Bible class in PUBLIC elementary school in Rock Hill & I still can't remember anything?

For shame!

[LizellaJacket]

I wouldn't look too much into Atlanta's air getting cleaner. The past two summers have been unusually wet, which of course rinses the air of particulate matter.

[Martinman]

This might give a bit of perspective for those lamenting that specific vacant lots in Midtown that are "still" not developed.

6847 multifamily units have been built since 1997

another 6884 units are planned or under construction (2600 u/c)

only 2500 existed prior to '97

Midtown alliance

[Newnan]

Just wanted to see if anybody knew what's going on with Marietta. It's been a hotbed of growth for several decades, yet several sources show a population decline in Marietta in the last few years. I know there are some people on thid forum from Marietta and Cobb county, so maybe they can explain this to me.

[jarvismj]

I'm looking at moving to the metro Atlanta area here in the next few weeks, and I'm curious as to what the best areas are, within reason. I want to be close to MARTA, affordable rent, and access to decent jobs. Please help me out here. I've been able to narrow down the Atlanta area, and Edison, NJ area.

[Hybrid0NE]

Just wanted to see if anybody knew what's going on with Marietta. It's been a hotbed of growth for several decades, yet several sources show a population decline in Marietta in the last few years. I know there are some people on thid forum from Marietta and Cobb county, so maybe they can explain this to me.

Maybe because Cobb is grown out and the tsunami has moved onto Bartow, Cherokee and Paulding and the County has shifted it's attention to the Cumberland area (as the densification wave approaches) for the focal point. Really, I don't know. I've only been a resident 4 months.

[teshadoh]

I'm looking at moving to the metro Atlanta area here in the next few weeks, and I'm curious as to what the best areas are, within reason. I want to be close to MARTA, affordable rent, and access to decent jobs. Please help me out here. I've been able to narrow down the Atlanta area, and Edison, NJ area.

Depends on your tastes, also affordable rent is relative in Atlanta:

suburban: Dunwoody - also many of the jobs are at the Perimeter edge city, but there are 4 MARTA stations that serve the Peachtree/Ashford Dunwoody Rd corridor.

inner-suburban: Decatur - stay close to the town

In the city - try the intown neighborhoods of Inman Park & Candler Park for a small 1 bed or studio in an older apartment complex. Don't expect many frills, but there are some bargains here - but also waiting lists. Another consideration would be to comb through the condo for rent lists in Midtown, a good chance you could find one for rent since they've built so many.

[catlike]

^^^

There are quite a number of rentals in Midtown because of the building craze and the fact that the universities are building their own student housing. Even the apartment complexes have been offering rebates and discounted rents for the first year.

It also might help to know what industry you're in. Actually, getting a job and then working on a place to live nearby is probably the more logical order when planning to live in the Atlanta metro.

[jarvismj]

Well, in a nutshell, I work in IT. I own a company that does deployments/rollouts for major corporations, and I travel frequently, so I chose Atlanta with the major reasoning of Hartsfield, and Delta and AirTran. Airfare out of Greenville is just too insane.

[catlike]

^^^

That narrows it a bit right there. If you fly out of Atlanta a lot, I'd suggest you stick to areas around the north-south or northeast-south lines of the MARTA, so you won't have to change trains.

[jarvismj]

I had in mind somewhere around Chamblee or Doraville Stations, near 85 and near MARTA also. BTW, how is that new Breeze system? I've heard mixed reviews myself.

[Hybrid0NE]

Since you are flying frequently you might want to consider how long it takes to take a train from those areas to the airport. I believe the stations are on the opposite side of the ITP area from the airport. I took MARTA back in 2004 to tour a campus out in Sandy Springs on a Saturday and it felt like it took forever for a southbound train to come to take me back to Midtown.

[Martinman]

I had in mind somewhere around Chamblee or Doraville Stations, near 85 and near MARTA also. BTW, how is that new Breeze system? I've heard mixed reviews myself.

The Chamblee area is developing a lot of condos and apartments around the MARTA station there. That would probably the best of those two options.

[Student]

I found some great pics Of The New Glenn Hotel Downtown here.

Here are a few

One of the B.E.D Dining Platforms

A Private Table @ B.E.D

Some of Twelve Atlantic Station found here.

Here are a few.

TWELVE Hotel Lobby and Lounge

TWELVE Hotel Living Room

[ironchapman]

Looks like it will have quite the appeal to the urban-priented traveller (or yuppie, if you'd like to call them that ).

I wonder how much a room costs.

[Andrea]

rsk's thread about moving to Atlanta made me think of this. He is clearly pretty well set on Alpharetta, which seems to be the case with the vast majority of people moving to this area.

I ran across this quote in the Brookings Institution's survey Atlanta in Focus: A Profile from Census 2000:

Atlanta's population "rebounded" during the 1990s, but the region still decentralized dramatically. After losing 7 percent of its population in the 1980s, Atlanta grew by 6 percent, or 22,000 residents, in the 1990s. The city's downtown and northwestern neighborhoods experienced strong population growth. At the same time, though, Atlanta's suburbs added 2.1 million people—roughly 100 residents for every net new resident in the city. As a result, economic activity in the region is shifting outward. Fully three-fourths of the region's workers commute from homes in the suburbs to jobs in the suburbs, and nearly two-thirds of city residents drive alone to work. Despite a rise in downtown living, the core of the Atlanta region is losing ground as an employment destination.

Those are just amazing facts!

I have often wondered why the traffic copters always talk about people coming into the city, when there are actually relatively few jobs here. I wonder if all those cars are mainly just passing through on their way from one suburb to another? It also makes me wonder about the wisdom of extending existing MARTA lines or adding commuter rail lines that merely head into downtown. Once we get the Streetcar and the Beltline built, we ought to be in pretty decent shape for public transit within the city, and 99% of the the new people coming into the area are living out in the suburbs.

I should add that what's happening in Atlanta may be a little more extreme than most cities but it's still part of the general trend of decentralization seen in many other places.

[Andrea]

Here are another couple of interesting blurbs from that Brookings Institution Study:

-- "....immigrants are choosing the suburbs over the city by wide margins. For every new foreign-born resident the city of Atlanta added in the 1990s, its suburbs added 21."

-- "Atlanta has a significant number of young professionals, but few married-couple families. A large share of Atlanta's population is in its twenties and early thirties. ... Many, however, are young professionals who live alone or with friends—more than 50 percent of the city's households are "nonfamilies." The city's appeal for such young singles is confirmed by the large share (30 percent) of Atlanta residents who arrived within the last five years. Also underscoring the importance of the unattached is the fact that just 25 percent of Atlanta households contain a married couple, compared with 36 percent in the average Living City. In addition, trends in the 1990s suggest that young families continue to leave Atlanta: The number of married-couple families grew in the suburbs by 180,000, but declined in the central city."

[Andrea]

Double post.

[ironchapman]

I don't know how important this article is, but I still find it interesting.

Greece's ambassador to the USA is stopping by Atlanta on a three day trip to build ties between two Olympic cities, Athens and Atlanta.

Greek Ambassador travels to Atlanta to promote cultural, business ties

"As Atlanta is the gate to the Southeast, Greece is the gate for investment and business for southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean," Alexandros Mallias told The Associated Press Sunday night.

...I see no problem with that. Welcome to Atlanta, Mr. Mallias.

[Andrea]

I don't know how important this article is, but I still find it interesting.

Greece's ambassador to the USA is stopping by Atlanta on a three day trip to build ties between two Olympic cities, Athens and Atlanta.

Greek Ambassador travels to Atlanta to promote cultural, business ties

...I see no problem with that. Welcome to Atlanta, Mr. Mallias.

Irony, he hasn't been offering us any giant ceremonial horses, has he??

[krazeeboi]

Andrea, those stats are interesting.

I was thinking the other day that it's funny that whenever I find out someone is from Atlanta, I never take that to mean that he/she is from the city proper, but rather one of the suburbs. And that's usually the case.

[ironchapman]

Here's a nice boost for civic pride. UPS was ranked as the most admired company in America by Fortune magazine. It was in the top 10 for seven of the eight criteria that the magazine uses.

UPS Once Again 'America's Most Admired'

This is GREAT news to hear!

[Designerbee]

Andrea, those stats are interesting.

I was thinking the other day that it's funny that whenever I find out someone is from Atlanta, I never take that to mean that he/she is from the city proper, but rather one of the suburbs. And that's usually the case.

That drives me crazy! Everyone says they are from Atlanta but they're really at least 45 minutes away from the city. I actually live IN Atlanta and find it really frustrating at times.

I'm from the DC area (about 25 miles NW) and I don't say "I'm from DC" because people would call me a liar.

[JB04]

well thats how alot of people describe where they live around here designerbee - i mean people living 45 min away still depend on atl for jobs and if you've ever driven through town during rush hour it shows - but i used to live NEAR nashville before i moved here for college but i was only a 10 min drive to downtown so i always told people i lived in nashville - but technically i wasnt in the city limits - but i live in midtown now and it is kind of annoying when people say they are from atl but arent even close