How cool is Atlanta?

[Newnan]

Yeah its a sprawling city, yeah its nice to live in,.. but apart from a few night clubs and theme parks,. its just not a sexy, and have that flare that a city like NYC, Miami, Chicago, LA, New Orleans, etc.. When you hear the name of such cities, it brings to mind the culture, spice, people and the ambiance of their urban settings.

This is what a forumer comparing Miami to Atlanta said. Of course, my first reaction was to scoff at this person's remark, but then when I started thinking about it, I realized ot was kind of true. Is Atlanta really as cool and vibrant as we think( or like to think) it is? Are we all just dillusional? Am I crazy??? Post your opinion.

[thedude26]

It doesn't have the kind of history that many other cities such as Boston or Philly have either. Most of the homes and buildings are less than 100 years old. Cities in GA such as Savannah and Augusta have a bit more history to them.

[ironchapman]

While I do think that there are many people out there who underestimate Atlanta in the "coolness" category and many who discount it because of jealousy, I do think that it is certainly a "cool" city. It's got a very good nightlife and is very vibrant for a city of its size.

But also there are many other cooler cities that we have to work up to their level of nightlife, vibrancy, culture, etc., such as NYC, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Philly, Miami, etc.

^Though it could be argued that we are, in fact, cooler than some of the last few I mentioned.

[krazeeboi]

While ATL isn't as urban as some of those other cities, I still think it's a rather cool city, one of the coolest in the South. Cultural amenities abound and there's always something to do. Buckhead may be suburban in nature, but do you know how many cities would KILL to have all of the amenities Buckhead offers? I mean you have a plethora of malls in the metro area, a great variety of colleges/universities to fit just about every type of student imaginable, a brewing contemporary music scene, and on top of that, you guys managed to rein in the Olympics. I don't know about anyone else, but that's pretty cool in my book. I also think that Atlanta is relatively affordable compared to some of those other cities. I really like DC, but the cost of living is really climbing. I like New Orleans, but wouldn't want to live there (even pre-Katrina). Boston is too cold, LA is expensive and too far (although I'd like to live there for about 5 years or so), Philly is too gritty, LV is too dry, etc. While I'm not saying that Atlanta is this urban oasis in the South, I think it tries to provide a pretty good balance of urban characteristics. The area's eventual downfall, though, will be lack of cooperation in the region. I hope this doesn't cause the city to self-cannibalize.

[Newnan]

Shirley Franklin seems to be able to get people to cooperate. And I wouldn't say "eventual" either. Atlanta constantly defies the odds and becomes even bigger and better. That's why our symbol is the Phoenix.

[ironchapman]

Shirley Franklin seems to be able to get people to cooperate.

Actually, there are plenty of areas that don't want to co-operate with us. What about Cobb County and many of the other counties that surround Fulton? Lawrenceville is another good example of this.

Though Shirley is definitely one of the best "weapons" we've got when it comes to getting people to co-operate with the city.

[krazeeboi]

Also, the lack of regional cooperation isn't unique to Atlanta; I think just about all large metropolitan areas deal with this in one way or another, from half-hearted cooperation to downright hostility.

[ironchapman]

^The regional lack of co-operation and general dislike of the city in some places has had small benefits for the city, though, but still not enough to make it a good thing.

Since people don't want to be annexed by Atlanta, any growth that the city has is because of people actually moving into the city, not because the city annexed a few more square miles.

[krazeeboi]

I'm assuming that GA's annexation laws are similar to SC's, where residents must essentially asked to be annexed? Of course, no other state's are more stringent than SC's though.

NC has extremely liberal annexation laws, which is why Charlotte's municipal population is larger than Atlanta's.

[ironchapman]

NC has extremely liberal annexation laws, which is why Charlotte's municipal population is larger than Atlanta's.

Not to mention the fact that its city limits cover an area almost twice that of Atlanta.

That said, the ones we have here are ridiculously restrictive.

[Andrea]

.. its just not a sexy, and have that flare that a city like NYC, Miami, Chicago, LA, New Orleans, etc.. When you hear the name of such cities, it brings to mind the culture, spice, people and the ambiance of their urban settings.

I've heard people from a number of other places express awe at how incredibly cool they think Atlanta is. Since I live here it seems kind of old shoe, but to many outsiders (at least based on what they've said to me) Atlanta is an exciting and somewhat mysterious mix of the old South and the new American city. Some of the things I often hear out-of-towners comment on are the mansions of Buckhead, the entertainment districts scattered around the city, the high end shopping, and the way the whole city is engulfed by its urban forest. I think Ted Turner and the Braves, the mystique of Coca-Cola, the images from Gone With The Wind, and the city's central role in the struggle for civil rights are also signature aspects of Atlanta. Other "cool" aspects of Atlanta probably include its identity with prestige colleges like Morehourse, Emory and Ga. Tech, and its association with R&B, Southern rock and hip-hop music.