If Atlanta is too big... which city would you choose next?

[GwinnettNole]

Just a hypothetical question-- assuming you lived in metro Atlanta and just had enough of the size, traffic, etc. Which is these four would you choose to move to (everything else is the same-- family, job, etc). Rank 'em if you want....

Birmingham, AL
Columbia, SC
Charlotte, NC
Nashville, TN

 

[Nole Lou]

I'm counting the days until I can say splitsville to Atlanta. Would consider an intown walkable location, but we're probably gone.

In my opinion, the towns you list won't be a big enough difference. I don't know about Columbia, but Charlotte has plenty of traffic and a lot of road time required, and in my opinion it was even worse by having less malls, hospitals, etc.

I'm thinking about something like Chattanooga maybe. Or an exurb, like a small town but 30-40 minutes out of a big city.

I'm just tired of the amount of time I've got to spend in the car and the fact that nothing is walkable and something 2 miles away is still a hassle by the time you deal with traffic and everything. I could deal with a big city if I got into a walkable community, but in a city like Atlanta or Nashville that's going to cost more than I'm going to want to be spending. So we'll be looking for something smaller/less trendy that still offers some neighborhood and quality of life.

 

[WhiteNoles]

I was going to say Chattanooga...great city, climate, views, etc. They've done a great job developing downtown.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I'm counting the days until I can say splitsville to Atlanta. Would consider an intown walkable location, but we're probably gone.

In my opinion, the towns you list won't be a big enough difference. I don't know about Columbia, but Charlotte has plenty of traffic and a lot of road time required, and in my opinion it was even worse by having less malls, hospitals, etc.

I'm thinking about something like Chattanooga maybe. Or an exurb, like a small town but 30-40 minutes out of a big city.

I'm just tired of the amount of time I've got to spend in the car and the fact that nothing is walkable and something 2 miles away is still a hassle by the time you deal with traffic and everything. I could deal with a big city if I got into a walkable community, but in a city like Atlanta or Nashville that's going to cost more than I'm going to want to be spending. So we'll be looking for something smaller/less trendy that still offers some neighborhood and quality of life.

I was wondering why he didn't mention Chattanooga. I have relatives in John Creek outside of Atlanta and we went to Chattanooga while we were up there and I thought it was a decent small city.

If I were to rank the ones listed by the OP I would go

1) Charlotte

Huge gap

2) Birmingham
3) Nashville

Huge gap again

4) Columbia

 

[GwinnettNole]

I left Chattanooga out because I thought it might be just too small. Per wikipedia the metro population of Chattanooga was 137,000 or so. As comparison the Columbia metro area was around 700,000. I'm assuming that Birmingham, Charlotte, and Nashville are larger.

I'll say this- I do love visiting Chattanooga though. Good town with a lot of cool outdoorsy things....

 

[KitingHigh]

Charlotte is like a smaller Atlanta.

I'd probably go with Chattanooga as others have mentioned based on what you said about preference.

 

[ncnole1975]

I was wondering why he didn't mention Chattanooga. I have relatives in John Creek outside of Atlanta and we went to Chattanooga while we were up there and I thought it was a decent small city.

If I were to rank the ones listed by the OP I would go

1) Charlotte

Huge gap

2) Birmingham
3) Nashville

Huge gap again

4) Columbia

I agree with the rankings above. Lived in Charlotte for 5 years. Loved it. I wouldn't move to Columbia if you payed me $3m a year!!

 

[nolelan]

Just a hypothetical question-- assuming you lived in metro Atlanta and just had enough of the size, traffic, etc. Which is these four would you choose to move to (everything else is the same-- family, job, etc). Rank 'em if you want....

Birmingham, AL
Columbia, SC
Charlotte, NC
Nashville, TN

1. Nashville
2. Charlotte
3. Columbia
4. Birmingham (can you imagine dealing with Bama and auburn fans all day everyday.......)

 

[NDallasRuss]

It'd have to be a city that had a perimeter that I could either live inside, or outside, of. I'd need to look down at whomever lived on the other side of that perimeter from me. It's important that there be something like that to differentiate "us" from "them" in a quantifiable way.

 

[Nole Lou]

I was wondering why he didn't mention Chattanooga. I have relatives in John Creek outside of Atlanta and we went to Chattanooga while we were up there and I thought it was a decent small city.

Johns Creek huh. Hope you enjoyed my suburban hell.

That's what I can't wait to get out of. We're leaving the first moment I can. I will never again live anyplace that I can't walk some place and get an ice cream. That's my first litmus test. If my wife and I can't walk out of the house after dinner and walk to get an ice cream, it's off the list. Obviously, that's not the only thing required, but that's the baseline.

 

[appynole]

I agree with the rankings above. Lived in Charlotte for 5 years. Loved it. I wouldn't move to Columbia if you payed me $3m a year!!

I see your ante and I raise you…I wouldn't move to that arm pit if you paid me $6m a year!!

Not sure how it even made the list

Charlotte is a great place traffic is not all that bad. Will be moving to the Lake Wylie area next year, but still have access to the city.

 

[Mugsy101]

I live in Dunwoody and I can walk to about 5-6 restaurants, kroger, CVS, yogurt/ice cream all within a few blocks. We're 3 miles to the perimeter mall area and everything there and I've worked in the area off and on for 17 years.

Having said that, we're going to be moving to the Dunedin area within 6-9 months hopefully.

 

[Nole Lou]

I live in Dunwoody and I can walk to about 5-6 restaurants, kroger, CVS, yogurt/ice cream all within a few blocks. We're 3 miles to the perimeter mall area and everything there and I've worked in the area off and on for 17 years.

Having said that, we're going to be moving to the Dunedin area within 6-9 months hopefully.

Thanks...started another thread so as not to hijack this one...

 

[FSUTribe76]

Johns Creek huh. Hope you enjoyed my suburban hell.

That's what I can't wait to get out of. We're leaving the first moment I can. I will never again live anyplace that I can't walk some place and get an ice cream. That's my first litmus test. If my wife and I can't walk out of the house after dinner and walk to get an ice cream, it's off the list. Obviously, that's not the only thing required, but that's the baseline.

The way my cousin told it, Johns Creek broke off from...Alpharetta maybe or sandy springs?...because the Richie Richs in Johns Creek didn't want to pay for services the "poor people" (ie Middleclass) in Alpharetta used. I have no idea if that's true as she's a flower child who works as a crackerpracter to the Richie Richs and sports stars (ran into...oops can't say due to Hipaa but I'm sure you'd know him (#worstnamedropever), so I don't know how well she knows the politics.

I can say her neighborhood was definitely Richie Rich and more McMansion lites than what Id call the burbs.

 

[Nole Lou]

The way my cousin told it, Johns Creek broke off from...Alpharetta maybe or sandy springs?...because the Richie Richs in Johns Creek didn't want to pay for services the "poor people" (ie Middleclass) in Alpharetta used. I have no idea if that's true as she's a flower child who works as a crackerpracter to the Richie Richs and sports stars (ran into...oops can't say due to Hipaa but I'm sure you'd know him (#worstnamedropever), so I don't know how well she knows the politics.

I can say her neighborhood was definitely Richie Rich and more McMansion lites than what Id call the burbs.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. I live basically across the street, so not in Johns Creek and pay less taxes, but the same exact place. We're not in a Richie Rich neighborhood but we're surrounded by them, so we get the same effect, just less space.

 

[LesClaypool]

Birmingham is actually a pretty nice place. I dig it. Don't know how walkable it is though. The main problem with it is that it's surrounded by Alabama. I couldn't imagine having an "Alabama" address. Just something morally wrong about that.

Chattanooga is the obvious choice of the ones being bandied about in this thread.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Yeah, that's pretty much it. I live basically across the street, so not in Johns Creek and pay less taxes, but the same exact place. We're not in a Richie Rich neighborhood but we're surrounded by them, so we get the same effect, just less space.

It's a pretty nice area. Well at least compared to where I lived when interning for Kodak during the Olympics. I lived in an apartment complex right on Roswell Road in the outskirts of what I guess you could call Buckhead but it really wasn't. That place made the apartments in Tally look luxurious.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Birmingham is actually a pretty nice place. I dig it. Don't know how walkable it is though. The main problem with it is that it's surrounded by Alabama. I couldn't imagine having an "Alabama" address. Just something morally wrong about that.

Chattanooga is the obvious choice of the ones being bandied about in this thread.

Yeah, I enjoy driving THROUGH Birmingham and grabbing some great white BBQ but that's about it. Even when I go to Pensacola Beach or Blackwater I run into enough Bama foll to give me the willies. I couldn't imagine living deep into Bama. Maybe Mobile so you could quickly get to Pensacola, Biloxi and New Orleans. But not Birmingham.

 

[NDallasRuss]

...grabbing some great white BBQ...

Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! The brothers can make some pretty good barbeque, too!!

 

[1batman]

Just a hypothetical question-- assuming you lived in metro Atlanta and just had enough of the size, traffic, etc. Which is these four would you choose to move to (everything else is the same-- family, job, etc). Rank 'em if you want....

Birmingham, AL
Columbia, SC
Charlotte, NC
Nashville, TN

I like Bham, but if I am choosing one of the above it would be Nashville....and no state income tax. As for me, tired of Buckhead, a rash of recent car breakins, and now talk of bike lanes on Peachtree will make traffic worse(I am a cyclist, but no way will I ride there)....curious...would you consider a move to Athens?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

How did we get this far into an Atlanta thread without a TripTych ITP/OTP post?

 

[TripTychTwo]

The amount of change in the city of Atlanta these days is staggering, and to be a part of it, is something special. I can understand the disdain for Atlanta if you live in Dunwoody or Johns Creek or Alpharetta, It's car centric, therefore there's lots of traffic, and little culture, ownership or community interaction (except at the swim/tennis).

I think the city of Atlanta offers an enormous amount of positives, which is why Mercedes and Porsche recently moved their headquarters here, State Farm is building a huge campus, Pulte and Prince relocated to Buckhead, WorldPay, NCR and a large number of tech companies are moving to Midtown to reach the talent pool of Georgia Tech. Midtown has about 17 high residential high rises under construction with 15+ more in the pipe line, and is becoming the premier urban neighborhood in the southeast. We have direct flights to anywhere in the world, two hours north to mountain lakes and towns, 5 hours south to beaches, and its a college football mecca, an hour to Athens or 10 minutes to GT. I know Atlanta is not always seen in a great light nationally, but I really believe with the creation of the Beltline, Atlanta will begin to change from being known as an OTP/ITP city to an OTB/ITB city, which is a significant milestone.

We are seeing a generational shift to be less car dependent and more community oriented. Even the older generation is now understanding the flaws of the car-centric societal model, that it isn't sustainable, or reasonable. Cars used to be the embodyment of person freedom, now that personal freedom means sitting in traffic for two hours a day. I see personal freedom as the ability to take a car, bike, public transportation into work. The ability to walk down the street to get groceries or a drink and not be reliant on my car. Others are seeing it as well, which is why Ponce City Market can rent 560 sq ft for 1500/m.

 

[Nole Lou]

The amount of change in the city of Atlanta these days is staggering, and to be a part of it, is something special. I can understand the disdain for Atlanta if you live in Dunwoody or Johns Creek or Alpharetta, It's car centric, therefore there's lots of traffic, and little culture, ownership or community interaction (except at the swim/tennis).

I think the city of Atlanta offers an enormous amount of positives, which is why Mercedes and Porsche recently moved their headquarters here, State Farm is building a huge campus, Pulte and Prince relocated to Buckhead, WorldPay, NCR and a large number of tech companies are moving to Midtown to reach the talent pool of Georgia Tech. Midtown has about 17 high residential high rises under construction with 15+ more in the pipe line, and is becoming the premier urban neighborhood in the southeast. We have direct flights to anywhere in the world, two hours north to mountain lakes and towns, 5 hours south to beaches, and its a college football mecca, an hour to Athens or 10 minutes to GT. I know Atlanta is not always seen in a great light nationally, but I really believe with the creation of the Beltline, Atlanta will begin to change from being known as an OTP/ITP city to an OTB/ITB city, which is a significant milestone.

We are seeing a generational shift to be less car dependent and more community oriented. Even the older generation is now understanding the flaws of the car-centric societal model, that it isn't sustainable, or reasonable. Cars used to be the embodyment of person freedom, now that personal freedom means sitting in traffic for two hours a day. I see personal freedom as the ability to take a car, bike, public transportation into work. The ability to walk down the street to get groceries or a drink and not be reliant on my car. Others are seeing it as well, which is why Ponce City Market can rent 560 sq ft for 1500/m.

I buy all this, and could stay in Atlanta in the right neighborhood. But as you say...it comes at a high premium here. Getting out of the landlocked, car dependent, cookie cutter, subdivision hell is half of my lifestyle goal. But I don't want to replace that with having to make a significant mortgage nut every month in my fifties.

If I had a career I loved and was excited about, no problem. But I don't really like working, I don't enjoy the career that can pay me the most money, and I have no desire to be in the corporate rat race I am now when I'm in my fifties. When I hit fifty, we'll have no kids at home, and I'll have a home nearly paid off. Our tastes and interests are fairly pedestrian, and my goal is for us to be able to make about half of what I do now, opening up a whole lot of work options that would be less stressful and more flexible and generally much more appealing to my quality of life.

 

[TripTychTwo]

I buy all this, and could stay in Atlanta in the right neighborhood. But as you say...it comes at a high premium here. Getting out of the landlocked, car dependent, cookie cutter, subdivision hell is half of my lifestyle goal. But I don't want to replace that with having to make a significant mortgage nut every month in my fifties.

If I had a career I loved and was excited about, no problem. But I don't really like working, I don't enjoy the career that can pay me the most money, and I have no desire to be in the corporate rat race I am now when I'm in my fifties. When I hit fifty, we'll have no kids at home, and I'll have a home nearly paid off. Our tastes and interests are fairly pedestrian, and my goal is for us to be able to make about half of what I do now, opening up a whole lot of work options that would be less stressful and more flexible and generally much more appealing to my quality of life.

It's all about priorities. Why don't you rent for a year in the area and see if it's worth it? Maybe downsize into a condo, you can still find some pretty good deals in Historic Midtown (Piedmont/Monroe/10th/Ponce) which IMHO is the perfect location.

 

[HilltopperNole]

Wewahitchka, FL no traffic at all

 

[Nole Lou]

It's all about priorities. Why don't you rent for a year in the area and see if it's worth it? Maybe downsize into a condo, you can still find some pretty good deals in Historic Midtown (Piedmont/Monroe/10th/Ponce) which IMHO is the perfect location.

A condo or townhouse is absolutely on the table. I have no interest in future yard work.

 

[2noles1cup]

Charlotte is like a smaller Atlanta.

I'd probably go with Chattanooga as others have mentioned based on what you said about preference.

Nashville is smaller than charlotte but still a decent city.
Chattanooga is essentially a college town, IMO

Smaller than Atlanta and not that bad:
Seattle
Nashville
Boulder, CO
Pittsburgh
Charleston
Kansas City
to name a few.

Chattanooga falls into the Asheville category, IMO.

 

[Bav803]

The amount of change in the city of Atlanta these days is staggering, and to be a part of it, is something special. I can understand the disdain for Atlanta if you live in Dunwoody or Johns Creek or Alpharetta, It's car centric, therefore there's lots of traffic, and little culture, ownership or community interaction (except at the swim/tennis).

I think the city of Atlanta offers an enormous amount of positives, which is why Mercedes and Porsche recently moved their headquarters here, State Farm is building a huge campus, Pulte and Prince relocated to Buckhead, WorldPay, NCR and a large number of tech companies are moving to Midtown to reach the talent pool of Georgia Tech. Midtown has about 17 high residential high rises under construction with 15+ more in the pipe line, and is becoming the premier urban neighborhood in the southeast. We have direct flights to anywhere in the world, two hours north to mountain lakes and towns, 5 hours south to beaches, and its a college football mecca, an hour to Athens or 10 minutes to GT. I know Atlanta is not always seen in a great light nationally, but I really believe with the creation of the Beltline, Atlanta will begin to change from being known as an OTP/ITP city to an OTB/ITB city, which is a significant milestone.

We are seeing a generational shift to be less car dependent and more community oriented. Even the older generation is now understanding the flaws of the car-centric societal model, that it isn't sustainable, or reasonable. Cars used to be the embodyment of person freedom, now that personal freedom means sitting in traffic for two hours a day. I see personal freedom as the ability to take a car, bike, public transportation into work. The ability to walk down the street to get groceries or a drink and not be reliant on my car. Others are seeing it as well, which is why Ponce City Market can rent 560 sq ft for 1500/m.

Atlanta here. I pay less than $1,300 for a 1000 SQ Ft apartment with a loft. Less than a mile to Ponce City Market, Beltline, and MARTA. Once I get home from work on Friday, my car very rarely moves until Monday (I work in Duluth).

Even more practically, even if you can't walk everywhere, everywhere I would want to go is only a $5.00 uber ride. Went to Inman Park for dinner last night, and it was $10 r/t. If my company was in the BOA building, I would get rid of my car in a second.

I think it's special to see what's going on with Midtown/Inman Park/Edgewood/Highlands etc. I feel like all anyone knows about Atlanta is Buckhead and OTP, and once you move here, you realize there is really so, so much more.

If I lived outside the perimeter, I would absolutely hate Atlanta.

 

[NYCNole]

Moved from NYC to Charlotte ten years ago and there is no other small city where I'd rather live. 17 mile commute to Uptown takes 25 mins, 35 during rush hour. City has NFL, NBA, ACC CG, NCAA Tourney & ACC Tourney soon. Plenty of bars & restaurants for all ages. Extremely accessible airport in which I can get to NYC in 2 hours. Brand new 3,500 sq ft house in an excellent school district goes for $400-$600k, annual property taxes around $4k. All four seasons of weather and snow a few times each year. Hilton Head & Charleston are 3.5 hour drive. Asheville & mountains are 2 hours+.

I like Atlanta, Final Four weekend is a blast there.

 

[fsutep7]

Nashville is like Atlanta 25 years ago. Their traffic is just as bad and worse at some points. Their infrastructure will need serious reform for the population boom there. My family lives in Brentwood and it's miserable going anywhere

 

[appynole]

Moved from NYC to Charlotte ten years ago and there is no other small city where I'd rather live. 17 mile commute to Uptown takes 25 mins, 35 during rush hour. City has NFL, NBA, ACC CG, NCAA Tourney & ACC Tourney soon. Plenty of bars & restaurants for all ages. Extremely accessible airport in which I can get to NYC in 2 hours. Brand new 3,500 sq ft house in an excellent school district goes for $400-$600k, annual property taxes around $4k. All four seasons of weather and snow a few times each year. Hilton Head & Charleston are 3.5 hour drive. Asheville & mountains are 2 hours+.

I like Atlanta, Final Four weekend is a blast there.

And you get quality neighbors right...

 

[Fear the Spear]

Just a hypothetical question-- assuming you lived in metro Atlanta and just had enough of the size, traffic, etc. Which is these four would you choose to move to (everything else is the same-- family, job, etc). Rank 'em if you want....

Birmingham, AL
Columbia, SC
Charlotte, NC
Nashville, TN

Depends on what kind of person you really are. If you're a very conservative person pick Columbia, if you want to live in a purple state with more to do then Charlotte would be my choice.

The good thing about Columbia though is that you're literally in the middle of everything. 4 hours from Atl, 4 hours from Jacksonville, 1 hour 10 minutes to Augusta, 2.5 hours from Myrtle Beach, 3 hours from Hilton Head, 13 hours to Miami, 15 to NY.

 

[RunRonnieRun]

Others are seeing it as well, which is why Ponce City Market can rent 560 sq ft for 1500/m.

Yep. Just two years ago, $2.00 / sq ft was unheard of in Atlanta. Urban infill markets, as well as -- somewhat surprisingly -- Perimeter, aren't too far away from $2.50 - $2.75 rents being the norm. We're already there in Midtown high rise buildings such as Skyhouse and, as you mentioned PCM. Great time for Atlanta.

One of the things I most love about Atlanta is that it's constantly reinventing itself. Because of Sherman's fire, there are limited buildings with historical significance, and visionary developers have done an admirable job of rebuilding neighborhoods with character.