patrick.net

A consultant we employed at work came from Austell, GA. Couple miles east of Altanta.
He jokenly said, a couple more gigs in SV will pay off my house and i can take it easy with a perm job back home.

http://www.redfin.com/GA/Austell/1337-Hesse-Ln-30106/home/25293381

This is the second recent promotional posting of the Atlanta area I've come across in less than one week.

I think the strategy is to come on to California forums and talk it up. Seems to me to be mainly real estate agent or desperate investor sales pitches. Whatever....

The Real Housewives of Atlanta actually live in the Atlanta suburbs, Alpharetta being one.

If you want to get a look at what the ghetto-rich $30k millionaire neighbors will be like in the Atlanta suburbs, have a look at the show.

:/

~Misstrial

Misstrial says

This is the second recent promotional posting of the Atlanta area I’ve come across in less than one week.
I think the strategy is to come on to California forums and talk it up. Seems to me to be mainly real estate agent or desperate investor sales pitches. Whatever….
The Real Housewives of Atlanta actually live in the Atlanta suburbs, Alpharetta being one.
If you want to get a look at what the neighbors will be like in the Atlanta suburbs, have a look at the show.
:/
~Misstrial

Seriously? A real estate agent? I've been on Patrick's forums since the old one (old sn was joshua). Thanks for the compliment.

Anyhow, my grandparents (now deceased) were from the Marietta area - outside of ATL... and my coworkers dad lives out in Lawrenceville. I've seen killer homes, in decent areas between $87-130k. I didn't know if anyone currently lived in the area, or used to live there - and how they liked it.

The job market looks pretty strong for network engineers (decent pay too), but the weather is def a hang up - and the surf sucks big time in the Atlantic...

I grew up there and lived in Atlanta for 20 years. It's a nice enough place actually although a sprawling mess and traffic is a problem. Atlanta divides into IP and OP, the people who live Inside the Perimeter (285) and the rest who live Outside the Perimeter. They don't mix much. I lived IP in Home Park not far from Midtown but crime is an issue for some there. If what you want is to live in a McMansion just pick any of a million identical OP burbclaves. Sister lives in Alpharetta in a 3-story thing crammed with stuff, and 3 dogs and they never go downtown or do anything interesting just commute to and from work and live the suburban life.

You want dirt cheap? Look at the town I grew up in, Rome Georgia. Listings there for well under $100K some under $30K.

I have to say if you want to move someplace just because it's cheap to live there that's the wrong reason. I'd also have to toss in that in Georgia, there's Atlanta and there's everything else. Atlanta at least has a good airport, although the MARTA transit system used to be very nice but is falling apart now. Everything else is divided into redneck territory in the North, and the other half Macon and southwards which is flatter and with lots more gnats & mosquitoes.

Vicente says

I grew up there and lived in Atlanta for 20 years. It’s a nice enough place actually although a sprawling mess and traffic is a problem. Atlanta divides into IP and OP, the people who live Inside the Perimeter (285) and the rest who live Outside the Perimeter. They don’t mix much. I lived IP in Home Park not far from Midtown but crime is an issue for some there. If what you want is to live in a McMansion and never know who your neighbors are it’s easy to do there, just pick any of a million identical burbclaves outside the Perimeter.

You want dirt cheap? Look at the town I grew up in, Rome Georgia. Listings there for well under $100K some under $30K.

I love Georgia, but I have to say if you want to move someplace just because it’s cheap to live there that’s the wrong reason. I’d also have to toss in that in Georgia, there’s Atlanta and there’s everything else. Atlanta at least has a good airport, the MARTA transit system used to be very nice but is falling apart now. Everything else is divided into redneck territory in the North, and the other half Macon and southwards which is basically the same but with lots more gnats & mosquitoes

Thanks Vincente. I was out there last January for some training - remember seeing the nice hills and tall trees. Childhood memories consist of hot, muggy summers, mosquito's and fire ants... lol

Didn't know it was so segregated.... Just became an idea since I could pay cash for a nice place out there, when I'm not even close for something similar in Monterey.

Vicente says
Didn’t know it was so segregated…. Just became an idea since I could pay cash for a nice place out there, when I’m not even close in Monterey.

Speaking of segregation.... in Atlanta diversity means pretty much African Americans. And they all get along all right nowadays but you can tell people still sort themselves by race there. I liked to ride MARTA trains and it's quite noticeable that the trains are full of brown people when you are in the South side and in the North it gets a lot whiter. I definitely liked being in the Midtown sort of area it's more mixed up and fun. Piedmont Park is awesome. Easy access to Florida SCUBA dive sites was a big plus for me back then. Yeah I do think about the same sometimes, what would be a down payment here in California could buy outright a pretty large new house some places in Georgia with money left over for a gardener and a maid.

Edit:

Let me contrast this house on the street I grew up on:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8-Kenwood-Dr-SW-Rome-GA-30165/76431858_zpid/

With one in Davis similar age/size:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1102-Cornell-Dr-Davis-CA-95616/16520706_zpid/

Insane to spend 4-5 times the money for same thing? Yes, hence I rent.

In the interests of disclosure, Cali natives should be aware that Georgia, like the rest of the Deep South, not only has fire ants, but also Formosan termites.

http://www.termite.com/termites/formosan-subterranean-termite.html

Here in Cali the drywood and subterraneans swarm usually after a rain and swarm in afternoon by the thousands.

Formosan termites swarm *all night long* and swarm in the millions.

Note: Sorry joshua, didn't recognize your new username. I know that you are not a realtor, however on the other forum, that *was* the case.
Anyway, I've been on patrick.net since Oct. 2006. Not sure why Patrick chose to eliminate that descriptor.
I'm not on much anymore, having to monitor my investments has become paramount with all of the ripping-off going on in the Markets.

~Misstrial

Vicente says

Insane to spend 4-5 times the money for same thing? Yes, hence I rent.

I'm in the same boat - obviously... Fort Worth was super cheap as well (had a nice home in that city), but would like to stay near either coast - should we decide to move. We love Monterey - and would love to stay, but often wonder if it's *really* worth it.

Misstrial says

Note: Sorry joshua, didn’t recognize your username. I know that you are not a realtor, however on the other forum, that *was* the case.

No worries - I just don't want to be associated with those bums.

Nomograph:

The affectionate term of "Cali" has been used by members of my generation for about 5 years now.

If you are older, say boomer age and older, the term is probably foreign to you.

imo, the term "Cali" has been used to offset the term "Californicator" which term has been floating around the blogosphere before a number of us simply got tired of being insulted.

I am a 4th-generation Californian, so I find your accusation amusing.

My husband is a 3rd-generation Californian, his family having moved to SF in 1908.

Part of my family has lived in SLO since 1979.

~Misstrial

Nomo:

As far as me being a "Poseur" that is another mistaken assumption on your part.
Although I self-manage my own investments (low 6 figures) I am outperforming hedge funds by a ratio of 30 to one. Probably due to the fact I started investing in precious metals before the crowd.

~Misstrial

NOmo:

I suggest you update yourself by going on to the California pages for City Data forum.

"Cali" use is defended by a number of native Californians to the chagrin of out-of-state posters (one in particular from Arkansas) who insist that its not an accepted term.

Again, its use is foreign to older people. I'm sorry that you've missed an opportunity to learn what us younger Cali people are doing.

~Misstrial 4th-generation Californian

Nomo:

Suggest you have a look at this:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=so%20cali

btw, I'm not your "honey."

Further, I am a graduate of UCSB and while a student there, worked in the Admin building in the Graduate Division. Undergrad Admissions is where most official/student conversations take place; whether or not a student says the word "Cali" for you to get angered is something the Dean should look into.

UCs are pretty open regarding diversity of views and opinion, so I'm surprised at your censure of my choice to use this term.
For you to continuously insult me simply so you can spout off your opinion is questionable behavior for a UC employee.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-04-16/bay-area/17192562_1_pension-fund-pension-plan-uc-employees

~Misstrial

Atlanta rocks! Thaink youuuuuu! Cabbage town is really cool IMHO. Homegrown just opened on memorial Dr for breakfast and lunch. Kevin cooks up some yummy cheap food!

Only issue for us Cali natives ( i'll call my sorry ass state what ever the F**k I want thankyou.) is the Humidity and Mosquitoes.

Hope you like hot and humid weather. I spent many a summer at Fort Gordon (Augusta), GA. Had to drink lots of water.

Katy Perry says

Atlanta rocks! Thaink youuuuuu! Cabbage town is really cool IMHO. Homegrown just opened on memorial Dr for breakfast and lunch. Kevin cooks up some yummy cheap food!
Only issue for us Cali natives ( i’ll call my sorry ass state what ever the F**k I want thankyou.) is the Humidity and Mosquitoes.

Yeah, I AM NOT ALONE!!! T/Y!!!

~Misstrial 4th-generation California Gurl (tips hat to Katy)

Nomograph says

I don’t care what term you use; just don’t try to pass yourself off as if you’re something special.

A wee bit snarky today, Nomo? You actually seem well informed about the ways of the world, so it shouldn't be a huge surprise to you to be told that we of the feminine persuasion prefer not to be called honey. or sweetie. or dearie. At my age, I'm fighting "ma'am" and will buy anything from a salesperson who calls me "miss."

FYI.

Katy Perry says

Atlanta rocks! Thaink youuuuuu! Cabbage town is really cool IMHO. Homegrown just opened on memorial Dr for breakfast and lunch. Kevin cooks up some yummy cheap food!
Only issue for us Cali natives ( i’ll call my sorry ass state what ever the F**k I want thankyou.) is the Humidity and Mosquitoes.

I miss my Waffle House waffles. :-)

I lived in Atlanta in 1997.
That summer was NOT hot at all.

The traffic is a problem. It can jam for miles :)

Come on Captain--I'm sure you can't let some of these posts go without commenting....

Yeah fine it's cheap living, but sorry, the bagels still suck.

I was like WHAAAA? when a friend of mine in atlanta bought his 2700sqft SFH at 116K back in 2002. At the time, 116K won't let me buy a condo here in fairfax virginia. It looks like the same thing still is going on. You may able to buy a nice home under 250K, while that's small condo price here.

But I think that's about it. I am not sure I want to live there. My visit to altanta back in 96 for olympic games was not very impressive.

Liz Pendens says

Yeah fine it’s cheap living, but sorry, the bagels still suck.

But they do have Dunkin Donut's.. which rock... lol - haven't seen one yet on the west coast.

As for "Cali" - I've used that term before... and yes, I'm a native east coaster. However, I work with people that were born and raised in Marin and Oakland - but which use the word "Cali" on occasion. Anyhow, who really cares? Some people say "Philly" instead of Philadelphia, or DFW instead of Dallas-Fort Worth.

jvolstad says

I miss my Waffle House waffles. :-)

Whoa sorry, waffle house waffles suck.

joshuatrio says

Liz Pendens says

Yeah fine it’s cheap living, but sorry, the bagels still suck.

But they do have Dunkin Donut’s.. which rock… lol - haven’t seen one yet on the west coast.
As for “Cali” - I’ve used that term before… and yes, I’m a native east coaster. However, I work with people that were born and raised in Marin and Oakland - but which use the word “Cali” on occasion. Anyhow, who really cares? Some people say “Philly” instead of Philadelphia, or DFW instead of Dallas-Fort Worth.
jvolstad says

I miss my Waffle House waffles.

Whoa sorry, waffle house waffles suck.

No they don't. Great eating. We would meet at WF for breakfast before starting training on Fort Gordon.

Beats eating MRE's.

jvolstad says

Beats eating MRE’s.

From what I understand, pretty much anything beats MRE's.

elliemae says

jvolstad says

Beats eating MRE’s.

From what I understand, pretty much anything beats MRE’s.

And don't forget the boiled peanuts being sold from the back of a pickup truck near the nudie bar. ;-)

Nomograph says

Misstrial says

Cali

No California native would EVER use the term “Cali”. You just outed yourself.

Nomo, I am a native Bay Arean, and I like to use the term Frisco, mainly because it grates on the Cool and Hip Friscans, you know the type, who dote on their dogs; and like the villain baroness in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, think children are icky-poo. Wouldn't change a diaper if their life depended on it, but are so Cool and Hip they just might ride naked on their bikes for some street protest.

elliemae says

we of the feminine persuasion prefer not to be called honey. or sweetie. or dearie.
FYI.

How about "luv"? I think they use it a lot in England, not in a derisive way either.

how friendly is Atlanta / Georgia for an immigrant (East Indian)? One of the reason, immigrants pour into coastal areas, is they blend in well enough, and racism is minimal. So most of them don't even consider an affordable patch of land in the middle of the country.

I have family in Atlanta, so I have visited several times but never lived there. As others have mentioned, it's very hot and humid in the summer, so you have to expect an air conditioning bill in keeping with the size of your affordable home, and you will need to get used to going between cool dry air and hot humid air on a regular basis. That does feel strange after awhile. The body starts to dread the transition. Due to the heat and humidity, certain outdoor activities like long bike rides become less practical than they are in California. As in, the heat can actually harm you if you overdo it. Also, rain is a possibility all year, so planning outdoor events is a bit riskier than it is in California. If it's important, you need to rent a tent just in case. If you garden, know that the soil around Atlanta tends toward red clay, so it may take a little more work than you're used to, but you can do it.

Atlanta seems to have significantly different social arrangements than I see in California. Tickets to cultural events like ballet or Cirque du Soliel are much, much more expensive than in the Bay Area ($400 vs. $100 for a ticket to the Nutcracker the year I checked), so the people who attend cultural events are the people who have the money to do so. The public schools are apparently pretty terrible, so there is a lot of private schooling and homeschooling. In the outer suburbs, religion seems to be incredibly important to social interaction. A relative moved to Atlanta awhile ago, and people in her neighborhood constantly asked her where she went to church (nowhere) and whether she would like to join them at church this Sunday (thank you, no). Also, and this weird, when you look at real estate magazines with a focus on the Atlanta suburbs, you start to notice that certain neighborhoods are advertised with pictures of smiling white families and other neighborhoods are advertised with pictures of smiling black families. My relatives seem to live in a neighborhood consisting entirely of white people. This left me with an uncomfortable impression which I hope is actually incorrect.

For those in the outer suburbs, restaurant and grocery options can be limited. You might need to drive to the next town, or the one past that, or the one past that. I'm sure that's different in Atlanta proper. Publix is a pretty common grocery store, and it's reasonably nice, too. Apparently there is a Whole Foods somewhere as well.

Housing just outside of Atlanta is very heavily HOA. It can be difficult to find anything that isn't. So there will probably be HOA dues, and there will probably be people who insist that you do strange things like paint your storage shed beige instead of red. No, really. This happened.

Regarding jobs, I have a programmer pal who lives in Atlanta proper. He just spent almost two years out of work after a layoff. His cost of living is low enough to make that survivable, but the pool of tech jobs really is smaller than in SV, and sometimes that matters. From what I hear, programmers do need to dress more formally in Atlanta.

I don't know whether Atlanta is friendly to immigrants. You might do better to check out Athens (a college town beside Atlanta), or there may be areas of Atlanta proper that are friendlier. There seems to be a growing population of Latino immigrants in Atlanta, but while I was there I did not see very many Asian or East Indian people. That could have been happenstance, though.

Eliza says

Regarding jobs, I have a programmer pal who lives in Atlanta proper. He just spent almost two years out of work after a layoff. His cost of living is low enough to make that survivable, but the pool of tech jobs really is smaller than in SV, and sometimes that matters. From what I hear, programmers do need to dress more formally in Atlanta.

Not when your a sales person or engineer supporting customers in that given region.
Salary + Commission, benefits, means they make more than any engineer in SV.

Further down in Florida, pretty much all US companies have their Latin America offices and supporting said LATM markets out of Florida. Same thing.. fat salaries and cheaper living in Florida. It is what it is....

sybrib says

Nomo, I am a native Bay Arean, and I like to use the term Frisco, mainly because it grates on the Cool and Hip Friscans, you know the type, who dote on their dogs and like the villain duchess in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, think children are icky-poo. Wouldn’t change a diaper for their life but are so Cool and Hip they just might ride naked on their bikes for some street protest

Thats why people are leaving...they had enough of these egotistical pricks!

joshuatrio says

But they do have Dunkin Donut’s.. which rock…

Yeah, DD definitely is good, particularly their coffee... beats the hell out of that rat poison sold at Starbucks

Georgia? Nope.

sybrib says

elliemae says

we of the feminine persuasion prefer not to be called honey. or sweetie. or dearie.
FYI.

How about “luv”? I think they use it a lot in England, not in a derisive way either.

My personal favorite demeaning term is "girlie." I walked out on a car deal over that one.

Nomograph says

WOULD YOU STFU ABOUT THE WAFFLES I’M TRYING TO HAVE AN ARGUMENT HERE

Here's an argument: waffles vs. pancakes. I'm team waffle. How's by you?

Nomograph says

PATIOTS ONLY EAT PORK

Really? You wanna go there? People who eat kosher aren't patiots? I'm certainly glad that you didn't say "patriots" or it'd be ON!

Is it time to take nomo's meds yet? :)

elliemae says
Here’s an argument: waffles vs. pancakes. I’m team waffle. How’s by you?

Oh Elliemae. How I wish I could sway your opinion with my homeade krusteaze (Krusty since I was a little kid) pancakes with real butter and real maple syrup (That log cabin crap doesn't cross my threshold).

Lived in Atlanta for four years, including during the Olympics. It is a corporate town, heavily dominated by Coca Cola, Delta, UPS, CNN, and others. Not a ton of start ups there, and I found in my field, tech, that doing business there was more difficult than out on the West Coast.

People are OK. Mostly transplants from the East Coast or Midwest. It wasn't very diverse. My wife worked at an international TV network. She and everyone else, who were from Spain and Latin America, couldn't wait to leave the town. I did find that there was a large population of very well educated, upper middle class African Americans due to Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta universities. It wasnt as segregated as other places I have lived. There is a growing population of Latinos, but many were new immigrants without formal education, working mainly in the home services industries. As an East Indian, you shouldnt have any problems with racism. It is remarkably a tolerant place compared to small towns in the South. (The new South, with places like ATL, Nashville, and Charlotte, are all pretty tolerant).

Traffic is horrendous. There are many times it would take me 40 minutes just to travel 1 mile out of my neighborhood to the freeway. I would semi-joke that I was looking forward to moving to LA to avoid ATL's gigantic traffic jams. They have very good interstates, perhaps the best in the country, but a limited number of side streets, unlike LA. When Friday afternoon occurs, look out. You are very likely to be stuck on the Perimeter for hours.

Weather is interesting. Lots of rain year round, especially in the winter, and the humidity can be stifling for someone not used to it. Im originally from the Midwest so ATL wasnt bad at all. There always seemed to be a breeze there. Everywhere has AC and pools.

Environmental laws suck there. Georgia is beautiful, but it was sad to see developers wholesale rip out a grove of pine trees just to build a strip mall. Then they would burn the trees in a huge bonfire. Nasty.

There are a number of nice places within driving distance. I liked Savannah a lot, Charleston, and the Florida Panhandle's beaches (before the BP spill). Nashville is nice as are Asheville and the Carolina mountains. Athens, GA is only an hour away, and it is a nice college town.

Public Schools for the most part are not good. The upper middle class many times send their kids to private schools. There are some decent publics, but mostly in the OP.

Restaurants are the one thing I miss. There were a good 10-15 restaurants that I loved to eat at that arent to be found anywhere in LA. Nightlife isnt too bad, especially if you just graduated college. Lots of pretty girls, and the girl to guy ratio is very favorable to males. After two years, Buckhead gets pretty tiring.

BTW, I hated Hartsfield Airport. It can take an hour just to get to your plane because of the train. As nasty as LAX can be, there aren't weather delays and you can get to your plane very quickly. Plus there are nonstops to everywhere from here. Delta is perhaps the world's worst airline, and they strangle that market.

All in all, if you want a nice suburban life, with a decent house in the mid 400s, then maybe ATL is for you. If you want to live an urban existence, want diversity, hate horrendous traffic (and I mean more than LA), and need good public schools, then it isnt for you.

BTW, most of the nice places in Atlanta are either in town, or north of the city. Austell and the rest of the suburbs west and south of the city, are IMHO, the sticks. You will be bored to tears coming from California.

Fireballsocal says

elliemae says
Here’s an argument: waffles vs. pancakes. I’m team waffle. How’s by you?

Oh Elliemae. How I wish I could sway your opinion with my homeade krusteaze (Krusty since I was a little kid) pancakes with real butter and real maple syrup (That log cabin crap doesn’t cross my threshold).

well, I'm hungry now. how soon 'til it's ready? :)

btw, krusteaz makes waffle fixin's too. I used to have a waffle maker and it was my fav. And - http://consumerist.com/2011/01/vermont-has-a-problem-with-the-lack-of-maple-in-mcdonalds-maple-oatmeal.html
Vermont likes real maple syrup too.

Waitingtobuy says

BTW, most of the nice places in Atlanta are either in town, or north of the city. Austell and the rest of the suburbs west and south of the city, are IMHO, the sticks. You will be bored to tears coming from California.

That would be the biggest concern. Since moving to this area, we have a large circle of friends, frequent Big Sur and San Jose frequently, not to mention my addiction to surfing - and we're going to take up diving lessons this year.

A lot to give up.