Questions about moving to Atlanta?

I'm thinking about moving to Dallas or Atlanta during my optometry rotations to settle afterwards. I don't really see myself dead center of either city, unless the specific area is classy and well-kept. I'm also looking for which will be best for when I see my self in the outskirts of the city, suburb preferrably to start a family. Can you please copy, paste, and answer these questions? First a little about me. 27 y/o BM from St. Louis. Tired of ridiculous crime, and a downtown that still isn't "finished yet". Looking to move away, start a practice, and a family in either of these two cities. So here's my questions:



Is the traffic that horrible?

Autumn is my favorite seasons b/c of the temp, color changes, and leaves falling. Does this not happen in ATL?

ATL is similar but better than STL in crime. What are some good surrounding suburbs that are exempt?

How is nightlife?

Are there any historic parks (equivalent to Forest Park) and/or lakes nearby?

Any medical schools nearby?

How are the hospitals?

Any Big12 or Big10 schools to tailgate on weekends?



If you can answer any of these questions, I'd greatly appreciate itQuestions about moving to Atlanta?
I am a former atlanta resident moving back after I am done with Nursing school. Here are the answers to your questions.





Is the traffic that horrible?-



Answer: YES, YES, YES. I remember driving from Ohio to Georgia. I leave Ohio around midnight so I can drive at night and get through traffic. I got to the Fulton County Line at 7:30 am. I did not get to my grandmother's house in Dekalb County until 8:55am. This drive would normally be about 30 mins during Non Rush hour traffic.





Autumn is my favorite seasons b/c of the temp, color changes, and leaves falling. Does this not happen in ATL?-



Answer: This happens in Atlanta, the season does change. They just dont get a lot of snow. Maybe an inch or 2 all winter. One of the reasons why I am moving back to Atlanta.





ATL is similar but better than STL in crime. What are some good surrounding suburbs that are exempt?-



Answer: As far as crime. The western ( west end) and Southern Fulton county has most of the crime. Those cities are College Park, Jonesboro and Riverdale.



Suburbs that are nice and exempt are Buckhead, which is still in Atlanta city, has Atlanta address. Lithonia is a good city for African Americans. It is up and coming, has the new stonecrest mall. It is really nice out there. I plan on moving to this city. It is closer to my grandmother. As my grandmother says, Buckhead is Old money the older families of Atlanta, Lithonia is New money, where younger people are moving. She is a RN and has been in Atlanta area for almost 40 years.



Also Sandy Springs, which is in Northern Fulton County is nice as well as Marietta, which is in Cobb County. The cities that I have names are close to Atlanta so you wont have that much of a commute time into downtown.



How is nightlife?



Answer: Depends on what you like to do, You can go to the Underground or Atlantic Station. They have nightclubs there. Atlanta is so diverse, it keeps moving. So many places. I had my 28th birthday party down in atlanta in 2008. I liked it a lot. Driving from Ohio to Georgia for a party, you know I made it worth my while.



Are there any historic parks (equivalent to Forest Park) and/or lakes nearby?



Answer: Piedmont Park ,Lake Lanier, Lake Alatoona, Stone Mountain Park and Martin Luther King center etc.



Any medical schools nearby?



Answer: Emory University is a GREAT medical school. One of the best. There are some other ones but with a grandmother in the medical field and myself joining the field. This is top notch.



How are the hospitals?



Answer: For Professional, My grandmother said Starting out in the Medical field, Go to Grady since they are level 1 trama, they see basically everything and take medical cases etc that the other hospitals will not. For experience, go to Grady. For personal treatment, I would say Grady, Emory, Piedmont, Northside, those are the best hospitals. Gwinnett is so-so



Any Big12 or Big10 schools to tailgate on weekends?



Answer: This is the only one I dont know. I know University of Georgia, Georgia Tech have nice squads.





One last thing, where ever you move to in Georgia, they have a Valorem tax. When you register your car in the state, you have this tax you have to pay on top of getting your plates. Registering your vehicle every year. The tax depends on how close you live to Atlanta and the type of car you drive. The closer to Fulton county, the higher the tax.



Example, my grandmother drives a Lexus, lives in dekalb county, pays $600 in tax alone. My truck, a Trailblazer, I would have to pay $200-$300 in tax.



Anything else, feel free to add me and ask any questions.
They both have tornados which i dont like so i owuldent move to dallas more atlanta in tornado wise but here you go.

Yes traffic is super bad!!!!

Well ATL is nicknamed Hotlanta because its so hot without the ocean but for season wise atl is hot hot hot in the summer.It gets nice to cool in autum and spring. Winter it snows litely averagely gets down to 33 F. STL (St Louis)????? yes it is but it has alot of crime not as much as Miami but alot. Nightlife is good.theres a downtown park nice. dont know.dont know..... I hope i helped you!!! :-DQuestions about moving to Atlanta?
Is the traffic that horrible?

A- Yes the traffic can be horrible but isn't always and there are ways to avoid it.



Autumn is my favorite seasons b/c of the temp, color changes, and leaves falling. Does this not happen in ATL?

A- Automn in North GA is beautiful. We enjoy a full change of seasons and the colors are spectacular.



ATL is similar but better than STL in crime. What are some good surrounding suburbs that are exempt?

A- The best suburbs are all found on the north end of town. Marietta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Duluth. There are also som fabulous intown neighborhoods like Brookhaven, Buckhead, Ansley Park. To name just a few



How is nightlife?

A- Fantastic. If you love clubs, live music, pro sports... Atlanta has it all.



Are there any historic parks (equivalent to Forest Park) and/or lakes nearby?

A- There are two major recreational lakes near Atlanta. Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona. Both are Army Corp of Engineers properties and have limited development around the shores of the lake that keep the recreation side the major focus of the waterways. As far as parks the largest is Piedmont Park in midtown which is similar in size and scope to Central Park in NYC. There is Stone Mountain park east of town and several beautiful state parks close to the city.



Any medical schools nearby?

A- Yes. Emory University is one of the finest in the country.



How are the hospitals?

A- I have no personal experience with any of the hospitals but the main trauma unit is Grady Memorial in downtown Atlanta. There is also Emory University Hospital, St Josephs, Northside, Children's Healthcare and Kennestone in the area.



Any Big12 or Big10 schools to tailgate on weekends?

A- Atlanta is SEC territory and if you ain't a Dawg you ain't sh!t. Just kidding of course. UGA is 1 hour east of town. The SEC is the college division to watch in Atlanta. There is also the ACC with Georgia Tech right here in downtown Atlanta.
yup everyones right exept i just wanted to add alittle to their info:

i currently live in norcross GA

there isnt many crime and the last time i remember us having a robbery/thief in our house was about 2 years ago which this house was with us ever since i was born and it was made. so its exactly over 15 years? so 1 theif in 15 years. and its still safe. Sugar loaf park way is nice too. :] not much crimes there either. and my parents say that 'alpharetta' is where supposidly 'rich' people live because there are VERY nice houses and VERY nice apapartments! :DQuestions about moving to Atlanta?
1. Is the Traffic Horrible? YESSSSSSS! I think once it was rated one of the worst in the nation



2. Autumn does happen in Atlanta. Atlanta has all 4 seasons. Hot winter, warm spring, cold winter %26amp; fall. So yes you will still see brown leaves %26amp; "naked" trees



3. I think the North Fulton County, Fayette County, some parts of South Fulton County %26amp;, Cobb County are pretty safe. I would most avoid the "ghetto" parts of South Fulton( contrary to belief not all of S.Fulton is ghetto. For example there is alot of "Old" and "New Money" that lives in South Fulton), Clayton County, Dekalb %26amp; Clayton County



4. Atlanta has a so-so nightlife. It's not that great. But it's not bad. Depends on what type of nightlife you are looking for. We have hip hop clubs, techno clubs, rock clubs, pop clubs.



5. Historic parks. I really don't remember any , but i am sure there are alot



6. Morehouse School of Medicine %26amp; Emory are the only ones i can think of right now



7. yes there are hospitals in every county



Atlanta

-pros

4 seasons

less expensive (depending on where you live)

some good schools

beautiful

slower paced lifestyle( this could be a con depending on you)

southern hospitality

diverse ( there are blacks, whites, asians, hispanics, etc. living here)

great food

shopping



-cons

traffic

everybody thinking they are a model/entertainer(atleast at my school)

crowded schools

some schools aren't that great

crime in some areas
- Traffic in ATL is 3rd worst in the nation behind Los Angeles and Washington DC;

- We don't really have autumn here in Atlanta, not alot of maple trees so the leaves don't really change, however we will have moderate temps;

- Alpharetta, Kennesaw, Sandy Springs are all nice places to live, I'd stay in either Cobb or Gwinnett Counties or North Fulton County. They tend to be the safer parts of Atlanta to live in.

- Nightlife is good, there are tons of restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. in ATL;

- Piedmont Park %26amp; Chastain Park are nice. The closest lakes are Lake Allatoona up near Woodstock or Lake Lanier which is near Gainesville;

- Medical Schools - i'm sure there are, I know of Emory; Depends what kind of medical school you are looking at.

- THere are quite a few hospitals: Northside, Children's Healthcare, St. Joseph's, Emory, Piedmont, Grady, and plenty of others.

- Football schools that play around here: Georgia Tech is the closest to Atlanta, then you have UGA but they play in Athens.
Is the traffic that horrible?

-- If you live reasonably close to where you work it's not horrendous. You'll learn the back roads and alternative routes. If you don't commute during the heart of rush hour, you'll be okay.



Autumn is my favorite seasons b/c of the temp, color changes, and leaves falling. Does this not happen in ATL?

-- Autumn is beautiful, especially in the Georgia mountains. There are also a good number of fall festivals throughout the state. Georgia definitely has four distinct seasons.



ATL is similar but better than STL in crime. What are some good surrounding suburbs that are exempt?

-- No place is exempt -- but places like East Cobb, Roswell, Alpharetta, are reasonably safe. If you're single, you'd probably want to be in Atlanta-proper, maybe in Buckhead, midtown or downtown Decatur.



How is nightlife?

-- You can always find something to do. There are concerts, great restaurants, comedy and jazz clubs, a myriad of bars, theater..... If you're a 'get-up-and-go' kind of person, you won't be bored.



Are there any historic parks (equivalent to Forest Park) and/or lakes nearby?

-- A good number of parks. I sometimes get up early Sunday mornings, and walk along the Chattahoochee which is lovely and peaceful. (You'll find it to be quite pretty here.)



Any medical schools nearby?

-- Emory, perhaps Clark-Atlanta (but I could be wrong about Clark)



How are the hospitals?

-- World class. Particularly Piedmont, Northside, St. Joseph's.



Any Big12 or Big10 schools to tailgate on weekends?

-- I'm not a sports person -- sorry -- but I know that people follow the UGA and GA Tech games.



-- In summation, Atlanta is certainly a city worth checking out. A young professional black man can forge a great life here. Good luck!