My Experiences In Three Months in Atlanta (Roswell, Alpharetta: transplants, apartment)

[Bing147]

Its been interesting in three months. Thought I'd come back and update on my thoughts three months in after asking for advice here.

We started out at the In Town Suites in Roswell. It was reasonably priced and the staff were nice and did a nice job. The actual room was clean, though the outside could have been better. But the rooms were clean, the staff was good and for the price, we felt we got our money's worth and then some.

We eventually found a place in Stone Mountain, a basement apartment with all utilities included for under 900 a month. We can be in midtown by car in 30 minutes. (45 in bad traffic) Not bad at all. I commute for work on MARTA.

We found work quickly enough, about a month and a half. I've actually had three job offers. I took one in midtown making decent money to start but was recently offered another making 27000 a year with full benefits which I'll be taking. The only down side is an hour and a half on MARTA each way every day, but I'll survive it for decent pay. With what we're paying in bills, we'll be able to save about 800 a month.

My fiancee has only found part time work as a medical assistant so far but she does like it. If anyone knows of anyone hiring medical assistants full time, she'd definitely be interested though. That would allow us to save up even more.

We came down with about 4000 dollars. We should have had more. We found jobs in time but its good I got the job I'm about to start. We had enough to get set up and find jobs but not to survive emergencies. Car problems last month plus missing a week of work due to this storm (I lost 3 days, her the whole week) have meant we've had to borrow money. Getting our taxes back plus my new job will allow us to pay it back without a problem, but its still not ideal to have to borrow money. Luckily we could.

We like the city. Its great. We just wish we could experience it more. We did the touristy stuff when we got here. The aquarium was terrific, liked the CNN center. Enjoyed the world of Coca Cola. I've been to better zoos but that was alright. I LOVED the High, the Dali exhibit was great. The Botanical gardens were pretty. Had a good time doing all of that. Olympic park is very pretty. We wish we could afford to do more but we should be able to soon.

MARTA is fantastic. Some people may complain because its not as good as NY or Chicago's systems but compared to what I'm used to its amazing. Very useful. I can get from my place in Stone Mountain to my new job in Alpharetta without a problem. MARTA accessibility was a must for us when looking for a place here. Glad we found it.

Anyways, things are going mostly well and we made it but we probably should have been better prepared when coming down here.

[OctoberMoon]

Glad to hear things are going well. Where did you move from if you don't mine me asking?

I've had a pretty bad experience since I moved here from the west coast. The first few months were new and exciting and I was able to overlook the negatives. Now that we're settled and have been here about 6 months, we're already setting a plan in motion to move back to California in 3 or 4 years. Funny thing is, my husband is from here and spent the first 18 years of his life here. He doesn't like it here anymore either...

[anothertntony]

Originally Posted by OctoberMoon

Glad to hear things are going well. Where did you move from if you don't mine me asking?

I've had a pretty bad experience since I moved here from the west coast. The first few months were new and exciting and I was able to overlook the negatives. Now that we're settled and have been here about 6 months, we're already setting a plan in motion to move back to California in 3 or 4 years. Funny thing is, my husband is from here and spent the first 18 years of his life here. He doesn't like it here anymore either...

Can you elaborate? What don't you like?

[SW30303]

Thanks for sharing details, Bing147. I am glad you got a job very quickly right after just moving here, kudos to you. You also mentioned personal details such as your salary and how much you brought with you. Hopefully someone will read your experience and think things better by planning things out well, you never now.

Anyway, best of luck in your new city.

[OctoberMoon]

Originally Posted by anothertntony

Can you elaborate? What don't you like?

The attitudes of people here rub me the wrong way. I've mentioned it in other posts, but many people here seem to be extremely rude and/or blunt. People go on political or religious rants to strangers or people who they just met, which can be extremely offensive. I've seen it happen time and time again, and I've only been here 6 or so months.

Also, when shopping and in customer service, I've never met so many rude employees in my life. It seems like so many people here hate their job and it shows. Not everyone is like that, but I've met more people here like that than in either of my previous locations (Phoenix, AZ or Los Angeles, CA).

[blondandfun]

Originally Posted by OctoberMoon

Also, when shopping and in customer service, I've never met so many rude employees in my life. It seems like so many people here hate their job and it shows. Not everyone is like that, but I've met more people here like that than in either of my previous locations (Phoenix, AZ or Los Angeles, CA).

Couldn't agree more. The people here are the definition of un-cool. My advice is don't wait, get out now. The job isn't worth it. I've been to other cities out west and even the Taxi drivers said they felt the people here were the worst in the U.S.

[lookup138]

Originally Posted by OctoberMoon

The attitudes of people here rub me the wrong way. I've mentioned it in other posts, but many people here seem to be extremely rude and/or blunt. People go on political or religious rants to strangers or people who they just met, which can be extremely offensive. I've seen it happen time and time again, and I've only been here 6 or so months.

Also, when shopping and in customer service, I've never met so many rude employees in my life. It seems like so many people here hate their job and it shows. Not everyone is like that, but I've met more people here like that than in either of my previous locations (Phoenix, AZ or Los Angeles, CA).

The majority of those rude people are transplants. People living here come from cities that are more "rough around the edges" than others. The people who were born and raised down here seem to be relaxed and carefree.

But, I have also noticed, amongst southerners and transplants who have adapted well, that the work ethic here is not the same as in northern & east coast states (Illinois, New York, Maryland/D.C., Connecticut), especially in corporate settings. Some people become somewhat laxidasical and could care less about image and attitude projection. Professional standards are very relaxed here.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by lookup138

The majority of those rude people are transplants. People living here come from cities that are more "rough around the edges" than others. The people who were born and raised down here seem to be relaxed and carefree.

But the problem with this line of thinking is that it presupposes that there is some general notion of 'rudeness' that everybody accepts, which is wrong. One person's 'rudeness' is perhaps someone else's idea of appropriate respect for someone else's privacy. For some people 'rude' might mean not saying 'have a nice day', which for someone else it means brazenly taking their place in a line or something similar.

My sense based on the OP's comments and comparisons with other regions is that there may be something of this confusion going on here. Some people react negatively to the tendency in the South - which I've heard about but haven't experienced directly - of asking what church you attend without knowing you well. But it's an example of how one person's 'rudeness' is someone else's attempt to be friendly.

[lookup138]

Originally Posted by WilliamM

But the problem with this line of thinking is that it presupposes that there is some general notion of 'rudeness' that everybody accepts, which is wrong. One person's 'rudeness' is perhaps someone else's idea of appropriate respect for someone else's privacy. For some people 'rude' might mean not saying 'have a nice day', which for someone else it means brazenly taking their place in a line or something similar.

My sense based on the OP's comments and comparisons with other regions is that there may be something of this confusion going on here. Some people react negatively to the tendency in the South - which I've heard about but haven't experienced directly - of asking what church you attend without knowing you well. But it's an example of how one person's 'rudeness' is someone else's attempt to be friendly.

I see your point but there is a more relaxed nature to those who are from the south and they are more hospitable and gossipy because they enjoy talking to strangers and being friendly.

I say that if someone is a private person then the south is definitely not the place to live long-term or else it will increasingly become annoying. Even out in the country areas of metro ATL (where I live) people enjoy talking to strangers and just being down right friendly and nosy all at the same time. I have to admit, I love it and it was one of the main reasons I made the move here from the rude, brute, take it or leave it, swear you out even if your a stranger, east coast.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by lookup138

I see your point but there is a more relaxed nature to those who are from the south and they are more hospitable and gossipy because they enjoy talking to strangers and being friendly.

I say that if someone is a private person then the south is definitely not the place to live long-term or else it will increasingly become annoying. Even out in the country areas of metro ATL (where I live) people enjoy talking to strangers and just being down right friendly and nosy all at the same time. I have to admit, I love it and it was one of the main reasons I made the move here from the rude, brute, take it or leave it, swear you out even if your a stranger, east coast.

I don't know, I've heard of cases where you can get into quite spirited banter (friendly) with total strangers in New York City.

When you say 'nosy', do you mean people assume things about you (your church preferences, your political views) that seem out of place, or how do you mean 'gossipy'?