Possible Move London UK to Atlanta (Smyrna, Decatur: credit, transfer, neighborhoods)

[london-tawn]

i love London - lived here in Kingston upon Thames for 12 years - went to University etc etc.
I've travelled a lot in Canada/USA - best place for British Bars would be Vancouver, Denver and NY for me!

I want to work abroad for experience and my company is willing to transfer me to where my wife can also get a transfer!

How about outdoor activity in Atlanta? Walks/Hills? Lakes?

[cittic10]

Atlanta has gay people?

Who knew?

Anyway when it comes to pubs, who needs pubs when you've got.....







wait for it....













APPLEBEES! YAY!





Anyone wanting to feel like they're in authentic pub should check out the one at Chateau Elan. I recommend going on a dreary, chilly winters day. Then take a walk out on that meadow by the tennis courts and tell me that doesn't look like the British countryside.

Originally Posted by london-tawn

How about outdoor activity in Atlanta? Walks/Hills? Lakes?

Atlanta has piedmont park. A big urban park.
But outside the city is where the best recreation is. There are mountains, lakes, hiking camping, scenic drives, long range vistas, the most unbelievable scenery. And...

the best fall color in the country!

Oh yeah I just did say that!!

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by london-tawn

How about outdoor activity in Atlanta? Walks/Hills? Lakes?

Guess the best place for walks/hills/lakes is Stone Mountain. Pretty impressive place, about 20 miles from the city center. Closer in is Piedmont park. Then there is the Silver Comet Trail which you can walk but biking is probably better. It starts in Cobb County and I'm not sure if it stretches all the way to Alabama yet, but it will. The really big lakes Allatoona and Lanier are far to the north. They are below full pool, but if this hurricane's aftermath goes the right way...problem solved.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

Guess the best place for walks/hills/lakes is Stone Mountain. Pretty impressive place, about 20 miles from the city center. Closer in is Piedmont park. Then there is the Silver Comet Trail which you can walk but biking is probably better. It starts in Cobb County and I'm not sure if it stretches all the way to Alabama yet, but it will. The really big lakes Allatoona and Lanier are far to the north. They are below full pool, but if this hurricane's aftermath goes the right way...problem solved.

Chastain Park in Buckhead is pretty nice as well. I'm sure there are others in the burbs that I don't really know about.

The PATH Foundation website is a good information source for trails in Atlanta...PATH Foundation

[Forrest Of Deen]

To London-tawn,

As a fellow Brit currently in the States for my career, my advice, as well as Chalvey's, should weigh more heavily than the Americans'.

That being said, you would definitely feel more at home in San Francisco than Atlanta. Hands down, no contest. The people are tolerant, open-minded and very cosmopolitan. Atlanta is ground zero for the Tea Party, and its anti-government paranoia makes Atlanta a very unpleasant place. They just vetoed a 1 cent tax to improve badly needly infrastructure improvement. 1-cent!!!

If I were you my choice above all would be to stay in London. Why:

I miss the NHS and was proud to see it represented in the opening Olympic ceremonies. The insurance companies in America, with the help of the Republican Party, have unleashed ignorant propaganda on the American public about the NHS and the health care systems of other Western democracies. I have private insurance with my American job (there is no other option), and every year the benefits get less and less and cost more and more out of my paycheck.

California's climate is quite lovely, and I enjoy living here. Eventually I will relocate back to London, if not for any reason other than my pension and the NHS.

From the direct messages I receive, I've learned that many of these gung-ho Atlanta posters are estate agents or public relations consultants who prop up the city in the wake of the real estate collapse there. Beware of any advice they provide.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by Forrest Of Deen

To London-tawn,

As a fellow Brit currently in the States for my career, my advice, as well as Chalvey's, should weigh more heavily than the Americans'.

That being said, you would definitely feel more at home in San Francisco than Atlanta. Hands down, no contest. The people are tolerant, open-minded and very cosmopolitan. Atlanta is ground zero for the Tea Party, and its anti-government paranoia makes Atlanta a very unpleasant place. They just vetoed a 1 cent tax to improve badly needly infrastructure improvement. 1-cent!!!

If I were you my choice above all would be to stay in London. Why:

I miss the NHS and was proud to see it represented in the opening Olympic ceremonies. The insurance companies in America, with the help of the Republican Party, have unleashed ignorant propaganda on the American public about the NHS and the health care systems of other Western democracies. I have private insurance with my American job (there is no other option), and every year the benefits get less and less and cost more and more out of my paycheck.

California's climate is quite lovely, and I enjoy living here. Eventually I will relocate back to London, if not for any reason other than my pension and the NHS.

From the direct messages I receive, I've learned that many of these gung-ho Atlanta posters are estate agents or public relations consultants who prop up the city in the wake of the real estate collapse there. Beware of any advice they provide.

How about the negative anti-Atlanta posters? What are their (your) professions?

I have often wondered what some people gain from overly harsh criticisms toward particular cities. It's amazing that some spend so much time belittling and degrading. I can understand if someone simply doesn't like living in Atlanta - not everyone does - and wants to share his/her experience...but some of these negative posts are not simply sharing experiences. They are sometimes puposefully offensive and often blatantly false.

[lorilove]

No one mentioned the Chattachoochee River. There are walking/biking trails along the river. I understand kayaking is also popular. Or you can simply rent a raft and drift.

Both the Chattahoochee River and Silver Comet Trail are right next to Vinings. Can easily be a daily activity.

[cittic10]

Originally Posted by Forrest Of Deen

To London-tawn,

As a fellow Brit currently in the States for my career, my advice, as well as Chalvey's, should weigh more heavily than the Americans'.

That being said, you would definitely feel more at home in San Francisco than Atlanta. Hands down, no contest. The people are tolerant, open-minded and very cosmopolitan. Atlanta is ground zero for the Tea Party, and its anti-government paranoia makes Atlanta a very unpleasant place. They just vetoed a 1 cent tax to improve badly needly infrastructure improvement. 1-cent!!!

If I were you my choice above all would be to stay in London. Why:

I miss the NHS and was proud to see it represented in the opening Olympic ceremonies. The insurance companies in America, with the help of the Republican Party, have unleashed ignorant propaganda on the American public about the NHS and the health care systems of other Western democracies. I have private insurance with my American job (there is no other option), and every year the benefits get less and less and cost more and more out of my paycheck.

California's climate is quite lovely, and I enjoy living here. Eventually I will relocate back to London, if not for any reason other than my pension and the NHS.

From the direct messages I receive, I've learned that many of these gung-ho Atlanta posters are estate agents or public relations consultants who prop up the city in the wake of the real estate collapse there. Beware of any advice they provide.

Sure... who wouldn't want to live in San Francisco?
I voted against the T-SPLOST and I would love to live in San Francisco. The T-SPLOST wasn't voted down by tea baggers alone. It was voted down because people across all political affiliations saw that it was not going to solve any of our problems. It would've only lined the pockets of executives in the road building industry and kept atlanta a car-dependent city for eternity. Anyway, the problem with san francisco is finding work that actually pays enough to be able to afford to live there. Just go on over to the San Francisco forum and you'll see what I mean. People have to live in Oakland because they don't earn enough to afford san francisco.

By the way I detest our for-profit employer based disease care system. And yet I voted against the T-SPLOST. It's not just the tea party. That might be a good selling point for san francisco actually because the city of San Francisco is the only place in America to have a universal healthcare system (sorta).

But there is also plenty of right wingers in California. Lots and lots of hateful intolerant ones. They are everywhere.

I'm not an estate agent, I'm actually not all that fond of that industry as I believe housing should also be non profit.

So it seems as though you've painted atlanta with a pretty broad brush. The reality is the middle class is shrinking and if you're lucky enough to have a job, don't count on it paying enough to live in some resort paradise. If you're destined to a life in Middle America, Atlanta really isn't half bad. I'm struggling to think of any other affordable city that I'd rather live. Yeah.. Boston? Seattle? Keep dreaming.

[Iconographer]

What I find rather surprising is that the Anti-Atlanta posters here have invested so much time and energy in their rebukes. I seldom bother reading posts that are this excruciatingly long, and usually find the motives of said posters quite suspect.

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

Yeah, but they got werewolves over there or so I hear.

What's your take on "Pubs" in London vs. Atlanta?

Atlanta does have a few British style pubs, such as Shakespear's Tavern in Midtown or Churchill's in Buckhead.

Btw, I forgot to mention I was just in London a week ago and I loved it! It's my second time there, and its one of my favorite world cities. It kind of reminds me of Atlanta in some ways, though I know it's very different. The thing that I think is similar is the women (lots of gorgeous ones ).