What's Wrong with the Suburbs? (Atlanta, Buckhead: sales, property taxes, live)

[cqholt]

And there's more than an abundance OTP for most folks as well. Somehow we manage to eat, shop, and entertain ourselves just fine without trekking to downtown/midtown every night/weekend, so I'm not seeing where you're going with this......

But doesn't eating at Applesbee every time get boring?

[10 feet tall]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

What AnsleyPark said above....

I live ITP and while I dream for a bigger, nicer, cheaper home in the burbs, I like the fact that I commute no more than 4-5 miles round trip per day. I spend as little time in the car as I can. When I'm home at 5pm/530pm, most people begin their commute home. We don't live in town because of the restaurants, theaters, symphony, etc - though I like that it's there when we have the time . I just like the fact that at the point in my life, I value time more than an expansive home.

Very good reasons indeed. But this only applies if you work downtown. If you work at Perimeter Center or Alpharetta, then you get the exact opposite situation.

[10 feet tall]

Originally Posted by cqholt

But doesn't eating at Applebees every time get boring?

Nice troll, bud. But I'm sure someone will take the bait!

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by cqholt

But doesn't eating at Applesbee every time get boring?

Originally Posted by cqholt

I like Popeyes, whats wrong with fried chicken? Real men cannot live just on sushi.

We have a lot or petty crime, car break-ins and home invasions. Its still crime and is very annoying. But no violent crimes.

Not only are there Applebees in the suburbs, but there are Popeyes as well!! If you look hard enough you can probably find a place in the 'burbs with occasional petty crime, car break-ins and home invasions--so you should be set!!!

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by jeoff

Not only are there Applebees in the suburbs, but there are Popeyes as well!! If you look hard enough you can probably find a place in the 'burbs with occasional petty crime, car break-ins and home invasions--so you should be set!!!

There is no transit in the suburbs so I will not be set.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by cqholt

There is no transit in the suburbs so I will not be set.

And for most of us, there is no transit intown, either. I'm glad, though, you find it useful and convenient. I find it to be a drain on my taxes...

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by cqholt

But doesn't eating at Applesbee every time get boring?

Doesn't that lame stereotype get boring? Maybe if you actually left ITP every once in a while, you'd realize how dumb that sounds.

Dont you get tired of having to watch your back every time you leave the house in Kirkwood to make sure you're not going to get mugged? Same stereotypical comment.......

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by syracusa

Again, I am not comparing Atlanta to London. This was established earlier in the thread because it would be completely unfair and irrelevant.

I am comparing the "London - Burbs" gap with the "Atlanta - Burbs" gap; and I am feeling that the city of Atlanta is over-rated relative to its burbs, whereas London is not over-rated relative to its burbs/villages, etc.

Then again, this is why you have so few people living in metro Atlanta and so many choosing to live in its suburbs, exurbs instead. For many, Atlanta is just not worth the premium when compared to its burbs, especially when you take into account the ease with each suburbanites can zip on highways right into the city.

The same cannot be said for Europe. Once you're "out there" in the suburbs, villages, small towns of Europe, you don't zip as easily into the downtown of a large metropolis. The travel can be cumbersome.

Another aspect that explains the sharper divide.

Bolded two statments above.

First section bolded: I believe you are confusing terminologies, namely "metro," "suburb" and "exurb." I think, based on the arguments you have made, you are using the term "metro Atlanta" to either describe the city proper or ITP (Inside the Perimeter). You also seem to use the terms suburb and exurb interchangeably. There is no hard and fast definition, we have had discussions on here before about the differences, but there are definite differences.

Metro Atlanta, at least defined by the US Census Bureau spans 29 counties and will include the urban core, suburbs and exurbs... and even rural areas in the extremes of some of these counties that don't even rise to the status of exurb.

Atlanta metropolitan area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for the second part I bolded, I would say our experience is opposite. We found the transit in England to be such that it was easy as could be to go from our corner of Surrey into London on a regular basis. When we came back to Atlanta (Cobb County) we were actually closer to the central city but would go their far less. Of course there were two factors that led to this, the primary one being that we were newlywed and no kids during our two years in London. Being late 20s with no kids and two incomes gave us much more freedom to go and do and take it all in. We also knew our time was limited so we packed as much of Great Britain into our lives as we could. We saw more of the whole island of Britain in the two years we were there than people twice our age had seen in their lifetimes.

We were not back to GA for two months before we found we were pregnant. So, the child rearing years started and the opportunity to go and do and take it all in diminished greatly. But we still did the Dogwood Festival, the Peachtree Road Race, Braves games, etc, etc. We did as much as we could possibly do during the Olympics with kids aged (at the time) 6, 3 and 6 months. We loaded up the wagon and the double stroller and just soaked it in. Went to only a couple of events that cost money, but it was great just to go be in the midst of it all.

However, we did not do the "city" like we did in London. Our circumstances were the biggest hindrance, but I disagree that it was harder to do London as a suburbanite than Atlanta as a suburbanite. London was much easier and had many more options on a shoestring budget.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

But doesn't eating at Applesbee every time get boring?

I suspect you're kidding, but OTP has an amazing variety of cuisines.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I suspect you're kidding, but OTP has an amazing variety of cuisines.

Absolutely so, particularly for Asian cuisine.