What's Wrong with the Suburbs? (Atlanta, Roswell: mortgage, big house, private schools)

[netsirk]

Originally Posted by 10 feet tall

What makes it feel differently to you?

And you pose a good question. What is a suburb? Much of the suburb bashing is based not on the type of development, but the intangible "not cool" factor, which has little to do with single family home development.

We're talking about Decatur, here:

Walkable, first.

An actual town center, where there are places for people to gather.

Public transit (MARTA right in the middle of town).

Only a couple miles from downtown.

Decatur is the only "suburb" I'd consider living in...would never go north.

[Carlito Brigante]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

Good point. Where I'm from, the only thing we knew about Atlanta prior to the Olympics was that it is the state capital, Martin Luther King, Jr. was from here and Georgia is called the peach state. It was never touted as a big tourist destination. The only other people I heard talk about Atlanta were African-Americans who went to HBCU's and would come down here for Freaknik. To this day I don't know what Freaknik was lol. Other than that, Atlanta wasn't on anyone's radar in my parts. I thought it was great that the Olympics was hosted in America again, but not so much Atlanta, because again, I knew nothing about Atlanta other than what I stated above. I came to Atlanta for work in 1995 just for a couple of days and wasn't impressed initially, as I didn't see anything that really stood out to me, plus I was busy working.

Then after Olympics, all of a sudden Atlanta was the place to be and that it was the land of opportunity and everyone started moving here from more expensive metros to buy a house because they couldn't afford to where they were. Most of the transplants ended up buying homes in the suburbs because to buy a nice home in a good area with great schools in Atlanta proper wasn't as affordable as they had been led to believe.

EXACTLY!!!! Couldn't have put it better myself. How anyone who has ever been to or lived in Atlanta BEFORE the Olympics and AFTER the Olympics can deny any of this is crazy.

[10 feet tall]

Originally Posted by netsirk

We're talking about Decatur, here:

Walkable, first.

An actual town center, where there are places for people to gather.

Public transit (MARTA right in the middle of town).

Only a couple miles from downtown.

Decatur is the only "suburb" I'd consider living in...would never go north.

Walkable - I know 3 people that live in City of Decatur and have to drive to a grocery store.

Town center - Dunwoody and Roswell both have town centers. Decatur's has more bars, yes.

MARTA station - So does Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

Proximity to downtown - Not helpful unless you work downtown. Many people work at Perimeter Center or Cumberland or Alpharetta.


The problem that most "in towners" have with suburbs is the people who live there, not the actual style of development.

[cqholt]

MARTA station - So does Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

Not in their downtowns or town center for Dunwoody.

Proximity to downtown - Not helpful unless you work downtown. Many people work at Perimeter Center or Cumberland or Alpharetta.

Many more still work in Downtown and Midtown.
Dunwoody and Sandy Springs is the land of strip malls. There is nothing walkable about either. Majority of the residents still drive.

[staywarm2]

What's wrong with driving? We live in the northern suburbs and drive to the grocery. So what...If we have 5 bags of heavy groceries, who wants to walk anyway?

We have a nice mall here with many satellite stores and restaurants bordering it. The mall is 5 minutes from my house.

There are nice parks and the Chatthoochee River is not too far away. Yes, we have to drive a short distance. So what???!!!

I can go out at night without any fear. I can walk in my nice neighborhood without worry of being mugged. I don't want bars or restaurants bordering the back of my property and people hanging around back there after a few (too many) drinks.

If I want to see a play or a museum downtown, I can get on the MARTA and ride there. Since we don't go to bars or nightclubs, there's not all that much that interests me in town.

Give me the burbs any day!

[10 feet tall]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Not in their downtowns or town center for Dunwoody.

Many more still work in Downtown and Midtown.
Dunwoody and Sandy Springs is the land of strip malls. There is nothing walkable about either. Majority of the residents still drive.

"Land of strip malls" is selling it a bit short, IMO. But you are right that they are not walkable. By contrast, how many residents of Decatur walk to the MARTA station and then ride it work? Several people I know live in City of Decatur and drive to Perimeter Center to work. Not sure what MARTA being there really does for them - if you can't conveniently walk to the station. Is this common?

[cqholt]

What's wrong with driving? We live in the northern suburbs and drive to the grocery. So what...If we have 5 bags of heavy groceries, who wants to walk anyway?

That's why they make foldable shopping carts, like old ladies have?

By contrast, how many residents of Decatur walk to the MARTA station and then ride it work? Several people I know live in City of Decatur and drive to Perimeter Center to work. Not sure what MARTA being there really does for them - if you can't conveniently walk to the station. Is this common?

Residents living in Downtown Decatur do walk to the station, but residents of the city must prefer ti drive because there is no parking at the Decatur Station. They could go to East Lake or Avondale Stations, which have full parking lots, but some people are lazy. I just hate how some of these people talk about eating only organic food and only shopping at locally owned stores to be greeen, but then are too lazy to ride MARTA when there is a station and connecting bus routes. Half-a$$ hippies is what they are.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by cqholt

That's why they make foldable shopping carts, like old ladies have?

Residents living in Downtown Decatur do walk to the station, but residents of the city must prefer ti drive because there is no parking at the Decatur Station. They could go to East Lake or Avondale Stations, which have full parking lots, but some people are lazy. I just hate how some of these people talk about eating only organic food and only shopping at locally owned stores to be greeen, but then are too lazy to ride MARTA when there is a station and connecting bus routes. Half-a$$ hippies is what they are.

cq - While I appreciate your overall sentiments and agree with you that public transportation is important to a viable urban area like Atlanta, hauling 5 bags of groceries in a collapsible cart is just not viable. Heck, I live in Ansley Park and can walk to the Kroger and Publix in about 10 or 15 minutes. But, like most folks, I'm not gonna haul my groceries up the sidewalk along Piedmont if I have more than a couple of items - and feeding 3 children, a spouse and myself, like lots of folks with families I generally do have more than a couple of items. And, no, it's not a matter of being too lazy to ride MARTA. Many of us live within a 15 minute walk of a MARTA station - I do. But I'm not walking to it, waiting on the train, etc., when I can generally simply drive to my destination in far less time than it takes dealing with the train / buses.

Really, it depends on where you live, to where you travel, and other life realities. So, no, it's not just lazy hippies that don't ride MARTA at every opportunity.

[10 feet tall]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Half-a$$ hippies is what they are.

This made me LOL.

[cqholt]

And, no, it's not a matter of being too lazy to ride MARTA

Lazy was not in reference to carrying 5 bags of grocery, that is just personal preference and I can understand not wanting to do it. I was referring to those that live and work close to a MARTA station, yet choose to drive and then complain about traffic. There is an easy alternative to driving close and they still choose not to use it.
I plan a grocery store trip around having to drive to the station, no bus on the weekends and my pregnant wife does not want to walk so we drive. But while we are parked at the station, after we return we hit up the 24/7 Edgewood Kroger and do big grocery shopping. If I need to make a run for milk and other small things, then I walk or ride my bike.