What city will replace Atlanta as the new black mecca? (housing, retiree)

[kirkwoodhipster]

This is one thing I dont get about Atlanta.

If you live in a city that is prone to rapid change, get used to it! You have to be able to roll with the changes! If you want somewhere that stays constant more or less, Atlanta is NOT the place for you.

I meet too many old-timers, long-timers, and natives who tend to think of the city as it was whenever they came of age or moved here. Dreamers! The change between 1990 Atlanta and 2010 Atlanta is probably the most drastic change any city in the US has undergone. Its so fast people cant keep up with it, especially the media.

Eventually, people will get it and accept it, or move, or die. Sorry but these are facts.

If people want to live in denial by viewing Atlanta as it was in 1990,m and not how it is in 2011, that is thier right. But they shouldnt try to portray that view as if it is REALITY!

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

Which is also what Charlotte and the Triangle are doing, especially the Triangle. Trust me, they aren't turning into "new Black meccas." I seriously doubt they want to anyway.

I don't think "what they want" is really relevant.

The fact is that both Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham are regarded as highly attractive locations for blacks. Black Enterprise's annual list of the Top Ten Cities for African Americans to live ranks them this way:

1. Washington, DC
2 Atlanta
3. Raleigh-Durham
4. Houston
5. Nashville
6. Dallas
7. Charlotte
8. Indianapolis
9. Columbus OH
10. Jacksonville

I put Charlotte and the Triangle cities higher on the list for several reasons. They both have a great cost of living, tons of employment opportunities and strong school systems. They already have a large established black middle class. They are booming cities with lots of room for new residents and entrepreneurs. They are geographically between the current top two, D.C. and Atlanta -- that facilitates transportation, ease of doing business, connections with friends and relatives, etc. They have a deep heritage of African American history and culture. The region is home to numerous HBCU's, including North Carolina Central (Maynard Jackson's alma mater), North Carolina A&T and others.

The one thing that may jeopardize the top position of Atlanta and D.C. is simply the fact that they've gotten so big. That brings problems that affect everybody -- transportation, congestion, natural resources, higher taxes, a greater burden for government services, and on and on. (These are problems that obviously affect Houston and Dallas as well). These things don't mean you can't succeed, but if you're trying to get ahead, many people opt for a place that isn't quite as bogged down with these issues and is less saturated with people who've already done what you have in mind.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I don't think "what they want" is really relevant.

The fact is that both Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham are regarded as highly attractive locations for blacks. Black Enterprise's annual list of the Top Ten Cities for African Americans to live ranks them this way:

1. Washington, DC
2 Atlanta
3. Raleigh-Durham
4. Houston
5. Nashville
6. Dallas
7. Charlotte
8. Indianapolis
9. Columbus OH
10. Jacksonville

I put Charlotte and the Triangle cities higher on the list for several reasons. They both have a great cost of living, tons of employment opportunities and strong school systems. They already have a large established black middle class. They are booming cities with lots of room for new residents and entrepreneurs. They are geographically between the current top two, D.C. and Atlanta -- that facilitates transportation, ease of doing business, connections with friends and relatives, etc. They have a deep heritage of African American history and culture. The region is home to numerous HBCU's, including North Carolina Central (Maynard Jackson's alma mater), North Carolina A&T and others.

Aside from being located between Atlanta and DC, you can say the same for just about all of the other cities on this list. While NC does have a good bit of HBCUs throughout the state, the ones in Charlotte and the Triangle aren't at the level of the "elite" HBCUs like Howard, Morehouse, Spelman, Fisk, etc. Plus, those "best cities for African Americans" lists are pretty outdated. I don't even think anyone comes up with them anymore. The BE list you cited is from 2007 and the magazine hasn't really put out one since. Obviously Charlotte and the Triangle attract Blacks, but being that it never had a long-standing history of doing so in high numbers and it's also attracting decent amounts of everyone else, I don't see them becoming "new Black meccas." Furthermore, as I've said repeatedly in this thread, that term was coined when there was only a handful of cities that Blacks were moving to in order to make it. Neither Charlotte or Raleigh was among those cities, which is evidenced by the fact that they have not had any cultural impact upon Black life in America; they haven't produced prominent Black national figures; nor have they had longstanding Black political leadership (Raleigh hasn't even had a Black mayor, but smaller Durham has). Don't get me wrong; both cities have had solid Black communities as you've alluded to, but the impact was always more local--which is why I don't afford them mecca status. Nowadays, Blacks have many, many more options to choose from so the only cities that have the advantage in "Black-meccaness" are those that had it early on (e.g., Atlanta, DC). Otherwise, cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, Orlando, etc. are just attracting all kinds of people from all over.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by kirkwoodhipster

This is one thing I dont get about Atlanta.

If you live in a city that is prone to rapid change, get used to it! You have to be able to roll with the changes! If you want somewhere that stays constant more or less, Atlanta is NOT the place for you.

I meet too many old-timers, long-timers, and natives who tend to think of the city as it was whenever they came of age or moved here. Dreamers! The change between 1990 Atlanta and 2010 Atlanta is probably the most drastic change any city in the US has undergone. Its so fast people cant keep up with it, especially the media.

Eventually, people will get it and accept it, or move, or die. Sorry but these are facts.

If people want to live in denial by viewing Atlanta as it was in 1990,m and not how it is in 2011, that is thier right. But they shouldnt try to portray that view as if it is REALITY!

That is unfair.I have not heard anybody elude or say that they want it to remain 1990.Thats a slap in the face and its diversionary.Not ONE person in this entire thread has thought that the diversity going up in Atlanta is a bad thing.We may have our opinions on how we see Atlanta but that does not mean we see those changes as bad or not wanted.So lets agree to disagree but lets keep the respect for our individul thought and right to blief as we see fit.Its obvious no ones mind is changing but at least we are all on the same side.

So BBC and WARONXMAS:: Make up and move on.You both say you want Atlanta to be shared by all and we should believe each other at what we say. Lets not find something so minute to sepaerate us when its clear at the base we all agree.

[AnsleyPark]

Afonega1 - I think you got it right.

[mintgum84]

By 2020, will Atlanta have progressed demographically?

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by mintgum84

By 2020, will Atlanta have progressed demographically?

What does "progressed demographically"mean to you? Just asking because I don't know.

[mintgum84]

Changed markedly in make up.

[RandyWatson13]

[arjay57]

The ATL makes the front page of today's New York Times:

For New Life, Blacks in City Head to South