Sometimes it’s easy to forget I live in the ninth largest city in America.
Alongside the traffic jams, glittering skyscrapers, and frenetic economy, Atlanta is full of cozy neighborhoods, green parks, and friendly people.
I feel lucky to enjoy the obvious benefits of big-city life—great restaurants and fun bars, film festivals and art galleries, access to a major airport and world-class health-care—along with the comforts of a smaller, Southern town.
I am a bit of a nomad having lived in Chicago, Washington DC, New York City, West Virginia, South Carolina, and even Southeast Asia. My mom’s family all lives in California and Oregon, so I’ve spent lots of time on the West Coast, too. I have loved other cities for their culture or their nightlife, but I appreciate Atlanta in so many ways that I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
So, where should I start? Well, Atlanta is one of the few major cities I’ve seen where it is still possible to find relatively affordable housing in the city itself. There are at least a handful of up-and-coming neighborhoods where fixer-uppers abound and bargains can still be found. Not so in many other cities. I remember paying a real estate broker $2,000 in commission just to help me rent an apartment on the Upper West side of Manhattan.
Atlanta’s intown neighborhoods offer the best of both worlds with quiet, tree-lined streets and easy access to all the perks of city living. Our house is surrounded by 100-year-old trees, while camellias and magnolias bloom outside our windows. You might even think it sounds a bit suburban. But we can walk to city parks, coffee shops, restaurants, bars and urban-chic boutiques. My husband and I enjoy walking to one of the nearby restaurants, especially when the baby falls asleep in the stroller on the way there.
We can hop in the car and be at a movie theater, museum, or a mall in about ten minutes. And the world’s busiest airport is just thirty minutes from our house. It all makes for a very convenient and comfortable lifestyle—one that I especially appreciate having lived in bigger cities where parking was always a headache and also in a town so small the nearest Starbuck’s was an hour away.
Atlanta’s weather is also really nice most of the time. Yes, it is very hot and sticky in the summer, but the beautiful spring and fall more than make up for it. Plus, if you’re a Yankee transplant like I am, you enjoy having a couple of chilly months to wear cute sweaters and trendy boots.
For me, the weather means I can go jogging outdoors all year long—something that wasn’t feasible living in icier places like the Windy City and West Virginia. It is typical to see people walking, jogging, and biking throughout the year here.
Another thing I enjoy about living here is that the metro area is very diverse. I can head over to Buford Highway, which is known as the city’s international corridor, and browse through dozens of Asian shops or stop at a Peruvian restaurant for ceviche.
But beyond the city and its amenities is something far more important—people. Maybe it’s not just a cliché that people are nicer in the South because Atlanta truly is such a warm and friendly place.
I know almost all of my neighbors and we have celebrated many holidays and children’s birthdays together. Lots of parents actually walk their kids to the local elementary school each morning and there is a park just around the corner where many families gather every evening.
There is a sense of community here and people genuinely care about each other, our neighborhood, and our schools.
After we had our baby, I didn’t cook for two weeks because our neighbors kept streaming into the house with pots of soup, roasts, and home-made quiches. Since all of my family is out of state, I felt extremely grateful to live in a place where so many people had become my friends.
