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.
This summer, we had an electrical fire in our house while my husband was out of town for work, but I wasn’t left alone to cope with the mess. One of our neighbors rushed over to help me shut off the fuse box in our smoke-filled basement, and as fire trucks filled our street another neighbor arrived to say they had already made up their guest room for me with a playpen for my baby and a bed for my dog.
