Well, a couple of months ago I posted that I was considering a job in Brussels. Well, I turned that one down and just accepted a new position in Atlanta, GA. This means the end of the expat life in Madrid and a return to the US.

Since I'm from NYC, I know virtually nothing about Atlanta. Does anybody have any hints on neighbourhoods, ways to meet people, fun activities, costs of living, etc?? I'm a 30-something single female

I've been doing a lot of research on the Internet and am considering both Buckhead and Virginia Highlands to rent the first year and then possibilby buy ( ).

Thanks!

EATZI's!

Beware of the peachstreets, every road there is called peachstreet

Nice place, a little humid for my taste.

Welcome back to the US.

EATZI'S??? That a restaurant I assume. �What kind of food?

Also, as an FT'r I was remiss not mentioning this. I'm an AA Plat. I plan to keep flying AA as much as possible but am thinking about trying to get comped status on (shudder) Delta. Any hints? Do they do it or do they have challenges like AA?

One caveat with DL, They only award %50 eqm for low ball fares. Second they are infested with RJ'S. Not sure if that will help or not. I would stick with AA.

Sticking to AA in Atlanta is just as hard as being a pepsi drinker over there

Chances are it is going to be hard.

That reminds me, hope you like Coke

Up until the last couple of years, Atlanta was, IMO, the place to live if you wanted to live in/near a city without paying city prices. Housing, gas, utilities, etc. were cheaper here, as a whole, than in other comparably-sized cities. That has changed somewhat, but with careful shopping, you can still make your dollar stretch farther here.

Transportation and location: Atlanta is located at the intersection of three major intersections, 20, 75 and 85. I-285 rings the city, and there are three loop/spur interstates within 90 miles of the city (185, 675, 985). Atlanta is well-served by rail and air (like you didn't know about the airport ). You can reach the Atlantic shore with a five-hour drive, or the Gulf in about six hours.

Atlanta has some decaying infrastructure, but is moving to replace it. A key piece of that is the 100+ year-old sewer system. There have been recent rate hikes on city water users. There are currently preliminary talks about reviving Atlanta's old streetcar system, a move I'm greatly in support of. There have been recent cutbacks in local mass transit; while rail service wasn't reduced, some bus routes were cut.

There are many colleges and universities in the metro area, which means lots of cultural and educational opportunities. There are also many sports and entertainment venues. Get the scoop on what's happening with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (sometimes referred to as the "Urinal-Constipation") http://www.ajc.com/ or get hip with "CL," Creative Loafing (aka "The Loaf") http://www.creativeloafing.com/

Buckhead: in-town, higher-end, "the" neighborhood for movers and shakers. The governor's mansion is in Buckhead.

Virginia-Highlands: in-town, varied costs, more hip and trendy (yet not as hip as Little Five Points or "L5P."

Atlanta is unusual for a city in that there is rarely anything happening in the city center after 6 PM. I used to work down there, and it clears out toot sweet once the sun goes down. But there's plenty happening elsewhere.

Climate: Long, hot, humid summers, short mild winters. Ice storms are more likely than snow, but some years pass without any ice or snow at all. Air conditioning is a must-have down here. We get struck or nicked by the occasional hurricane (the last hit was Opal in 1995). Tornadoes are an occasional spring or summer event; some neighborhoods lose power for days due to the large amount of trees in many areas of the city. Air pollution has become a significant issue here.

Eatzi's is a bakery/market/restaurant/caterer. Get to know them! http://www.eatzis.com/home.htm

I personally prefer Harry's/Whole Foods and this little French bakery near my home, but Eatzi's is good for prepared entrees, which Harry's doesn't do.

Good weather for the whole baseball season. Concerts on the lawn at Classic Chastain. Walking on fossils at Fernbank Science Museum. Taking in a guest lecture at Emory University or the Carter Center. Plenty of FTers are from Atlanta; what can we tell you about our city?

Edited to add: Scr*w Delta. I jumped ship to NW and never looked back. But AA does have a very nice Admiral's Club in ATL, and their gates are very close to the check-in lines.

Not just classic: I suffered through an evening of Olivia Newton-John last summer! (It was actually quite fun, and boy, do the locals know how to set up a picnic spread!) Rumor has it that certain infrequent posters here will be attending a KC & the Sunshine Band concert at Chastain in the near future ... Shake your booty, shake your booty! ... (or body, as a confused French-speaking friend once said).

The High Museum's Renzo Piano-designed extension will be opening in Fall 2005. A friendly docent tipped us to the fact that the Friday Jazz events are well-attended, lots of young folks, too, apparently ...

Open 7am - 10 PM 7 days a week for everything and anything you might like to eat or drink (very good wine selection, great cornbread). If you live near enough (Buckhead), you'll never even need to cook!

The most surprising thing to me about Atlanta was/is its natural beauty: it is very wooded, beautiful trees and vegetation everywhere ... I just wasn't expecting that.

Are you familiar with the SF Bay Area at all? Buckhead reminded me of the Peninsula (Menlo Park, Stanford/Palo Alto, Los Altos and further south into the Silicon Valley) - affluent and very comfortable, but very suburban. Virginia Highlands reminded me more of the East Bay, specifically Oakland/Berkeley (and I mean that in a good way). I know of a great restaurant there that I'll tell you about if you behave.

I hope you like gridlock....

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

You will not regret moving to ATL. It is a great city. As a European, I can say it is the most civilized city in the US. I have lived in NYC, BOS, SFO, LAX, FLL.

The restaurants are great, the shopping also, one feels very safe, Lake Lanier is not that far away and people are FRIENDLY

Many will tell you the traffic is horrendous, that is not really true unless you are one of these lazy devils who must drive from out of town and instead of taking Martha from the outskirts have to drive all the way downtown...

Holler if you need more info.

We'll throw a party for you when you are settled. Just contact me.

HA, looks who's talking.

Aren't you headed to DFW

Hope you like getting stuck at the LBJ

On thing that I love from both ATL and DFW is Fogo de Chao

Word!

There are two additional churrascarias near my home; Sal Grosso in Marietta and Chao de Gaucho in Smyrna. Ms. JPT and I would be happy to eat Brazilian food for the rest of our lives.

Hi redhead, I live in Buckhead, five minutes from Eatzi's. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have further or specific questions about the area. Depending on where your office is, traffic is very, very bad both in Buckhead and Virginia Highland during rush hour. Let me know when you are in town. I'll take you to lunch or something.

Just curious, blair, how do you know so much about ATL, are you a native?

Please please please please please!

My brother has been living in Alpharetta for years, and I've yet to have a really good meal down there. Some decent, some passable, and a whole lot of chain restaurant sludge.

Please please please please please!


P.S. Best of luck in your new job, Redhead.