Top Five Reasons Why People REGRET Moving to North Atlanta Suburbs!
Have you guys ever heard of this thing called “toxic positivity”? It’s this idea that it is possible to be too positive about things, refusing to acknowledge some of the negative emotions one might feel, and if you’ve ever seen the Pixar movie “Inside Out,” you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Lately, it feels like I’ve been hyping up Atlanta, obviously, because I personally love living here! It’s a great city, and if you’ve been keeping up with my other videos, I can find countless reasons why that’s true! Nevertheless, in order to give a well-rounded and full-spectrum understanding of what it might feel like to live here in Atlanta, I’ve decided to embrace the dark side. I’m your least hated Atlanta realtor Tim Trevathan, and today let’s tackle the top five worst things about living in the Atlanta suburbs.
Traffic and limited public transportation
Firstly, the thing that any seasoned veteran of living in Atlanta will tell you is that the traffic here is horrible. Unlike other major metropolises in the United States like New York City, Chicago, or San Francisco, our infrastructure relies heavily on having a car in order to do basically anything. While we do have ample parking to make up for that, it can make those without a personal vehicle or unaccustomed to driving feel like their mobility around town is severely limited. You might see pictures of our impressive 16-lane highway in downtown Atlanta and think that a road of that size could never get clogged, but you might be surprised how bad it can get during rush hour on a weekday, when driving from city center to Johns Creek can take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. Luckily, gas prices in Atlanta tend to be about 15 cents lower than US average, but it can still quickly add up, especially if your work requires a daily commute. In fact, according to Clever.com, Atlanta is ranked the 3rd worst city for commuters, and we are tied for having the highest annual cost of fuel. Unfortunately, these problems aren’t necessarily alleviated with a robust public transportation system. While there are MARTA buses and our lovely MARTA light rail system that criss-cross all around the perimeter, the number of stops are quite limited and there’s some resistance to expansion from the constituent voters of suburban Atlanta. All in all, if you’re the type of person who enjoys long commutes in stand-still traffic, Atlanta is the city for you!
Weather, smog, pollen, and air quality
Springtime is just around the corner, and with it comes Georgia’s infamous spring allergy season. No matter where you go in Atlanta, you’ll find that there’s a lot of trees everywhere, which can bring a wonderful sense of oneness with nature, but also the looming dread of pollen. Come spring, you’ll find every outdoor surface sprinkled with a fine layer of yellow because of our many oak, birch, pine, cedar, hickory, and sweetgum trees. In actuality, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation’s 2023 study on cities with the worst pollen, Atlanta is very low on the list at 90 out of 100, so compared to other cities, you may not experience allergies as much year-round, just right around late March and early April when things kick into high-gear. Another thing to mention about the air is the temperature. While spring and fall can feel very temperate and lovely for about a month or two out of the year, the rest of the time can feel like sweltering heat. While certainly we don’t rank among the hottest cities in the US, Atlanta’s summer can melt you down with June, July and August having average 90 degree highs. If you’re used to cold weather, this can come as quite a shock. In the winter, the weather is quite mild, but on occasion, we’ll have a stray snow storm which can lock the city down in panic. Unlike cities where snow and ice are more common, Atlanta is still very unprepared for snow days, and even rumors of half an inch of snow can cause a run at the supermarket where everyone’s stocking up on milk, eggs, and bread for the next week. The roads when it gets icy can be very dangerous to drive on since they won’t be well-maintained for winter weather. I’d like to make a quick mention of the air quality as well. Atlanta’s air quality has been improving, but it’s still considered a failing grade, especially when it comes to ground-level ozone and particulates in the air, which can make living here with breathing problems dangerous. According to the American Lung Association, Atlanta has the 4th worst air quality in the Southeast and is ranked 51st most polluted city for smog in the nation. Clearly, a lot can be done to improve in these areas.
Limited entertainment options
The suburbs of Atlanta can be plenty of fun, but only if you know where to look. Because of urban sprawl being what it is, it can be hard to discover new places organically, and the lack of walkable places in the suburbs will require some research before you set off to go have some fun. Sure, we’ve got malls, movie theaters, arcades, parks, bowling alleys, and whatever else you could be seeking, but the suburbs are going to be much quieter than a bustling city with tightly packed restaurants, shops, events, and things to see. Life here isn’t going to be rich with new developments and new things to do every day, but if you keep a close ear to the ground and keep watch on social media, you can always find something new and interesting within a quick drive. But you still have to drive.
Limited job opportunities and education opportunities
Atlanta has plenty of good schools, but options are indeed limited. Everyone is well aware of the rankings and the ratings, so good schools are in extremely high demand, and purchasing a home in the neighborhoods surrounding these schools can be just as competitive as the schools themselves. The top universities in the Atlanta area are no better. While Georgia Institute of Technology is considered a highly exclusive school with an acceptance rate of 16%, Emory has a whopping 11%. Georgia State University has a 61% acceptance rate and University of Georgia, which is a bit further away in Athens, has an acceptance rate of 40%.
And while Georgia is home to headquarters for several enormous multinational corporations like Home Depot, Delta, and the Coca-Cola Company, it can still feel like job opportunities are limited, especially for those who wish to work remotely. Corporate jobs in Atlanta can feel highly competitive compared to other major cities, and Atlanta is certainly a huge job hub for the entire Southeast, that just makes life here all the more in demand. Still, the job growth rate in Atlanta is higher than the national average (2.47% compared to the national 1.81%), which means while it might feel tight for now, things may start to loosen up with more opportunities in the future.
Suburban culture and economic disparity
There aren’t a lot of uniquely bad things about Atlanta when it comes to economic disparity that you won’t see in other major cities, but it’s still absolutely worth mentioning. Suburbs are built off of the idea of exclusivity and separation. Atlanta has a very strong culture of suburbanization, and this is reflected in the fact that Atlanta is considered to have the worst economic disparity in the country, drawn across racial lines that can be seen both in a history of redlining Black families from homeownership to the income inequality we still see today. This can lead to the kind of blindness that a lot of suburbanites fall prey to where suffering becomes invisible and therefore irrelevant. People form tight-knit communities in suburbs based around their shared interest, race, religion, and other affiliations, but it’s important to remember that we’re all part of the same Atlanta community and raising up our neighbor, no matter who they are, will simultaneously raise all of us up, and maybe we can get rid of this idea that suburbs are a place of exclusion. It can be hard to find your community when you first move to Atlanta, but hopefully we can all become more welcoming people and embrace those who are like ourselves and very much unlike ourselves to create a truly unified Atlanta community.
That was rough, but if you’ve stuck with me until now, that means you now have a more complete idea of the cons of living in Atlanta, so kudos to you for your commitment to making the best possible choices you can make when it comes to finding your next dream home. Life isn’t always easy, fun, and happy, so it will only serve you to be equipped with the truth, good or bad though it may be. Still, maybe there’s something about Atlanta that’s gotten on your nerves while living here that I haven’t mentioned. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Or if you want to talk more directly, I’m always open to discuss the pros and cons of finding your next home here in Atlanta. Reach out via text, DM, email, or a phone call, and let’s get down to brass tacks. As always, thanks for tuning in, hope to see you again next time, this is Tim Trevathan signing off!
