Don’t Move to Atlanta Unless You Can Handle These 5 Things
Hello! I’m Tim Trevathan with Tim Trevathan Homes, your go-to Atlanta Realtor. Are you considering moving to Atlanta? Well, today I’m going to tell you 5 things that you’ll want to make sure you can handle before you move here. Stick around to the end to see if you’ve got what it takes to live in Atlanta.
If you are interested in taking the jump and calling Atlanta home, I’d love to hear from you. My contact info is on the screen and I’d love for you to send me a text or an email and hear about your dreams for your Atlanta home.
Let’s jump right in.
One: Hot, Humid Summers. Atlanta is in the heart of the South, and that means summers here are hot and humid. Of course, Atlanta isn’t the only place in the country with hot summers. It gets hotter out west and the temps can get just as high up north some days during the summer.
But what you’ll find in Atlanta that you won’t get out in Phoenix or up in Boston is the humidity along with the heat. There will be days in the summer where the humidity is so high and the air is so thick that you will almost feel like you can taste the air. Or, you may feel like you stepped out of your home and into a steamy sauna.
June, July, and August all have average temperatures in the upper 80’s. That doesn’t sound that bad when you consider that Phoenix averages temps over 100 F for June through August. But the humidity is Phoenix averages 23.6% lower than humidity here in Atlanta.
It won’t cool down for good until sometimes in October usually. You’ll definitely need to handle heat and humidity to live in Atlanta.
Two: Owning a Car and Higher Insurance Costs. For better or worse, cars are king here in Atlanta. It just isn’t a walkable city and our public transportation leaves a lot to be desired. There are certainly walkable areas, and you may be able to walk from your apartment to a restaurant or bar; or you may be able to park and walk to a few shops or restaurants. However, you will almost certainly need a car, or at least a friend who can give you a ride, to get to most of the places you need to go as you live your life.
This is especially true if you need to head from Atlanta out to the suburbs. Your public transportation options are very limited when it comes to heading from the city to the suburbs. Even within Atlanta, there are bus lines that go some places, but public transportation is not nearly as viable of an option as it is in places like Washington DC or Boston.
If you don’t currently own a car, I would encourage you factor the cost of buying and maintaining a car into your decision about whether or not you want to move to Atlanta.
Also, because Atlanta is car-dependent, expect a higher probability of your car insurance premium going up. There is a lot of conflicting data on where Georgia ranks for insurance costs, but from an anecdotal approach, I had a client who moved from Virginia near D.C. to Atlanta, and his insurance doubled. Reasons cited by his insurance company consisted of weather, traffic, and car accident history in metro Atlanta. Personally, when I moved from Alabama to Atlanta, my insurance also increased by $60 a month.
Three: Traffic. On that note, don’t move to Atlanta if you can’t handle sitting in traffic. As I just mentioned, the majority of people who live here own a car. All those cars result in a lot of traffic! Once you learn your way around the city, you will find ways to avoid the worst of the traffic.
But sometimes, traffic just can’t be avoided no matter how many alternate routes you try. Thankfully, traffic here is still no where as bad as it is, let’s say, somewhere like Los Angeles. People who move here from small cities or rural areas often say the traffic is one of the biggest adjustments and one of the most frustrating parts about living in Atlanta.
If you aren’t used to driving on really busy interstates, that can also take some getting used to, especially when you are still learning when you need to switch lanes to be ready for your exit. Before you know it, you’ll be driving around town like you’ve lived here all your life…but you’ll probably still be frustrated by the traffic.
Four: Sports, sports, and more sports. If you hate sports or hate hearing people talk about sports, then Atlanta might not be your city. Of course, you don’t have to like sports to live here, but it is almost impossible to avoid them completely.
What sports does Atlanta have? That is a great question. We have a major league baseball team, the Atlanta Braves; an NFL team, the Atlanta Falcons; a major league soccer team, Atlanta United; and an NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks. There’s also a minor league hockey and minor league baseball team out in the suburbs.
The University of Georgia is not in Atlanta, or even in Metro Atlanta, but you’ll find it is impossible to avoid hearing a lot about Georgia Bulldog football, especially in the fall. This is especially true lately as they have had some very successful seasons and there are a lot of fans in Atlanta. Get ready to hear lots of “Go Dawgs!” and see lots of red and black come fall.
Ironically, Georgia Tech is in Atlanta, and you won’t hear much at all about their football team unless you happen to be talking to a Tech grad. The Bulldogs are a much bigger deal in Atlanta even though they are located an hour or so outside of the city. Georgia Tech is a wonderful school in a lot of ways; football just isn’t one of their strong points.
Youth sports are also popular here. Travel ball and competitive sports is a way of life for many families. If you have co-workers with school aged kids, get ready to hear all about their sports adventures.
Five: Seasonal allergies. Where you live right now, does pine pollen coat everything out doors in a thick blanket of yellow dust each spring? Do you see yellow clouds of pollen get blown across parking lots by the wind? Can you almost taste the pollen some days?
If not, you are in for a new experience if you move to Atlanta. Spring pollen is a very real thing here, and a lot of people say they experience seasonal allergies for the first time or their allergies are worse here. The good news is that the worst of the pollen only lasts a few weeks each spring and fall. The other good news is that fall pollen season does not involve the clouds of yellow pollen blanketing everything that we get with spring pollen. You’ll feel your allergy symptoms if you have seasonal allergies but at least won’t have to battle seeing pollen every where you look.
Many people think the pollen is bad where they live, but quickly say Atlanta’s is worse the first time they walk outside and see their car with a brand new coating of yellow dust. If you can’t handle a few weeks of pollen, don’t move to Atlanta!
So there you have it. Don’t move to Atlanta if you can’t handle hot and humid summers, owning a car, traffic, sports talk, and pollen. If you can handle those challenges, then Atlanta is a great place to call home! If your curiosity has been piqued, give me a call or send a text or email and let’s talk about your new Atlanta home. Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button so you see all my new videos about moving to Atlanta. Have a great day!
