{"id":39119,"date":"2014-05-22T01:08:40","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T05:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=39119"},"modified":"2020-07-12T01:08:49","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T05:08:49","slug":"the-chaos-of-subjectively-judging-georgia-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/totfc.net\/?p=39119","title":{"rendered":"The chaos of subjectively judging Georgia cities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Real estate blog Movoto listed the \u201c10 Best Places to Live in Georgia,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and it\u2019s mostly filled with towns and cities on the outskirts of Atlanta.\u00a0 Notably absent are any towns or cities within Atlanta \u201cproper,\u201d also known as \u201cinside the perimeter (Interstate 285)\u201d also known as \u201cITP.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This, naturally\u00a0has those who live ITP and think they rule the state completely up in arms<\/a>, and when things happen that they don\u2019t agree with, they do something about it: bitch about it on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m not entirely sure which side of which fence I stand on, but since I think I sometimes lean on the\u00a0chaotic neutral side of the spectrum<\/a>, ultimately I think I can find a bone to pick with all involved parties in this little online e-fracas.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

FIRST<\/strong>, to those ITP whining and complaining that Atlanta isn\u2019t a top-10 place to live in Georgia: it\u2019s probably true.\u00a0 Movoto\u2019s criteria might be a little subjective and inadvertently racially charged, but it does hit some important key points, such as crime, cost of living, median income and tax rates.\u00a0 Those factors considered, it\u2019s\u00a0completely true<\/em>\u00a0that no city or town within I-285 should be considered a top-10 place to live.<\/span><\/p>\n

Statistically, there is more crime within the circle of I-285 than there is in any city or town outside of it.\u00a0 Ironically, if I-285 could magically be re-jiggered to relegate College Park and East Point to OTP status, I\u2019m sure it would drop dramatically, but the cards have landed where they have fallen, and they\u2019re murdering (no pun intended) the crime numbers for Atlanta proper.\u00a0 But it\u2019s not just them doing it; crime is way more rampant ITP than it is outside of it.\u00a0 There are numerous statistics to prove this fact, and when the day is over, people typically wish to live away from areas with notably higher percentage of crime.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simply existing within I-285 is reason enough for real estate numbers to inflate to egregious costs, and sure it\u2019s no New York City where people are paying $1,500 for 200 square feet of living space, but considering the median cost of living in most places outside of the perimeter, and it\u2019s a pretty dramatic difference in ratio.\u00a0 Long story short, the cost of living increases to an unfavorable bang for buck within ITP, than it does outside of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fact: there are more people that commute from outside of the perimeter and enter the city to where they work, but for all intents and purposes, they live outside of it.\u00a0 That being said, people who make a lot of money and\/or wish to start families, typically strive to do it outside of major cities, hence the existence of suburbs in the first place.\u00a0 People who have the financial means to raise families, usually take their larger salaries, and move to places like Alpharetta, Duluth, Woodstock or Peachtree City, driving their numbers up, and sinking Atlanta proper\u2019s down.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line is that Atlanta is a decent place, but it really isn\u2019t a top-10 place in the state to live.\u00a0 ITPers need to get their heads out of their asses and realize that outside of the perimeter, Georgia itself is still a pretty large state.\u00a0 It\u2019s weird to think of it, and stranger to hear when people refer to Atlanta as \u201cNorth,\u201d but to those people who live down in like Valdosta and Savannah and other southern Georgia towns and cities, it\u2019s very much a valid term, even if all Georgians love to boast that they\u2019re all so southern.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the fact of the matter is that Atlanta proper has higher crime, higher cost of living, fewer schools and even less with quality teachers, and higher taxes than just about every place outside of the perimeter.\u00a0 Just because it\u2019s a city that\u2019s hip, known, has good restaurants and the ever-hyped Beltline project, doesn\u2019t make anywhere in Atlanta a truly great place to live.<\/span><\/p>\n

NEXT<\/strong>, we move onto Movoto\u2019s list, which claims to be<\/span><\/p>\n

unbiased, data-based, and pretty much indisputable.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \n
  1. City of Canton<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Peachtree City<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. City of Athens<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. City of Alpharetta<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. City of Perry<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. City of Fayetteville<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. City of Duluth<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. City of Woodstock<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. City of Norcross<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. City of Kennesaw<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. City of Gainesville<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I\u2019ve been to almost all of these places at some point, and lived in one of them for a few years too.\u00a0 I\u2019ve only passed through Perry and Gainesville but they also to both be the two places furthest from the Metro Atlanta area.<\/span><\/p>\n

    But going back a little bit, I have to contrarily dispute the claim that the criteria is indisputable.\u00a0 Their criteria was listed as:<\/span><\/p>\n