If you been following me for a while you may be familiar with me moving to Atlanta, Georgia 3 years ago. When you move to a new city it can take some time to adjust. So I gave it a solid 3 years to decide on the pros and cons of living in Atlanta.

Pros of Living in Atlanta

Culture

There is so much diversity from the different neighborhoods to the high support in the LGBTQ community. One thing I love is how Atlantans rep their city! Westside, Eastside, Northside, and Southside. The support of the local artist like Lil Baby, Future, Young Thug, etc is strong in the different communities. You can catch your typical Atlantan riding through the city with their music on full blast. I love it! I attended my first Atlanta Hawks game last year and to see the fans go crazy screaming ATL!! ATL!! ATL!! The energy in the room was vibrating high even though the Hawks were losing. After the game, the fans celebrated in the hallways with a DJ and dance-off.

Job market

The job market is the main reason why I moved to Atlanta. There are endless opportunities in this city but you have to come with a strategy. The goal was to move to Atlanta and land a job in media. Atlanta is a major hub for Entertainment, Hip Hop, TV and movie production. This was the perfect place to jump-start my career. Once I moved I landed a job in media advertising from the same company that denied me in NYC. Also, If you're interested in working in Corporate America there are numerous companies headquartered in Atlanta such as UPS, Chic Fila, The Home Depot, Coca Cola, Delta Airlines, Carters, etc. Always do your research on the job market before relocating to any city.

There's always something to do

Whenever my friends come into town I’m always excited to show them around Atlanta. Every time they leave I hear “ I need to come back to Atlanta its so different” From the music festivals, wine festivals, concerts, sports, clubs/bars, riding bikes on the beltline and hiking at Stone Mountain you will feel connected to the scenery.

The cost of living is much cheaper than NYC and California

When I hear people complaining about paying $1200 rent to live downtown Atlanta I give them the confused look. Back at home, my dad pays $1600 to live in the hood and still have to worry about safety and shoot outs. $1200 to live in the heart of the city isn’t bad. However, I do like how you can still find apartments cheaper than the $1000 that's only 15 mins outside of the city.

Cons of Living in Atlanta

TRAFFIC

You see so many memes about this on social media “stop moving here the city is overcrowded!" I’m apart of the group that’s causing the city to be overpopulated. Most of the people I meet here relocated from another state. The city was not built to accommodate a large population. This is why the traffic is insane. It's not as bad as LA but its bad. It can take 1 hour to drive 6 miles depending on the time of day. Not many people take trains because the train system doesn’t travel outside of the metropolitan areas. I prefer not to drive here because it gives me so much anxiety. The drivers will jump in and out of your lanes with no signals. I witnessed numerous accidents where couches were laying in the middle of the highway or multiple cars flipped over. You can't be a scary driver living in Atlanta because the traffic will cause you to be alert and aggressive.

Need a car

I’m from Jersey and honestly, you don’t need a car living in Newark, NJ. We have buses and trains that run until 2 am and start back up around 5/6 am. The transportation is convenient and faster than Atlanta. Moving to Atlanta and experiencing my car break down the first month was a culture shock. If I wasn't a hustler I don't know how I would have survived my first year living in Atlanta. I don’t like to depend on people especially not for rides. I want to be able to get up and go. Once I was able to get a new car I started to pay more attention to my vehicle maintenance needs. The more you drive your car the higher the risk. A typical drive in Atlanta is 30 min because everything is spaced out. It's doable to survive here without a car but you will need patience and money for uber fees.

The Weather

If you can survive a summer in Atlanta you’re a survivor. The heat is crucial and the humidity doesn’t make it any better. It's much harder for me to get photoshoots done in the summer. I have to deal with taking photos in the heat for hours praying the sun doesn't melt my skin. In the winter the entire city will shut down because of an inch of snow. The grocery store shelves are empty and everyone is stuck at home. This was weird to me. I'm used to being able to get up and go with or without snow.

Atlanta has taught me so much about myself and the good outweighs the bad. The risk I decided to take changed my life. When it feels scary to jump that is exactly when you jump, otherwise, you end up staying in the same place your whole life. This is my opinion on the city of Atlanta some people may love it here and some may hate it. It all depends on your mindset and purpose for moving.

Pros and Cons of living in Atlanta