Anyone lived in both Nashville and Atlanta?
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5/7/2006
Has anybody out there lived in both cities recently? My husband and I are absolutely fed up with Atlanta! We hate it, hate it, hate it!!! The traffic, low pay, corrupt governments, skyrocketing rent. Did I mention low pay? He heard recently that GA is behind 48 other states in poverty levels. Only Louisiana is worse off. And Atlanta is particularly bad because, while it is expensive to live here, the pay has not kept up with the cost of living at all.
We are looking to Nashville as an alternative, despite the fact that I'd have to take the bar exam again. I've heard that commutes there are like 20-30 minutes. But, I'm concerned that the pay might not be there. Would we just be getting into another bad situation? In my research, the cost of living for Atlanta is always estimated at only slightly above Nashville. Is it true? Are they really that comparable? I just have a hard time believing it. Another thing that makes me think it might not be true, or at least not for us, is the difference in education. It seems like "household income" is estimated as being in the $40's in Nashville, but in the $80's in Atlanta, suggesting that a lot more people in Atlanta have 2 incomes per household. Plus, the level of education in Atlanta is a bit higher. So if my husband and I are both educated and command slightly higher incomes, we should be able to live quite well. In Atlanta, that is too common. Too many top executives, Delta pilots, etc. And even though they may fall on hard times, they still built all these mansions where I live so that houses around here cost $300-400,000. Even if they go into foreclosure, the bank will want what they are 'worth.'
Any advice would help. My husband is actively pursuing leads in the Nashville area. And I'm signing up for the February 2007 bar exam. If we are just setting ourselves up for disappointment, I'd rather know now. We would still pursue moving out of Atlanta, but could look elsewhere in TN or the SE area.
Thanks,
Heather
whigrose@hotmail.com
Heather | Fayetteville, GA