Welcome To Atlanta...well sorta'
I was recently on social media and within one of my travel groups scanning through a few posts when someone posted asking about what it was like here in Atlanta.
Judging by the responses received by Atlantans, here’s a brief field report to sum it all up.
Some of these descriptions have been floating around online for a few years now. Some have been added and some have been edited by me…but here’s the collection of advice from several different people who actually live here.
This is for anyone who lives in Atlanta, who has ever lived in Atlanta, has visited Atlanta, ever plans to visit Atlanta, knows anyone who lives in Atlanta, knows anyone who has ever visited Atlanta or anyone who has ever heard of Atlanta, Georgia.
Atlanta is composed mostly of one way streets. The only way to get out of downtown Atlanta is to turn around and start over when you reach Greenville, South Carolina.
All directions start with, “Go down Peachtree” and include the phrase,”When you see the Waffle House.” Except that in Cobb County, all directions begin with, “Go to the Big Chicken.”
Peachtree Street has no beginning and no end and is not to be confused with Peachtree Circle, Peachtree Place, Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Road, Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree Run, Peachtree Trace, Peachtree Ave, Peachtree Commons, Peachtree Battle, Peachtree Corners, New Peachtree, Old Peachtree, West Peachtree, Peachtree-Dunwoody, or Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
Atlantans only know their way to work and their way home. If you ask anyone for directions they will always send you down Peachtree.
Be aware that spelling of street names may change from block to block, e.g., Clairmont, Claremont, Clairmonte.
It’s impossible to go around a block and wind up on the street you started on. The Chamber of Commerce calls it a “scenic drive” and has posted signs to that effect, so that out-of-towners don’t feel lost…they’re just on a “scenic drive.”
Construction on any street is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment, especially when a water line is tapped and Atlanta’s version of Old Faithful erupts. Construction crews are not doing their jobs properly unless they close down all major streets during rush hour.
Atlantans are very proud of our racetrack, known as Road Atlanta. It winds throughout the city on the Interstates, hence it’s name.
Actually, I-285, the loop that encircles Atlanta and has a posted speed limit of 55mph (but you have to maintain 80 mph just to keep from getting run over), is known to truckers as “The Watermelon 500.”
The 8:00am rush hour is from 6:30 to 10:30am. The 5:00pm rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:30pm. Friday’s rush hour starts Thursday afternoon, and lasts through 2:00am Saturday.
Georgia 400 is our equivalent of the Autobahn. You will rarely see a semi-truck on GA 400, because even the truck drivers are intimidated by the oversized SUV-wielding housewives racing home after a grueling day at the salon or the tennis match to meet their children at the school bus coming home from the college prep preschool.
If a single snowflake falls, the city is paralyzed for three days, and it’s on all the channels as a news flash every 15 minutes for a month. All the grocery stores will be sold out of milk, bread, bottled water, toilet paper, and beer. If there is a remote chance of snow, and if it does snow, people will be on the corner selling “I survived the blizzard” tee-shirts, not to mention the fact that all schools will close at the slightest possible chance of snow.
So, that’s the brief field report on Atlanta and hopefully answers the question “What’s it like to live in Atlanta”. It can sometimes be confusing and frustrating, but other than that, it’s a great place to live!
