All about Atlanta - Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA
Where I stayed
Downtown Atlanta
Where I stayed: Downtown Atlanta
The Place: Awesome condo on the 22nd floor with terrace to take in the Atlanta skyline. I rented it through Airbnb*
Location: If you like Time Square then Downtown Atlanta is the place for you. Plenty of lights, Hard Rockesque restaurants, and homeless ready to explain why you should part with a dollar. I personally don’t like Time Square and like back home when I find myself there am looking for the quickest escape route out. Unless of course I’m showing off the city to visiting guests then I’m show casing it as one of NYC marvels:-)
* AirBnB.com https://www.airbnb.com/ this website lists apartments-rooms you can rent fully furnished at much cheaper rates than hotels. The hosts for this particular place left it like they were expecting family. Besides having all the kitchen and bedding stuff you would normally expect they stocked the kitchen with; juices, muffins, jelly, butter, garbage bags,cleaning supplies, paper towels bottled water, fruits and more. The bathroom; tissue and toilet paper, shampoo,conditioner, lotions and much more. If this is what I can expect at all my destinations I might never pay for a hotel again.
What I did in Atlanta
Joined many Meetup groups
The most interesting group, “The Atlanta Atheists” Atlanta is in the Bible Belt the existence of several Atheist groups was a pleasant surprise *
*Me and Religion: Most of you know I don’t believe in organized religion I consider myself a Humanist. If you have any questions or are curious please feel free to ask. More than happy to discuss and share. This link provides a good definition: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/humani sm
What are Meetups http://www.meetup.com/
It’s a website listing a plethora of social groups and events all over the world (don’t worry you can filter). Groups are created and managed by members. Membership requirements are a pulse and computer – pulse is optional they are a very inclusive bunch. The types of groups are as plentiful as human tastes and likes. Unless the Meetup is after 5pm then it’s all about finding mr / mrs right or right now. I find this immensely entertaining to watch. Us humans are quite ingenious in the inexhaustible lengths we take to find compatible uglies to bump. Please don't take this as me being above it all quite the contrary I'm laughing with you. I know I've done my share of stupid in said pursuit. After all we can't help ourselves. Sex and intimacy is way up there, in importance, on the pyramid of needs.
Tips on attending Meetups:
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Email host to make sure the event is still happening especially the ones after 5pm. Hosts usually lose interest maintaining the meetup once solemate du jour is found and in the euphoria forget to decommission it. (I suspect they are keeping it active in case the solemate doesn't pan out)
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Verify with the host where everyone is meeting. I’ve found in many cases you show up to an event and the restaurant doesn’t have a clue about the Meetup. Although this could be a good ice breaker asyou approach each group in the restaurant in search of your Meetup it’s not optimal. Anyway that option is always available if you don’t like your group.
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Check # of people attending some of those, “ yes attending” are liars if your group event has under five people attending then I hope you like the host because you might be sharing an intimate moment for two.
Spoke at Emory University about my trip and won best speech
Granted the audience was 8 Toastmasters and I was the only speaker. That said all 8 thought my speech was lovely and I was ready to speak to an auditorium full if that was the case.
Thanksgiving
Spent it with my very good friend Jay Shah who came up from very warm Delray Florida to spend the weekend in not so Hotlanta. He making it up is a testimony to his commitment to meeting me at every city – love you Jay!! We shared dinner with fellow displaced travelers and the cooking allergic. Followed by a couple of drinks at one of Atlanta’s trendy bars topped off, unintentionally, at a lesbian club. The Lesbian experience was very different from those I had in NY where my sister Linda* use to save me from bodily harm threatened by some hardcore lesbian that would give a Hell Angel pause. Atlanta Lesbians were nice no dirty looks or threats of castration. Only wish my sister Linda was still around she would have enjoyed the experience and I would have loved her company.
*Linda and GLBT community: My sister Linda was gay she passed away last year June 2012. She use to DJ at many GLBT clubs and events around NYC. On occasion I stopped by to support her. I miss her very much!
Cycled in Arabia Park
Joined a cycling group from Meetup. Cycled about 30 miles in beautiful Arabia Park just outside Atlanta. Nothing unpredictable here the park beautiful and fellow riders friendly. My expectations are that cyclists everywhere will be friendly and places picturesque.
Reconnected with some old friends from my home town Money Earning Mount Vernon NY as Heavy D called it and made some new ones.
Visited Atlanta’s main tourist attractions (CNN/ Coca Cola museum / Aquarium)
These were all great and their existence and scale is proof that Atlanta is a world class city. That said they have no bearing on me deciding to move to Atlanta. These are akin to NYC’s Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. You only visit them when you first visit the city or are showing it off to visiting family and friends. All the other times you’re avoiding them like the plague because of the traffic and trinket peddler harassment they produce. My opinion they have no impact to your daily life nor do they predict future enjoyment of living there other than maybe bragging rights.
New Stuff Discovered
Brimini Ring game (aka Hook and Ring game)
This was the first time I’ve ever seen this game it was very popular at this Midtown Bar. I later found out it was originally from the Caribbean but because I first discovered it in Atlanta it’s on this list.
1900 single user jail cell
I came across this peer to peer incarceration system on a tour. It was used in the early 1900s by the community to temporarily house a rowdy (in most cases drunk) individual until the police could come and collect him or her (99.9% him but I don’t want to be called sexist). I think they should bring it back I can see lots of examples where it can come in handy. Although there is a risk that it might take profiling to a whole new level.
Lyft peer to peer ride sharing http://www.lyft.me/
Formal Definition: Lyft is a privately held, San Francisco–based Transportation Network Company whose mobile-phone application facilitates peer-to-peer ridesharing by enabling
passengers who need a ride to request one from drivers who have a car.[1][2] Unlike traditional taxis, Lyft drivers do not charge "fares" but receive "donations" from their passengers.[3] Lyft's tagline is "your friend with a car."[4] Since its inception, the company has striven to create a more social and fun experience for drivers and passengers in order to develop a sense of community among its users.[5]According to the company, Lyft generally costs about 30 percent less than the price of a similar-length cab ride.
My Definition: like the ring game Lyft isn’t native to Atlanta but it’s where I discovered it and it came in quite handy after I realized that MARTA, the Atlanta subway, is nowhere nearly as available as NYC’s. As above states it’s at least 30% cheaper than traditional taxis and very user friendly. Through the app on your phone you summon your Lyft buddy. The closest driver, and your new BFF, gets your request and through the GPS on your phone both of you can track each other’s location and ETA. The app also tells you what the driver and car look like (drivers use their own car). The car will arrive with Lyft’s trademark, a pink mustache, attached to the front grill. The expectation is that you sit in the front and fist bump the driver. The bump is customary (in some cases obligatory depending on how much Kool-aid was taken) and strictly adhered to in order to maintain the illusion of a friend picking up another friend. You don’t pay the driver directly you will get a suggested donation amount through the app.
I did Lyft several times and found all the experiences pleasant. The drivers were friendly and had interesting stories to tell. Most of them were students one of them even had a PHD.
Atlanta Strange Rules
In Atlanta you have to present separate licenses for each drink ordered. I'm thinking this rule must be universally adored by all their bartenders.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
People are very Friendly
Had to get use to people talking to you on the streets without hidden agendas. Except the homeless they are the same world over.
Parking is cheap
$3 all day parking common throughout the city.
No wonder the Subway is minimally functional.
Weather
Slightly warmer than NYC
Big city
Dynamic with lots of cultural events and options of stuff to do.
Food
Delicious especially the fried chicken and Mac & Cheese (they perfected this dish)
Cons:
Weather
Only slightly warmer than NYC. During my trip maybe 10 degrees hotter and several days colder– wasn’t making anyone jealous!
Not very walking city
Only small pockets of walkable areas you definitely need a car in Atlanta.
Land locked
To be honest not sure how much this personally means to me the only real downside
I can see is more expensive seafood but people keep citing it as a negative so
I’ll jump on the bandwagon for now.
Very religious
I’ll give you an example. When people ask me how are you doing I usually retort with “can’t complain and I will only complain to people who can solve my problems” in NY/NJ the usually reply is a laugh with some statement or body gesture in agreement. The first couple of day in Atlanta I continued this tradition but on two separate occasions the response was a call for me to enlist Jesus to help solve my problems. For some reason I temporarily forgot Atlanta is in the Bible Belt. Needless to say I didn’t use that response again. This is why there being several Atheist groups in Atlanta is interesting.
Lessons Learned
Follow the Meetup tips I gave you earlier. They would have been helpful.
Do more research on where to live. I liked and enjoyed the condo but I could have done without staying in the Time Square of Atlanta.
Tryout the mass transit system before you commit to a monthly pass. I tried very hard to make MARTA work for me but I gave up after two weeks of taking hour long train / bus / walk combos that could have taken 15 minutes by car.
In summary
The Million dollar question am I moving to Atlanta and if so what part? Probably not but would definitely visit it’s a great city and the people are wonderful. Especially the friends I reconnected with and the new ones I made. Although if I was going to live in Atlanta my two favorite areas are Midtown and Decatur. They are the most walkable of the areas within the Atlanta Perimeter. The Perimeter is the 64 mile long 285 highway that encircles Atlanta. Think Manhattan and its bridges and tunnels if you’re not within the Perimeter at best you can’t say you’re from Atlanta and at worst you’re not kewl.