She’s not perfect, but as a city Atlanta is a pretty sweet place to live. Beautiful neighborhoods and day access to beach and mountains, reasonable cost of living, a diverse population, decently good climate, a variety of cultural and educational opportunities, and restaurants to please most palates and wallets.
My kids were born here, but I’m not a true native. After spending most of my life in Miami, and then a year in Westchester County, NY, my dad’s company transferred him to Atlanta when I was a high school sophomore. My parents bought a house in the Chamblee-Tucker area, and I was enrolled at what was then Henderson High School near Northlake Mall. We arrived in December and I recall that my first day of school, set for the day back from winter break, was delayed by nearly a week when we were hit with one of Atlanta’s most infamous ice storms. To us, the storm seemed an incredible thing -- both beautiful and destructive. The ground and trees were coated with ice nearly an inch thick, and of course the power went out -- for days. Though I was 16 years old, I had experienced snow for the first time in my life only the year before in New York, so this was pretty amazing. Of course, as I would soon discover (and others know well), it wouldn’t be the last paralyzing ice or snow event I’d ever encounter here.
I made friends at school, got confirmed at The Temple, and got my first ever job at Roger’s Pharmacy working the cash register, filing prescriptions and shelving products. Later one of my best friends and I would take the # 91 Marta bus to jobs we had at the Colony Square ice rink. I’m guessing not everyone knows about when you could ice skate in Midtown Atlanta. Transferred yet again (yeah that sucked), my family moved back to New York at the start of my senior year of high school. But when my dad finally quit the company to start his own business, my parents decided they would return to Atlanta. When I graduated with my journalism degree from Kent State University, I too came back and ever since have called Atlanta home.
Our city has its faults: local government corruption, public school scandals, traffic gridlock enough to make you cry, the insult of the Braves moving to Cobb, ,etc. But for me, it’s a comfortable place with a lot to offer people of all ages. I launch this blog with the intention of sharing not only my thoughts and experiences about living in Atlanta, but also to advocate for thriving communities everywhere. If this platform can serve as a place for me to drop some insights and opinions, as well as share information, I’ll consider it a success.
