Elitist freedom-hating New Yorkers move to, hate on Atlanta
July 14, 2008 at 12:08 am by Thomas Wheatley in NewsThe New York Sun caught wind of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s finding that a large number of New Yorers are moving south to Atlanta for its cheap(er) housing and job market and asked some expats how they like their new humid and congested environs. Turns out there are some disappointed folks. From the article:
“Atlanta is a second-tier city,” Jessica Harlan, 36, who relocated two years ago, said. “New York is cooler and more exciting in every respect.”
“If my kids have a Southern accent, I will kill myself,” Brooklyn native Jodi Fleisig, an Atlanta resident since 1998, said.
“I haven’t found a single slice of pizza I have been remotely satisfied with,” Mr. Merritt, 34, said. “I am not going to the corner pharmacy and being welcomed by name any longer. It was a culture shock.”
“I miss the lawn on Central Park,” Simone Joye, 42, who organized the site after moving to suburban Stone Mountain three years ago, said. “I miss pizza — real pizza — and bagels and lox. I miss bridges and the water, which creates a sense of serenity. Atlanta has no beaches.”
New York Magazine picks up on the Sun’s story and allows a little cubicle-curmudgeon venting. Most commenters touch on the obvious — sprawl, traffic, McMansions — whereas others say that while everything may be a degree or two less posh and/or pulsing than New York, it’s not half bad.
The best comment refers to Spencer Sloan, an exiled Russian chessmaster who lives in Atlanta. He’s also a local blogger and artist who maintains GoldenFiddle.
Anyone who badmouths Atlanta will have to deal with Spencer Sloan, if he’s not summering in Belle Ile, France.
By Paladin on 07/11/2008 at 1:00pm
As someone who was born and raised in Atlanta and lived in New York for a year and a half — and who came away from it all with a bunch of wonderful, fun, family friendly stories! — I’ll say I sorely miss the city.
I’m a sucker for street life, the romance of subways, and having to adapt to a city where everyone is on the move during the day, and sleeping on top of one another at night. I’ve never felt a greater sense of pride and community than when I lived in New York — a feeling I’ve noticed Atlanta sometimes lacks since I moved back.
But I love this place. I love its characters, its faults and its potential. But “the second-tier of second-tier” cities? That’s a little harsh.
You New Yorkers might have your fair share of these characters, but y’all don’t have a bigass chicken! Eat that, Soho!
July 14th, 2008 at 1:03 am
I’ve met so many New Yorkers who share the sentiment of those quoted. It reminds me so much of those really annoying new kids in school who can’t and won’t stop talking about how awesome and cool their old school was.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:06 am
Poor souls. They must have really hated it, when the New York Yankees jumped to a three games to nothing lead on the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS, only to lose and stay at home while the Bosox went on to win the World Series. So unfair, being as they’re entitled to the championship whenever they’re in the playoffs.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:36 am
I was in grade school when I-75 was completed, and it seemed like overnight there was a huge influx of people from Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota into Cobb County where we lived at the time, and most of them had an understandably hard time adjusting to a new place and were always eager to let complaints fly.
Like many Atlantans, I’ve been hearing complaints about my hometown from relocated people since I was a kid. I’ve gotten a little more used to it over the years, but it still stings some. It helps that I can occasionally still hear some southern accents around town from locals.
I’m really happy with all the diversity we get from transplants, though. We wouldn’t have the excellent Rosa’s Pizza downtown if it wasn’t for transplanted peeps from the north east.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:41 am
I live in Atlanta. I like Atlanta. I don’t want to live in New York. I live well for a fraction of the money that my NYC/DC/Calif. pals spend for their places.
That said, what’s hateful about pointing out our shortcomings?
There is, in fact, much more to do New York.
The pizza and bagels are much better.
The Brooklyn Bridge and the East/Hudson rivers are a bit more pleasing to the eye than the ‘Hooch as spied from the Lester Maddox bridge on I-75.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I am soo sick of the pizza/bagels are better in NY comment that I want to punch the next person who says it in the fucking mouth. Guess what everybody, the grits/bbq/pecan pie/peach cobbler in NY sucks. But I don’t go to NY and bitch about how I can’t get good grits in the diners, you know why? BECAUSE I AM IN NY! That’s why. You know what also sucks about NY (and the NE in general)? NO FREE FUCKING REFILLS ON MY COKE!!
July 14th, 2008 at 9:20 am
And another thing – the people who are usually the biggets PITA’s about how incredibly awesome NYC is, are usually too-cool-for-school transplants from Indiana. And I got news for ‘Brooklyn native Jodi Fleisig’ – you won’t don’t Brooklyn/NY accent in Brooklyn, Manhattan or Queens anymore either. Andy quite frankly, that accent makes me want to pull my own head off.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:33 am
I am an ex New Yorker living in Atlanta for the past 7 years and you know I am so tired of other New Yorkers moving here and complaining that Atlanta is so backward and it so no NY and you know what I say to them? Take your A** back to NY then because GA is a beautiful state mind you I don’t like everthing but I would not move back to NY in a million years. Lets go Braves
July 14th, 2008 at 9:40 am
What a bunch of insufferable douchebags. My favorite, though, is Simone Joye, who dogs on Atlanta from her home in Stone Mountain. Because if I lived in Newark, I would probably hate Manhattan.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:42 am
The pizza/bagel thing is cliche, but its still true.
The thing that makes our pizza/bagel inferiority so striking is that we have so many places attempting them. It’s not like there’s inferior bbq on every block in nyc. Lousy pizza and bagels are everywhere in Atlanta.
I haven’t ordered grits/bbq in NYC, so I’ll take your word that they’re inferior.
I gotta say, however, I’m skeptical about your pie/cobbler declaration. There are more n’hood bakeries in New York than there are here.
I prefer Chicago pizza to NY Style.
July 14th, 2008 at 9:49 am
In Manhattan, Baton Bob and Bicycle Shorts Guy would be just another couple of oddballs in the never-ending freak parade. In Atlanta, they’re icons we all know by name.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:54 am
My city councilman up there would’ve given Bicycle Shorts Man a run for his money. That’s how cool NYC is.
But seriously, try finding good, affordable Mexican food up there after living in the South. It’s very, very difficult.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Thomas – that’s my point. Everywhere is different and regionalism is not a bad thing. Of course bagles are not going to be good outside of the tri-state area – there’s just not the Jewish population/tradition to support good bagle making – it’s that simple.
Just like it would be downright rude and imbecilic for me to go up to Vermont and complain about how I cant get a good bowl of Brunswick stew.
Also, Andisheh – I agree with your point about the bakeries – but I doubt you could find many pecan pies being baked there. What do you do if you really like pecan pie? Go outside and complain to everyone you meet in a 5 mile radius that you can’t get good pecan pie?
Finally – Long Island/northern NJ/southern Connecticut have no shortages of crappily built McMansions. Haven’t you seen a couple minutes of “Living Lohan?”
July 14th, 2008 at 11:23 am
After you cross the Williamsburg bridge into Manhattan, there is this huge billboard by the village voice that reads “Welcome to Mchattan.” Quite fitting for a city with a Duane Reade or McDonalds on every block.
I guess I just don’t get the bagel/pizza thing, for one I don’t even like bagels, but try finding a good chicken biscuit in NYC. Wait, you can’t because transfats are outlawed along with smoking ($8.50/pack!). The pizza I’ve had there was nothing special either.
The extensive public transit is the only thing I really enjoy.
I do think Atlanta can learn can learn something from New York. As more people move into the actually CITY of Atlanta, we need to make sure normal people can afford to still live hear. We don’t want to become a rich haven like NYC has become were all the poor are pushed out to the outer reaches.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I’m just glad this discussion FINALLY went in the right direction with atlpaddy’s allusion to “Living Lohan.”
July 14th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
You’re welcome christa, it’s the least I could do on this Monday afternoon.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Andisheh, there’s nothing wrong with pointing out shortcomings, but these are nearer condemnations. Like they’re just absolutely insulted by our unconscionable lack of good pizza. I mean HOW DARE WE!?
It as if b/c we don’t have these things that they’re used too/looking for then there must be nothing else of value in Atlanta.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Like BTI said, there are definitely things that Atlanta can learn from NYC, but also one has to realize how regionalism means different flavors.
I’ve been to NYC and I *loved* it…but I’m not looking for Atlanta be McNYC.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I tried getting indignant about all this but I just can’t work up anything. As a native, I have always had a love/hate relationship with Atlanta. We are everything that is good and bad about a young, fast-growing city.
There’s a reason those pizza-loving, southern-accent hating former New Yorkers live here and it ain’t because they hate it. If this makes them feel better, hooray. I like Atlanta.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
New York magazine’s ‘Intelligencer’ blog echoes this article and has lots of appropriate comments:
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/07/atlanta_the_seventh_borough.html
For local pizza, I recommend Fellini’s, Shorty’s and Fritti. For local bagels, Bagel Palace in Toco Hills.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Yeah, and if we had a beach, it’d just be overrun with obese rednecks, kinda like Whitewater with salt water and sand-up-the-butt. So what the hay, just have an icy pomegranate cosmo with your hot date, nevermind that he’s probably gay, at that deliciously dark, cool, tiny sushi place on Peachtree and pretend you’re in Tokyo.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hey, Narcissus, you mean Atlanta isn’t EXACTLY the same as NYC? Perhaps the fact that Atlanta doesn’t suit YOU as well as NYC, and WE have no problem with that, shows where the real problems lie.
I don’t know about “Living Lohan”, but after a few episodes of “I Love New York”, I decided I wasn’t missing much.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Thomas Wheatley, you are propagating the stereotype of the illiterate Southerner. This is a BLOOMBERG story, not NY SUN (it says it on the link that you posted). It was written by Steve Matthews, the head of the Bloomberg Atlanta bureau.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
These are interesting words you use. What is a bloomberg?
July 16th, 2008 at 9:44 am
This proves that FL has some of the best comments in Georgia.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
The most interesting part of this article is that none of the people interviewed live in ATLANTA. They all live in the suburbs.
I betting that these people wouldn’t be too happy in Bridgeport, Connecticut or Morristown, New Jersey.
October 17th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
I just moved from new york three months ago and i must say i really miss new york, atlanta is a good place to live but it’s so boring/backwards with not much to do. They need to get up with the times, they are about 25 years behind new york, they need transit: bus, trains, taxis, jobs and also ones that pay you, hang out spots the list is enless i will try to stick it out but i miss new york altanta does not even compare
May 15th, 2009 at 11:21 am
[...] to Atlanta, Dr. Frieden! There are many of your old neighbors already living here among [...]
June 9th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
If NYC is such a marvelous place, MOVE BACK! As a native Atlantan, I can’t say the flood of migrants from up north have done much for the city but make it congested and expensive. The gentility it used to be known for has vanished under a flood of rude big-city whiners.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I must say, my quote for this story was taken way way out of context. This reporter was intrigued by the number of NYers moving here and asked me specifically, “What do you miss about New York?” He also asked me, and I gave in great detail, what I love about Atlanta–but that is missing. To see a story with this slant that NYers, who welcomes the entire planet to our hometown, somehow “hate” a place we live is disturbing and borderline slanderous. Tom Wheatley should be ashamed of himself. I love America and chose to make Atlanta metro my home. Why? Because I can and its my right and freedom as an American citizen, period.
August 11th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Simone,
It looks like you’re adapting to the pace down here, since it took you over one year to respond to the original post.
If you’re upset that the positive things you said about Atlanta were not included in the article, then you should have taken it up with Steve Matthews at the New York Sun. But since the Sun no longer exists, I’ll guess you’ll have to track him down if you’re really that offended.
Thomas Wheatley only extracted quotes from the Sun article. And unless you lack a sense of humor or are very dense, you’d know that Wheatley’s headline was supposed to be a joke. The actual text of the article is quite sympathetic to your own views.
Oh, and if you going to sue somebody for this, it’s libel not slander.
August 11th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Simone,
Jay’s right. The headline was written in jest. If I offended you, I sincerely apologize. And welcome to Atlanta. ;)
August 19th, 2009 at 12:55 am
Hi Jay: Let’s begin with the meaning of slander. 1. defamation; calumny: rumors full of slander.
2. a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report: a slander against his good name.
Not going the legal route–not that serious-so libel does not fit in here. Thomas thank you for responding and clearing up the headline. I understand the humor aspect, but you do not know how this article has haunted me with potental employers and supporters of my nonprofit which helps Atlanta kids.
Jay, trust me I responded on this site when the article was first published (and since I did not see it any longer), I’ve “updated” and probably will continue to do so. Oh I reached out to Steve, believe me :-). No adjustments to be made to live in Atlanta–its a diverse city and thanks to the diversity–I now have Jewish friends who share their bagels and some Italians from NY lol who are making the pizza!
Ya’ll (pun intended) have a good day!