Should I Stay or Should I Go

I don't talk much about this, but my hubby and I have been strongly considering relocating in a few years. There are other places in the US that seem like nice places to live, and we are pretty much OVER living in Atlanta. This past weekend we got the opportunity to be with great friends of ours who live in another town a few hours away from Atlanta. This is our second time visiting with them, and just like last time, we were sad to leave. Twice as sad this time, because we now have two sets of friends that live there. But we were not only sad to leave because they are such wonderful friends, we also just weren't super excited about heading back to Atlanta.

We talked a little about this on the drive back. Later during the drive while lost in my own thoughts, I started making a list of pros and cons of staying in Atlanta vs leaving Atlanta for a much smaller town. Here is what I came up with:

Pros of staying Atlanta:

My family is here (kids are already close to their grandparents and cousins)

Most of my friends are here

I grew up here and know the history of this town (easier to measure trends and patterns, where to live, etc...)

Schools are a little better

The sky's the limit for growth in my career field

Affluent Blacks are everywhere here (good for the kids to see and experience this)

Not as racially polarized

My hairstylist is here...there are none like him anywhere :-)

Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and Perimeter Mall

Cons of staying in Atlanta:

Traffic, traffic, traffic

Affluent blacks are everywhere here (this can also be bad here; many "black bourgeoisie" attitudes are downright MEAN)

People are too superficial here in general (looks, profession, home, vehicles, etc...)

City of Atlanta government SUCKS!

Crime rate has grown tremendously


As you can see, the pros of staying in Atlanta outweigh the the cons, but only by a little. The cons are mostly centered around traffic and the superficiality of Atlanta. Later on, I'll make up a list of pros and cons of moving to a small town (strange as it may sound, this list won't be exactly the same as the pros and cons of staying in Atlanta).