If you feel that the hustle and bustle of life in the Tri-State area is becoming more than you can handle, look into moving from NY to Atlanta. When moving to Atlanta, you will find a lot of urban excitement and it’s famous Southern hospitality. Moving from NY to Atlanta will give you more space to spread out, plus you’ll have access to a booming job market, a terrific music scene, pro sports teams, and delish cuisine for a mere fraction of NYC living costs.
What to Know About Moving from NY to Atlanta
What are the pros and cons you can expect when moving from New York to Atlanta? Here at Al’s Moving and Storage we are a leading NY to Atlanta moving company. We will provide the answers to some commonly asked questions that may help you decide if moving to Atlanta from New York is the right choice for you.
Weather and Climate
First off, one benefit of living in Atlanta is warmer winters. With average January highs of around 52° F and lows that drop to an average of 33°, your Atlanta winters will be much toastier than what you’re used to in New York. Atlanta rarely has freezing daytime temps that require all the coats, mufflers, hats, gloves, and boots you bundle in to stay warm during an NYC winter.
The odd snowstorm, while brief, can shut down the city because no one knows how to manage Atlanta’s typical one and a half inches of annual snow. About 50 inches of yearly rainfall keeps the verdant hills and forested areas of Atlanta beautifully green and lush. Summers will be hot and humid, often climbing into the mid-90s, but that’s not all that different from NYC’s sweltering muggy summer days.
Housing and Cost of Living
Another highlight is that you can truly look forward to saving some money if you move from NYC to Atlanta. The overall Atlanta cost of living is just 7% higher than the US average but 74% lower than in NYC. Your most significant savings will probably be on housing. Buying a home in Atlanta will cost 163% less than in NYC, making homeownership a real possibility. And Atlanta’s range of neighborhoods offers a wide variety of home types, from historic Victorians to sleek modern high rise condos.
As of summer 2020, the median home value in Atlanta is $299,308. Compare that to the NYC median home price of $680,500, and you can immediately see the significant savings. You’ll also see substantial savings in rental costs. The median price for a two-bedroom rental in Atlanta is $1,243, while in New York City, the average is $2,049 for a two-bedroom apartment.
In addition to significant savings on housing, you’ll also enjoy lower costs for standard expenses. In Atlanta, your transportation costs will be 47% lower than in NYC, and your utility costs will be 45% lower. You’ll also save, on average, about 22% on health costs and 18% in spending on food and groceries.
Educational Opportunities
As a New Yorker, you’re familiar with the city’s excellent private and public education options. Of Atlanta’s four public school districts, Fulton County School District has the largest number of schools with above-average ratings. Atlanta also has 383 private schools. Georgia’s graduation requirements are some of the highest in the country, and over the past eight years, the graduation rate increased by over 10%. However, the college readiness index score is 6.7 of 10.
Both cities offer outstanding higher education opportunities. Atlanta is a center of post-secondary education with over 23 colleges and universities. Emory University, Georgia State, and Georgia Institute of Technology are just some of the Atlanta institutions that provide exceptional higher education. And keep in mind that Atlanta is an educated city – about 40% of Atlanta’s workforce has a bachelor’s degree or higher. HIRE TRUSTED MOVERS
Transportation and Traffic
Let’s start with the fact that as a world-class transportation hub, Atlanta is home to the busiest airport (ATL) on the planet. But you’re probably more interested in how you’ll get around in Atlanta.
Most likely, you’ll need a car and driving will require a major emotional adjustment, because let’s face it, Atlanta traffic is nasty. The city is sprawling, the significant interstates grind to a halt at commute times, and unless you live in a neighborhood near Downtown, the city isn’t walkable.
So given these challenges, what will your Atlanta commute look like? Atlantans spend 26.3 minutes commuting one way, and although this is a shorter commute than NYC’s 41 minutes one way, the Atlanta commute is reportedly more stressful. While 57% of NYC residents use public transportation, only 10.2% of Atlantans use the public rail and bus system, called MARTA. That puts 69% Atlantans on the freeways driving their personal vehicle to work, congesting roadways, and experiencing commuting stress.
However, the BeltLine, one of the nation’s largest urbanization projects, offers some relief to roadway congestion. Many residents claim this project has transformed Atlanta by breaking down barriers between neighborhoods and has increased residents’ quality of life by providing 22 miles of beautiful jogging, walking, and bike paths throughout the city. The BeltLine greenway is popular with cyclist commuters and impressively connects to businesses and homes in 48 neighborhoods.
Economy and Job Growth When Moving From NY to Atlanta
Atlanta is a significant player on the international commerce scene, just like New York. Some 26 Fortune 1,000 companies maintain headquarters in metro Atlanta, and 16 of those companies, including UPS, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, and Delta Air Lines, are on the elite Fortune 500 list.
According to WorkSource Atlanta, over 55,000 local jobs in technology and healthcare will become available by 2024. Forbes magazine lists Atlanta as one of its “Five US Cities Poised to Become Tomorrow’s Tech Meccas.”
In 2019, the job market increased by 2.9%, and over the next ten years, experts anticipate jobs will grow by 46.8%, a significant rate over the US growth average of 33.5%. NY’s future job growth over the next ten years is forecasted to be only 25.7%. It looks like job opportunities in Atlanta far outshine options in New York.
The key job growth segments, according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber, are financial technology (fintech), health information technology, cybersecurity, mobility and IoT (Internet of Things), smart grid technology, and film/digital media/entertainment tech. Thanks in large part to Atlanta, Georgia is the number one filming location in the world.
Moving From NY to Atlanta: Culture, Diversity, and Demographics
The Atlanta city population is 465,230. Compare that to NYC’s 8,400,000 residents, and you can easily see when moving from NY to Atlanta you’ll feel more space and breathing room. Even with the Atlanta metro area housing over 5,700,000 million people, the density is 3,431 people per square mile compared to NYC’s 27,000 per square mile. And with one of the highest LGBTQ populations per capita, just behind Seattle and San Francisco, Atlanta is considered the LGBTQ capital of the South.
Atlanta was a major organizing center of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s, and today, 52% of residents are African American, 37% are White, 4% Asian, 5% Hispanic, and 2% are of other ethnicities. But you’ll find diversity in more than just its residents – the thriving cultural scene is alive with music, food, film, and sports.
When asked about the pros of moving from NY to Atlanta, many residents mention the impressive live music, nightlife, and food scenes. From the Fox Theatre to Eddie’s Attic, you can enjoy live entertainment of all kinds, along with some killer cocktails and cuisines, every night of the week.