moving to atlanta

The bad part about Atlanta is the public transportation is pretty inadequate. Also the "metro" area is huge (and public transport only covers downtown). So I would really recommend you visit and get a feel for this area before making this choice.

Yes I recommend checking out some areas before your move to get a feel of what it would be like. Thats what I did before moving. I don't have a car- plan to get one by the end of this year since clinicals start as early as 6:00 am. But I've gotten around just fine without a car since I've been here. But I don't have young children. I think this is a more difficult task if you have children that need to be shuttled around all the time. I typically don't go out much- too busy studying. My school and home are on MARTA lines. I chose a location that was central to a lot of things I would need, bank,hospital,restaurants,grocery stores,the mall, etc - easy to get from my home to these places by bus and even walking in some instances. Its totally doable IMO. I take a cab when I go get groceries. But otherwise, I take MARTA all the time. Coming from a major metropolitan city, nope the transportation system here does not compare, but you do what ya gotta do. You can survive living in the ATL area without a car until you get one.

You might want to check out Downtown Decatur or Dunwoody-

Public Transportation covers more than downtown. Having said that, I totally agree that public transportation is not the best, but its doable if you have to do it. Just find a neighborhood that is on the MARTA line.