Atlanta has some of the friendliest people I have ever met. Even the homeless people (domicilially challenged?) were incredibly nice.
Let me set this up for you a little :: I live in Boston after having grown up near Philly. So, I pretty much was bred not to trust anyone I don’t already know. It’s a lethal cocktail for anti-social behavior. I straight-up wasn’t prepared for Atlanta. Whether it was fear or ignorance...or both...it was real and I know I'm not alone.
I come from a place of fear/mis-trust. However, every homeless person I passed in Atlanta, simply said hello and wished me a good day. Period. At first, I walked a little faster and held onto my stuff a little tighter. Then, something pretty cool happened. I found myself loosening up. Oh sure, I still had some lingering doubt that every interaction was a shakedown, or would lead to bad things, but I actually managed to appreciate the fact that this was part of Atlanta’s charm. (even if they didn't smell as good as Daniel Tosh's homeless fabreezing operation)
Is it reality…who knows. I’ve only been to Atlanta twice before and don’t remember the other trips. I left the city this time thinking, this is a place I would bring my family. It’s walkable, there are great parks, museums, sports (college and pro), and other attractions. There is an actual downtown with a lot of activity. Coca-Cola is headquartered in Atlanta, as is CNN, so they have that going for them too.
It's a fairly inexpensive city to travel too as well. There are definitely cheap flights to Atlanta and inexpensive 4-star hotels as well. I flew on AirTran from Boston for less than $150 round trip and stayed in the Ellis Hotel for $120 per night (The Ellis turned out to be one of my best hotel experiences ever...more on that at another time). Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has ranked as the world's busiest airport (by passenger traffic and number of landings and take-offs) since 1999.
What's my point is...I often don't have one so get use to that. But, it's not hard to get to Atlanta, it's pretty inexpensive to stay there, and, at least by my experience, it's a pretty nonthreatening place.
My family and I like to travel to different US cities to experience something different than Boston. It's usually cheaper than other vacations and is always educational. We've been to San Diego, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC in the past few years. For whatever reason, Atlanta never made the short list...I think that just changed.
What other cities am I missing? Where else should we explore?
