Atlanta redux
I was well acquainted with Sandy Springs & the general area best from the early 1970's. I'm not knocking North Fulton per se, and I'm aware that it's hardly alone in having become a sprawling retail, suburbian, densely-gridlocked area. There still are many little spots there that remind me of the past, and what it used to be like living there. My old high school was long torn down for a townhouse development. Most of the homes of my friends are long gone, replaced by pricey townhomes/residences on miniscule plots. Even back then we used to joke that there were going to be alot of redneck landowners driving Mercedes's in the future - how sad to see it have come to pass. The amount of open land views once appreciated has shrunk 90%+ for the development of housing/retail. We all fought to save the Fox Theatre back in the day - I wish we had had the foresight and resources to have stopped some of the onslaught that was to come.
My latest home is indeed Arizona. I've been passing through and visiting Flag, Sedona, and Tucson for years when I lived out west. I'm not another equity-fat Californian buying a second..third home in this area, be it for investment or personal use. I am a renter until I can plan my next move. Just a comment on Sedona. People are often overheard here saying, "..another day in paradise!" Well, red rocks only go so far. Traffic through Sedona is ghastly much of the week & weekend. The cut-through(to I-17), the Village of Oak Creek is better, but constantly growing too. Sedona has changed drastically since my visits ten year ago! The town is tourist-based mostly, jobs are few and low pay. Most people are over forty. For all the tourism hype, good restaurants are few and far between. Most people take there out-of -town friends & family to the Hyatt complex and the new BICE and Wildflower to woo them. Californians relate well to this type of foodservice. Reminds them of predictable dining like Puck Cafe were you can feel affluent without spending too much. But Sedonians have those red rocks - hooray for them. You'll hear alot or muttering from native Arizonian's (and recent transplants) about the "Californication" of Arizona - especially that sprawling mess called the Prescott Valley. The Cottonwood area in the Verde Valley is devoid of charisma - a place to await the nursing home, and she's growing fast too. Phoenix is where the jobs are of course, but who given a choice wants to breathe the air in the "Valley of the (smog) Sun? Well Californian's, at least Phoenix has Trader Joe's, har har. Some folks (who don't need current income) hide out in places like Jerome, up high above the Verde Valley. Good luck making it to a hospital in time if you live there though! Flagstaff is the best place there in my opinion, but locals decry the cost of homes and the growth too. At least Flag has a young spirit (University Northern Arizonia), good energy, pine trees and beautiful peaks, cleaner air, real diversity of seasons, cooler summer weather (than the oven to the south) and pleasant places to grab a bite. Anyway, enough jabbering for now. Anyone wanna discuss Miami, FL, the Catskills, the Upper East Side, LA?? It's fun to shot the s___ here, and exchange opinions. Peace (harder to come by these days) to all.