New aviator going to Atlanta for Reserves

[Pedro]

Hello, all

I'm new to the forum, and I have some questions for anyone who cares to answer. I'll be headed to Atlanta shortly for my two-years AD in the Reserves, and I was wondering who has been to Atlanta and what to look out for...??

Specifically,

1. NAS Atlanta is in Marietta, is that where most members live, or do they live in other towns/counties around there. Also, where are some of the nicer neighborhoods?

2. Is NAS Atlanta apart of Dobbins AFB, or is it simply located close by?

3. Generally, is it a nice place to live?

4. How's the night-life? And how long would it take me to drive/take a taxi downtown in the evening?

5. How expensive is real-estate in the area? I would like to buy a house when I get there if I can afford it.

5. Any advice on how the reserve squadrons operate would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

 

[UncleFester]

Wow... how'd you pull that off? And what are you driving?
I've been through Atlanta on XCs a few times. It's a semi-isolated corner of Dobbins, sort of a naval aviation ghetto. There are one or two Hornet squadrons and one E-2 squadron there, plus some Marines, I think. Dobbins is one of those sleepy little bases that is only kept alive through pork-barrel. This used to be Newt Gingrich's district, remember. There's some choice nightlife nearby, maybe 20 mins down the road.

 

[VarmintShooter]

Hello, all

I'm new to the forum, and I have some questions for anyone who cares to answer. I'll be headed to Atlanta shortly for my two-years AD in the Reserves, and I was wondering who has been to Atlanta and what to look out for...??

Lived there for three years ...

1. NAS Atlanta is in Marietta, is that where most members live, or do they live in other towns/counties around there. Also, where are some of the nicer neighborhoods?

Depends what you are looking for (house or apartment), but you can find nice neighborhoods fairly close to the base, you can also find some crappy areas. My advice ... try to live inside the perimeter ("itp" in the apartment guides) if you can afford it. You'll be going against traffic, which is key! Be sure to drive from any prospective house to the base during rush hour before you buy it. You'll be very sorry if you don't.

Here's a map ...

http://www.coldwellbankeratlanta.com/homes/SearchArea.cfm

I'd start by looking in 51, 21, 22, 73, 72, 71. The base is in area 73 and be warned that ANY travel on I-285 during rush hour is likely to really, really suck. Bad. I wouldn't suggest trying to buy a cheap house and commute a long distance to work. It used to take my wife 2-3 hours to go 35 freeway miles to and from work. We moved.

2. Is NAS Atlanta apart of Dobbins AFB, or is it simply located close by?

They are one and the same. Air Force and Army buildings are on one side of the field, Marine Corps and Navy on the opposite side (basically). You don't have to leave the base to get from one to the other.

3. Generally, is it a nice place to live?

I liked it. My wife liked it. Our friends like it too. Can't speak for everyone though. If you have a spouse they shouldn't have trouble finding work, and should get paid more than they are generally used to getting (at least, my wife gained almost 10K/year).

4. How's the night-life? And how long would it take me to drive/take a taxi downtown in the evening?

I'm not the best person to ask, but go to Buckhead if you want the 21 year old club scene. Go to Virginia Highlands if you want the dark beer, yuppie, intellectual scene.

You also have professional sports in Atlanta. Braves, Hawks, Falcons, and (best of all) Thrashers. Well, Thrashers are there if the NHL ever starts up again. You can get cheap tickets to the Braves and Thrashers games at least, and a few years back the Falcons tickets were dirt cheap (before Vick was big), not sure now.

If you like food you'll have lots to choose from. Little Bangkok (located near the strip clubs so that I felt at home) was excellent for Thai. Alfredo's for Italian was in the same area and also excellent. Moe's was good fast Mexican (some may not like it, but I did). Plenty of others, those were just the ones that popped to mind.

5. How expensive is real-estate in the area? I would like to buy a house when I get there if I can afford it.

Can be very expensive, depending on where you live.

5. Any advice on how the reserve squadrons operate would also be greatly appreciated.

Can't help you here.

 

[Grant]

Little basic info on the NAS... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/atlanta.htm

 

[Banjo33]

Little Bangkok located near the strip clubs? Hmmmm, somehow that sounds fitting. Or awfully judgemental of asians, depending on which way you look at it.

 

[Pedro]

Great, thanks for all the input. And thanks for warning me about the traffic VarmintShooter, I had heard it can get bad. If anyone else has anything to add, feel free.

 

[bigsur009]

I live in Vinings now (ITP) and it is only about a 10 minute trip up the road (without ever having to get on I-285 or I-75). Its probably the nicest area around, but buying a house/townhouse in old Vinings would be expensive ($350k+). The Smyrna area (which some people over there call Vinings to increase their property value) is a tad closer to the field, and has a mix of really crappy ghetto houses and really nice expensive new ones. You'll just have to look around once you get there and feel it out.

As for nightlife, its great. Its a 15-20 minute drive into town and only costs $20 to take a cab back to that area. Not cheap, but beats the hell out of a DUI. There is Buckhead if you're into the college co-ed scene (who isn't?), there's Midtown if you're more into the trendy club scene, and of course as already mentioned there's the Highlands, which isn't nearly as yuppy as it used to be. There are even a couple of decent bars in the Vinings area that don't require a long drive and are generally loaded with people, albeit the yuppy variety.

I live in the area right now while working in town and waiting for OCS, so I'm more than happy to help in any way I can. Just let me know.

 

[bennett4362]

we live in atlanta right now, and i can pretty much ditto everything varmitshooter and bigsur said.

real estate in atlanta, mostly surburban atlanta (marietta, symrna, etc would count) is a really good deal. the market's growing fast, but is still affordable. to get the best deal you would have to live farther out and commute to work, but it doesn't have to be as bad as a 3 hour commute. we've bought two houses here, still have one, and are in the process of selling one. good deals.

there's sports like varmitshooter mentioned, but also lots of culture, both the artsy kind (the opera, ballet, van gogh, etc) and the people kind; atlanta is one of the most multicultural cities in the south, if not the US. almost every kind of entertainment also comes to atlanta, so if there's something/someone you'd like to see, there's a great chance you'll get to.

atlanta hartsfield jackson international airport (i wanted to use the whole name b/c that just really cracks me up) is the busiest airport in north america and you can get any flight any where, usually for a really good deal. if you like to go places, it can really come in handy.

my husband and i absolutely love living in atlanta; we're sorry to have to move away next month.

 

[bennett4362]

dobbins and nas atlanta don't offer anything really as far as services go (commissary, tricare facilities if you're married, etc), but fort mcpherson (a large army base) is in the south of the city and has everything you'd need. we've gone there for pcs meetings, to take care of tri-care business, to the commissary, etc. so although you're at a small base, you'll still have access to services like that if that's an issue for you.

 

[Pedro]

Wow, AWESOME responses. This has been more helpful than I could ever have imagined. I'm getting positively giddy about the prospect of living there. Thanks all.

 

[Fly Navy]

Yes! Awesome Avatar!

 

[Pags]

Don't forget the Clermont Lounge. Gotta hit up the Clermont.

While the pro sports teams have already been mentioned, don't forget that Georgia Tech is right downtown if college football or hoops are your thing.

If I got the chance to move back to ATL, i would live inside the perimeter, probably downtown in some of the newer complexes that are being built up. Atlantic Station will be ridiculous in a few years once they get the multiplex and aquarium built.

And if you're a fan of good beer (and who isn't, really?), you gotta try out Sweetwater Brewery. They're a local micro-brew and they make some delicious beers, plus if you go on their brewery tour, a couple of bucks (used to be 3) gets you a pint glass, 4 beers, and the tour.

 

[bigsur009]

For Sweetwater, its $5 now, and its on Thursday evenings. The best Thurs. afternoons in the summer.

If you're into that, then you should also go to Atlanta Brewing Company. Its the same kind of deal, but its on Friday afternoons, and it right in Midtown so you can walk to other bars afterwards.

From Braves games to mountain biking to drinking; trust me, there are no shortage of fun things to do around here.

 

[Pedro]

Excellent. I LOVE beer. Anywhere I can practice my numchucks skills?

 

[Pags]

For Sweetwater, its $5 now, and its on Thursday evenings. The best Thurs. afternoons in the summer.

I guess they have to raise the price to pay for their new digs. I haven't been to the new brewery, but I hear it's awesome. Plus, it isn't in the ghetto.

Do they still have the Monday afternoon one too?

And even at the new price of $5, it's still a good deal any time of the year. Back in college, my roommates and I used to go at least once a week and our cupboards were filled with those pint glasses.

There also used to be Dogwood Brewery, but there beer was nowhere near as good as Sweetwaters.