Bermuda Paper Recommends Atlanta for Vacation
Decatur Metro | July 7, 2011Royal Gazette reporter Robyn Skinner recently wrote an article for the Bermudian paper titled, “Atlanta: an exciting city worth visiting“. With the bad press Atlanta’s been receiving lately from the travel mags, I figured this was probably some good medicine. Here we go…
Without a doubt the second reason for visiting Atlanta is the generosity of the people. Honestly, how many places have you visited where a stranger on the train offers to call your hotel for you? And where else can you go where the person selling you tickets for an exhibit gives you hints on how to save your money in their city? Or where the servers are so friendly in restaurants they offer to walk you to the pharmacy you need to find? That never happened in New York City (sorry NYC, I love you, but …..)
The article glows (yes, glows) on from there. Of course, not all ATL tourist destinations are what they’re cracked up to be. Even for this southern-struck writer.
Here I will have to interject with one NOT to do in Atlanta: Do not visit the Atlantic Underground. The guides exclaimed: “the best nightlife”, “great shops” and on and on. Well, I tried it at night and I tried it during the day and I would say……SKIP IT. There was no nightlife to speak of and the shops were…..well if you want to shop in Atlanta you can find a better place.
I guess it sorta makes sense. If you live near some of the greatest beaches in the world, you’re not looking for a beach vacation. Sure you can go to any number of other interesting U.S. cities, but if you want to avoid the ocean for a week, where better to lose yourself than amongst the trees of Atlanta?
h/t: Atlanta Business Chronicle
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The review is accurate, I agree. When I first moved to Decatur, I was struck by how friendly and welcoming people were, ranging from apartment neighbors to downtown merchants. The same attitudes and helpful behavior carried through on MARTA, downtown Atlanta, Emory clinics, Emory campus, etc. I felt “welcome”. Lots to see and do in Atlanta and nearby – I’m glad this reviewer gave our great city a high rating.
I’m with Chira. When I visit south Florida after being here 12 years, I’m quickly reminded of how NICE people are here.
Sure, Atlanta has its problems…what metro area doesn’t? But there is a lot of history, art, culture and enjoyment for visitors to experience. Stone Mountain, the Fox Theatre, High Museum, Cyclorama, Piedmont Park, Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Ebenezer Baptist, downtown Decatur (of course I had to include that!), CNN Center, Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia Aquarium, etc.
Living here, we naturally tend to look at Atlanta with a more critical eye. Sometimes, I have to step back and see it from a visitor’s perspective. And what I see is a place that has a lot of attractions for visitors.
A recent visitor from Modesto, CA, was VERY IMPRESSED with what he experienced in Atlanta during a 5-day stay. We must have walked 5 miles in the downtown area and enjoyed every minute of it, with some great Indian food too. Someone told him there are 50+ versions of Peachtree in Atlanta street names — does anyone know the exact number?
Not that I really care as I hate them both, but did the Bermuda writer mean Atlantic Station or the Atlanta Underground?
Atlantic Underground is what happens when two misbegotten development projects who love each other very much get together and make a baby.
On the bright side, Underground does have Food Truck Wednesdays, 11-2 at the Alabama St entrance. I stopped by yesterday and picked up a tasty overpriced cupcake called the “Penelope.”
The make-it-before-your-eyes candy store in Atlanta Underground is a great place to go – if you can go there and NOT buy some of their wonderfully fresh candy, I would wonder why…
Hmmm. I can think of a lot of places around the U.S. that seem friendlier to me than Atlanta–Maine, Vermont, Alaska, the Dakotas, Northwest, upper MidWest, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, etc. While it’s true that we don’t have the confrontational social style or harsh accents of New York/Boston/Philadelphia/Newark/Chicago etc. or the superficiality and coldness of California/Phoenix/Las Vegas, I’d say our “Yoo Hoo! Can I help you?” factor is fairly low. Decatur is a major exception because we are such a tight neighborhood that when we see someone we don’t know, we immediately start questioning them to try to figure out which DM poster they must be.
Oh p’shaw!
Karass, please, decaf–you listed STATES; clearly the article was drumming up business for a CITY.
Portland (ME), Burlington, Montepelier, Barre, Williston, Concord (NH), Anchorage, Portland (OR), Seattle, Vancouver (WA), Madison (WI), Milwaukee, Jackson, Ft. Collins, Pueblo, Albuquerque, Pecos (NM), Los Alamos, Boise, Missoula, Brevard (N.C.), Chapel Hill, Frankfort (KY) are among the many places that have seemed warmer and friendlier to me than Atlanta. When I first moved to Metro Atlanta a long while back, I found it’s car-oriented strip shopping mall atmosphere to be fairly cold and anonymous–Los Angeles County without the ocean and mountains. But I’m glad that visitors from elsewhere are finding it otherwise. And I’m not surprised that a visitor enjoyed MARTA. I’ve had lots of friendly experiences on MARTA and have never understood the anti-MARTA sentiment among many Metro Atlanta residents. Decatur is another friendly haven in Atlanta. If we ever got the former Holiday Inn property up to speed, I could see the guidebooks saying “Stay in warm, friendly walkable Decatur and take the train or rent a car to see the sights around Atlanta”.
Ahhhhhhh – Pecos, NM – the little general store on the entrance road to one of the most fabulous wilderness areas in that beautiful state. Now I am imagining myself buying camping food from their shelves and looking northward to a few days of isolation and peace of mind along the beautiful Pecos river. I just drive until I see “the right spot” to camp, and then I’m “in”… MANY nights spent within the sound of the river and the wind-sighing forest…
ahh… I’m there now!
I’ve lived in Atlanta since 1983 and am now spending the majority of my time in Rhode Island and the Bahamas…which obviously means I’m not in Decatur (or Atlanta, for that matter…). I recently reflected on my memories of Atlanta in a blog entry I wrote, “Reflections through a Southern Window”. Dunno, seemed appropriate to post here in this thread. Thanks.
http://katieblack.com/reflections-through-a-southern-window/
It’s really amusing to think about where people who live in Bermuda go for vacation.
Seems that the place you find friendly are not very diverse or is it just me.
It’s just you, your preconceived notions, and judgemental viewpoint.
Actually, a lot of those places are a lot more diverse than Decatur in terms of Hispanics and Native Americans. Albuquerque is only 43% white/Caucasian.
ABQ is so soooo cool. Frontier restaurant anyone? I know that area like the back of my hand. And a day hiking in the bosque along the nearby Rio Grande can’t be beat…
Makes me crazy when anyone generalizes about any state or city being more “friendly” than another. In my experience (and according to my fairly mature sense of logic), there are nice people and rude people everywhere in the world, and most humans are nice, or at least friendly. Especially to tourists and other people who seem like they need help.