Atlanta (Buckead), GA
Can anyone speak on the finance/pe scene in Atlanta/Buckhead area? How is the general vibe compared to NY or CA? I get the feeling Atlanta is kind of the major hub of the southeast besides maybe Houston. But coming from a Boston or New York area might be tough transition right?
Also, how is it generally living in the south and in Atlanta/Buckhead area? I've lived in the northeast my entire life and am considering a move to ATL and the only area I know is Buckhead. How is the young professional scene/culture? I heard a lot the bar scene is like SEC greek life 2.0 and idk if I'm looking for that... but maybe I could find a southern belle haha who knows
I am from the Atlanta area and went to one of the large well-known prep high schools in the Buckhead/Greater Atlanta area and go to an Ivy now up north. In terms of the finance/PE scene there are several well-regarded PE firms in the area (Roark, MSouth Equity, Resurgens, etc.) as well as STRH and Stephens also has an Atlanta office. There are also a few well-know boutiques in the south such as Croft & Bender and Bowstring Advisors. Personally, I think Atlanta is one of the top cities in the US and especially the south to live in for younger people. Bar scene closer to downtown as well as Buckhead/Midtown area is solid and you will get a mix of college students from the area depending on where you go. Cost of living is relatively cheap and plenty of things to do (sports, festivals, good food). Compared to other cities in the south, Atlanta area is very diverse but still has a southern feel to it. Traffic is as bad and maybe even worse than advertised though.
Don’t live there currently but can confirm a lot of the above. STRH stands above a bit in terms of banks HQ’d in the city, but also presence of places like Stephens, HL, etc. and even JPM and GS have locations down there (although think they may have 1 analyst between the two of them right now, mostly senior folks involved in regional coverage). Lots of smaller boutiques either based in ATL or with offices down there.
PE is about like the above comment said. Roark is the big fish in the pond, but several other good shops scattered about. Probably not as finance heavy as many other towns, but given the number of F500 and other huge companies that are either based in ATL or have regional HQs, finance will follow to a degree.
Lifestyle is really solid, but very different than the NE. People really do just operate differently. People drive absolutely everywhere, so traffic is a mess truly. Not LA bad from what I hear, but right up there with any place else. Great food, great sports scene, great music scene, it’s a really solid town and definitely the capital of the SE. Not for everyone, but a great place to live and much cheaper than a lot of cities it’s size and way less than NYC/SF/etc.
Very true. People are more conservative, some in a Republican sense but a lot more in just a small-c personally conservative sense. It's kind of funny seeing people in their 20s and 30s dressed like my Dad did in the 90s - polos with sleeves past the elbow and stuff like that - and the frat swoop haircut is ubiquitous.
Loads of people take a boat to the lake on the weekends, own lake houses, etc. Drinking on a boat in a lake is a big thing. People love going to north or south Georgia out in the woods to hunt too at all times of year.
As a northerner, vacations were way more beach-centric to me growing up.
As long as you live near where you work, traffic isn't that bad. My commute is 5-10 minutes, max.
Atlanta traffic from the suburbs to Buckhead/Midtown is unreal awful, but that's what you get for living OTP
Very very different from NYC/Boston culturally. And if you didn't go to one of the rich prep schools or UGA you'll feel like an outcast. You're either "in" or you're "out" there.
Although I don’t know if I’ll go so far as to agree with you being “in” or “out”, I will follow-up my initial comment and say this is mostly true. It may just be what I have seen or personal experiences but personal and even family connections matter a lot. Although people are very welcoming and friendly, many friends I still have and go out with as well as with my older brother (who’s in IB at one of the biggest firms in Atlanta) either went to high school with me or to another neighboring prep school or college. It is very similar to the environment in and around prep schools in Baltimore (Dematha, McDonough, Boys Latin) where it almost “Matters” where you went to school and who you know to some people. Many people I know don’t reach that far outside of their private high school/big sec or elite school (UGA, Vandy, Notre Dame, UF, Ivys, etc.) group of friends. Its hard to describe but being a product of the environment and getting my current role specifically because of this shapes my view.
not relevant at all but being from baltimore, Dematha is more of a DC prep school, while mcdonough, loyola blakefield, BL etc are Baltimore
In my experience, this is overstated. Maybe the old Buckhead crew cares, but there are so many people who live, work, and succeed in Atlanta who aren't from Atlanta that it's a bit hard for this to be relevant.
If anything, it's a bit odd to run into the Lovett/Westminster/Pace -> UGA type of characters because those private schools kids go to Duke, Virginia, and the Ivy League and people all up and down the east coast are moving to Atlanta in droves.
Atlanta is the Capital of the South.
Buckhead is a lot of things, but it's relevance has passed, IMO. It's still a great place to live if you're rich and over 50, but people outside of Atlanta know Buckhead from 90's and 00's Buckhead. Midtown, Inman Park, O4W, West Midtown, etc. are all much more interesting neighborhoods these days.
Young professional life in Atlanta is very college sports-centric. Expect everyone to ask you where you went to college and what team you root for. People are wild - they actually watch college baseball religiously and remember SEC football draft classes from 10 years ago and shit. Bar life is inherently different than in the northeast because you have to drive/uber everywhere.
Would agree with pretty much all of this.
Excellent point that Buckhead is not the most exciting neighborhood in the city. It most closely emulates the Northeast living experience (which is a stretch, but you can live in a high rise apartment), but most people without families that I know down there prefer the O4W / Virginia Highlands / Midtown / Ponce City area way over the Buckhead area. Travel to Buckhead for fancy dinners, but anything young and trendy will be further downtown these days. Living down there is much more old house on an old street type living than it is high rises.
The college sports point is a funny one but absolutely true. There are plenty of people in the city who obviously don’t care for sports at all, but I’d call them the minority. As long as you’re willing to cheer for the team of whoever’s bar / house you’re at though, shouldn’t be a huge problem with regard to exclusivity.
I'd even argue Midtown is far more like northeastern cities due to walkability. Buckhead feels like a rich suburb with that just happens to have high-rises. If you have to drive everywhere (and in Buckhead you do) it doesn't feel very "city-like" to me. You can live in Midtown and walk to a bar, a restaurant, work, and Publix or Whole Foods, however.
100%. So many cool areas with great food options. Plus, the beltline is a huge plus.
Houston is the capital of the south. Atlanta is a small town compared to Houston and to Dallas/Fort Worth if we're being honest.
Texas is not really considered the South, it’s it’s own region really and combined with Oklahoma/New Mexico maybe another star or two the Southwest. But with the South as far as culture and history is shared, Atlanta is definitely the capital
Nah, man.
Both are just slightly larger than Atlanta. All three are top 10 MSAs.
Population is only one determining factor. Atlanta gets the title for reasons beyond headcount.
One of which is, Texas isn't "the South." It's Texas.
I’m a native Atlantan and a SEC school grad so here’s my two cents.
If you’re young and single, I’d think a lot about this decision. My buddy went to an Ivy and he connected with people from his school who moved to Atlanta after graduating. It was a small group but it sounds like most of them didn’t like it.
If you went to FSU or similar southern school, I’m sure you’d be able to find some semi familiar faces given the relatively large number of alumni. But if you’re a single, 27 year old Tufts graduate with no connections to the SE, I’m not sure how things would go. The young professional crowd is very SEC / southern school focused as others have said. I’ve heard similar things about cities like Seattle and Minneapolis. Great cities that can be hard for outsiders. I also remember reading a thread on here about a woman who lived in Atlanta for years but she ended up making more friends on her yearly 3-4 trips to LA.
Finding a “southern belle” would be difficult if you’re not in with the crowd this hypothetical girl runs with - it won’t matter how much you make as a PE Associate. This might sound ridiculous, but I would put your odds of dating a 9/10 southern girl higher in a city like NYC, DC or LA. Southern Girls in those cities are less likely to be running with the same fraternity / sorority crowd from college, less likely to be dating or married to their college BF etc.
When you get to the point in your life where you’re married with kids and established in your career, I think Atlanta is an awesome city. Cost of living, career opportunities, school options, overall lifestyle, etc are all solid. But as a young professional, things are different.
Of course, I’m a local so my experience is biased. You should reach out to other “outsiders” who have moved to the city and see what their experience has been. Because I’m willing to bet it’s totally different from a native Atlanta or southern school grad. I didn’t meet any outsiders while I was there, so maybe the two groups of people don’t interact at all, who knows.
As an "outsider" who lived there for 2 years right out of school, this is true from my experience. Everybody, girls and guys, runs with their SEC/greek life/high school circles and don't seem to get outside of that .
OP if you do move to ATL make sure you invest in a closet full of navy blazers and brown/grey slacks.
I always laugh when I attend a work event in ATL and everyone is wearing the exact same color combo described above.
Why is he talking in anon when we know he's an ATL stan
My uncle worked in atl for some time but went back to Dallas where he's lived most of his life (he's from the ny area). the traffic is really bad too but it's 1000x easier to live in a house that is extremely close to the corporate office buildings. the housing prices are way way cheaper than nyc area. He liked working in Atlanta but he's old and wasn't looking for what people here are. What I've learned from him about Dallas sounds more historically open/diverse than what people are describing here about Atlanta. He married a girl from the south actually. Downside is that it sounds rather boring and it's hot as hell as is Atlanta.
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