Looking to relocate and I know nothing about this part of the country.
…Sorry about being OT, I thought I was putting this in the Lav. Room
It smells kinda funny.
I’ve lived in both Marietta and Spartanburg. Don’t take the job in Spartanburg even if they offered you $200k/yr. It really, really sucks. It is a very small town with maybe 2-3 decent bars. Also, all the women, they are either in high school or engaged. I know this one girl that was 24 and unwed and actually not dating anyone. She was the oldest single girl that I could find. There isn’t anything to do in Spartanburg and life there is miserable.
Marrietta isn’t bad. It’s close to Atlanta which is good. Traffic sucks and housing is more than Spartanburg, but there is actually stuff to do and single women over the age of 21.
Ahhh, Cobb County. If you like your bread white and old southern, this is the place. North Atlanta is wonderful. Yes, the big problems are traffic, sprawl, and the heat/humidity. But suburban Atlanta is like that of any city. Marietta is one of the richest areas in the metro area and the people in the area do a good job of limiting eye sore construction, delapidated buildings, and ensuring that most of the uncontrolled growth is well planned.
Given the chance, I’d move back to Atlanta without hesitation. The ASO is getting a new Calatrava designed facility, new Aqaurium that will embarass the Chattanooga one, the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, Thrashers, too many great restaurants to list, Buckhead and the nightlife there, art galleries galore, and great outdoors destinations in all directions.
I live in Marietta, but I wonder why you are limiting yourself to that small an area. What do you want to know?
What do you want to know?
well, for one, how can you be alive and posting here if you are only a wacky character in a novel?
I have a good friend that has been bumping around the carolinas for about 10 years and just ended up in Greenville which is next to Spartanberg. She loves NC, but is really down on Greenville. Too boring, too conservative, bad schools etc. I think its really tough if you are over the age of 25, single and not from SC. If you are conservative, married and southern, it might be your cup of tea.
I spent a couple of good years in SC. I never made it to Spartanberg, but I imagine it’s a great place for cycling. Open roads outside of town, close to the mountains.
IM–hmmm Spartenburg and Marietta does this involve school? If it does, pm me and let me fill you in on what is going on over in Marietta, all kinds of changes–almost all of it good.
If it is for living, the place is growing on me. If you can’t make money in ATL, you can’t make money anywhere. Cobb county is good for resale values on homes. Living in Marietta I am at the most 25 mins from the airport (have caught an INTL flight in under an hour from my home). Traffic BITES, but ironically if you work downtown, it only takes me at the most 20 mins to get to downtown.
Single life is fun down here 
TONS of things to do. I work at staying IN the house to stay out of trouble. On that note, tons of concerts go through here at many different venues (inside/outside/quaint/large). Every sporting event you can imagine (although I truly dislike indoor football) and the shopping rocks.
I think the single favorite thing about this area…the North Ga Mtns. Absolutely love training in them. Kayaking is next on my list, and the Velodrome just got re-opened. Riding on the roads can be dicey. Very few bike lanes, but tons of bike groups. There are some decent training routes that I feel completely safe on even in the middle of the night.
Depending on your work, there are odd rules for different professions, and Cobb county holds true to that rule. There is a good old boys network down here, and I am slowly learning the lingo. Newest word, PIDDLING. Cracks me up everytime.
One last thing, just expect to be pulled over at some point if you travel on US41. It is inevitable. I don’t think there are speed limits on I285, but there are on I85.
I lived in Columbia for a few years. Good restaurants. Very nice cycling community.
If you are into suburbia on steroids, horrible traffic, Creationism and are homophobic, you’ll feel right at home in Cobb county. But on the plus side, you are close to Atlanta and about an 45 minute - 1 hr. drive from the north ga mountains, which thankfully is mostly national forest and can’t be swallowed by suburbia. Great riding, hiking, fishing etc.