Why we relocated to Atlanta

My wife and I never clearly explained all the reasons we decided to relocate to Atlanta.   We've mentioned it in small talk to coworkers, close friends and family but I want to make sure I document it for future generations and remove any ambiguity. 

Tori and I settled in Philadelphia after school and we've lived there for about 10 years.  Truth be told, I only moved to Philadelphia because Tori was already living and working there but that’s another story.  Tori is from Mobile, AL.  Her sisters live in Nashville, TN and the rest or majority of her family is from Jackson, MS.  In short, she’s from the south.  Me, I’m from New York and have family scattered in Orlando, D.C., Canada and the list goes on.   

In 2004, my mother retired from her career working with the homeless and mentally ill and moved from New York to Atlanta with my sister, Tracie.  Why Atlanta?  Honestly, I think most NYer’s are fascinated by the notion of ‘land’ and having a home bigger than a 2 bedroom apartment.  For whatever the reason, Atlanta was my mother’s new home and as a result, I started traveling down there (or here) more often.

While we were able to travel down to Atlanta, Jackson, MS and Mobile, AL once or twice a year, it wasn't enough for Tori as she is very close to her sisters and parents.  I want to say that it was roughly 2008 or 2009 that it really hit Tori that she wanted to move to the south to get more time with her family.   I had no strong ties to Philadelphia so I was on board.  The next step was to decide on a city and get there.  After checking with our respective employers and weighing the pros and cons of several cities, we decided on Atlanta. For one, my mother is getting older and could use an accessible support system.  Moving to Atlanta also put us in driving distance to family in Jackson, MS, Orlando, FL, Mobile, AL, and Nashville, TN.  On top of that, my half-sister lives nearby in Fayetteville, GA with my niece and nephews.  Tori also has an aunt in Decatur and a cousin in Mableton.    

With one son and second on the way, Atlanta provides us access to our family and more importantly, will allow my son’s to develop relationships with extended family.   I miss my friends in Philadelphia.  I miss them a lot.  I miss winters with snow and pizza.  FYI – Atlanta does not have good pizza.    All of that aside, nothing compares to creating opportunities for my children to develop strong family ties.

As of writing this post, we've lived in Atlanta for about 5 months.  We are still getting used to it all; particularly the traffic.  We've been living with our cousin, Ondrea while we look for a home. Turner is loving his new school and we generally can get around town without getting lost.  We’re happy to be here and look forward to establishing our own roots in Atlanta while being accessible to family and enjoying the close proximity to everyone.