“Hospitality-4”byNorthern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (Fairfax Chais licensed underCC BY 2.0
Even In Atlanta, people seem to be nicer--once they get out of traffic, that is. And if a lady says "well, bless your heart" to you, she's actually putting you down in the nicest way possible. That's hospitality!
“17th Street Bridge over Interstate 75/85 from Atlantic Station to North Midtown, Atlanta”bysylvaris licensed underCC BY 2.0
I-285, aka the Perimeter, is a circular dividing line for Atlanta. You're either OTP or ITP. Both sides like to brag how they never cross over to the other side, unless it's for work.
“Black Tea in White Cup”byA Girl With Teais licensed underCC BY 2.0
Sweet tea is the signature drink of the South. If you order iced tea in Atlanta, you will automatically receive sweet tea (with a lemon slice), unless you say you want unsweet tea (which is just plain weird, honestly). Many places don't even serve that kind of tea, or only make a little bit for the dieters that order it.
It's true, most people who call themselves Atlantans are from somewhere else. The rarest of encounters among Atlantans is that of a transplant resident (i.e. most residents) meeting a born-and-raised resident of the city. It's like encountering a rare wildebeest in its native habitat.
It mystifies the rest of the nation, but Atlantans run to the grocery store to stock up on things like milk and bread and toilet paper at the mere suggestion of snow flurries in the forecast. The city has always been ill-prepared to deal with inclement winter weather and residents know this. They always prepare to be snowed in for days if the forecast calls for even a light dusting of snow.
From fine dining and high-end gastropubs to plenty of inventive casual dining spots, hungry Atlantans like their food options. The city has also relaxed restrictions on food trucks, so the dining scene has gone mobile. There's even a food truck park with a bonanza of culinary delights that Atlantans flock to seven days a week.
There are a hundred or so streets in the Atlanta area named Peachtree and Atlantans have learned how to tell the difference between them. The original Peachtree Street turns into Peachtree Road in Buckhead. Most have some directional, such as NE, as well as another component to their name, such as Blvd. It drives newbies crazy, but spend enough time here and you'll learn how to navigate all these peachy thoroughfares, none of which have a single peach tree lining them, incidentally.
Since Atlanta is the state capital and the metro area takes up a good portion of Georgia and the world's busiest airport is nearby for catching a flight out of state, most Atlantans aren't too concerned or aware of the rest of the Peach State. Except for maybe their weekend vacation spots at the coast or in the mountains, which seem more like Florida and North Carolina to them anyway.
Atlantans like to complain about public transit in the city and the complaint usually goes something like "MARTA doesn't go where I need to go." Until friends and relatives visit, that is, then they're happy to tell them how convenient it is to take the train from the airport to the station nearest to their house where they can pick them up.
In the 1960s, MLK's hometown adopted the slogan "The City Too Busy To Hate" to let the world know it was open for business despite racial strife in other parts of the South. It worked. Atlanta has been booming ever since; to wit, the city's old airfield is now the world's busiest airport. Feature Image Source: Flickr user jramspott
