What I like about living in Atlanta, GA

I recently moved to the Atlanta area. @dneighbors on twitter asked the question "Why Do You Live Where You Live?" It may be that I just love Atlanta, or maybe cause it felt so good to get out of Phoenix. Let me paint a picture for you.

Here is my perspective. Being born and raised in Phoenix, AZ and then moving to the Atlanta area in my thirties was a monumental change. The culture, weather, terrain are all starkly different.

Phoenix: hot, dry, dusty, smoggy, transient culture, California rejects, kind-hearted souls, sunburn, sunny days, prickly cacti, rocky moon-like surfaces, smelly dairy farms, cotton fields, traffic cameras, migrants standing on corners, 90 degree low temperatures, blast oven heat in your face from April to November, the sweet smell of jasmine and orange blossoms on spring nights.

Atlanta: Cool breezes, smell of pine in the air, festivals in the park on beautiful days, a sense of community, long summer days by the pool, peach cobbler, wild rasberries, blackberries, and blueberries growing in summer, smell of chocolate in the spring when the Magnolias bloom, blooming wisteria, azelia flowers, the old narrow streets of mid town, the rolling hills of Atlanta, every street named "peachtree" downtown, the aquarium, the college football, the reddest red of the maples in the fall, the greeniest of green of the pines against the deep blue sky, the "oceans" of kudzu, the brisk autumn breezes delivering a blanket of red, brown, and yellow leaves, the southern hospitality, neighbors helping neighbors, the squirrels, the bright red cardinals, the shady paths in the park, the fireflies, the geese, the deer