[tuxidomasx]

Basically, the article says Atlanta is good because the cost of living is cheaper, there is a lot of smart talent due to the educational institutions, and the city is seeing an increase in both communication and transportation infrastructure.

Downsides mentioned (in comparison to the more popular startup cities) are the lack of startup investment capital, not as many people with an entrepreneurship mentality, both of which lead to a less-active startup culture.

However, I wonder what the effects would be if Atlanta becomes a startup hub on par with NY or San Francisco. I rather like the fact that it's cheaper to live in Atlanta than most big cities.

An increase of capital to the local economy would result in rise in the cost of living, which (I believe) is one of oft-cited reasons for moving there. A 3 bedroom townhouse in a very nice residential area for ~$150k isnt unheard of.

[laurentoget]

Believe me it would take a lot of startups to even make a dent in the amount of available housing at bargain price.

I would be more concerned by the fact that traffic is a nightmare and there is not much hope the state of georgia would ever get their act together and build even a half decent transit infrastructure.

[rayiner]

Traffic isn't exactly a picnic in Silicon Valley. And on the traffic front, there is a key advantage to living in Atlanta: while it's not possible to live entirely without a car in the city, it's entirely possible to live close to work inside the city, because rents are so cheap. Traffic inside the city itself really isn't that bad--it's traffic in and out of the city from the suburbs.

[cglace]

I doubt the small increase in capital from bringing in more startups would have a large effect on cost of living.

[rmah]

It would not initially. However, if there are a few big successes, the cost of living would rise. But even then, it would be concentrated in the areas considered attractive to the newly successful company employees and people in the secondary economy serving them.

[gte910h]

Unlike NYC and SFO, we are not a port city. We have functionally "infinite spaces for suburbs, and no geographic boundaries". We aren't on the water, and 2-3 directions on the compass you hit forest/fields really fast.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=google+maps+satellite+atlanta...

I don't think we have the potential even for severe housing cost rises even.

[laurentoget]

This is a 5 million people area. It would take a handful of Microsoft sized startups to make that needle move.