Caveats : not the parent, and Atlanta has reportedly changed significantly in the last 10 years.
However, when I visited (~2001), the intense racial geographic separation was jarring. Some areas were literally exclusively white and black respectively. For perspective, I grew up largely in DC proper which is racially divided in its own right, but not even in the same ballpark as ATL. Public transit was abysmal - the metro line from downtown basically ran in 2 directions (N-S, E-W).
People places and things all change. I recently visited Philly and was taken aback at how much it had changed in the last 7 years (for the better, IMHO). That said, I wouldn't hold my breath at Tennessee becoming a great place to live for those outside its demographic mean, although I can make no qualitative assertions about Chattanooga.
For reference: I lived in Midtown and went to Georgia Tech.
1. Highly visible poverty in the city, and frequent crime.
2. Frequent casual racism, even among students at GaTech.
3. Frequent extremest christian advertising, like preachers outside sporting events and aborted fetuses on billboards
4. Religion being a daily part of life for most people I met
There's a lot more that shocked me over the 5 years of living there and dating southern girls, but I still had fun...I just couldn't adjust. I'd never even seen an overt act of racism except on TV when I was growing up.
Also, keep in mind that when I moved to Atlanta, at 18, I'd seen a lot less of the world than I have now. Living in the South changed my perceptions a lot, and I'm now permanently more aware of my surroundings.
However, when I visited (~2001), the intense racial geographic separation was jarring. Some areas were literally exclusively white and black respectively. For perspective, I grew up largely in DC proper which is racially divided in its own right, but not even in the same ballpark as ATL. Public transit was abysmal - the metro line from downtown basically ran in 2 directions (N-S, E-W).
People places and things all change. I recently visited Philly and was taken aback at how much it had changed in the last 7 years (for the better, IMHO). That said, I wouldn't hold my breath at Tennessee becoming a great place to live for those outside its demographic mean, although I can make no qualitative assertions about Chattanooga.