Living in Atlanta

Atlanta is composed mostly of one-way streets. The only way to get out of downtown Atlanta is to turn around and start over when you reach Greenville, South Carolina.

All directions start with, "Go down Peachtree" and include the phrase, "When you see the Waffle House." Except that in Cobb County, all directions begin with, "Go to the Big Chicken."



Atlantans only know their way to work and their way home. If you ask anyone for directions they will always send you down Peachtree. Peachtree Street has no beginning and no end.  It is not to be confused with:

Peachtree Circle

Peachtree Place

Peachtree Lane

Peachtree Road

Peachtree Parkway

Peachtree Run

Peachtree Terrace

Peachtree Avenue

Peachtree Commons

Peachtree Battle

Peachtree Corners

New Peachtree

Old Peachtree

West Peachtree

Peachtree-Dunwoody

Peachtree-Chamblee

Peachtree Industrial Boulevard

Something like 55 streets in Atlanta have the word "Peachtree" in their names. How did this mania begin? The first Peachtree was a Creek Indian village on the Chattahoochee River called Standing Peachtree. An army outpost built nearby took the name Fort Peachtree. The road that linked it to Fort Daniel in Gwinnett County was the first Peachtree Road. (The Old Peachtree Road Exit on the Northeast Expressway has confused many a traveler heading into Atlanta, since it's more than 30 minutes outside town.) From this has come a forest of Peachtrees.



The 8am rush hour is from 6:30 to 10:30 AM.
The 5pm rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:30 PM.
Friday's rush hour starts Thursday afternoon and lasts through 2am Saturday.

I-285, the loop that encircles Atlanta that has a posted speed limit of 55 mph (but you have to maintain 80 mph just to keep from getting run over), is known to truckers as "The Watermelon 500."

Don't believe the directional markers on highways. I-285 is marked "East" and "West" but you may be going "North" or "South". The locals identify the direction by referring to the "Inner Loop" and the "Outer Loop".  If you travel on Hwy 92 North, you will actually be going southeast.

A native can only pronounce Ponce De Leon Avenue, so do not attempt the Spanish pronunciation.  People will simply tilt their heads to the right and stare at you.  The Atlanta pronunciation is "pawns duh LEE-on".

The falling of one raindrop causes all drivers to immediately forget all traffic rules.  If a single snowflake falls, the city is paralyzed for three days and it's on all the channels as a news flash every 15 minutes for a week. All grocery stores will be sold out of milk, bread, bottled water, toilet paper, and beer.

Never buy a ladder or mattress in Atlanta.  Just go to one of the interstates and you will soon find one in the middle of the road.

Gate One at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is 32 miles away from the Main Concourse, so wear sneakers and pack a lunch.






Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola. That's all we drink here, so don't ask for any other soft drink unless it's made by Coca-Cola.