New Yorkers Bolt for Warmer, Cheaper Atlanta

New Yorkers are flocking to the southern climes and cheaper housing of Atlanta, but encountering a range of culture shocks, the New York Sun reports. About 40,000 yanks moved to Atlanta between 2000 and 2005, drawn partly by a booming job market, and now some wonder how to move back. "Atlanta is a second-tier city," one Big Apple expat griped. "New York is cooler and more exciting in every respect."

Some love the lack of snow, but cultural divisions range from rate of speech to expressions like "y'all" to Atlanta's lack of pizza and bagels. Locals still welcome the Northerners, feeling the bond created on 9/11, but occasionally feel overwhelmed. "There are not many of us natives left," one ex-mayor said. A Brooklyn native was less polite: "If my kids have a Southern accent," she said, "I will kill myself." (More New York stories.)