ATL vs AC

I recently had the opportunity to go on two mini-vacays, Atlanta and Atlantic City respectively. I visited Atlanta over the Christmas holiday, my mom lives in the suburbs of Georgia. I then re-grouped and went to Atlantic City last week. I noticed a lot of similarities. If either one of these is your hood no disrespect but DAMN! Although I'm a native of Brooklyn, I didn't think anything could scare me more than the 2 years I lived in Baltimore, I was wrong.

Every footstep I took in Atlanta, there was another wino or strung out person a half-step behind me. Somebody was always begging. That didn't even bother me too much, I'm accustomed to people panhandling with my daily commute here in NYC. Downtown Atlanta had seem to go down in quality like overnight. It looked like one big wino convention. At first I thought it was the weather, but the more I walked around and saw that all the tourist were in one area of downtown meanwhile the natives were on the other side where things were a bit rough. I felt like I was about to get robbed. I have never felt like that in DOWNTOWN ATL EVERRRRR!!! It was worst than being in like Bankhead or Decatur. College Park was looking real safe in comparison to Downtown at that point. I took my mom to the Underground and she began to get worried. I've never felt threatened in ATL before that day and wondered could this be because of the recession? or have thing really just changed?

The Plot Thickens...

I've been to AC (Atlantic City) twice in my life, with last week being the second time. I personally have always been pretty scared of visiting Jersey, since so many people have cancer. I'm not saying that cancer is contagious, I'm just saying that something is strange about that state, a lot of people got the cancer. But visiting AC was different this time around. The city is set up in such a way that it appears that the perimeter of the city is beautiful, full of landmarks, casinos, clubs, eateries and bright lights. Walk four blocks from the casinos, and you will have entered the hood. Literally. There are pimps and hos running a muck some discreet some not so discreet. I guess that's good for you, if you're interested in that industry, All in all AC is the hood. A few steps down scenic Atlantic Avenue and you will notice nothing but Halal, Chinese and Chicken spots. If that's what you like to eat, great, I'm just saying that's a bit much. Walk down Pacific Ave, (Yes the streets are very similar to Monopoly) and you will notice many pawn shops and cheap jewelry stores. Everything you need. There were all of two grocery stores there, the Food Mart Superstore which looked like a high-end church food pantry and IGA, which according to a friend who lives there all the homeless people steal the food only to re-sell it in front of the building. The projects are literally like five blocks away from the hotels and boardwalk. I was fascinated.

I would have to say hands down, AC wins. Most of the ghetto that people rap about or the "trap" is in the burbs of ATL not in the actual city itself, therefore it's a tad bit safer than AC. And even still a lot of people drive in ATL where as in AC I saw a lot of people on really expensive bikes, not bmx bikes either, like Schwinns or they were on foot. And NJ Transit is way better than Marta, plus its a hour from Philly. We all know Philly gets busy (Get down or lay down anyone?). The other thing disturbing about AC is that people flock there to gamble or rather loose mortgages and college funds. Maybe AC caused the recession? But seriously people come from far to go there and waste money and get drunk. While I did not loose any more money there than I would on any ordinary day ($15 to be exact), I did enjoy the many shopping opportunities available. AC is almost like a visual joke you think you see one thing and you get there and see something totally different. Who Knew?