All photos courtesy of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism.

If you’re looking for a new place to plant your roots, check out Atlanta — a city in bloom. We’re talking about more than the beautiful dogwoods, azaleas, and magnolias that spruce this metropolitan hub of the American Southeast. Opportunities abound in the 20-county Atlanta metro area, which is home to more than 4 million people according to the US Census Bureau. Eclipsing the 4-million population mark happened thanks to the 45% growth the Atlanta area experienced in the 1990s.

Put away any Gone With the Wind notions you may have about Atlanta. This is a modern city that has long outgrown its old image of a slow-moving town focused more on Southern gentility than booming economic growth. According to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta recently surpassed Chicago to rank third in the nation in Fortune 500 headquartered firms, with 14. Heavy-hitters such as BellSouth, Coca-Cola, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Holiday Inn, The Home Depot, Turner Broadcasting, and UPS all call Atlanta home.

But Atlanta is as focused on healthcare as it is business. Money magazine reported in a recent statistical profile that there are 85 medical and surgical hospitals and nearly 8,000 physician’s offices and clinics within a 30-mile radius. In addition, Atlanta is the headquarters for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, and the Arthritis Foundation. Atlanta is clearly a healthcare destination that offers nurses the best of professional and personal opportunities.

(Top of page) Atlanta’s skyline really shines at night. (Above) Peachtree Road winds through the busy, picturesque downtown area.

On Duty

Georgia, like most of the nation, desperately needs nurses. And metro Atlanta, which has nearly half the state’s population, is no exception. According to the Georgia Hospital Association’s Manpower Task Force, the overall RN vacancy rate in the Atlanta area is 15%, but certain specialty areas have higher rates. The vacancy rate is 31.4% for home care RNs, 20.8% for rehabilitation RNs, 19.4% for RNs who work in the ED, and 18.5% for subacute care RNs.

Georgia healthcare facilities are, however, investing in nursing. More than $6.3 million was budgeted in 2002 for scholarships, tuition reimbursement, nursing faculty salaries, and other resources — a 42% increase from 1999 — according to the Manpower Task Force report. That investment will have to pay off to meet demand. According to a Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce study, there were 51,680 RNs in the area in 1998, but 67,200 are projected to be needed by 2008. That’s an increase of 30%.

Where will all those jobs be? Many will be in the area’s top-notch hospitals. Whether you want to work in a general community, teaching, children’s, acute care, or trauma hospital, the area has you covered. Some of the best facilities in the country are located in metro Atlanta. In fact, U.S. News & World Report ranked Emory University Hospital as one of the best facilities in the nation for eye, heart, kidney disease, psychiatry, and urology care. The magazine also ranked the Shepherd Center as one of the best hospitals for rehabilitation. Additionally, the American Nurses Credentialing Center named Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta as one of 69 Magnet healthcare facilities.

Do you want to extend your education or mentor a nursing student? There are seven schools that have Georgia State Board of Nursing-approved nursing programs in the Atlanta area: Brenau University in Gainesville, Clayton College and State University in Morrow, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia Perimeter College in Clarkston, Georgia State University in Atlanta, and Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw. Nearly 2,500 students enroll each year in these institutions.

Centennial Park is a great place to take in the city.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved, too. The Georgia Nurses Association is headquartered in Atlanta. You’ll also find the Metro Atlanta chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association; the Greater Atlanta chapter of the American Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses; the Atlanta Area chapter of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses; the Greater Atlanta Association of Diabetes Educators; the Atlanta chapter of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants; the Peachtree chapter of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses; the Georgia Chapter of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys, which is located in Alpharetta; the Atlanta chapter of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses; the Georgia chapter of the American College of Nurse-Midwives; the Atlanta chapter of the American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses; the Metro Atlanta chapter of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care; the Suburban Atlanta chapter of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses; the Southeastern chapter of the Intravenous Nurses Society, which is located in Roswell; the Atlanta Area CNS Group of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists; the Atlanta association of the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses; the Georgia Chapter of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners; the Georgia Association of School Nurses; the Georgia Association of Nursing Students; the Metro Atlanta and Gwinnett County chapters of the Oncology Nursing Society; the Atlanta Regional chapter of the Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck Nurses; and the North Georgia chapter of the Society of Pediatric Nurses.

Off Duty

Atlanta is a great place to work, but it’s also a great place to play. Whether you’re looking for fine dining, haute culture, exciting sports action, or family fun, you’ll find it in the Atlanta area.

The skinny on good eating. Like any metropolitan hub, Atlanta offers something for everyone when it comes to restaurants. Italian, Thai, Korean, French, Greek, Mexican, and many more ethnic cuisines are well-represented in the city, as are traditional steakhouses, seafood markets, and down-home Southern kitchens. When it comes to scouting local eateries, the best idea is to turn to a local, so we consulted John Kessler’s list of the best 50 restaurants in the Atlanta area. As food critic for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kessler has to keep his knife and fork sharp; according to Money magazine, there are nearly 6,500 restaurants in a 30-mile radius of Atlanta.

Need a place to celebrate a special occasion or just to spoil yourself a bit? Fine dining is a sweet proposition in the capital of the peach state. For $20 or more per person (including tax and tip, but not alcohol), you can have a tasty experience at any one of the following establishments that top Kessler’s list: Antica Posta, Aria, Asher, Atlanta Fish Market, Bacchanalia, BluePointe, Bone’s, Brasserie Le Coze, Dick and Harry’s, The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, Five & Ten, Floataway Café, Fogo de Chao, Joel, Kyma, La Grotta, McKendrick’s Steak House, MF Sushibar, Nava, Pano’s & Paul’s, Park 75, Prime, Seeger’s, Sia’s, and Woodfire Grill.

If you don’t want to spend quite that much, but you still want a great meal, Kessler has you covered, too. Try Baraonda, Byblos, Five Seasons Brewing Company, Fritti, Hae Woon Dae, Haru Ichiban, Iris, La Tavola Trattoria, Little Szechuan, Madras Saravana Bhawan, Nuevo Laredo Cantina, One Midtown Kitchen, Oscar’s, Penang Malaysian Cuisine, Pig-N-Chik, Ruchi, Soto, Sotto Sotto, The Swallow at the Hollow, Tamarind Thai Cuisine, Taqueria del Sol, Ted’s Montana Grill, Tierra, Watershed, or Yong Su San — all great choices for less than $20 per person.

Get out. Ready for some visceral experience? There are plenty of ways to enjoy Atlanta’s fresh air. The City of Atlanta Bureau of Parks lists nearly 350 parks (which include golf courses and playgrounds) in the city alone. One of the largest and most popular is Piedmont Park — 185 acres of greenery, trees, pavilions, sports fields, tennis courts, bicycle paths, playgrounds, and Lake Clara Meer nestled in the heart of midtown Atlanta that sees more than 2 million visitors every year. Piedmont Park is also home to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, a 15-acre sanctuary that includes a Japanese garden, a fragrance garden, and all kinds of indigenous plants.

Zoo Atlanta offers a glimpse of rare giant pandas.

Although slightly small in size, Grant Park offers just as much, including Zoo Atlanta and the Atlanta Cyclorama. The biggest buzz in Atlanta in recent years could be heard at the zoo — specifically around the habitat of Lun Lun and Yang Yang, Zoo Atlanta’s giant pandas. The pandas have been a huge draw as people love watching them do everyday things, such as eat bamboo and wrestle with each other. The Atlanta Cyclorama offers a different kind of “fight” — a virtual tour of the 1864 Battle of Atlanta. Seventeen times a day this battle unfolds in a massive circular painting and diorama. As the events are told with lights, music, and narration, you experience the story from a revolving 170-seat viewing platform.

Georgia’s No. 1 tourist attraction lies 16 miles east of downtown Atlanta. Stone Mountain Park is a 3,200-acre state park that offers a little bit of everything — recreation, entertainment, education, and leisure. Named for the huge dome-shaped rock that rises 1,683 feet above sea level, one of the park’s highlights is the Lasershow Spectacular, a laser light and fireworks show set with animation and music that is projected on Stone Mountain’s north face. You’ll also want to take in the Antique Car and Treasure Museum; the Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad; the Scarlett O’Hara, a paddlewheel riverboat that cruises Stone Mountain Lake, and the Antebellum Plantation, a 19-building complex that takes visitors back to the mid-1800s.

Enjoy parks that include the word “theme?” Visit Six Flags Over Georgia for your fill of roller coasters, other thrill rides, and family entertainment. Or, head over to White Water for water slides, wave pools, and other wet attractions.

If you like to watch professionals play, Atlanta is a major-league city where teams put on their shows in some of the newest venues. The Atlanta Braves play America’s pastime at Turner Field, a 50,000-seat stadium that was originally built for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Like your sports action on the gridiron? The NFL’s Atlanta Falcons play in the 70,000-plus seat Georgia Dome, which hosted the 2000 Super Bowl. And if you’re a basketball or hockey fan, you can see the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks or the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers in Philips Arena, which opened for action in 1999.

Trace the steps of social change at at the
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

History, culture, and family fun. As much as you’ll want to spend the majority of time outside in Atlanta, there are plenty of attractions indoors, as well. Atlanta is a city where history comes alive, and the best place to start living it is the Atlanta History Center. The museum’s signature exhibitions include a look at Atlanta from 1835 to 2000, the Civil War, and how Southern folk arts developed. Another can’t-miss is the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Here, you can see Dr. King’s boyhood home; Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King, his father, and grandfather served as ministers; the Martin Luther King Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and the APEX (African-American Panoramic Experience) Museum.

Other visits to add to your learning list include: the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum; the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, which is the largest museum of natural sciences in the Southeast; and the High Museum of Art, which was named by the American Institute of Architects as one of the 10 best works of American architecture of the 1990s and houses art from all over the world. The kids will love the Children’s Museum of Atlanta and the Center for Puppetry Arts.

Catch some culture at the High Museum of Art (above), then catch a ball at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves.

If performing arts are your cup of tea, head to the Woodruff Arts Center, where you can enjoy the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance Theater. Within walking distance of the Woodruff are the 14th Street Playhouse, the New American Shakespeare Tavern, the Atlanta Civic Center, and the Fox Theater. The Fox is a beautiful 4,000-seat venue where the Atlanta Ballet, the Atlanta Opera, and traveling Broadway plays perform.

The Atlanta Ballet will keep you on your toes.

You and your family will bubble over with excitement at the World of Coca-Cola. The soft drink giant grew up in Atlanta and has given back to its environment with a huge exhibition of all that is Coke. You can see 1,200 Coca-Cola artifacts, a 1930s soda fountain, and take a virtual tour of how the beverage was invented. Once you’ve worked up a thirst, you can taste 23 exotic beverages that Coca-Cola makes for sale in other parts of the world.

The World of Coca-Cola is a refreshing destination.

If you have an aspiring Wolf Blitzer or Paula Zahn with you, check out the CNN Center, where you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the news empire’s operations. While you’re waiting for the tour to start, you can have a videotape made of you sitting behind a retired CNN anchor desk.

Shop ’til you drop. Shopping to some is a sport, not just a hobby. As one of the largest cities in the Southeast, Atlanta offers plenty of areas for you to spend, browse, and window-shop.

The shopping mecca of the Atlanta area is the Buckhead neighborhood. Not only does this upscale locale offer two major malls, Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, it also has tons of smaller galleries, boutiques, and antique shops. Lenox Square includes chic anchor stores like Neiman-Marcus and Rich’s-Macy’s, as well as specialty shops like Ann Taylor, Brooks Brothers, Pottery Barn, and Crate & Barrel. Lenox Square’s across-the-street-competitor, Phipps Plaza, offers up Lord & Taylor, Parisian, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., and Gucci.

Gwinnett County, just north of Atlanta, has four shopping centers within 10 miles of each other: the Mall of Georgia, Forum Shops at Peachtree Parkway, Discover Mills, and Gwinnett Place Mall. Discover Mills, in particular, is a great place for bargain-hunters because it contains many outlet stores. You’ll have more fun than you can ever buy just searching the greater Atlanta area for your favorite specialty shops.

Living Well

Atlanta is definitely a city on the grow, and it is a great place to plant your roots. The area’s climate is temperate year-round, but there are four distinct seasons. According to Frommer’s Atlanta, average temperatures range from an average low in January of 45 to an average high of 79 in July and August. However, temperatures do fall below freezing in the winter months and soar well into the 90s in the summer.

Housing costs are a little higher in metro Atlanta than the national average, but that is to be expected in an area that has experienced the kind of phenomenal growth Atlanta has. According to information from the Census Bureau, metro Atlantans spend $1,170 per month in home ownership costs (primarily mortgage), compared to the US average of $1,085. However, 62% of homeowners in metro Atlanta spend less than 25% of their monthly income on home ownership expenses. Of course, home prices vary depending on the part of the city or suburbs you are looking in. According to the same information, the median gross rent in the Atlanta area was $758 per month, compared to the national average of $612 per month.

If you have kids, you’ll want to note the teacher-to-student ratio in Atlanta-area schools is 16.63-to-1, which is slightly above the national average of 15.43-to-1, according to data published in Money magazine. Again, this higher average can be attributed, for the most part, to the high growth in the Atlanta area.

Atlanta is also a hub of transportation. Getting around, both in Atlanta and from the area to national and international destinations, is made easier because the city is at the apex of three major interstate highways, I-20, I-75, and I-85. Atlanta is also home to one of the country’s busiest airports, Hartsfield Atlanta International, which is 10 miles from downtown.

If you prefer to get around by public transportation, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), will get you where you need to be. According to MARTA, the system is the ninth-largest transit system in the US, with 702 buses on 1,500 miles of bus routes, and 248 rail cars that travel on 48 miles of rail. And, MARTA has won the Safest Transit System in America award 17 times in the past 20 years. The standard one-way fare for the MARTA system is $1.75, with free transfers between bus and rail.

What You Can See for a C-Note

OK, you have what many RNs really want — a day off and $100 in your pocket. What can you see and do for that c-note? Plenty.

We’ll start our day off at the Flying Biscuit Café, a local favorite with two locations that features eclectic dishes, many with organic ingredients. Both locations fill up fast, but any wait is worth it, and everything on the menu is less than $10. From there, we’ll head over to The World of Coca-Cola to drink in all we can about one of the company’s that made Atlanta great. Admission is $6 for adults and the place opens at 9 AM.

Next, it’s on to Zoo Atlanta to see what the pandas are up to. Because the zoo is in Grant Park, we’ll be able to take in plenty of scenery. Adult admission is $16.50. Now that it’s time for lunch, we’ll go to Kool Korners Grocery. Are we picking up a microwave burrito because we’re on a budget? Hardly. This unassuming to go-only joint has the best Cuban sandwiches in town; again, we’ll eat for less than $10.

With our stomach full and a beautiful Atlanta afternoon ahead of us, we’ll take in a baseball game at Turner Field. The Braves are consistently one of the best teams in the Major Leagues, and we can get a good ticket for $11. Better yet, we’ll take the MARTA train for $1.75 to the Five Points station and catch the shuttle from there so we don’t have to pay for parking.

After a Braves’ victory, it’s time to get a winning meal. It’s a tough choice where to eat, but we’ll go with Bone’s, a classic restaurant with great service that’s always in the running for the best steak in town. We can get a terrific dinner for about $40. That’s it — we’re all out of money, not to mention breath, after a jam-packed day taking in all that Atlanta has to offer.

It’s been 140 years since Union General William Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground during the Civil War. Today, opportunities for work and fun in Atlanta have never been hotter.