paragiraffe

In Atlanta Interstate 285 is the bypass/beltway that encircles the city, forming what is colloquially known as the Perimeter, a semi-official boundary of the city. If you live inside the perimeter (ITP) that is considered the city, and if you live outside the perimeter (OTP) that is considered the suburbs.

One of the things I find really interesting about Atlanta is the animosity between people who live ITP and OTP. To the best of my knowledge it isn’t like this in Nashville, although Franklin, the suburb where I lived, is a pretty cool place in its own right. But here in Atlanta, ITPers think OTPers are soulless drones in their huge, polluting SUVs who live in a barren wasteland of strip malls, while OTPers can’t understand why the crazy liberal ITPers would want to live in a crime, traffic, and homeless-ridden city. These, of course, are gross generalizations, but nonetheless, the ITP/OTP hostility is still amusing.

So Thursday night at the Braves game I was talking to Shaun about all of this, how silly it is that the suburbs would be considered a lesser place, albeit with less nightlife, and its residents considered fools. Since he has lived in the city for many years I knew he would have a serious, informed opinion on the matter. He immediately burst out with, “That’s because people who live OTP are idiots!”

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