c/atlanta-local-advice

Spent a whole Saturday trying to renew my driver's license at the DMV on North Avenue

I figured I'd just pop in around 2pm and be out in 45 minutes like the old days. Three hours later I was still standing in line with a screaming toddler and a stack of forms I didn't know I needed. The lady at the counter told me I should've made an appointment online, but every time I tried the site crashed. Has anyone actually had a good experience at that location, or is it just me?

Vent: My mechanic charged me $450 for a brake job I could have done myself

I used to just drop my car off at the shop on Howell Mill whenever the brakes started squeaking. Would hand over $400-$500 and not think twice about it. Last month after dealing with a $450 bill for my 2015 Honda, I finally decided to watch a YouTube video and try it myself. Bought the pads and rotors for $120 from AutoZone off Memorial Drive and spent a Saturday afternoon in my driveway. Has anyone else found a local garage that actually gives fair prices on basic stuff like this?

Unpopular opinion: Ponce City Market's food hall is overrated and overpriced

I went there last weekend for the first time in like 2 years... spent $18 on a sandwich that was barely average. The whole place felt like a food court for tourists, not locals. I miss when that building was just empty and weird. Anyone else skip it and hit up Buford Highway instead?

That free compost from the Dekalb county dump was full of weed seeds

Loaded up a truck bed of that free compost they give out at the Seminole Road landfill. Now my whole raised bed is nothing but crabgrass and pokeweed. Anyone else had bad luck with that stuff?

The time I parked in a deck in Buckhead and came back to a $75 surprise

Last Saturday I parked in a deck off Peachtree for a lunch meeting, figured $10 max. Came back two hours later and the ticket was $75 because there was some concert at State Farm Arena I didn't know about. The deck had dynamic pricing that jumped like crazy. Learned my lesson to always check event schedules before parking in those lots. Anyone else get hit with surprise parking fees around town?

Guy at the Ponce City Market coffee counter gave me the best advice on biking to work

Last Tuesday morning I was struggling with my bike lock outside Dancing Goats and this older dude just walked over and showed me a trick to wrap my chain around the frame instead of just the wheel. He said he'd seen three bikes get stripped that way near the BeltLine last summer. Anyone else gotten random street smarts from a stranger in Atlanta that actually saved you money or hassle?

Appreciation post: the guy who fixed my flat in midtown traffic Tuesday

Last Tuesday around 5 PM I got a flat tire on the connector near the 14th street exit. I was stuck in the middle lane with a jack that didn't fit my car. A guy in a gray Tacoma pulled over, handed me his scissor jack, and had me back on the road in under 15 minutes. He wouldn't take the $20 I tried to give him. If you're out there, I owe you a beer. Anyone else had a stranger save them in Atlanta traffic?

Lost $60 on that fancy parking app downtown...

I paid for a full month of parking through that ParkWhiz lot near Peachtree Center and the QR code wouldn't scan at the gate last Tuesday... ended up having to pay another $25 just to get out. Has anyone else had their prepaid parking fail at those automated garages?

My neighbor swore I could save $200 a month by switching to a heat pump water heater

I tried it last summer and my electric bill actually went up $45 a month for the first 6 months. Has anyone else had a heat pump not save them money in Atlanta's humidity?

Tried the Saturday farmer's market at Freedom Park instead of the one at Piedmont Park and it's way less crowded

PSA: That cheap HVAC filter subscription turned out to be a scam

I signed up for FilterTime last summer because it was $8 a month and seemed easy. Turns out they sent me the wrong size filters twice and charged me for ones I never got. Had to call three times to cancel. Anyone else get burned by one of those filter subscription services?

Everyone keeps saying Marta is useless but I use it every single day

I live in Decatur and work off the North Avenue stop. I drive maybe twice a month when I absolutely have to. The rest of the time I take the train and it gets me there in 25 minutes flat. Last week my coworker from Alpharetta spent an hour and a half stuck on 85 and told me Marta was a joke. I just don't get why people who never ride it act like they know how bad it is. Has anyone else actually given it a real try for their daily commute?

Realized I was overwatering my ferns after a guy at the Decatur farmers market yelled at me

I had these two ferns on my porch that kept turning yellow no matter what I did. This older guy selling plants at the Decatur farmers market last Saturday saw me buying a watering can and just said "You're drowning those things, aren't you?" He told me to only water when the top two inches of soil are dry. Now they're green and full again after three weeks. Has anyone else had a random stranger fix a plant problem you didn't even know you had?

Ran into a guy at the Kroger on Ponce who convinced me to stop hating on MARTA

I was standing in line at the deli counter last Tuesday, muttering to myself about how the 26 bus is always late. This older gentleman in front of me turned around and just said, 'You know, I've been riding MARTA for 18 years and it never broke my car.' That stuck with me because my car just cost me $700 for a transmission fix. He told me he used to commute from Decatur to Buckhead every day, and the train saved him about $300 a month in gas and parking. We talked for maybe 10 minutes about his route and how he reads a whole book a week on the ride. I went home and actually looked up a bus route near my house to try next week. Has anyone else had a good experience swapping driving for riding?

Wasted $300 on a parking spot subscription I never used

Signed up for that ParkAtlanta Plus monthly pass near my office in Midtown back in January. Paid $75 a month for 4 months before I realized I was still parking on side streets out of habit. Did anyone else get roped into one of these and find out it only works in like 3 lots total?

Can we talk about how long it takes to get anything approved by the City of Atlanta permit office?

I spent three months waiting on a simple permit to replace a water heater in my house. Everyone told me to hire a expeditor, but I figured I could save the $400 fee. Three months later and four phone calls that went nowhere, I finally got the thing approved myself. Has anyone else dealt with this nightmare or did I just get unlucky?

Question about that patio place off Moreland Ave

I finally stopped by the little nursery on Moreland last Saturday after driving past it for like two years... they had this old timer showing me how to trim back my overgrown boxwoods that I've been messing up for seasons. Has anyone else gotten good tips from the staff there or was it just a lucky day?

Just realized I was way too aggressive pruning my azaleas

A guy at Pike Nursery told me I was cutting back 6 inches too much each spring, and after trying his lighter trim last year I got twice the blooms. Has anyone else been told they're going too far with their pruning?

Took me 6 months to figure out MARTA bus transfers work way different than the train

Heard a guy at the Varsity say the Braves are overrated and it got me thinking

I was grabbing a chili dog last weekend and this older dude at the next table told his friend the Braves bullpen is gonna tank their whole season. He was real specific about it, named three relievers I barely knew. I shrugged it off at first, but then I looked up their ERA numbers later and yikes, he might be onto something. Anyone else hear predictions like that from random strangers around town and end up believing them?

Why is everyone so down on using a reciprocating saw for tree trimming?

I got tired of paying $80 a pop for a tree service to trim branches near my roof line in Decatur. Grabbed my old Sawzall with a pruning blade and cleaned up three big oaks in under two hours. Has anyone else found this works fine or am I the one missing something?

That tip about checking your tire pressure before a long drive actually saved me $200

Last month someone in this group told me to check my tire pressure before my trip to Savannah. I rolled my eyes because I thought I knew better. Turns out my back tires were 10 PSI low and probably would have blown out on I-75 at 70 mph. I got them filled at a QT for free and the car handled way better. Plus my gas mileage bumped up from 28 to 32 MPG over the weekend. Has anyone else dodged a disaster thanks to some random comment on here?

Debate: Is the new sushi spot in Inman Park actually better than that dive ramen place on Buford Highway?

I tried Umi last Friday and the $45 omakase was incredible but my buddy swears the $12 miso ramen at that run-down spot near the old plaza blows it away so which one's worth the trip for real?

Small win: Tried the BeltLine on a bike instead of walking last weekend

I finally decided to rent a bike from one of those stations near Piedmont Park instead of my usual weekend walk on the BeltLine. Got from the skate park all the way to the Krog Street tunnel in maybe 10 minutes, which normally takes me like 40 minutes of walking. Anyone else find certain stretches way better to bike than walk, or do you prefer to take it slow?

Tip: How I finally beat the airport traffic at ATL by 30 minutes

I used to always take I-85 south to the airport and get stuck right before the terminal drop off. Last month I tried a different route and it saved me so much time. I went through the College Park exit and used the cell phone lot entrance instead, then looped around to the domestic terminal. It cut my drive from 45 minutes to just 15 minutes. Has anyone else found a faster way to get to the airport from the north side?