James’ last post about the variable multi-county metro Atlanta area ^[1] reminded me about an exchange I overhead with old co-workers about a year ago:

“Well I’m looking for a new apartment, probably in the twelve-to-three area.”
“Twelve-to-three?”
“Yeah. Like if I-285 is a clock and the other highways are hands on a clock, the twelve-to-three area is like North Druid Hills and stuff.”
“Oh ok…I gotcha. Well, just don’t look anywhere in the three-to-nine area. Twelve-to-three is pretty good, Nine-to-twelve is kind of expensive though.”

Hands on a clock? Really? AtlantaGeorgia.com gives a similar explanation ^[2] for explaning how to get around the ATL:

The thing you have to understand is that “inside the perimeter” can mean any direction depending on where you are at the time. Another trick is to imagine that the perimeter is the face of a clock and find out if you need to go to “six o’clock” to get to the airport or “eleven o’clock” to get to Smyrna.

Then there is the inner and there is the outer loop. What do I need to say about these? The inner loop is 285 going clockwise if you are looking at the city from the south with the city center as the middle of the clock and GA 400 as twelve o’clock–and the outer loop goes counterclockwise on the same clockface? Both loops go in all directions (but only one direction at a time) depending on whether you are at 6 o’clock or 12 etc.

I mean, I get the concept, however remedial it sounds, but have you heard it before? Where are you? (I’m in the 6:30 area.)