Pros
I have worked at Georgia Tech as a Research Assistant for several years during my doctoral program. The pay is competitive, compared to what doctoral students get at other universities in my discipline. HR has improved dramatically since I joined. The gym is fantastic. The school has done a great of job of letting me, along with my adviser, determine my focus. It seems that most students can arrange this: everyone I know here is getting paid for the dissertation work.
Kontras
Living close to campus can be a pain. Most of the areas are either fabulously expensive or cheap but crime-ridden. I would recommend using the Marta train, which stops close to campus. They require health insurance for students, and force some crappy policy on you if you don't prove that you are already covered.