Ask Barbara Baggerman about government in metro Atlanta, and then stand back.

“Too much unethical behavior and cronyism,” said the Atlanta wife and mother.

She’s not much more pleased with the traffic: “It’s a mess.”

But ask her about the overall quality of life in metro Atlanta, and she sings a much happier tune.

“I think it’s pretty good. Wonderful location, wonderful climate,” said Baggerman, who has lived in the intown Atlanta neighborhood of Morningside for 20 years.

That seeming contradiction — dissatisfaction with many important parts, but satisfaction with the whole — came through again and again in responses to a region-wide poll conducted for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Traffic, government, education, the cost of living and the availability of jobs were rated as fair or poor by most respondents. The only things drawing higher marks were the region’s culture and its faith community.

Yet 74 percent of respondents rated the overall quality of life as excellent or good.

Subscribers can find the explanation for this seeming contradiction in the full text of this exclusive Atlanta Journal-Constitution report. With digital editions now included in each subscription, you’ll be able to read all our in-depth local news coverage on your tablet and laptop in the same page-by-page format as our print newspaper.