Moving to ATLANTA from Murfreesboro/Nashville, TN!!! (Forest Park, Decatur: apartment complex, rental)

[annakonda8]

Hello Everyone!

My boyfriend and I will be moving to ATL in less than a month and we are confused on where we should start to look for housing.
He is 26 years old and I am a 24 year old college student. We are looking to rent something no more than 750/month. Possibly a 1 or 2 bedroom. He will be working in the industrial area on Hwy 70 and i will need to find a serving job or something like that probably closer to where there would be a lot of business. I'd prefer to be somewhere where there is a nightlife or some places to walk to or ride our bikes to. I have heard that atlanta is very spread out so i'm not sure if that's too much of a long shot. I'm really not sure where to even start looking. PLEASE HELP!!!!

[Adric]

Hmm this might be hard. Fulton Industrial Blvd (hwy 70) and the surrounding areas are extremely un-pedestrian and biker friendly and the only resturants around there are waffle houses and mcdonalds so living close to his job is out of the picture. Your best bet is living east of there more towards the intown area but 750/month will be hard to pull off for areas that are 1) convenient to his job and 2) in town where things are more dense/nightlife/pedestrian friendly.

I have some friends who live in an apartment complex fitting your budget in my neighborhood that is biker/pedestrian friendly and close to a plethora of restaurants but it would not be very convenient to his job. He would need to get on the Buford hwy connector, merge on to 85 south, deal with the downtown connector and all of the traffic that comes with it, then get on i20 west to Fulton industrial. Ouch!

I would check areas around cabbagetown, midtown, and maybe even Decatur. Dealing with private landlords might make things easier if you can haggle them down to 750/month. Staying close to interstate 20 will make his commute a lot easier.

Do you guys go to MTSU? I used to live in Nashville myself over by 8th Ave S near Melrose.

[atltechdude]

There aren't very many hip/walkable areas with nightlife in Atlanta where you can get a decent place for $750. In fact I really can't think of an area like that. If you can live a bit further away from the pedestrian/nightlife districts that can certainly work.

[Adric]

The list of areas that would he exactly what the OP wants would be:
Midtown
Virginia Highland
Little 5 Points
East Atlanta Village
Old Fourth Ward
Downtown Decatur

The going rental rates for all of these areas are closer to the $1,100/month or more though. That's the big issue here. Maybe they can find someone who is desperate though and get a steal.

[Caltovegas]

Here's my two cents. When moving to a city or area like Atlanta I myself would only do it with the title of fiancee. I don't know what the women are like in Nashville compared to Atlanta but the temptation for men is intense for the first initial year or so.

I would suggest you keep a side emergency fund just in case things don't work out. To me the title of boyfriend or girlfriend has no commitment so anything can happen. CYA. I'm not knocking your man or your relationship but I have seen things happen.

I've seen women come to ATL so called looking for a southern husband and get turned back due to competition. I've seen couples with the best intentions move to ATL and then the guy gets booty shock and mess up. I do wish you the best but understand the different levels of commitment between girlfriend, fiancee, and wife.. Especially when making major life changing events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

[cqholt]

Check out the eastside neighborhoods of Atlanta: Kirkwood, Edgewood, Reyonldstown, East Atlanta, or Cabbagetown. All have rents that fit your budget and are a quick commute down I-20. Most in-town neighborhoods are walkable and have great bike access. The eastside neighborhoods are close to nightlife in Atlanta and Decatur. All are close to Little 5 Points and East Atlanta Village.

[researchnerd]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Check out the eastside neighborhoods of Atlanta: Kirkwood, Edgewood, Reyonldstown, East Atlanta, or Cabbagetown. All have rents that fit your budget and are a quick commute down I-20. Most in-town neighborhoods are walkable and have great bike access. The eastside neighborhoods are close to nightlife in Atlanta and Decatur. All are close to Little 5 Points and East Atlanta Village.

This may be your best bet. Finding something for $750 in these areas is not impossible, but do your homework on both the neighborhood and the property for anything you find. There are a number of apartments in older "historic" homes, which can either be lovely and renovated or old and neglected - or some combination thereof. Check the address on Google Street View for things like burglar bars on the windows (a dealbreaker for me) and proximity to noise such as fire stations, highways and railroad tracks.

If you're interested in apartment complexes, you might try PROMOVE.com where you can search by location and budget.

[testa50]

First, you guys need to get pretty firm on your expectations for a unit. In safer, intown areas, $750 just simply won't get you a two bedroom. So focus on finding a one bedroom that fits your needs.

With that said, one bedrooms are available at that range, and they will range from okay to mediocre. However, you won't be able to get one in a new apartment complex. Those typically start at $900/mo or so. Look in older apartment complexes and in houses that have "for rent" signs in front of them. Just drive around for hours and hours on a Saturday and call every single sign you see. You might be able to check some of them out on the spot, but you'll have to set up appointments for most.

I would check out the above mentioned neighborhoods. Anything that lies somewhat in-between downtown Atlanta and downtown Decatur is fair game. Reading your post, this is most likely where you want to be.

You can also look on Criagslist, but understand that only a small portion of the inventory of independently-owned apartments makes it on there, and there is a much, much lower signal/noise ratio than you'll get by just driving around and calling phone numbers. A lot of "just moments away from" type BS that is actually located in Forest Park. If you're willing to carefully do your homework, craigslist can work, but a lot of the ads will be really deceptive towards out of towners.

[Adric]

Originally Posted by Caltovegas

Here's my two cents. When moving to a city or area like Atlanta I myself would only do it with the title of fiancee. I don't know what the women are like in Nashville compared to Atlanta but the temptation for men is intense for the first initial year or so.

I would suggest you keep a side emergency fund just in case things don't work out. To me the title of boyfriend or girlfriend has no commitment so anything can happen. CYA. I'm not knocking your man or your relationship but I have seen things happen.

I've seen women come to ATL so called looking for a southern husband and get turned back due to competition. I've seen couples with the best intentions move to ATL and then the guy gets booty shock and mess up. I do wish you the best but understand the different levels of commitment between girlfriend, fiancee, and wife.. Especially when making major life changing events.


Beyoncé - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - YouTube

I completely agree. It's always a good idea to cover yourself when doing something like this. I've seen it happen too. I've been to Murfreesboro, TN many times and while it has quite a few attractive college girls, it's not nearly on the scale of Atlanta. Murfreesboro has one university located there (MTSU); in Atlanta they'll have three (GSU, GA Tech, & Emory). Couple that with the in-town areas of Atlanta being chock full of highly attractive and single young professionals and you have a recipe for disaster. It's smart advice to get a backup plan together (both of them - she might meet a guy.. Seen that happen too).

[jematl]

Originally Posted by Caltovegas

I've seen couples with the best intentions move to ATL and then the guy gets booty shock and mess up.

What a great term! I'm laughing so hard I just spit my drink out!