From NJ looking to ATL (Atlanta, East Point: apartments, renting, condo)

[neekah18]

Hi all,

I am in my mid twenties, graduated college earlier this year, and born and raised in NJ. I have a BS in Fashion Marketing, not that it matters because I have worked in everything from accounting to magazine publishing, but I am looking to work either in Buying, Marketing, or Magazine Publishing . For the past year or so I have been going back and forth whether or not I want to move to ATL. I have never been there before (I plan to visit for a few days in a few months. I am not nervous about finding employment although I know it may take some time. I have already begun the process of looking at job opportunities at large corporations like Time Warner but my question would be what is Atlanta like for the African American twenty-something year olds who like the metro areas? I love art and theatre and coffee houses and maybe the occasional club so what would be the ideal area to live? What is the housing cost like? I don’t have any children so being near a school is not that important either.

[jeffreda30238]

Your sounding like you may need to live in the Midtown area or Downtown Decatur area. There is also Inman Park, Kirkwood, and East Atlanta. All are very artsy and have a lot of character. Some of the areas were once a problem but have been built up to become nice places. The whole gentrification of Atlanta allowed these neighborhoods to flourish. As far as buying a home...you would need to stretch out to the burbs if you want something reasonable. For a condo or townhouse in the areas I just named, you can get a house in like College Park or East Point. A nice house for a single female with about 3/2 would run you about 120,000 in the CP or EP areas. Check it out online and see.

[neekah18]

Thank you. I think my best bet is to just plan a trip down there and try to get a feel for the different areas. They next hard part is going to be looking for a job down there once I find a place.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by neekah18

Thank you. I think my best bet is to just plan a trip down there and try to get a feel for the different areas. They next hard part is going to be looking for a job down there once I find a place.

The better situation is to find a job and then find a place to live- not the other way around. You may want to have a few ideas of places you'd want to live before looking for jobs that are relatively convenient to home, but I wouldn't lock into an apartment without knowing where I was working first- commuting in Atlanta is one of the biggest nightmares most people have.

Bob

[sweettea1]

Bob gives excellent advice. Jobs first then apartments as the latter are much easier to come by! I would also recommend Makingitinthecity.com for info and tips on this subject.

[neekah18]

I just started applying for jobs in the Atlanta area the problem I am hearing on these boards are that they won't even give you the time of day without a local address. Has anyone experienced that? Another thing that is making me nervous is all of the negative things I am hearing about ATL. I am coming from Paterson,NJ and I think all you hear is negative comments about Paterson and I certainly don't want to move somewhere that has an even worse reputation.

[BobKovacs]

I know Paterson pretty well (I just moved down to GA from NJ this summer), and there's only a few areas of Atlanta that even come close to resembling Paterson. You'll know them right a way when you see them, and will easily be able to steer clear of them.

Bob

[sweettea1]

Do you have any friends here so you can use their address? Also, if you're staying in a temporary apartment, can you use the office address? PO Boxes aren't the best...Worst case scenario, leave your address off of your resume and get a local Atlanta cell phone number.

[BobKovacs]

I'm thinking I'm going to start "renting" my address and phone number to all of the out-of-state job seekers- what do you thing sweet- will it work???? lol

Bob

[neekah18]

Sweet I don't know anyone in Atlanta. It's just a move I want to make and although I am scared because it is a big step, I am ready to do it. The good thing is I won't be completely alone because I'll have my boyfriend with me. I was thinking maybe sending my resume to a few agencies while I am there visiting.