Safe apartment complexes in Atlanta? (Auburn: hair salon, apartment complex, crime)

[diinytt]

It seems impossible to find a safe apartment complex in Atlanta for an affordable price. Does anyone know any?
I am a single female relocating from NY so safety is a major requirement. My price range is max $1000, is it even possible to find a safe apartment at that price?

[SkyeBright]

It depends on what you define as safe. There are dozens and dozens of complexes that I would define as safe in your price range. I live in one. Most of my friends also live in safe apartments in your price range. I'm just not sure exactly how you'd define safe if you're already wondering if it's possible to find something in your price range that is also safe.

[diinytt]

Originally Posted by SkyeBright

It depends on what you define as safe. There are dozens and dozens of complexes that I would define as safe in your price range. I live in one. Most of my friends also live in safe apartments in your price range. I'm just not sure exactly how you'd define safe if you're already wondering if it's possible to find something in your price range that is also safe.

I would define safe as not feeling like my apartment is going to get broken into if I am not at home, and feeling like I can walk home even if it's dark out (at a reasonable time of course, like 6-10pm) without anything happening to me.

I live all the way in NY and I only ever driven through GA. I keep reading the reviews for these apartments online and they are kind of scaring me to be honest, every time I think I've found a good place I'll see horrible reviews about how unsafe they are and then I start to doubt my selection. I read a lot of reviews about not feeling safe enough to walk around, and about apartments being broken into, some have even said they people have been murdered or mugged right outside their door, and it really freaked me out.
I guess it's just so hard because I'm so far away and know nothing about Atlanta. Someone told not to go off the reviews because there are sometimes 150 units and only 5-20 reviews, so the people reviewing just happen to have unfortunate situations. So that has opened my eyes a bit, and I'm trying not t base my opinion solely on the reviews.

Are there any that you could recommend? I would feel more comfortable if I had advice from someone actually living in GA.

I've been looking at four in particular called Auburn Glenn, 93 East, Park Pointe North, and Ashford East Village, do you know them?

[1lifealex]

500 Northside - Apartments in Atlanta, GA try them out

[SkyeBright]

Originally Posted by diinytt

I would define safe as not feeling like my apartment is going to get broken into if I am not at home, and feeling like I can walk home even if it's dark out (at a reasonable time of course, like 6-10pm) without anything happening to me.

I live all the way in NY and I only ever driven through GA. I keep reading the reviews for these apartments online and they are kind of scaring me to be honest, every time I think I've found a good place I'll see horrible reviews about how unsafe they are and then I start to doubt my selection. I read a lot of reviews about not feeling safe enough to walk around, and about apartments being broken into, some have even said they people have been murdered or mugged right outside their door, and it really freaked me out.
I guess it's just so hard because I'm so far away and know nothing about Atlanta. Someone told not to go off the reviews because there are sometimes 150 units and only 5-20 reviews, so the people reviewing just happen to have unfortunate situations. So that has opened my eyes a bit, and I'm trying not t base my opinion solely on the reviews.

Are there any that you could recommend? I would feel more comfortable if I had advice from someone actually living in GA.

I've been looking at four in particular called Auburn Glenn, 93 East, Park Pointe North, and Ashford East Village, do you know them?

I think there are many things to keep in mind when moving to a new city you might not be familiar with. The first is that is that people who leave reviews tend to be those how have extreme experiences, usually bad extremes. Positive reviews can be just as problematic as people can be incentivized to leave positive reviews. My own complex (in decatur near emory, feels quite safe, also very quiet) has this shady practice of giving out freebies for reviews, with the implication that reviews need be positive in order to get free pizza or whatever is on offer.

I think it makes more sense to look at the crime stats for the particular neighborhood than to look at what people in reviews say about crime. The stats are unbiased. I think reviews are more helpful in determining what sort of neighbors you'll have or the construction of the unit (for example, if the complex is full of students or the walls are paper thin). I also think it's a good idea to check out the necessities in the neighborhood. What type of grocery stores are there, clothing stores, restaurants, hair salons etc. Are they highly rated? If most of the businesses in the area have poor ratings, that says a lot more about the neighborhood than reviews about a particular complex.

Regardless of where you live, the unit you choose can be pretty important. Ground floor units, especially those that face away common areas are most likely to experience break ins. In my own complex, I feel incredibly safe, yet there are still break ins. Every break in has been the apartments on ground floors that faces the green spaces instead of those that face parking lots and other common areas. A security system can further protect your home, or even just the illusion of a system (like a sticker to a popular security company on your door).

It can also be helpful to utilize an apartment locating service like promove. It's free, they are knowledgeable about the city, and sometimes they have apartments that aren't listed on other websites.