Apt living in the Roswell/ Sandy Springs area VS Emory/Druid Hills/Decatur (Atlanta: apts)

[sahas]

I need to move to Atlanta July 2008 and have been searching for apts online. I have not visited Atlanta yet, and will be glad if anyone familiar with the areas will have suggestions.

The price for 1 bed/ 1bath apts in Roswell/Sandy Springs appear 100-200$ less than the Emory/Druid Hills/Decatur neighborhoods. But are the latter areas safer than the Roswell/Sandy Springs enough to justify the price difference? Also, I will be working in Chamblee on Buford hwy (at CDC) and any info on the commute from both the neighborhoods will help a lot.

Thanks in advance for your time and suggestions.

SS

[plessthanpointohfive]

If you're working at the Chamblee campus then I'd recommend you live in Dunwoody. Best prices and commute.

I work at the Clifton campus and live in the Emory area. I think the commute from where I live to the Chamblee campus wouldn't be very nice. Not as horrible as some but more than it could be...

[tdatl]

Do yourself a favor and visit a site like aptratings.com. Your best bets are places that are relatively new, and be sure to discount all 5-star ratings -- likely plants from mgmt. If a place has been open for years and you don't see many reviews, they may have changed the name. I've noticed 'under new management' signs with new names on places I know are absolute s***holes.

Don't know about the Emory area in particular... but there is nothing like driving thru complexes you're considering at night, especially in the summer. Lots of them look OK during the day, but at night you may see the 8 people living in 2BR apts. out in the parking lots. It can be eye-opening. This brings up another point: don't move into a place that doesn't individually meter the water!! Search the archives on this site for more info. You don't want your water bill split evenly with an apt. containing 8 people (and they do exist).

I lived in an apt. for a year after moving to the area, and I did a LOT of research -- newsgroups, asking people I knew who lived here, etc. I ended up with a place I was fairly satisfied with. I wouldn't move there today, though (5 yrs.later). You're on the right track.

Also, check with police regarding specific complexes.