where to live in atlanta (Alpharetta, North Druid Hills: apartments, how much, houses)

[backandforth]

i'm thinking of moving to atlanta to teach at emory. my fiance will be staying in chicago, so i'll be flying back and forth a lot. i prefer a more "urban" neighborhood (i live on the north side of chicago now) but can't afford anything too pricey. probably looking for a small apartment at least for now. suggestions about where to live and how much it will cost? is it possible to take public transportation to the airport?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by backandforth

i'm thinking of moving to atlanta to teach at emory. my fiance will be staying in chicago, so i'll be flying back and forth a lot. i prefer a more "urban" neighborhood (i live on the north side of chicago now) but can't afford anything too pricey. probably looking for a small apartment at least for now. suggestions about where to live and how much it will cost? is it possible to take public transportation to the airport?

I don't know what you consider--'Too Pricey' but--Search -->(I use Google)

--NE Atlanta Apartments--LaVista, North Druid Hills, Briarcliff, Clairmont--Emory
but suburban/urban transition--larger/newer complexes--Post Properties and Calibre mgmt--all kinds --pretty nice--Emory runs a shuttle and sponsors alternative transportation for students/employees.
Go Emory!!! Green. We like that.

--Virginia Highlands--Inman Park--more expensive

and others will tell you about the more urban/intown areas

sls

[LLD]

I just found an interesting link for Emory off-campus housing

http://www.housing.emory.edu/off-campus/home.cfm

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by backandforth

is it possible to take public transportation to the airport?

I would not think of driving/parking at the airport.

E/W rail line connects at 5 Points to N/S--takes you right to the airport and home again.

sls

[xxman777]

Coming from Chicago you are going to find that Atlanta is not really urban. If you really want an urban setting you are going to be restricted to either Midtown or Downtown. If your willing to settle for more urban then the suburbs but still not urban feel then places like Virginia Highlands, Inman Park/Little Five Points, Old Forth Ward, Decatur, Cabbage Town, Kirkwood, Oakhurst or East Atlanta would be good places to start. They have a decent amount of non suburb style shopping and apartments, but they still have single family houses and strip malls.

[sprtsluvr8]

I'm trying to picture any strip malls in the neighborhoods listed in xxman777's post. I don't know of any, and if there are some they aren't the traditional suburban type. The urban neighborhoods in Atlanta may not be exactly like Chicago but they are still urban neighborhoods. Some might say just as good and maybe more beautiful than the ones in Chicago.

[xxman777]

Originally Posted by sprtsluvr8

I'm trying to picture any strip malls in the neighborhoods listed in xxman777's post. I don't know of any, and if there are some they aren't the traditional suburban type. The urban neighborhoods in Atlanta may not be exactly like Chicago but they are still urban neighborhoods. Some might say just as good and maybe more beautiful than the ones in Chicago.

Drive along Ponce. It is strip mall after strip mall. Sure they are denser (but more because space is a premium, and not because the developers wanted it) then most suburban shopping but they are still extremely pedestrian unfriendly and do not incorporate any residential at all. Shopping in Atlanta is designed for the car. Not for people using other means of transportation. In other cities, shopping is designed to cater to pedestrians more then cars. In Atlanta we don't even require sidewalks, so pretending to cater to pedestrians doesn't even occur. You can't possibly look at the large complex on Ponce with Whole Foods, Home Depot and others and tell me that is not a suburban style strip mall. Granted it is more crowded then something you will find in Alpharetta but it is not urban by any means, and very unfriendly to those not in a car. An urban shopping center looks more like the Publix located in Plaza Midtown. They have entrances on the street and parking either under or behind. It makes it easier for pedestrians to access the facilities. Outside of Midtown and Downtown you won't find a much of this type of shopping.

[sprtsluvr8]

The stretch of Ponce that you're referring to is not in any of the neighborhoods you listed - L5P, Kirkwood, E. Atlanta, Candler Park, Inman Park, Cabbage Town, Fourth Ward - as "not as urban feel". I may be wrong but I was thinking a lot of Ponce is in Midtown, and as it runs east it runs along the edge of Virginia-Highland...Poncey-Highland is what I've heard that area called. Decatur isn't in Atlanta so I'm not sure what you meant there...it is its own city with lots of different neighborhoods. Oakhurst is not in Atlanta either, and actually seems pretty far out there to me. Not trying negate what you're saying, I guess I'm slilghtly disagreeing and slightly agreeing with you.

[xxman777]

Originally Posted by sprtsluvr8

The stretch of Ponce that you're referring to is not in any of the neighborhoods you listed - L5P, Kirkwood, E. Atlanta, Candler Park, Inman Park, Cabbage Town, Fourth Ward - as "not as urban feel". I may be wrong but I was thinking a lot of Ponce is in Midtown, and as it runs east it runs along the edge of Virginia-Highland...Poncey-Highland is what I've heard that area called. Decatur isn't in Atlanta so I'm not sure what you meant there...it is its own city with lots of different neighborhoods. Oakhurst is not in Atlanta either, and actually seems pretty far out there to me. Not trying negate what you're saying, I guess I'm slilghtly disagreeing and slightly agreeing with you.

Fair enough. Your right that Ponce is not technically in any of the neighborhoods I listed. You are also right that Virginia Highlands, E. Atlanta, Fourth Ward and Cabbage Town don't have any suburban style shopping centers. They also don't really have much shopping. E. Atlanta and the Highlands do have some small shopping districts but that is about it. For the most part residents of these areas do the majority of their shopping on Ponce or Moreland. Inman Park, Kirkwood, Decatur and Oakhurst all technically have strip malls with in their boundaries.

But all that wasn't really the point I was trying to make. The point was if you live within those neighborhood you will find there are very limited shopping options which are truly urban and have a similar feel to Chicago. The majority of retail available for residents would be in places like along Ponce or Moreland. Even the Edgewood retail center, even though a huge step up for Atlanta, still has many elements of a suburban shopping center. I threw Decatur and Oakhurst (which is actually a neighborhood within Decatur) in the mix because for somebody working at Emory they would be great options. Both are closer to the campus then virtually all the other Atlanta neighborhoods and have a somewhat urban feel.

[sprtsluvr8]

Help me with the strip malls in those neighborhoods...I can't picture one anywhere. L5P has ALOT of shopping, as does VA-Highland and to a lesser extent E. Atlanta Village...I was thinking that Edgewood Retail was designed to have a low impact on the neighborhoods, similar to the reconstructed Lindbergh Shopping Area (that's another neighborhood in town - very urban) with parking in hidden between a lot of the stores and underground. I've only been there a couple of times, but it was definitely not a strip mall and people that live within 5-10 minutes of it LOVE it...and it serves many of the neighborhoods we're speaking of.

Decatur is GREAT, one of my favorite places in Atlanta...but it has many neighborhoods so it's not really a "neighborhood" (I've lived in a few of them!) . Oakhurst has a small shopping and restaurant area that's really cute...I used to have a friend that lived in Oakhurst Castle. It is so cool...a turn of the century castle with turrets and everything.