Buckhead or Downtown (Atlanta: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[rdcypher]

Hello,

I am relocating from Ohio to Atlanta.

I have found several places to rent but have narrowed it down to just a couple that really seemed like they were what I was looking for...

One is a loft apartment downtown and is about $1200/month for one bedroom. I know that it is near a train and some residents said it was noisy but enjoyed the benefits of living downtown.

The other is located in Buckhead, 2 br, open floor plan and $1600/negotiable.

I don't know much about Atlanta neighborhoods and pricing so I wanted to get a general take on pricing and what the neighborhoods are like.

Any other comments or suggestions regarding these two areas are greatly appreciated and welcome.

[xxman777]

Buckhead is newer, cleaner and more conservative. Downtown is dirtier, older and more liberal. Buckhead is more of a yuppy crowd. Downtown is much more mixed, you have your conventioners, upper class, middle class, poor kids from the ghetto and homeless all in the same place. You are going to find a Lot more homeless in Downtown then Buckhead. You can't go half a block in Downtown without seeing one, they exist in Buckhead but you don't see them often. Downtown is much more pedestrian friendly. You can actually walk to shops and stores, but on the downside there isn't a grocery store actually in downtown so you have to go up to Ponce. In Buckhead you pretty much have to drive everywhere because shops and restaurants are separated from homes. A lot of people don't feel safe walking in downtown at night but I don't have a problem with it. I think if I was a woman I would, but I would have the same problem in Buckhead in that case. I don't feel any safer in Buckhead then Downtown but you'll meet a lot of people who do.

[rdcypher]

Thank you xxman, I am a 29 year old female so safety is always a concern. I really was interested in a pedestrian friendly neighborhood. I don't really like having to drive for every little thing that I need. You've given me a lot to think about.

[jxu66]

How about Atlantic station? That whole area is walkable.

Check out http://atlanticstation.com/.

I wouldn't recommend living in downtown. Unlike many downtown in other cities, downtown Atlanta is pretty much ghost town after dark (although there are developers who want to build more residential condos there). In a strange way, midtown/buckhead is more developed area in residential properties than downtown area.

[rdcypher]

I've been considering atlantic station. What do you guys think about the 1600 price tag on the buckhead apartment? She said it was negotiable but I don't want to low ball her.

[atlantagreg30127]

$1600.00 should be a NICE apartment - that's high even for Buckhead (but again, not if it's considered a high-end unit). Remember too, that you have two MARTA rail stations in Buckhead, so you can go to downtown/Midtown easily if you don't want to drive.

While downtown is slowly making a comeback regarding new residents, as someone has already mentioned, it has a ton of vagrants. I'm not talking about disadvantaged homeless in search of help people.. I mean just plain bums (there IS a difference). I've gone downtown and had up to 8 or 9 people ask me for money on a 6 block walk before (not quite the norm but it must have been the peak bum shift of the day). Hardly the place I think a 20-something woman would feel comfortable in.

Also consider the "Virginia Highland" area. Not quite Buckhead, but not downtown either. Village feel with a vibrant nightlife. One of the more unique areas in Atlanta.

[rdcypher]

AtlantaGreg, thanks for your comments. With some additional research I found the same apartment listed on a real estate site at a much lower price ($1400). So if she doesn't agree to that price I'm not going to pursue it. It is a nice apartment but it's not THAT nice.

I think you all have given me insight on the downtown thing and I'm going to pass for now. I would feel comfortable if I had a better feel for the area. As it stands, I won't have a whole lot of time to really investigate. I'm on a bit of a time crunch. I've only been to Atlanta once and spent most of my time midtown I think.

I'm going to look into Virginia Highland too, it sounds interesting.

[john1963]

i lived in the buckhead area for 39 years. I would not live downtown, it is a ghosttown at night and is very unsafe and infested with thousands of hustlers.
Virgina highland is nice but still too close to the crime etc for me.
What part of buckhead are you looking at?

[Buckhead_Broker]

I agree with John. I've lived in Buckhead for 47 years and wouldn't leave a dead cat in the Downtown area. There are plenty of nice apartments in Buckhead and with an abundance of lofts/condos, there are also plenty of rental opportunities there as well. Go to Realtor.com, search rentals in the 30327,30342 and 30305 zip codes. You'll find plenty, even some of the new high-rises. Best of Luck!

[veronicaluv]

if it helps any, I was there visiting a few weeks ago and these neighborhoods aren't that far apart...