Gay couple moving to Atlanta (Sandy Springs, Marietta: transplants, real estate, apartment)

[peiBear]

Good day,

My partner and I will be moving to Atlanta. We're looking for an apartment in a gay friendly neigborhood. We're hoping to get as close to my workplace at Norcross (intersection of 140 & 141) as possible due to traffic being horrible.

Any recommendations? Thanks.

peiBear

[dncngrl1964]

Originally Posted by peiBear

Good day,

My partner and I will be moving to Atlanta. We're looking for an apartment in a gay friendly neigborhood. We're hoping to get as close to my workplace at Norcross (intersection of 140 & 141) as possible due to traffic being horrible.

Any recommendations? Thanks.

peiBear

you may not get any answers from realtors, as sexual orientation is one of the protected classes and against fair housing laws in the state of GA
we are obligated to not steer away from or toward certain areas. What we CAN do is advise you to seek those answer from qualified sources.

[xxman777]

You can however get an answer from the non realtors. Intown neighborhoods are the most gay friendly in Atlanta but most of the inner ring suburbs are fine. I think it's going to depend on what kind of life style you are looking for. Midtown is where all the young gay men go, party central. As you go farther east through Virginia Highlands toward Decatur the median age goes up. Decatur is more well known for its high population of Lesbians but there are also a high percentage of gay men. You should also look at areas such as Morningside or Piedmont Heights, a reverse commute out to Norcross from these locations wouldn't be bad. You can also look in areas near where you are working, they will be gay friendly but more suburban without a lot of gay couples nearby.

[dncngrl1964]

thanks xxman I really wanted to help them but am obligated not to

[Prichard]

I didn't think there was any restriction at all on what information people can provide to other people, so long as they are not acting in the capacity as a real estate agent.

I think the discrimination laws (fed and state) only apply if you are wearing your "realtor hat". Not, if you are just answering questions of someone on a forum, without being engaged or even soliciting business.

[dncngrl1964]

Originally Posted by Prichard

I didn't think there was any restriction at all on what information people can provide to other people, so long as they are not acting in the capacity as a real estate agent.

I think the discrimination laws (fed and state) only apply if you are wearing your "realtor hat". Not, if you are just answering questions of someone on a forum, without being engaged or even soliciting business.

I understand what you are saying but later on it could come back to bite your butt so my suggestion is to not even get into it

[peiBear]

Good day dncngrl1964: Sorry that my questions is too specific. We are middle aged couple, very discreet and just want to find a place (apartment) that is nice, quiet and safe. A little bit of gay culture and socialization is nice but daily commute to work is my bigest concerns.

Good day xxman777: Thank you so much for the info.

Thank you,
peiBear

[atlantagreg30127]

There's a lot of different types of gay cultures here in Atlanta (not sure that's the best way to phrase that, but maybe you'll get the idea).

A friend of mine is a military officer guy. 6'4"220, very macho sports-oriented type of guy. He has nothing to do with things like gay pride parades, rainbow flags, or gay bars. He has a number of friends who have a similar mindset to him, yet, they are not what you'd call "in the closet" either. They live in the Smyrna and Marietta areas, but I know that some people he knows live as far away as the Mall of Georgia area in Gwinnett, and none of them seem to have any problems as far as neighbors knowing their gay and giving them problems, etc.

On the flipside to that, if you listen to the way he describes it, he'll say that the Midtown area tends to have more of the "hey girlfriend" crowd (gay bar partiers, rainbow flag wavers, etc), and he and those who hangs out with have nothing to do with it. From observations many may agree with that, but of course, you'll still find exceptions to the rule in any area of the metro area.

So again, this may not sound very good the way I'm going to say it, but I guess the general point is that it depends on what type of "gay atmosphere" you're comfortable with. If you like the party, "out there", West Hollywood equal in Atlanta, then the Midtown area is probably the best. If you're more of a mainstream person who has the "I just happen to be gay" mindset who's not into all the partying stuff, then any suburban area is probably fine. It's 2007 and there are a lot of transplants in Atlanta who come from larger cities, so I don't think gay people have problems even in the burbs unless you moved WAY out and were very in-your-face about it.

[peiBear]

Good day atlantagreg30127: Thanks for the reply and I know what you mean. We are really discreet and some of our friends don't even know that we are gay. Go figure. Or maybe they just accept who we are (which is how it supposes to be, IMHO) instead of "label" us as "gay".

I guess my best bet would be an area in Dunwoody/Sandy Springs as they are on MARTA route, close to Norcross, and hopefully no one will "stone us to death".

[xxman777]

You would be fine in Dunwoody/Sandy Springs. If fact I would surprised if there weren't other gay couples or singles in the same community you chose. Atlanta is a very gay friendly city, I've heard it called the "gay mecca" many times.