Progressive-Bohemian Type Moving to Atlanta (Decatur, Druid Hills: apartment complex, condos, travel)

[saralizer]

Hi.

I just got a job at the CDC, and I'll be moving to Atlanta at the end of July/beginning of August.

I'm a progressive 26-year-old, and I guess I'm that indie-rock-folky-bohemian-type. I've been told that Little Five Points is the place for me to move, but having never been to Atlanta, I have no idea how practical that is. I don't know anyone there, so my community will be very important to me.

I've also heard that its absolutely necessary to have a car in Atlanta, and I'm curious if that's absolutely true, even if I lived and worked near a train line.

So, I guess my questions are - What area is best for me to move, if I'm working at the CDC? Do I absolutely need a car?

Thanks!!
Sara

[TakeAhike]

5,000,000 people in the metro Atlanta area and IIRC, includes over 5,000 square miles
ETA:
metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce FYI>>>
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce ::: NewcomersGuide


Atlanta is not pedestrian friendly and we are going to have a very hot summer--drought conditions at present--significant deterioration of air quality.

I think there are several CDC locations--including one on Buford Hwy--the logistics involved in taking MARTA--trains and buses are staggering.

I think you owe it to yourself to come and visit before selecting a permanent location.

Little 5 Points might be a match. You also might like Decatur or other areas.

good luck

sls

[xxman777]

Assuming you work at the main CDC campus (Emory) then Five Points could be the place for you. Another similar, kind of funky area is East Atlanta (but its farther). The main CDC isn't on a rail line (not much of Atlanta is). If you are truly committed to an alternative means of transportation you can do it in Atlanta, it is just very difficult and will take a lot longer. There are buses that go to CDC and Little Five (Little Five is very close to a rail line). I have a number of friends who bike but you must understand first that you are really risking your life if you bike in Atlanta because of the lack of shoulders or sidewalks, much less a bike lane.

[snapdragon]

I think you should check out Pine Lake. It is an assume community. You would need a car though. The city has a great community friendly set up. They have pancake breakfasts every month on the lake plus Friday night music by the lake and LOTS of other events. It's not as *modern* as Little 5 points, as in not such good shopping and restaurants.
Here's the website. HTH

The Official Website of Pine Lake GA, Pine Lake GA

[atlantagreg30127]

Yes, you need a car.

MARTA rail goes to the major areas and tourist spots but it isn't very practical for day-to-day stuff (grocery stores, etc). The bus system is like many large cities - slow, not on time, and time consuming. If you can deal with commuting to work on transit and only need a car occasionally (outings, Costco runs, etc) then there is a "Flexcar" service in Atlanta: Flexcar but it would be too cost prohibitive to use daily.

Little Five Points is where you can find everything from artists and photographers to bikers, people covered in tattoos and body piercings, and drag queens. VERY mixed and VERY funky. Toss in a few bums and crazy people, too. The lower end of it flows into the Inman Park neighborhood where you have a MARTA rail station (Inman Park station).

[sumiller2000]

Decatur is commonly called "the Berkeley of the South." I think you should check it out. They have a MARTA (subway) station in the middle of downtown. There are tons of condos and apartments within a block or two of the MARTA station. They have a lot going on as far as festivals, wine crawls, beach parties, etc. Very progressive area with lots of intellectuals around - a ton of professors and CDC folks.

They have their own police dept that is very on the ball so not much happens there as far as crime is concerned - especially compared with the rest of metro ATL.

Little Five Points is very hip too. We used to live there. It has a bit of a scary edge to it though so I would spend a good bit of time there before you make a final decision. There is a big subculture of runaways and druggies and "urban outdoorsmen" there. That isn't what L5P is all about - it's much more than that - but it is there and you would have to be comfortable with it.

If you want to be in the L5P area, you will probably want to live a bit away from the actual commercial area. Candler Park and Lake Claire are fabulous communities, and Candler Park has its own commercial node that is a bit less edgy than L5P. The Candler Park MARTA station is close by. Inman Park is also nice and a bit removed from L5P. They have a TON of apartments and condos on Lake Avenue and off of Highland in an adjoining up and coming neighborhood called Old Fourth Ward.

East Atlanta/Grant Park/Cabbagetown are also very cool and less expensive than Decatur/Candler Park/Inman Park so you might want to give those areas a look. Cabbagetown has a huge mill that was converted into apartments. It is very cool. It also has a bunch of cute little row houses that have been renovated. It is close the the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station.

Good luck on your search. You have lots of choices in ATL if you are a progressive type! And yes, the air is bad right now, but if we could just get some of that rain that is pounding TX things would get a lot better!

[saralizer]

what if i just lived in walking distance of CDC/Emory. Surely, with that student population, there's some fun stuff to do and grocery stores around the area? surely?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by saralizer

what if i just lived in walking distance of CDC/Emory. Surely, with that student population, there's some fun stuff to do and grocery stores around the area? surely?

It's just not that easy--IMO--to actually live in walking distance of CDC. The Emory campus and medical center occupies most of the land in the immediate area.

map>>> (Emory is 'F' on this map---to give you some sort of overview of NE Atlanta/Midtown, etc---miles of asphalt--few sidewalks...)
Map of Emory University, 1676 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322-4000 on Atlanta Citysearch (broken link)

The area srrounding Emory is expensive---Virginia Highlands, Druid Hills on one side (so to speak)/Ponce de Leon Ave and older neighborhoods--50's/60's houses on the other(Briarcliff/Clairmont/La Vista/N. Decatur Rd)--not really within walking distance of CDC.

2 recent articles about the Emory area:

---'Cousins, Emory Move forward with Housing Plan'
Atlanta News | Emory and Cousins Move Forward With Housing Solution For Traffic Congestion - Emory’s bold initiative to take workers out of their cars during rush hour and put them into homes in walking distance of their offices won approval la


--Emory Village will be changing/revitalizing>>>
DeKalb approves Emory Village zoning change | ajc.com

There was one grocery store there/Emory Village---about a mile from CDC. And another grocery store in Sage Hill Shopping center less than a mile from CDC. About a mile up Briarcliff Rd--Whole Foods and another mile down LaVista --Toco Hill Shopping Center--probably the largest in the area--Publix and Kroger.

I'm sorry but--to attempt to walk to these places in 90 degree heat is just not wise---and very time consuming. Buses run through this area--and all sorts of alternative transportation might be arranged but so time consuming--impractical, again, my own opinion.


The 'Emory Corridor' is a very good place to live in Atlanta. And its expensive.

Decatur, Virginia Highlands, Inman Park, Little 5 Points--young professionals live in these areas. The High Museum has a singles group, there are all kinds of art related groups and courses, plenty of things to do --but they are 'all over the city'. Easier with a car.

Come and see.

sls

ETA:
Map of Little 5 Points>> From Emory/CDC/Clifton Rd--travel ??3-5 miles South on Briarcliff Rd--cross Ponce de Leon and Briarcliff becomes Moreland--about 1-2 miles down --this becomes Little 5 Points--anywhere around Ponce de Leon might be 'eclectic' and diverse--
AREA MAP

[xxman777]

I recently lived in pretty much the only apartment complex which could be considered walking distance from the CDC and I would not want to do that walk on a daily basis. The sidewalk to the CDC includes a huge hill (both uphill and downhill) and is overgrown with weeds. There are a couple or grocery stores near by (Kroger in Sage Hill, Whole Foods at Lavista). There are a couple of restaurants, but not a lot of variety, no bars or parks within walking distance. Most of the surrounding area is Emory (a huge, sprawling complex) or very expensive single family homes. I guess this depends on how far you are willing to walk, but not much is walkable around the CDC, or Atlanta in general. I would recommend living somewhere like Little Five and biking in.

[south-to-west]

The City of Decatur is very progressive with a bohemian edge. It's also one of the most extensive pedestrian-oriented areas in Metro Atlanta, with a MARTA station located under the square.

Even better, you can easily bike from Decatur to the CDC/Emory area via the Claremont Ave/Commerce Drive corridor.