downtown decatur, Please help! (Atlanta, Dunwoody: apartment, renting, buying a home)

[alicea042]

Okay, I am leaning towards downtown decatur. I will be renting at first and then possibly buying a home in a couple of years. I am currently employed in healthcare office support. I am looking at apartment communities in the downtown area- Church st, Trinity or White Mills Road.

I will have a car, however I would like to be able to walk or take marta to work. Which Hospitals/ Medical facilities are in close proximity to 30030? And which mall is near? Can you get to the malls without going by Highway? I have been driving here in New Jersey for 14 years and I am quite tired of it. Also, Is Decatur High School near the South Dekalb Mall?

I know I have a lot of questions! If anyone can answer even one, please help!

Thanks!


Thanks

[TakeAhike]

<quote alicea042>
'I will have a car, however I would like to be able to walk or take marta to work. Which Hospitals/ Medical facilities are in close proximity to 30030? And which mall is near? Can you get to the malls without going by Highway? I have been driving here in New Jersey for 14 years and I am quite tired of it. Also, Is Decatur High School near the South Dekalb Mall? '


'Take Marta to work'---
There is a train station in Decatur--you could conceivably work on the other side of town--'Pill Hill'/Peachtree Dunwoody area. Several large hospitals/medical centers there. I really wouldn't limit myself to finding employment in Decatur.

There is a small, older hospital in Decatur and DeKalb Medical Center is about 10/15 minutes away. Others can provide further FYI on these institutions.

--Malls
North DeKalb Mall is probably the closest, then Northlake.
You can use surface streets rather than the interstate.

--Decatur High School is located in Decatur and is not close to South DeKalb Mall.

Just curious--have you visited Decatur?

bhs

[lyukos]

Downtown Decatur is a great walking environment, and improving all the time. It's green and we have lots of restaurants, coffee shops, nice little boutiques, art galleries, bookstores, a bakery and a small supermarket, although not a great one. Most of the restaurants are so-so, but at least they are there. Sawicki's Deli is unbelievably good, although very stripped down in appearance.
The medical facilities are at Emory and North DeKalb Medical Center. I love walking out of my apartment and walking round the corner for a coffee at Indie Coffee and Books or at the Java Monkey.
Shopping -- I am a bit tired of the boutiques, which are over-priced. I go to DeKalb Mall for a lot of stuff -- there's a Burlington Coat Factory, Ross', Rainbow's and Macy's and a (somewhat smelly) movie multiplex. To get to it you must take Lawrenceville highway for a very tiny bit, though (1 block). For the big shopping I leave Decatur and go to the Lenox area, though.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by bhs119

--Malls
North DeKalb Mall is probably the closest, then Northlake.
You can use surface streets rather than the interstate.

I've been preaching lately for newcomers to get a decent GPS system for their cars as they're extremely helpful in the Atlanta area. You can now get the ones that announce the street by name that you need to turn on for around $249 and up. You can get basic ones for as little as $149 now, but they will just say "turn right in 1 mile" as opposed to give you the street name verbally.

Many of them (especially Garmen and Magellan) have a feature so that when you're entering a destination you can specify "avoid freeways" (or if you prefer, "use freeways"). This is great for folks who want to navigate around Atlanta but avoid the interstates. Costco when they have them, usually has the best prices on them, FYI.

[irishvanguard]

I doubt that there are any shopping malls served by mass transit in DeKalb County, other than by bus.

[deja-zebbie]

Alicia042,

Emory was mentioned in a post as a medical facility that would be near you.

I'm not familiar with any hospital in Atlanta but Emory and the part of Emory that is near Emory University.

My experience with Emory is as a patient and I recommend them highly. The ambiance is similar to the Mayo Clinic, IMHO not as "fancy" as Mayo (I'm speaking of the Mayo Clinic branch in Scottsdale, AZ) but then, what hospital is? Emory is heavily engaged in research and also has state of the art equipment. They even test new equipment. During my brief time in Georgia I've known them to test equipment that has now become the standard.

I've been very impressed with the radiologists, RN's, office coordinators, general office staff and billing. That's saying a lot.

If you're asking about medical facilities for possible jobs I can tell you that the areas of Emory which I have used (again the part of Emory that is near the University) the staff never appeared rushed and when I was there always had the willingness and time to search for something needed to make me more comfortable. Staff (including docs) greet patients when passing them in the halls. The docs I used made time to chat with my husband and me when they encountered us in the snack bar.

The appointment person in the department I was frequently visiting went out of her way to always work us in early since it's a long drive from Atlanta to where we live. And, amazingly actually remembered me from visit to visit.

As a patient I have no idea of what it's like to work at Emory, but since everyone I dealt with (except on one phone call) seemed so courteous and caring, I would find it hard to believe that it could be a horrible working environment. I did observe a courteous atmosphere between staff and docs on several occasions.

So, I guess you can tell I like the place, eh? It's not just a matter of liking it though. I think they provide superior care, at least in the departments where I was seen. I think that my opinion is shared by a lot of others because when I was going frequently I often met people who drove in from other states to Emory.

Good luck on your move to Atlanta

zebbie