Where to live in Buckhead? (Atlanta, Roswell: real estate, apartments, lease)

[Genevieve]

Hi,

My husband and I are considering a possible move from Center City Philadelphia to the Atlanta area, and would like to live in Buckhead. Any info would really be appreciated!

We would probably rent an apartment for the first year and then buy a home if we're as happy in the area as we think we'll be .

It seems like there are a lot of smaller districts or areas in Buckhead, and I'm not sure where the best place to live would be.

We're in our early 30s, have no kids, and like the idea of bing able to walk to restaurants, coffee shops, the bookstore, etc.--we like the downtown lifestyle.

Finally, his job would be in Marietta. Am I right in assuming that this would be a reverse commute, and take abot 25 to 3o minutes?

Thanks so much for your help!

Genevieve

[Sharon R.]

Woo hoo, you have got the right idea! Just an idea, there is a lovely old historic area of Marietta called Marietta Square that you might be familiar with. I believe there are some new loft developments there. You might get a little hung up in traffic doing the reverse commute, but not too bad. Also consider mid-town. Buckhead has a very active nightlife, but crime has also gone up because of it.

Those more familiar with Buckhead, please chime in!

[atlantagreg30127]

Buckhead is spread out more than people think. The one area you may wish to avoid these days is known as the "Buckhead Triangle" area. It's in lower Buckhead and is an area where Peachtree and Roswell Roads run into one another.

In years past it was a very trendy, someone snootishy night club area (think L.A. with a southern twang). In the last 3-4 years however several famous Hiphop and Rapper type guys have opened clubs in the area and at night, especially on weekends, it gets pretty hairy in that area. Night crime has shot up quite a bit (shootings, stabbings, muggings, etc). 90% of the time it's guys in those clubs getting into it and taking it outside, but bystanders seem to be caught up quite a bit... plus, noise in that area at night has seen a huge increase (cars driving up and down blaring high bass Rap, etc). Many people who live in the buildings surrounding that area complain about the noise and problem now. The local police installed a lot of cameras on the light poles which helped a little bit, but it's still an area I would not invest money in to live.

If you look at a map and try to find where the Lindbergh MARTA (rail) station is, you might want to look in that area. That area is the exact opposite of the Buckhead Triangle - in the past it was a sort of shady area, and now there is a ton of higher-end development around there. A complete turnaround. It's still just a few minutes drive from the greater Buckhead stuff, but has it's own ammenities as well.

One link for one development in that area: http://www.condo-living-west.com/atl...lindbergh.html

Here's an article about that area as well, with pluses and minuses on the development: http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/g...id=oid%3A16343

Last, one more very recent article. It discusses more the overall new rage in building near transit stations here, but about 3/4 of the way down the Lindbergh area is discussed specifically: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2006/09/01/0902metmarta.html (broken link)

[bbuch]

atlantagreg is right about Buckhead, however, things are going to change (not sure how soon). A developer has gone around and started buying up all the land in the triangle. They are planning to turn that area into a Rodeo dr. kinda place and get rid of all the clubs and bars that have been causing the problems.

A good place to look in Buckhead is in the Peachtree Hills area. Brookhaven is also very hot right now.

good luck with the move. My wife is from the Phili area and we both love it here!

B

[xxman777]

Both Greg and BBuch are accurate about Buckhead. I would stay away from the triangle but most other places are very nice. If I was to live in Buckhead I would go for Peachtree Hills. The problem is most of Atlanta (including most places in Buckhead) aren't really walking distance from anything. Atlanta is too spread out.

You will probably hit some minor problems coming out of Buckhead but you are right, the reverse commute should take about 25-30 minutes (probably less). I would worry more about traffic around the area. Traffic especially on Peachtree or Piedmont can be horrible at any time of day, any day of the week.

[Zelia]

As Greg correctly mentioned, the noise level is quite bad at the intersection of Peacthree/ East Paces and Peachtree/ Pharr Road. The bar district is only one block over, and the bar patrons are rowdy and loud.

On weekends, young people like to cruise up and down Peachtree with their car stereos blasting away. However, this is generally a problem only in this one specific area of Buckhead. Owning a condo along this stretch of Peacthree would not be an ideal situation. One expensive high-rise condo on Peacthree, The Phoenix, is just two block or so from Pharr Road. These condos range from $500,000 to a million, and one of the fringe benefits (?????) is hearing the latest rap songs blasting from car stereos.

This area is only one small area of Buckhead. Elton John owns a condominium at Park Place on Peachtree--maybe eight blocks south of The Phoenix condominium. His area is totally residential and non-commercial.

Buckhead does encompass a fairly large geographical area. You did metion walking distance to coffee shops and restaurants, so that limits your options to some degree. With that as your criteria, I think you'll have to live fairly close to Peachtree. Parts of Peacthree are very commercial, and some parts are not so commerical.

I guess your housing alternatives boil down to dollars. The following is NOT set in stone as home prices vary a lot in Buckhead, but below--maybe 475,000 you're pretty much limited to condos. From $475,000 to $700,000 you're looking at older smallish bungalows. As you move up in the price range, the homes are larger. A million dollar home is not even close to a mansion.

If I was going to buy a home in Buckhead, and I could afford to spend between $800,000 to $3,000,000 I would buy a house in Brookhaven--close to Peachtree-Dunwoody Road. It's a beautiful area with lots of trees, within walking distance to Phipps Plaza ( the most upscale mall in Atlanta ) and Lenox Mall ( a close second ), and lots of upscale restaurants. It wouldn't be a long walk to Phipps Plaza-- maybe six blocks--depending upon where you live. Up by the Capital City Country Club, it's a longer walk.

[atlantagreg30127]

I used to live in Brookhaven back when "common people" could afford it. It's going through one of those high dollar rebuilding things like the Lindbergh area is now, though. If you work downtown and can find a place near the Brookhaven MARTA station though, you're set.

Like a lot of people will suggest (other than real estate agents who want a quick commission), it's ALWAYS a good idea to RENT a place in an area first, to see how you'll like it, before buying a house outright. Sign a 3 month lease if they're available (or the shortest possible), that way if you do decide you like the area and find a place quickly, you can pay off the lease and not be fined for it.

For gods sake though, avoid POST PROPERTIES if you rent a while. They're all over the place, overpriced, undersized, and built like papermache toy houses. You can hear your neighbor's phone ringing (among other things!) and if there's a fire (apartment fires are common in Atlanta), the entire building goes up in less than 15 minutes since they're built so cheaply (with a lack of GOOD firewalls, etc). Look for older brick apartments and inquire about the firewall situation, get renter's insurance even if you only plan on renting a short time, etc.

It should be noted though, that while Brookhaven is a nice place to buy it's not cheap in any part of it anymore, and, there is no official "downtown" type of area - only a few shopping center type things. If you want a village type atmosphere you'll need to go to inner city areas like Virginia Highlands, or outward to the Marietta Square area type of places.

[Genevieve]

Thank you all for such helpful posts! This info will be very valuable as we make our decision.

Genevieve

[bbuch]

If you are intersted in Brookhaven, you may consider buying a lot ($250k-$350K) and then building what you want.

B

[Prichard]

Buckhead isn't as expensive as it should be. Look for houses in the Ivy Lane area, sort of behind Lenox Mall off of Peachtree. Last I checked some of the older homes were selling in the $500-$600 range. This is cheap, in my opinon, for Buckhead. The same house in the heart of Winter Park FL would sell for just under $1,000,000.