Midtown vs. Five Points vs. Decatur (commute to Gainesville) (Atlanta: to rent, college)

[alexd632]

I'm a 25 yo single guy, and will be moving to Atlanta in July. I work in Gainesville so I realize I'm in for quite a commute which I would like to keep at 1hr max. The 3 areas of Atlanta I'm looking at are midtown, five points and decatur.

Ideally, I want an area that is very walkable, lots of restaurants nearby, and people around my age. Also, accessibilty to 85 is key to keep my commute under an hour. I'm looking to rent an apt. for $1500-2000.

Which of these 3 locations would be best for me?

[IntownHomes247]

Do you mean 5 Points downtown or Little 5 Points between Inman Park & Candler Park?

It's an interesting question. I think Midtown would be your best bet, particularly if you could manage to leave at non-peak rush hours. Midtown provides really, really easy access to the interstate, but it is also the focal point of a great deal of traffic so you might be able to get on the highway quickly but then be stuck not going anywhere fast if you're at the wrong time. Of course, you should be doing a reverse commute, so once you get a little way from the city, things should open up.

If you're thinking about 5 Points Downtown, there's not really so much to do there. Decatur is wonderful, very small college town vibe, but getting anywhere from Decatur tends to be a bit of a struggle.

[alexd632]

I was referring to 5 points downtown. I've really only been looking at places in Midtown because this was the area that intrigued me the most. However, I wanted to keep an open mind.

I would be leaving for work at 7am. I was hoping this was early enough to get out of the city before traffic gets crazy.

[IntownHomes247]

Well, I'm never in Midtown at 7a but I'm sure someone will be able to tell you about the traffic then. I think you're on the right track with Midtown. Sounds like your best bet. I don't envy you the commute, but at least you know what your getting into. You might want to try a test run before you commit to anything.

[researchnerd]

I definitely recommend a test run (or two, or five) before you decide. It's a reverse commute, and doing it early may help, but I still think you'll have a tough time keeping that drive under an hour. I know from experience that driving 1.5-2 hours each way doesn't seem like a big deal at first, but it takes a significant chunk out of your day, both timewise and energywise. Please consider this seriously.

If you decide to do it, Virginia-Highland, Morningside and Ansley Park are also close-ish to 85 and might also be in your price range.

[WanderingImport]

I would strongly oppose anything inside the perimeter if you are trying to keep your commute at an hour tops to Gainesville.
For a while, I worked overnights in the vicinity of midtown (with easy access to 85) and at 7am, traffic is sluggish on the connector, opens up at the 400 split, but as soon as you pass spaghetti junction (285 & 85) and especially into Gwinnett, it becomes sluggish again and sometimes to a stop (going north, of course..south is still worse).

I live in Norcross, which, on a typical day with no traffic would take me 45 minutes to get to Gainesville. Going the other way, to midtown from where I am, takes me 30 minutes. The numbers just don't bode well for you if you want to stay in town and commute to Gainesville (about 50 miles from one to the other one way)

There are plenty of nice places to search that have walkable small downtowns (though not comparable to midtown of course) but would keep you out of your car burning fuel and time. Suwanee has a nice "new" downtown as well as Norcross, Duluth and Lawrenceville (with their charming older downtowns)... Personally, I would take a closer look at Gainesville itself. It is a really nice town.

On the other hand, if you just HAVE to live in town, the areas mentioned in the previous post are great. Maybe add Buckhead in the mix. Perhaps even Sandy Springs (a smidge closer to Gainesville but with MARTA connections to places intown).

[red92s]

Downtown Norcross might be worth considering. Outside the perimeter, nice area, close to 85, etc. That still gives you a 35 mile commute each way. I've only ever had dinner and drinks there two or three times so I've got no clue what the housing options in the area are like, but it seemed very much like a downsized version of Decatur.