AtlantaNewcomer (Marietta, Decatur, Powder Springs: apartments, renting, lofts)

[jo-302]

I will be moving to Atlanta starting a new job and I am very used to the northeast lifestyle ( New York, Philadelphia) so I am looking into some similar setting at least for my apartment.

I understand it would be very different but from what I have seen there are some good places ( midtown ) where life is very similar.

I will also be commuting out of the city for work every morning and heard traffic out of the city in the morning is usually pretty good as people do the opposite .

Any thoughts ?

I ll be open to talk to people if you know anyone I could contact too.

1- Budget - 1200-2000
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Ideally an Apartment , 1bdr , studio or lofts
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) - Starting a new job
4. Children(public school vs. private) - No kid ,single
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - Urban lifestyle, I heard a lot of good things about midtown by Piedmont Park.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Sure , ideally would like to be able to walk to places
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Yuppie

[jsvh]

You should be able to get in about anywhere in Atlanta for that budget. Try 77 12th street out to start. It is a brand new high-end high-rise. Walk-able to MARTA, Piedmont Park, a bunch of great restaurants, bars, and clubs. 77 12th - Luxury High-Rise Apartments - Midtown Atlanta

But note that Atlanta is a different kind of city from the Northeast. Midtown sounds like where you want to be, but if you want to get a flavor of some different neighborhoods that have a unique vibe also check out: Buckhead (High-end area that has urbanized with plenty of high-rises); Virginia-Highland or Decatur (nice neighborhoods with walk-able hip-small-town-in-a-big-city feel); EAV / Kirkwood / Old 4th Ward (similar walk-able areas with older houses surrounding bar-restaurant clusters , but with more hipsters and up-and-coming feel).

[jo-302]

Thanks for the reply !
I looked at this building and will definitely consider that.
About the other neighborhoods, I am also trying to stay close from the highways as I will have to commute in the morning to Dallas
Buck head seems to be a little bit of the way for now.

[jsvh]

Some others in Midtown to look at:
Baltimore at Midtown, Skyhouse, The Atlantic, Post Parkside, there are lots of condos you can usually find people renting out units in too.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by jo-302

Thanks for the reply !
I looked at this building and will definitely consider that.
About the other neighborhoods, I am also trying to stay close from the highways as I will have to commute in the morning to Dallas
Buck head seems to be a little bit of the way for now.

...If you like Midtown then you should certainly go with it as it sounds like it would be a really good fit for the type of urban lifestyle that you are looking for.

But if you like Buckhead then you really should not discount it as being too far out of the way with a reverse commute to and from Dallas, GA.

That's because you likely will not have much, if any problems commuting between the city and Dallas in the West Metro suburbs as you will be commuting against traffic during both morning and evening rush hours.

If you do find a place that you really like in Buckhead, all that you would have to do to commute to Dallas, GA during the morning rush hour is either:

A.) Cut across (go westbound on) West Paces Ferry Road over to Moores Mill Road over to Bolton Road over to Marietta Boulevard;

Turn right on Marietta Boulevard/South Atlanta Road northbound and take it up to Cumberland Parkway;

Turn left on Cumberland Parkway westbound (which will become the East-West Connector) and stay on it until you come to Powder Springs Road;

Turn left on Powder Springs Road westbound and stay on it until you come to US 278/GA Hwy 6 (C.H. James Parkway);

Turn right on US Hwy 278/GA Hwy 6 Westbound and go into Paulding County, go through the Hiram area and you will be in the Dallas area.

OR

B.) Cut across (go westbound on) West Paces Ferry Road from the Buckhead area over to Northside Parkway (US Highway 41);

Turn right on Northside Parkway (US Highway 41 Northbound) and go about a mile until you come to the entrance to Northbound I-75/Chattanooga;

Turn right onto the on-ramp to I-75 Northbound/Chattanooga and stay on it until you come to the Windy Hill Road exit;

Exit onto Windy Hill Road and turn left on Windy Hill Road westbound;

Stay on Windy Hill Road westbound (which will eventually become Macland Road/GA Hwy 360 Westbound) for several miles (for about 18 miles or so) and you will run directly into the Dallas area when you come to the intersection at GA Hwy 120 where you can proceed to where you are going in the Dallas area.

One thing to understand about the Atlanta region is that because our freeway coverage is somewhat limited in its geographical reach for such an expansive metro region (due to unique political reasons), our major surface roads (particularly our many parkway-like 4-lane divided highways) carry very-heavy volumes of traffic like a freeway would carry.

Driving between Buckhead and West Metro suburban Dallas, GA would not be a problem for you since all of the extremely-heavy rush hour traffic would be heading in the opposite direction towards the employment centers inside and around I-285.

[jo-302]

Thanks a lot for the hint.
I am definitely re considering buck head now and will look into more buildings.

[jsvh]

I would drive them in rush hour traffic first. Even if you are going "counter-flow". See which areas are better for your commute.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by jsvh

I would drive them in rush hour traffic first. Even if you are going "counter-flow". See which areas are better for your commute.

...Excellent suggestion.