25yo single female - buckhead or midtown? (apartments, place to live)

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by Frankster87

As someone who lived in both Buckhead and Midtown, I would strongly suggest Midtown. Not only will you be able to walk to bars and restaurants, you will also be able to walk to everything else: Grocery, Dentist/Doctor, Piedmont Park, The Beltline, etc. Vinnings will probably be a bit too Suburban for you.

Agree. I lived in Vinings back when I was in school. Never walked to a bar in my time there. Drove to get groceries. Cumberland is just your average suburban mall unless you love PF Changs or Cheesecake. Traffic is same everywhere else. Just a few miles closer in.

[midtown mile girl]

Living in Midtown I will tell you that there are a lot of young professionals working and living here. There are socials at the High Museum and Atlanta Botanical garden aimed at young professionals, and there are softball and kickball leagues that play at piedmont park. Piedmont Park was packed yesterday after 5pm . It's the most walkable part of the city with a ton to do.
As for apartments you might want to contact a service like Promove to help you navigate.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Midtown- more specifically, Atlantic Station.

I'm definitely all for Vinings. Anywhere around the village/Jubilee.

[westau]

Originally Posted by Frankster87

As someone who lived in both Buckhead and Midtown, I would strongly suggest Midtown. Not only will you be able to walk to bars and restaurants, you will also be able to walk to everything else: Grocery, Dentist/Doctor, Piedmont Park, The Beltline, etc. Vinnings will probably be a bit too Suburban for you.

How the heck is Vinings suburban? It probably more dense than 80% of the city of Atlanta. Also for the record there is a Publix in Vinings that is just as close to how close most of Midtown is to a grocery store.

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by westau

How the heck is Vinings suburban? It probably more dense than 80% of the city of Atlanta. Also for the record there is a Publix in Vinings that is just as close to how close most of Midtown is to a grocery store.

What Publix are you talking about? Cumberland Parkway? There's maybe one apartment complex within walking distance to that store. The other stores aren't even close to Vinings proper. Where would somebody living within walking distance of that Publix walk for nightlife afterward? Marlow's hardly counts.

From where I live in Midtown, there are 2 Publixes under a mile (closer one is 0.3 miles). Trader Joe's is 1 mile and Whole Foods is 1.5 miles. Closest Kroger is 1.6 and the next is 1.7. The bar/club district is under 0.5 (plenty of other bars are much closer) and Piedmont park is about the same. I count 14 restaurants/bars/coffee shops within a 1 block radius and over 20 if I'm willing to go an extra block out w/ several more being built in the next few months.

Living near where I live now, I've been able to go over 3 months on a single tank of gas b/c Marta is but a 5 min walk. You can't possibly pull that off in Vinings no matter how "dense" you think it is. Vinings is a nice place to live relative to a lot of Atlanta but for a young single professional that wants to have a life beyond sitting in traffic, Midtown offers the most of everything within a close area.

[arjay57]

I think you'd like either Buckhead or Midtown. Both have lots going for young folks.

[afdinatl]

Originally Posted by Mishap

What Publix are you talking about? Cumberland Parkway? There's maybe one apartment complex within walking distance to that store. The other stores aren't even close to Vinings proper. Where would somebody living within walking distance of that Publix walk for nightlife afterward? Marlow's hardly counts.

From where I live in Midtown, there are 2 Publixes under a mile (closer one is 0.3 miles). Trader Joe's is 1 mile and Whole Foods is 1.5 miles. Closest Kroger is 1.6 and the next is 1.7. The bar/club district is under 0.5 (plenty of other bars are much closer) and Piedmont park is about the same. I count 14 restaurants/bars/coffee shops within a 1 block radius and over 20 if I'm willing to go an extra block out w/ several more being built in the next few months.

Living near where I live now, I've been able to go over 3 months on a single tank of gas b/c Marta is but a 5 min walk. You can't possibly pull that off in Vinings no matter how "dense" you think it is. Vinings is a nice place to live relative to a lot of Atlanta but for a young single professional that wants to have a life beyond sitting in traffic, Midtown offers the most of everything within a close area.

got damn I fill up my tank once a week. Yes I'm hating

[shivtim]

Originally Posted by westau

How the heck is Vinings suburban? It probably more dense than 80% of the city of Atlanta.

Why guess, when you can use data?
The three census tracts that make up Vinings have an average density of 3,600 people per square mile.
The five census tracts that make up Midtown have an average density of 17,450 people per square mile.
Buckhead is huge and harder to define, but the three central tracts (around Lenox, Buckhead Village, etc) have an average density of 6,360 people per square mile.

So yes, in term of density, Vinings is suburban, and doesn't even come close to touching the density of Midtown. That's part of the reason why so many young professionals want to live in Midtown.

[mariek750]

Midtown, 100% Midtown.

With your budget and your age -- MIDTOWN.

While I appreciate the recommendations that other have given you about Vinings, I'd pick Midtown over that 10 out of 10 times. And I wouldn't even consider Buckhead -- Buckhead isn't the worst, but be prepared to drive everywhere always and frankly, those bars aren't great and the happy hours are less than that and you're not going to be able to walk there.

I'm from the Atlanta area and I've lived everywhere (Stone Mountain, Decatur, Downtown, west-Midtown, Cabbagetown, Grant Park), but I've been living in midtown for seven years and I've come to the conclusion that it's the only place I want to live. Otherwise, I'll just move out of state. I love it so much.

It's the only part of Atlanta that has legit walkability, public transit is a realistic thing that I actually use (so much money saved!), bars >> clubs and there are some great bars, there is great food to be experienced, Piedmont Park is my friend (and my gym), I legit walk to the grocery store, I am also considered a "regular" at 4 coffee shops (only one of them isn't a Starbucks, but still) -- Midtown feels like a neighborhood. The vibe leans young and liberal and the sidewalks are plenty.

Buckhead won't give you that. Vinings won't either.

[MovingtoATL123]

Thanks for all the input! It sounds like Vinings, Buckhead and Midtown all have a lot going for them, but probably Midtown is the most urban/walkable. I'm making a trip up next weekend to check out apartments, definitely planning on checking out a few different areas, so hopefully I'll be able to make a decision after that!