Gay friendly suburbs? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Marietta: transplants, lease, condos)

[shane54]

My partner and I will be moving to Atlanta very soon (1-2 months). We intend to rent initially. We will purchase a home w/in the next year. Living in the city is still an option, but can only find SMALL bungaloes for 250+. If we could find a town with easy access to hwys/city would be great.

We would like an open-minded,safe area with access to restaurants, cafe's ect. We have researched many areas: East Point, Marietta and areas to the east and west also.

Any info would be great. Of course we are wanting to "eat our cake and have it too" I know. But after we have a better idea of what our options really are, we will begin narrowing our list of 'wants'.

We look forward to moving to this great city and appreciate ANY info/opinions.

shane54

[ready2move]

Shane54,

I believe if you dig back a couple of pages, there was a topic about an older gay couple relocating to GA. Not sure if it will help or not,,,

[Tdiddy0027]

enjoy Atlanta. You'll find Atlanta to be a gay friendly oasis surrounded by extreme religious fundamentalism. All of the Northside suburbs are pretty gay friendly, and you can find a few on the southside like Peachtree City.

[Slam]

Hey Shane

I can vouch for East Point as being extremely "gay friendly". Huge gay community down here...I just rented my town home to a gay couple and they were blown away by the number of other gay and ******* couples in the community. Midtown in ATL is a gay mecca, but you'll pay a premium for living there. EP has very affordable housing...

[Slam]

ok, so apparently this forum has a problem with the word lesb1an....weird.

[atlantagreg30127]

The company I work for puts me in contact with a variety of people who are working long term or relocating to Atlanta, so here is a short version clumped together from what I've got from the gay (at least openly so) clients coming here once they're settled:

Midtown: As others are saying, the gay bullseye of the entire region, but some among the community call it the "gay ghetto", as it tends to be known for the sometimes more "out" types of gays. In other words, with the majority of gay bars there, a gay mall (Ansley), and other gay-themed businesses, you tend to get the more obvious types. This either bugs the hell out of you, or if you among this group, it's heaven. Your choice.

Virginia Highlands: Pretty much next to Midtown and some consider it part of Midtown, but it's slightly more upscale in terms of housing. More of a village feel. As in Midtown proper, expect to pay at LEAST $250,000 for a small house, and up from there. ** updated comment ** note the dates of the original postings regarding prices - this post is "pre-recession".

Buckhead: More upscale "glamour gays" some call them (Elton John owns a $$$ condo here if that answers it). Even more expensive than Midtown, but newer and more big cityish.

Gwinnett County: Towns of Duluth, Lawrenceville, and so on are here. This is probably the most culturally diverse area of "metro" Atlanta, as for whatever reason it appears most newcomers move to this area NE of the city. VERY diverse. You might have a gay couple living next door to a southern baptist preacher, and across the street relocaters from NYC next to Idahoans, who have people from China, Korea, and the UK living on the same street. It's not so much that they're accepting of gays openly - there's just such a mix of people there's too much to single any one group out.

College Park / East Point: Lots of gays moving into this area and revamping old homes, but it's also somewhat high in crime as it makes its transition from ghetto to remodeled. I've talked to people who have moved into these areas and they liked the homes, but didn't like seeing bums peeing in their front yards. Many will move into this area for a year or two, remodel a house, make a killing on it, and move elsewhere.

Cobb County: Marietta and Kennesaw have more traditional yuppie (2.5 kids, white, minivan, church) families, but are "tolerant" of gays so long as you don't wave a rainbow flag on your front porch (you do, and it's not quite so friendly). Further west into Austell, Powder Springs, and it's again, tolerant if you blend in, not much if you "flame on".

Paulding: LOTS of our gay clients have moved out to Paulding and Douglas counties (Hiram, Douglasville), but they all tend to be the big construction worker types - the types who pretty much can kick the ass of anyone who dares call them the f-word to their face. I've been told these areas are considered the "macho migration" for gays who are not into the Midtown scene at all. The Home Depot in Hiram (way west) is one of the nicknamed "homodepots" due to the number of gay couples you tend to see in there if you're observant.

Move any further out and you're more and more likely to run into the bible thumping "you're going to hell" types, or just redneck stuff in general - hit and miss.

So the conclusion - if you are a "out there" gay male type or a hammering, spitting big ol les type, move to Midtown and you'll find lots of friends. If you're more of the type who prefers to blend in with the mainstream and do your day to day stuff without body piercings and rainbow flags, then places like Duluth, Alpharetta, Kennesaw and Douglasville - they'll do fine.

Hey, I can never be accused of not saying it like it is. ;-)

[lolobooks]

shane, you didnt say if you're a gay male couple or a female couple. dont forget, there's Shane from the L WORD ! {:-> and, of course, she's female.
if you're looking for a women's community try decatur or pine lake - both due east of midtown atlanta. decatur is inside the I-285 perimeter and pine lake is just outside the perimeter.

[paradigm1970]

I used to live in Atlanta in the mid-late 90's. I found it to be a great place to be as a gay man. I lived in Decatur, Midtown, and Sandy Springs. Midtown if you want the nightlife, Decatur if you are coupled up. All great places. I live in San Francisco now and can't wait to return to Atlanta. SF is so overrated.

[Georgia]

Well, coming from a straight guy with many gay friends I can vouch for the Dacula / Buford area. My neighbors are Gay (male), my other neighbors are Gay (female).
We all went out one evening in downtown Buford and I could say out of about 75-100 people at this get together I think my wife and I along with another couple were the only straights in the crew.

One thing about this area with all the transplants, you can tell who the narrowminded folks are just by the way they talk and look at ya.

For the most part this melting pot is very acceptable and inclusive of most everybody. Yeah, you got your phobe's, your rednecks, and your Klan with a tan, but for the most part their numbers are few around here.

[Zelia]

[
Shane,

A new book profiling the 50 best gay-friendly cities was just released within the past year.

DeKalb ( pronounced De "KAB" ) County is the only Georgia area listed. It's not a city, but a county. As an Atlanta resident, I would highly recommend DeKalb County as probably you're best overall choice--especially if you're going to buy a house. Taxes are less.

Atlanta is located in Fulton County. The city of Atlanta is gay-friendly, but other parts of the county may not be as gay-friendly. Taxes in Fulton County are much higher. Fulton County is not a well-managed county.

Case in point is the Appraiser's Office. The AJC had an article about an owner of a multi-million dollar house that hadn't paid taxes for several years. The reason why? He didn't get a bill.

Elton John is suing Fulton County for his high property tax bill. His condo has 12,000 square-feet. Apparently, he feels that it's a million or so over-valued. I think half of the Fulton County appraisers have been fired, due to property appraisal irregularities.

Midtown, and homes around Piedmont Park, is the center of the gay community. Expect to pay $400,000 for an old bungalow--1200 square feet, and $150,000 to $200,000 for a one-bedroom condo--800 square-feet.

Virginia-Highlands is gay and expensive. Gay-friendly areas extend eastward and the prices are less. However, Inman Park is quite expensive. Little Five Points is the counter-culture center of Atlanta. Homes are expensive.

Gwinett County is undergoing a radical transformation. Something like 30 to 40% of the residents were not born in the U. S.

Presently, the condo market has some good values. High-rise condos such as both of the Mayfair buildings, Metropolis, and Spire are a good 50% gay.

For the most part, gay-friendly areas here have old homes. A few new homes are being built, but expect to pay $600,000 plus. Condos are the exception. Atlanta has gone condo-crazy. The developers say there's a healthy market, other people are not so sure.

Quite a few flippers bought them and then couldn't sell them. There's some good deals, but you have to live in them. Most of them are already 25% leased, and that's the top percentage allowed. If you're an investor, don't buy one.

Atlanta is a liberal city, but the state of Georgia is not. Republicans are firmly in control--politically. They made sure that the same-sex marriage law was full of loopholes. Having it full of loopholes means it would be an issue for years.

Stay away from Cobb County. Many gays live there, but fundies are firmly in control.