Moving, help me out with some of these areas. (Atlanta: apartment, condo)

[Cellar-door]

So I checked out the sticky, but it seems to be dead and most of the advice that was recent wasn't all that applicable (mostly houses/families or working in very different parts of the city)

1. Budget- like to keep it at or under $1250 a month could maybe stretch into the 13s.
2. House/Condo/Townhome?- Apartment/Condo
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)- Will be working up near the Mercer Atlanta campus.
4. Children(public school vs. private)-NOPE
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two- More Urban
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? - Preferable but not necessary.
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.- Young professional, diverse would be nice.

Okay. So I'm looking at moving, job is as noted above right near the southern part of the Mercer Atlanta Campus between 85 and 285.

I'm looking for a 1 bedroom preferably (non-carpet floors would be great) I lean towards larger buildings with professional management. I don't care much about stuff like a pool, but good management for small stuff is imports (package delivery, security, upkeep etc.) I'll have a car for getting to work so walkable MARTA access, while nice, isn't that high.

What I like in a neighborhood. I'd like someplace where after I get home from work and on weekends there will be places in walking distance, Coffee, restaurants, maybe bars, some retail? I like more of a city type feel in terms of energy, having lived mostly in cities (NY, LA) before. I'd also like something with a commute not any longer than my current 35-40 minutes.

Any suggestions on areas (or buildings, or management companies) would be appreciated. Below are the places I've been seeing that look interesting, so any opinion on them on a "stuff to do" "neighborhood quality", "safety" etc. scale would be great:

1. Buckhead Forest/Heights/ Lenox area
2. Lindbergh (both sides of 85)
3. North Druid Hills
4. Brookhaven
5. Peachtree Hills

Anything on that list a bad idea?
Anything missing you'd suggest over those?

2 places I considered but haven't put on the list:
1. Midtown- looked cool, but limited options in my price range, and I wonder even with a reverse commute all on 85 if it will be a tough commute.
2. Sandy Springs- Is it more of a suburb? Seemed like it but tough to tell.


THANKS.
For

[Cellar-door]

Bump

[jsvh]

Avondale, Chamblee, Virginia Highlands, Candler Park, Doraville, Kirkwood?

[Tarzanman]

You should be able to keep your commute down to 35 minutes or less with ease. You are working right near spaghetti junction off of Chamblee Tucker Rd.

I would take a hard look at Brookhaven, Chamblee, even the Emory area. Basically, you want to live up or down I-85, going no farther south than Poncey-Highlands.

Dunwoody and Sandy Springs are an option, but 285 will add time to your commute

[testa50]

I would be on the fence between Buckhead/South Buckhead and the Eastside neighborhoods from Old Fourth Ward over to Emory/Decatur. A lot of it boils down to personality and preference. Based on how important building management is to you I think you might lean Buckhead over the Eastside.

There are numerous ways to get from any of these neighborhoods to your office, but you'll generally find all of them to be about as fast as just fighting your way up 85, and it'll take roughly 30 minutes.

[Cellar-door]

Thanks for the replies, I'll definitely check out the new suggestions.