What's THE BEST area in Atlanta to live? (Roswell, Mableton: HOA, low crime)

[kagmypts]

After reading the "What's the Big Deal about Decatur" thread, it got me thinking. What is the best area in Atlanta to live? Thread rules:

1. No negative campaigning. Please do not insult other areas - just let us know what is great about where you live.
2. No opinions - just the facts.

:-)

[lane421]

I'll start -

I love Grant Park.

I am within walking distance of the actual park (and the zoo) and Oakland Cemetery - both great places to walk a dog. Along those lines - a very dog friendly area - a great plus for our 2 hairy kids.

Lots of local restaurants within walking distance - Grant Central, Six Feet Under, Dakota Blue, Solstice, Standard, Stella...I like walking places!

Easy access to downtown (2 miles/5 minutes), all major highways (75/85 & I-20), airport (10 miles/minutes)...

We can walk to Braves games...

And how could I forget - I met my husband there

[plessthanpointohfive]

I live in Candler Park. I love it there. I love it because I love old houses and old neighborhoods with their weird, quirky houses and narrow streets. I love that I can walk a half mile in one direction and get to Little 5 Points and a half mile in the opposite to get to a great little corner grocery and some family-oriented places to eat. I am viritually across the street from the park. I bike to work every single day. I am steps away from PATH and the Atlanta-Stone Mountain trail. I love that I only have to drive my car on the weekends and only if I need something that I can't carry on my bike.

I only have one kid so I can take him most places by bike:



I love the hustle and bustle of the city. I love sitting out on my front porch and seeing all the people out on the sidewalk - jogging, walking dogs or children, heading to the belly dancing studio or a place to eat.

And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way the air smells like COOKIES from the commercial bakery back off LaFrance Street!!!!

And I love how my front yard is 5 feet off the ground because I get a kick out of the idea that you can fall off my yard.



I love how there are a lot of festivals in the park and all kinds of people from all over come to the neighborhood.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

After reading the "What's the Big Deal about Decatur" thread, it got me thinking. What is the best area in Atlanta to live? Thread rules:

1. No negative campaigning. Please do not insult other areas - just let us know what is great about where you live.
2. No opinions - just the facts.

:-)

What does "best" mean?

My wife and I wanted to live in a place with relatively inexpensive but still roomy housing that we could actually afford after my lengthy layoff and a 1200-mile household move (note: that doesn't mean *cheap* housing, but it does mean half-million-dollar housing is out), large wooded yards with mature shade trees, a welcoming family environment, an active but still somewhat laid-back HOA and (hopefully) a community pool, no traffic noise, a relatively low crime rate, underground power and cable lines which are less susceptible to things like lightning and stray cars, and decent access to the metro freeway system and to the airport. Oh, and it had to be within a rougly 10-mile radius of the centerpoint between her and my workplaces, which for us is roughly the intersection of Paces Ferry Road and Cumberland Parkway near Vinings. And we wanted a basement. And a porch. I'm sure the list was longer.

We found all of the above in the Stoneybrook subdivision in Mableton, located a mile or so south of the E/W Connector on Cooper Lake Road.

The only downside that I've seen so far is the fact that at certain times of the morning the traffic leaving the area on Cooper Lake Road is terrible, but since both my wife and I are able to avoid it that issue has been largely a nonfactor. Otherwise it's been absolutely perfect for us.

No, we can't walk to restaurants, etc., but since I drive my old car everywhere gas isn't that expensive, and we're used to driving from suburban living in the Twin Cities metro. The hills and woods around our area (which includes Nickajack Creek and the Covered Bridge District) are absolutely beautiful. And the Silver Comet trail is a scant mile away. On easily/safely walkable backroads.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

I live in Candler Park. I love it there. I love it because I love old houses and old neighborhoods with their weird, quirky houses and narrow streets. I love that I can walk a half mile in one direction and get to Little 5 Points and a half mile in the opposite to get to a great little corner grocery and some family-oriented places to eat. I am viritually across the street from the park. I bike to work every single day. I am steps away from PATH and the Atlanta-Stone Mountain trail. I love that I only have to drive my car on the weekends and only if I need something that I can't carry on my bike.

I only have one kid so I can take him most places by bike:

I love the hustle and bustle of the city. I love sitting out on my front porch and seeing all the people out on the sidewalk - jogging, walking dogs or children, heading to the belly dancing studio or a place to eat.

And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way the air smells like COOKIES from the commercial bakery back off LaFrance Street!!!!

And I love how my front yard is 5 feet off the ground because I get a kick out of the idea that you can fall off my yard.


I love how there are a lot of festivals in the park and all kinds of people from all over come to the neighborhood.

But you used the term "love" at least 100 times in your post, which constitutes opinion- not fact. You're not following the rules laid out by the OP- tsk, tsk, tsk.............

[plessthanpointohfive]

Yeah, it is...but I figured the OP really wanted to know why we like where we live and not why we don't like livign somewhere else.

I mean, there is no objective answer to the original question.

I'll go kneel in the corner on raw red beans now.

[Go Blue 99]

Originally Posted by kagmypts

After reading the "What's the Big Deal about Decatur" thread, it got me thinking. What is the best area in Atlanta to live? Thread rules:

1. No negative campaigning. Please do not insult other areas - just let us know what is great about where you live.
2. No opinions - just the facts.

:-)

Damn, there goes my intended smear campaign against N. Fulton

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

I'll go kneel in the corner on raw red beans now.

Ouch!

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

I'll go kneel in the corner on raw red beans now.

Use white rice instead. Our neighbor in NJ was Guatemalan, and she said one of her aunts made her kneel in a pile of white rice for an hour when she did something bad. She said she avoided spending time at that aunt's house as much as possible, and was on her best behavior when she was there- only took one time in the rice to straighten her out.....lol.

[RainyRainyDay]

I've lived in both suburban and urban settings and although currently located in the 'burbs, I much prefer intown living. (The thing that bugs me about the frequent ITP-versus-OTP debates on this forum is that some participants sometimes write like they think the "other" folk are just plain ignorant. But I digress).

I live just a few miles from "historic Roswell" and when I've visited there to walk on trails, etc., it always looks like a really charming, walkable area. Does anyone here actually live there? I'm curious to know how happy the inhabitants are.