Decatur, GA neighborhood (Atlanta, Smyrna, Druid Hills: for sale, real estate, rental)

[alphaceti5]

I'm moving to the atlanta area, looking for a single family house to rent. I will be working in the mid-town/atlantic station area. I saw some nice houses for rent in Decatur, sw area I think....Larkspur Terrace by Meadowdale Park....close to Glendale Rd and 285.....I'm not sure what neighborhood this is.

Does anyone know if this is a good area? Traffic from here? 285? 20? 75? I just want a single family house on a quiet street, decent neighbors...the usual. Other areas would be fine...I'm just trying to stay withing the perimeter (285?), budget $1000/month, single family house.

Thanks for the help...much appreciated!!

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by alphaceti5

I'm moving to the atlanta area, looking for a single family house to rent. I will be working in the mid-town/atlantic station area. I saw some nice houses for rent in Decatur, sw area I think....Larkspur Terrace by Meadowdale Park....close to Glendale Rd and 285.....I'm not sure what neighborhood this is.

Does anyone know if this is a good area? Traffic from here? 285? 20? 75? I just want a single family house on a quiet street, decent neighbors...the usual. Other areas would be fine...I'm just trying to stay withing the perimeter (285?), budget $1000/month, single family house.

Thanks for the help...much appreciated!!

You're close to I-20, but then you have to deal with the Connector (I-75/85). Frankly, if (1) Decatur, and (2) proximity to Midtown interest you, there are three things I would recommend:

1) Rule out Decatur zips 30032, 30034 and 30035. They are to the south of Decatur, the city proper (30030) and not particularly accessible to Midtown anyway. On top of that, it's not a particularly desirable area.
2) Rule out Decatur 30030; you are going to be hard-pressed to find a decent SFH for $1000.00 mo. It's kind of pricey here.
3) Which leaves Decatur 30033, the closest Decatur zip to Midtown, and accessible to I-285 and I-85 (via N.Druid Hills Rd.). You should have plenty of SFH rental options in your price range within that zip. In particular, I would target the neighborhoods of:

Medlock Park
University Heights
Laurel Ridge
Merry Hills*
Briarcliff Heights*

*Actually not 30033, but Atlanta 30329...same area, though.

Hopefully, Intownhomes247 will weigh in here...she is a realtor and a resident of 30033.

[TakeAhike]

I can say for certain that if you select zipcode 30329/Briarcliff Heights you will have several good options for renting in this neighborhood. I've seen perhaps 6 'For Rent' signs and it is not a bad commute to midtown/Atlantic Station. The traffic on Briarcliff Rd/N. Druid Hills is stop and go for a large part of the day --people headed toward Emory/CDC and so forth. Once you reach Ponce de Leon it flows a little better.

I don't know exactly what the asking price is at present--2/3 bedroom, 50's ranch houses --renovated to greater and lesser degrees--anywhere from $1100 to 1500 would be my guess. You might find some for less.

Convenient to shopping and to getting around --Lenox, Perimeter and a reverse commute if you choose to travel north on I85.

[equinox63]

A quick question... between 30030, 30307, and 30317, which is cheaper and safer in your opinions?

[IntownHomes247]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

You're close to I-20, but then you have to deal with the Connector (I-75/85). Frankly, if (1) Decatur, and (2) proximity to Midtown interest you, there are three things I would recommend:

1) Rule out Decatur zips 30032, 30034 and 30035. They are to the south of Decatur, the city proper (30030) and not particularly accessible to Midtown anyway. On top of that, it's not a particularly desirable area.
2) Rule out Decatur 30030; you are going to be hard-pressed to find a decent SFH for $1000.00 mo. It's kind of pricey here.
3) Which leaves Decatur 30033, the closest Decatur zip to Midtown, and accessible to I-285 and I-85 (via N.Druid Hills Rd.). You should have plenty of SFH rental options in your price range within that zip. In particular, I would target the neighborhoods of:

Medlock Park
University Heights
Laurel Ridge
Merry Hills*
Briarcliff Heights*

*Actually not 30033, but Atlanta 30329...same area, though.

Hopefully, Intownhomes247 will weigh in here...she is a realtor and a resident of 30033.

My ears are burning. I'll second the 30033 zip code as an excellent one for finding reasonably priced real estate (for sale or rent) convenient to Midtown. Any of the surrounding zip codes would also be convenient but most will be more expensive than you're interested in, but in case you find a great rental ad on CraigsList, I'd add 30329, 30324, 30345 to the list. You also might possibly be able to find something on the westside -- it's not my part of town and I can't comment on the neighborhoods because I don't hang out there, but lots of people like it and some parts are extremely convenient to Midtown. Check out 30309 and 30318. Smyrna and Vinings (some inside some outside of the perimeter on the westside) also have some good deals and lots of advocates.

Good luck! (and Live Long & Prosper )

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by equinox63

A quick question... between 30030, 30307, and 30317, which is cheaper and safer in your opinions?

For safety, I would say 30030, since Decatur has its own (very effective) police force. 30317 is probably the least expensive.