How dangerous is the Five Points area? (Atlanta, Decatur: universities, homeless)

[StaceyWll]

Five Points at night reminds me of the empty shell of a city that had seen better days.

Until the city truly decides to clean it up and make it safe, and to build over that shame hole of Underground Atlanta, it will never be anything more than it is now. Even during the day it feels grungy and 'nothing'. At night it is worse.

[deedral]

Little 5 Points still remains the city's only bohemia and that is limited as genderfication moved in long ago. The area still boasts Wax n Facts, Stephens, Aurora Coffee, Sevenanda and other wonderful and unique independent business's.
I feel safe during the day but vigilant in the evening and I do not walk alone in the area after dark.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by deedral

Little 5 Points still remains the city's only bohemia and that is limited as genderfication moved in long ago. The area still boasts Wax n Facts, Stephens, Aurora Coffee, Sevenanda and other wonderful and unique independent business's.
I feel safe during the day but vigilant in the evening and I do not walk alone in the area after dark.

This is a Five points thread. Little Five Points is not the same as Five Points.

[netdragon]

Think of Five Points as Soho in the 80s, or maybe 125th in Harlem until very recently. Five points is getting better, but it has a long ways to go. I work in an office building a half mile up from there and head down there often, and there are a lot of homeless and panhandlers and the subway stations are not the best, but during the day it's just an annoyance. If you can ignore that stuff, then the Underground is nice. At night, be careful. There are a lot of cops around so just don't do something stupid at night and duck into an alley with no patrols. :-)

Cental Midtown is upper East side or Murray Hill.
Grant Park is like some areas in Queens
Midtown around GA Tech on the West side of the connector is a larger Greenpoint, Brooklyn or Gramercy Park.
Buckhead is like Stamford, CT.
Perimeter is like Rye.

Assuming you like mass transit, those are your choices. :-)

You won't find anything that completely reminds you of NYC though (sorry :-( )

Check out Buckhead or midtown along Peachtree. Think of it as Broadway.

[LauraAnn]

I grew up in NYC and left in my late 30's.(around 1996) I commuted in NY during the days before the clean up of Times Square.
When I moved to GA I had to go to Five Points a few times. I was much more concerned for my safety in Five Points than at any time in NYC.
I believe it is more dangerous due to the fact that there are no business people or businesses in the area that draw in professionals.
The homeless were more aggressive in that area then in any of the cities that I've traveled to; Chicago, Miami, Seattle, San Diego to name a few.
Proceed with caution.

[cocopuffy]

yeah...the entire area pretty much shuts down at 5:30-No professionals and no businesses. Once I had to meet someone and walk to the Marta station during the early evening and between that those 2 blocks and the Marta entrance 3 people literally came out of the shadows asking for money and following us and I didn't see a single cop. I just started working downtown (though not in the immediate 5 points area) and I feel guilty for driving to work but with my hours it just isn't safe to walk to the train station. 2 cars have been broken into in our lot (and we have 9 foot gate around the property) and homeless people frequently walk into our office asking for money, food, and work.
I really like living in Atlanta but I must admit that this is the one city where I don't feel comfortable driving with my windows down. People ask you for money at the interstate on/off ramps for goodness sakes! Atlanta has a serious homeless/crime problem and I don't see the city doing anything to address it. But that is for another thread I guess...

[fountainsucks1]

ya well i would not have you live ANY WHERE on the west side. and if you cant really drive dont move their. if you live their or see a map its all big roeds and interstates. next i was born and breaded in VINE CITY witch is in the west end of town and not a good area. if you do go into west side of atlanta STAY!!! OFF OF SIPMSON STREET. I WAS RAISED BY THAT STREET AND ALWAYS SHOOTINGS! BUT I LOVE IT

[Indy2Mia2Atl]

Originally Posted by xxman777

Midtown is very accessible to Tech and provides more of the daily amenities (such as a grocery store) and has more nightlife then downtown. Just another option to think about. The Tech Trolley does a loop up to the Midtown Marta Station.

I agree. Midtown would be my choice.

[Cary Marshall Felton]

Originally Posted by john1963

Five points is the biggest collection of winos, bums and hustlers i ever saw.
All the crime tends to gravitate to the center of the city- the five points marta station.
I would not sign a lease there until you have walked around during the daytime and then walked around at 10pm when the city is a ghosttown.
I would not live in five points if it was free.

I would compare five points to 125th street harlem

I travel to Harlem 125th once a year. I visit Atlanta 5 points station soccer field once a week. 5 Points ain't Harlem at all. Harlem 125th is a bustling center for commerce in Manhattan. Not one boarded up store and new buildings are being built left/right. I would compare 5 Points station to Liberty City 15th Ave (Miami) in the 80's during the crack epidemic (I lived there). 5 Points is that bad.

[Just Blaze]

Why do people bump ass threads?