Yearly salary to live comfortably in Atlanta? (Buckhead: apartment, lease)

[l'actrice]

How much does a single person need to make to live in a nicer part of Atlanta like Buckhead, rent a 1BR apartment, and buy healthy food? Not the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" lifestyle, but enough money that you're not worried about paying those bills...

[tonygeorgia]

45k

[SW30303]

I think 40s is good for a single person living intown alone in a 1 BR apartment/ small condo.

When I say this, I mean someone with no financial obligations like debt or an expensive car payment, child support, student loans, etc. If you have minimal debt, 40s is a good salary. You definitely would have to budget, not a lot of thrills. Go out once in a while, etc.

If you make in the 20-30s, however, you probably need roommates to live intown to offset costs.

[RandyWatson13]

Originally Posted by l'actrice

How much does a single person need to make to live in a nicer part of Atlanta like Buckhead, rent a 1BR apartment, and buy healthy food? Not the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" lifestyle, but enough money that you're not worried about paying those bills...

70k.....gets a used or leased luxury car, nice apt, food budget at whole foods, eat at restuarants and if you are smart enough to save/invest

45k would be making ends meet if you have debt and trying to pay for a car, apt etc.....

[alinka72]

Originally Posted by RandyWatson13

70k.....gets a used or leased luxury car, nice apt, food budget at whole foods, eat at restuarants and if you are smart enough to save/invest

45k would be making ends meet if you have debt and trying to pay for a car, apt etc.....

Totally agree with Randy. 45k in Buckhead is unrealistic even for one person. 1 br apt in Buckhead won't be less than 1k/month. Add utilities, groceries (whole foods or trader joe's), healthy food is more expensive than junk food even at the farmer's market, you will drive everywhere anywhere in Atlanta. The cost of living in Buckhead (salon, gyms, bars, restaurants, shops) is commensurate to the income of people who are able to afford to live there (professionals, business owners, enterprenuers, restauranteurs, basically 'old money'). I can sense by your question that you would probably be living above your means by picking Buckhead, otherwise you would not be asking your question here. There's plenty of people living in Buckhead just for 'show'. They are hardly making it. Do not embark on the abnoxious display of fake wealth of Atlanta.

Good luck.

[RandyWatson13]

Originally Posted by alinka72

Totally agree with Randy. 45k in Buckhead is unrealistic even for one person. 1 br apt in Buckhead won't be less than 1k/month. Add utilities, groceries (whole foods or trader joe's), healthy food is more expensive than junk food even at the farmer's market, you will drive everywhere anywhere in Atlanta. The cost of living in Buckhead (salon, gyms, bars, restaurants, shops) is commensurate to the income of people who are able to afford to live there (professionals, business owners, enterprenuers, restauranteurs, basically 'old money'). I can sense by your question that you would probably be living above your means by picking Buckhead, otherwise you would not be asking your question here. There's plenty of people living in Buckhead just for 'show'. They are hardly making it. Do not embark on the abnoxious display of fake wealth of Atlanta.

Good luck.

Agree and I was being kind.....originally was going to say 90k...its relative.....but on 70k you should be fine in buckhead...

[ATL_II_DMV]

I have no kids or major responsibilities, but wouldn't buy a condo in Buckhead making less than 75K as well.

[Big L]

I think that it is all relative to the individual, their lifestyle, and what they consider to be "comfortable". Believe it or not, there are people in the $70K-$90K range that are still living check-to-check and have outrageous debt. There are also people in the $40K-$60K range that own homes and still have money left after their bills. Salary means nothing if you don't know what to do with it.

I don't knock Buckhead by any means, but I also never saw the need to get an apartment there during my single days. Truth be told, no matter what neighborhood you are in or what the rent is, an apartment is still just an apartment. Since you will never own it, then your best bet is to find something that is convenient to your job/activities (whether it is in Buckhead or elsewhere) and that is priced where you will have some disposable income after your rent, utilities, and other bills.

[Big L]

Originally Posted by alinka72

There's plenty of people living in Buckhead just for 'show'. They are hardly making it. Do not embark on the abnoxious display of fake wealth of Atlanta.

Exactly. There are a lot of people out there trying to be Buckhead on a Bankhead salary.

[VJP]

I personally don't care much for buckhead, but I lived in midtown more than comfortably on 45k on up from 2004 till 2007 when I bought a house. No debt however, plenty left over, going out 2-4x per week and single then. As someone said, if you don't know what to do with the cash and don't have basic smarts about how others want your money (i.e. overpaying for things you WANT), you probably won't get far regardless of the neighborhood.