20-something Moving to Atlanta - Decatur, Virginia Highlands, Midtown, Buckhead, or Sandy Springs? (Between: low income, apartments)

[pennylane61]

I know this is a rather broad (and diverse) range of areas, but I don't know much about Atlanta - apart from what my girlfriend has told me and previous visits (10 or so). I just graduated from UGA, and I'm looking for a SAFE and fun area, possibly with a good music scene. An area with a significant population of 20-somethings wouldn't hurt either.

I'm moving there with my friend, and our budget is $800 between the two of us. We would like a townhouse or apartment. I am planning on getting a substitute teaching job in Fulton, Dekalb, and/or Gwinnett. I prefer an urban lifestyle but safety is of the utmost importance.

I know a lot about Decatur - a cool artsy town - and I've heard a lot about Midtown and Buckhead. I heard Buckhead is basically soulless and Midtown is growing a lot, but they have problems with crime. Does Sandy Springs have a big 20-somethings population? Is Virginia Highlands pretty safe? Are all these areas pretty liberal?

Thanks

[ecuresident]

It really depends on your preferences and where you think you will be hanging out. What type of music scene are you talking about? I am going to assume live bands like UGA. Unfortunately Atlanta doesnt have a whole lot of that (that I have found so far at least)- An apartment (looking for a 2 bedroom?) for that price should be do-able, a townhouse not so much (but still possible). Also keep in mind utilities- $50 for water, garbage, $100 for electric, $70 for cable/internet. Pets? My take (this a generalization) as I currently live in midtown but am moving to buckhead in a month.

Midtown- lots of homeless people and petty crime, but if your a guy nothing to really worry about- most of the crime is cars getting broken into- just dont be stupid and leave stuff sitting out in your car, make sure the apartment has a security system and double bolt locks. Pick this if you like to go clubbing because most of the major clubs are on crescent.

Buckhead- huge population of 20 somethings, probably more hot girls here than the rest of the city combined. This is the financial district so a lot of kids with accounting, finance, consulting jobs. A lot of the scene is Ex-frat/sorority people or older sex in the city chicks. Has the mall and a mix of bars and smaller clubs.

Virginia Highlands- Same crime factors as midtown more or less. Mostly normal college type bars- aka more low key, people standing around just hanging out. Good mix of different type of people. Between here and Midtown would be your best bet for live bands as both have a sprinkling of bars that have this.

Decatur- Fun, artsy area, a moderate amount of young people but you are getting into suburb territory compared to the other spots. Fun on the weekends with a good mix of smaller bars, but no clubs, and during the weekday- even thursday stuff is empty by 11. Very safe, walkable area with awesome restaurants.

Sandy Springs- Really depends what side you are talking about in the perimeter which is before 285 or after. After is pretty suburby. Before is good, but hit or miss with crime. Overall I would probably say avoid.

Some other areas I would check out are Brookhaven- right above Buckhead which as a good mix of younger people that arent as "pretentious" as the buckhead crowd but you are right next to buckhead when you want to hit it up and the Chastain Park area.

[AnsleyPark]

When I was a 20-something (back in the 1800s...) I enjoyed Virginia Highlands the best. Lots of the bars have live music, it's not as pretentious or expensive as Buckhead and is a bit more neighborly than Midtown proper.

[lastminutemom]

Do you have your teacher certification? If not, getting a sub job may be tricky. DeKalb is only hiring certified teachers for subs right now -- you need to check the other systems.

I love Virgina Highlands

[pennylane61]

Thanks for the tips.

I actually have my teacher certification and just put in subbing applications with DeKalb and Gwinnett. I heard Fulton wasn't hiring...

Why is Sandy Springs a hit or miss with crime? I've always heard it was a pretty safe area. And I'm referring to the area inside the perimeter.

[ecuresident]

It is generally safer than the City, but there are a lot of low income apartment communities in the area which has led to crime, esp the closer you get to 285. Just drive around and you will see what I mean, the Prado area is nice, but there are a lot of Mexicans walking around (and no I am not racist) and people just standing around. Go to www.crimereports.com and put in atlanta and you will see where most of the crime occurs.

[dailysounds]

I'm looking for almost the same thing, so these suggestions are great to read. Looking at google maps, though, the areas you guys are talking about seem to be far outside the city. All I see are trees and houses. Can I conclude that in these areas you will still be driving to your local pub?

[ecuresident]

Atlanta in general has a lot of trees and is very spread out as it is not landlocked. It is not like Chicago or NY where you have city blocks of Skyscrapers. The closest to that is downtown (where not a lot or people live) or Buckhead. Unfortunately it not a real walkable city. Most of the time I take a cab, but they do cost more here than places like Philly or NY (about $20 from Midtown to Buckhead). When you are saying local pub what do you mean- a neighborhood bar? Most of the places I have mentioned with younger people have a concentrated area of bars or clubs with a few mixed in in local areas (Midtown - crescent ave and 14th st and Piedmont park area, Virginia Highlands- Virginia Ave, Decatur- the square, Buckhead- East Andrews Area, Lindbergh, and a few others . Most of these areas are also a lot more when it comes to apartment rent. ( I live about 10 blocks from Piedmont park, my rent is $1200 a month, the same apartment next to piedmont park is around $1600 a month).

[shivtim]

I live in Midtown and love it. It's probably the most urban/walkable area of Atlanta. There are some crime issues, but I certainly wouldn't say it's an unsafe area. Ecuresident was right that most of the crime in Midtown is theft from vehicles. None of my friends in midtown have ever been robbed or had their apartments broken in to. Midtown also has a great selection of restaurants, bars, etc that you can walk to, and really good transit access. In general, I would suggest finding a place closer to Piedmont Park or the Midtown or Arts Center MARTA stations. Further south in Midtown (south of Ponce) gets a bit sketchy.

Decatur is sleepier than Midtown, but still a great option. It's probably safer, and has a number of fantastic restaurants and cute shops. It's more "family friendly," but there still are quite a few 20-somethings.

VaHi is also relatively safe, and again has plenty of walkable restaurants and bars, but it's nowhere near a rail transit stop.

I would avoid Buckhead, but that's just my opinion. It's too expensive, not very pedestrian friendly, and basically just a mall surrounded by gated high-rise condos and offices and then neighborhoods of mansions. The bar scene is nothing like it used to be. It's a relatively low-crime area, however.

[cityfilms]

$800 between 2 people is piddly, like a fast food service salary. You won't find a 2 bedroom anywhere decent for that much.