Gay-friendly neighborhood near Emory -- less than $275k (Atlanta, Tucker: appointed, apartment)

[rbudde]

Hello! First post, so forgive me if this has been asked before -- I searched but didn't find quite what I was looking for.

I'm currently a student at Emory Law and my partner and I are thinking about moving out of our rental and buying our first house in June. I'd like to be within commuting distance to Emory (within 45 minutes) and our budget is somewhere around 250-275k max.

I know the Decatur area is nice and is pretty close to what we're looking for, but we haven't seen houses that we really love (they seem to have a lot of ranches, something we're not crazy about) so I was hoping someone more familiar with Atlanta's traffic patterns could suggest neighborhoods/suburbs that are close enough to commute but that might get us more of what we're looking for.

Safety is a pretty big concern, and we'd prefer somewhere relatively gay-friendly. Any ideas?

[Newsboy]

Within 45 minutes and that price range, Gwinnett County is probably you're best hope. Others will be able to tell you the best "gay" neighborhoods out there (though I don't think anywhere is gonna be a problem).

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by rbudde

Hello! First post, so forgive me if this has been asked before -- I searched but didn't find quite what I was looking for.

I'm currently a student at Emory Law and my partner and I are thinking about moving out of our rental and buying our first house in June. I'd like to be within commuting distance to Emory (within 45 minutes) and our budget is somewhere around 250-275k max.

I know the Decatur area is nice and is pretty close to what we're looking for, but we haven't seen houses that we really love (they seem to have a lot of ranches, something we're not crazy about) so I was hoping someone more familiar with Atlanta's traffic patterns could suggest neighborhoods/suburbs that are close enough to commute but that might get us more of what we're looking for.

Safety is a pretty big concern, and we'd prefer somewhere relatively gay-friendly. Any ideas?

Need more information from you:

What style of house do you prefer?

45 minutes is a fairly big range of a commute. Do you really want a commute up to 45 minutes, or would you really prefer something closer to Emory?

Do you want urban, semi-urban, or suburban?

Atlanta overall and everywhere is relatively gay-friendly. However, it might be good for you to give a few more details about what you don't want.

What else would you ideally want/like/prefer in your neighborhood and community?

[George Chong]

And do you prefer a single family house or a condo?

Number of bedrooms and baths?

Where does your partner work (in terms of an "equitable" commute for the both of you)

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by George Chong

And do you prefer a single family house or a condo?

Number of bedrooms and baths?

Where does your partner work (in terms of an "equitable" commute for the both of you)

Yes--these are more good questions for the OP.

[Iconographer]

For that budget, two neighborhoods that fill the bill near Emory are Briarcliff Heights (off Briarcliff Rd between N Druid Hills Rd and Clairmont Rd) and Woodland Hills (off LaVista Rd between Briarcliff Rd and Cheshire Bridge Rd). Both have a significant number of gay residents, both are a great value for their location and both have held their value very well during the downturn.

[rbudde]

More details:

Ideally, we'd prefer a single-family home closer to Emory -- 45 minutes is about as far as I'd be able to go, but it would be nice to find something much closer than that. Three bed/two bath. My partner is currently looking for work, so it's hard to say where she'll end up. If all goes as planned, she'll be part of the Georgia Teaching Fellows program next fall, working with a high-needs/at-risk school in the Atlanta area. As far as type of neighborhood, I think we'd prefer something semi-urban or suburban rather than a strictly urban setting (I went to college in downtown Chicago and I'm very glad to be away from that). We also need a backyard (we have a dog), but it doesn't have to be huge. Just enough for her to run around and burn off some steam.

Does that help?

[George Chong]

Not to get into your business but why not wait until after law school since you won't know where you might find a job and qualifying for a mortgage with one partner either looking for work or changing jobs can be increasingly difficult too.

Otherwise, I will add Ashford Park to the list of neighborhoods too.

Ashford Park Civic Association

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by George Chong

Not to get into your business but why not wait until after law school since you won't know where you might find a job and qualifying for a mortgage with one partner either looking for work or changing jobs can be increasingly difficult too.

Otherwise, I will add Ashford Park to the list of neighborhoods too.

Ashford Park Civic Association

Good advice from Mr. Chong about waiting.

Other possible areas:

Historic Downtown Clarkston
Tucker
Valley Brook Road/McLendon Road Corridor of Neighborhoods
Midway Woods

[rbudde]

Re: waiting -- that's absolutely a possibility. Before law school, I worked at a bank and am very aware that she and I couldn't get a mortgage at the moment. We're thinking about buying now because her parents are willing to either buy for us (we'd rent from them and then buy from them when we're settled) or they'd sign onto a mortgage with us (basically to lend us their income figures). The Atlanta housing market seems to be recovering, and we wanted to catch it before prices start to increase too much (and we also are at a point where we have too many pets to rent an apartment and we've been pretty disappointed in the rental houses that we've seen). Partner and I both have excellent credit and we have enough money to purchase a house in cash, which we're hoping may make lenders more friendly.

Thank you for the neighborhood suggestions! I'll definitely check them out!