Questions about Atlanta's East Side (Washington, Georgetown: fit in, section 8, condos)

[_amy_]

Hello! I hail from Washington D.C., and was raised in Georgetown. After school, I moved back to Georgetown but found it too cookie cutter and "whitebread". I then deiced to live in an up-and-coming, trendy, gentrifying section of town, and I LOVE it!

I was just transferred to Atlanta. My cousin just moved there from Philadelphia and told me that I would not fit in in Buckhead due to my liberal views, as it is the center of conservatism.

I gave her the descripiton of what I wanted: Urban, Trendy, International, Hip, and Liberal. I also told her I like to be in a gentrifying area.

She responed that Atlanta's East Side is the place for me, as it is the "height of cool" in Atlanta, where all the action is happening, and also all the rage. She specifically mentioned the 4th Ward, Kirkwood, East Atlanta Village, Little5, and Cabbagetown.

Anyway, are these descriptions true?

[Chris_Davis]

Originally Posted by _amy_

Hello! I hail from Washington D.C., and was raised in Georgetown. After school, I moved back to Georgetown but found it too cookie cutter and "whitebread". I then deiced to live in an up-and-coming, trendy, gentrifying section of town, and I LOVE it!

I was just transferred to Atlanta. My cousin just moved there from Philadelphia and told me that I would not fit in in Buckhead due to my liberal views, as it is the center of conservatism.

I gave her the descripiton of what I wanted: Urban, Trendy, International, Hip, and Liberal. I also told her I like to be in a gentrifying area.

She responed that Atlanta's East Side is the place for me, as it is the "height of cool" in Atlanta, where all the action is happening, and also all the rage. She specifically mentioned the 4th Ward, Kirkwood, East Atlanta Village, Little5, and Cabbagetown.

Anyway, are these descriptions true?

East Atlanta and Little Five Points are both cool... just moved here in July and haven't really checkout the other neighborhoods yet. I live in East Atlanta and really like it a lot... a lot of the locals hang out in the village area. Little Five Points is large and more crowded... you'll see a lot more non-locals hanging out there as well. Good luck!

[George Chong]

Here are some websites so you can do some additional research:

Cabbagetown > Home
WELCOME TO LITTLE FIVE POINTS-ATLANTA
Kirkwood Neighbors' Organization (KNO) :: Kirkwood Neighborhood, Atlanta, GA
http://eaca.net/
Old Fourth Ward ATL

Here's my take on the hoods:

Old Fourth Ward is getting expensive as it is bordered by Inman Park (my hood). You are kind of in the middle of Poncey-Highland and Inman Park. There are some great things popping up like the Saturday Market and more shopping and restaurants.

Kirkwood is maybe a little further along than any of the ones that you mentioned. I just would not be close to Memorial Drive based on the traffic.

East Atlanta Village is very cool - I go shopping there and frequent some of the great restaurants.

Little Five Points (L5P) really is a business area/entertaining district as the homes are really part of Inman Park and Candler Park. The two areas have already gentrified but very liberal.

Cabbagetown is very hip and just on the other side of the viaduct from Inman Park.

Good luck!

[plessthanpointohfive]

You'd be happy in any of those areas, I think. Cabbagetown is the one probably at the bottom of the gentrification stages, meaning the newest on your list to start "turning" so it's edgier. I'd say Kirkwook and East Atlanta and Old Fourth Ward are a possible tie, though maybe East Atlanta is further along. East Atlanta Village is a really great place to find entertainment. Little Five Points, as GC mentioned, is really a business district that separates the Inman Park and Candler Park neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods are fully gentrified but very liberal. In those neighborhoods you will find a mix of people - all races and ethnicities, single to families. There are a lot of families because the schools are very good...I am raising my son there with my husband. But the families in these two neighborhoods are usually the liberal types.

L5P is the kind of business district where you find a handful of tattoo and piercing parlors, a community-owned organic vegetarian-oriented grocery (Sevananda), plenty of bars and restaurants, the BEST local pharmacy around, and a couple of coffee shops. And some local theaters. Locals do frequent it because who's not going to frequent entertainment they can walk to? But it does draw a lot of suburbanites on the weekends. However, if you're in the move for a real thick local crowd you can get to East Atlanta Village and other areas with a very short drive or a nice and easy bike ride.

If I were a single woman moving to Atlanta with the same attitudes I have today (because back when I was younger I thought I was conservative...hadn't shaken off my upbringing yet) then I'd move to Cabbagetown. The streets are super narrow and don't seem to always fit in a logical pattern. There are a lot of shotgun homes and skinny 2-story places. I always feel like I could live there and the world would forget I existed...even though I was in the middle of the city.

Have fun finding a place to live...you have a lot of options.

[gumboula]

I live in that area (Kirkwood) and would agree with all of the other posters. I would say EAV has the better business district, but Kirkwood has the better housing stock. Cabbagetown probably has the most urban-trendy-edginess. I would say the Old Fourth Ward is more of a mixed bag, from bland new condos (IMO) closest to Inman Park to concentrated section 8 housing in Bedford Pines. BTW, city council person was interviewed on local npr this morning about the Old Fourth Ward master plan (WABE: City Councilman Kwanza Hall Talks About Old Fourt Ward Master Plan (2008-08-12) (http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1338728&se ctionID=1 - broken link)). Finally, another suggestion not on your list would be to jump to the otherside of downtown and check out Castleberry Hill (Castleberry Hill Neighborhood Association). That would also fit your requirements.