Apartment hunting tips for a single female professional (Atlanta, Decatur: apartment complexes, rental)

[enig_4]

Hello all,

I am a 26 yr old single female professional relocating to Atlanta for my job. I would like your thoughts on a few areas I am considering to live in. I am looking at Virginia Highlands, Briarcliff/Druid Hills area, Buckhead( I know this is expensive) and may be also the area between Inman Park and Decatur. My office is located on Northside Pkwy, and I do not want to commute more than 20-25 minutes, one way. I am hoping to find something in the $700-$800 range or is this too loo?

I lived in Atlanta for about 3 months last summer for an internship, and I could say I know only a few neighborhoods in Atlanta. I have heard that a few areas are more crime infested than others and I was wondering the areas I mentioned above are safe for a single woman of foreign origin? I have looked at various apartment hunting websites and I must admit I am overwhelmed when it comes to looking for an apartment in a big city. Further, the ratings for apartments are so varied, I can't quite get a clear picture. Are Gables and Post really bad in terms of management?

It would help me to know what apartments I should absolutely avoid.

I apologize for the long post and would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks a lot.

[lbl26]

Hello there. I was in your same boat about two months ago. I'm a 27 year old single professional male that was moving to the city. I would HIGHLY suggest Promove to help you find your apartment. It's free and the people are wonderful!! They know Atlanta like the back of their hand. They just helped me find a place acouple of weeks ago. The person that helped me was Ian Oliver. He was awesome. I can give you his number if you want or you can just look up Promove on the internet. Just send me a direct message if you want his number or anymore information. I would be glad to help you. I know moving can be very stressful! Take care.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Hi enig_4,

Welcome to Atlanta.

I live in the area between Inman Park and Decatur, in the neighborhood called Candler Park. I live there with my husband and nearly 8-year-old son.

I would say any of the areas you mentioned are fine for a single woman, regardless of her origin of birth. The main advice is the same for any single woman...just be smart and aware...develop situational awareness and you will be fine. All this means is be aware of your surroundings and pay attention.

The risk of confrontational crime isn't real high. Most crime in these areas are opportunistic thefts, usually while people are not around.

If you move to my part of town I suggest you look on craigslist for an apartment in your price range. You're very likely to find an apartment that's part of a subdivided house in one of the residential neighborhoods. This has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that you wouldn't be living in an apartment community but in a neighborhood where your neighbors are likely to be families. This can increase your personal safety. It's also quieter and more homey.

The disadvantages are also that you wouldn't be living in an apartment community. So, no pool, no concierge, no fitness center, etc. Also, your apartment manager will be your landlord...which can be a mixed bag. I am a landlord and my tenant lives in the other apartment of my duplex. I'm a good landlord...responsive and constantly improving the property. The only tension between my tenant and me is that sometimes my cat beats up her cat. But even with that we've worked out a system to keep the cats apart. But...before I bought this duplex I lived in a rental house and my landlord was a slumlord who wouldn't fix anything no matter how badly it hurt my quality of life, like running water.

Anyway, back to the main point...safety-wise you should be fine. Apartments, can't help you. Craigslist is a good resource for your price bracket.

Best of luck!

[sally_S]

I had stumbled on these posts while searching for apartments, I know I may be a little late to answer the original post but I figured since I had such a great search experience I’d share it in case any future apartment hunters stubble here. I moved from the NYC metro area to the ATL recently and I used Skipbrokers.com to find a great apartment and the best part is all the listing on the site are no fee, meaning just what the name says “skip” the “Broker”. This has always been my go to site to find no fee apartments in NY and now I know it works great in Atlanta too!

[ATLTJL]

I would highly suggest the following:

Spend a little bit more money and move to the Buckhead area. It's not as expensive as you think. There are a couple of great apartment complexes in an area called Lenox Park, which is a beautiful park community that used to be a country club and was turned into a mixed use (residential, business office park setting). You can walk to Lenox, walk to MARTA, and you pretty much do not have to worry about crime at all. They keep it very safe.

These communities are loaded with young types and you will find active young singles that hang out by the pools, walk their dogs in the adjacent park, and go out to local bars and clubs at night. It's a great place to be a young single person.

You'll have to spend a tad more than $800 most likely, but if you are willing to take a unit that is a bit smaller, you can probably find a good deal. These apartments are all relatively new, so they have things like dishwashers and washer/dryer connections. You can also go to Peachtree Road a mile or so outside of Lenox Park (don't go the other way toward Buford Highway) to find places that are slightly cheaper because they aren't walkable to Lenox and they are not in a park setting.