Atlanta Neighborhoods

The city of Atlanta has nearly a half million residents, and metro Atlanta has more than ten times that amount. The city is less than one hundred sixty years old, but it has truly become the “Capital of the New South.” The millions of Atlantans cluster into neighborhoods and suburbs, many of which retain a distinct character. If you’ve ever visited Atlanta, some of the areas listed below will likely be familiar to you, but several will be new.

 

·        Downtown: Downtown Atlanta is the commercial center of Atlanta, and until recently it had few housing options. Over the past ten years, however, a number of apartments, condos, and lofts, have appeared in this high-rent, commercial area. If you expand downtown, however, the area includes small residential communities such as Sweet Auburn on Auburn Avenue.

·        Buckhead: Buckhead has the most luxurious apartments and condominiums in the city. In addition, however, there remains a significant amount of old Atlanta luxury in the neighborhood.

·        Midtown: Just north of downtown, Midtown is centered around Piedmont Park and is the cultural center of Atlanta. This area has a wide range of housing—from Victorian-style mansions to the opposite end of the spectrum. In the middle of this spectrum is the area’s sizable chunk of urban apartments.

·        Virginia-Highland: The Highlands is a small high-rent artsy area that runs from Ponce de Leon Avenue to University Drive. A lot of university students try to live here, but the rent can be exorbitant for aspiring artists.

·        Vinings: Vinings is somewhat of a secondary Buckhead. It is away from the main strips of town, but it offers luxurious living near shopping and dining establishments.

·        East Atlanta: East Atlanta has had somewhat of a sketchy past, but Fannie Mae recently named it one of the two ten emerging city neighborhoods in the country. For the most part, it is a blue-collar crowd that lives and works here and is rebuilding the community.

·        CandlerPark: Candler Park was one of the first integrated neighborhoods in the country and it remains culturally diverse today.

·        InmanPark: Two miles east of downtown, Inman Park (like Candler Park) is on the edge of Little Five Points, a quirky shopping and dining area. A century ago, Inman was the place to live in Atlanta and after withstanding some rough years, it is making a comeback.

 

These neighborhood distinctions are very fluid. Some, for example, would make a distinction of Sweet Auburn or would include Inman Park in another neighborhood. In addition, there are scores of other neighborhoods that offer housing, including East Lake, Kirkwood, and Druid Hills. The above listings, however, are eight of the more prominent Atlanta neighborhoods, and when you move to Atlanta you can decide if you want to stay in one of these spots or search for a more hidden area.