If you want something approaching an edgy/artsy scene, try looking at Castleberry Hill. Its a neighborhood just south of downtown with a lot of loft conversions. Parts of it can get pretty scary at night, though. And the nightlife in the area leaves a lot to be desired. Further south in the west end, both the edginess and danger are intensified, some people living in storage lockers convereted into lofts.
Midtown and Virginia Highlands have a really strong gay scene, with its accompanying nightlife. A lot of it can get cheesy at times though. Not nearly as cheesy as Buckhead, though, where all the OTP (Outside the Perimeter, Atlanta's equivalent of bridge and tunnel) suburbanites and hicks from further afield go when they are going to the city, as well as a sizable contingent of the bling-bling urban ganstas looking for trouble.
On the east side, Little Five Points is kind of a funky hippy/punk area although some complain that it has become too mainstream. Prices are high for real estate around there too. Close by is Cabbagetown, with lots of lofts/apartments/bungalows, but not much of a concentrated area for nightlife. East Atlanta is nearby, and has a walkable area for bar hopping/shopping/eating out that is probably the best this city has to offer. It hasn't become too mainstream yet (although a big new urbanist development is going up close by) and you can find a lot of cheap, old houses nearby. Not really a 'lofty' area though.
Overall, Atlanta is a city with a very spread out night scene. You must have a car in this city (don't drink and drive!). Some of the best places are holes in the wall. It is also a great city to own a small house in, with a lot of intown neighborhoods of single family homes. Overall, its a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit.
My brother just got a job in Atlanta right out of college and knows nothing about the town. He's planning on moving there in early September. From what has been written I take it that the Little Five Points area is the best, no? I sadly know the airport better than much else in the city. Where is the best place for myself, late 20's scene?
i've lived in atlanta for almost 7 years and for the last year, i haven't had a car. granted, it helps to have friends who are nice enough to drive me to bars/movies, but i get around atlanta w/ no problem.
east altanta, L5P, the highlands, and the ponce de leon corridor are easily traversed by bike while midtown and downtown (even buckhead) are pretty well connected by MARTA. in my experience, you can find affordable ($500-700/mo) apts/houses in all these areas. currently i live in midtown and it's a really solid pedestrian area. but i've also lived in grant park (a quiet neighborhood near oakland cemetery and cabbagetown), home park (a young neighborhood near georgia tech with a lot of affordable houses)...i lived on MLK JR. Dr for awhile, which is going to be a huge redevelopment in the years to come.
as far as nightlife goes, i would agree that buckhead is avoidable, but if you're new to the ATL, you should go at least once (if only to people-watch). ponce de leon offers a great scene for whatever you're into: dancing, hanging out on a patio, sleazy strip club dives, tatoos, coffee, indie-movies, etc. east atlanta offers some other great haunts (this is where a lot of good bands come to play) and cabbagetown is fun too. the highlands seems like a giant meat-market to me...a lot of girls looking for husbands or something...good restaurants though.
speaking of restaurants, it took me a while to figure that buford hwy. is one of atlanta's treasures for dining. this is our 'chinatown' of sorts. here you can authentic cuisine from many asian countries as well as some great mexican food. also, there are several great indian restaurants close to emory/decatur. man, i feel like a tour guide or something...
this is the last i'll say: everytime there is a mention of atlanta on archinect, i'll put in my 2 cents. not to sound pretentious, but i've spent time in the great american cities and most of the great european cities and atlanta gets a bad rap. koolhaas has painted a bad picture of atlanta on his short drive through frmo the airport...this place is pretty rich but it's not going to be served to you on a silver platter.
good luck and if you need anything while you're here, be in touch.
I have lived in ATL for 8 years. And enjoyed it for a good bit of the time, however I have now decided to leave. When i first came here I felt the city had a wealth of opportunity. But after 8 years, still the same old stuff. Other than the musuem expansion, nothing is happening. The city government is extremely irresponsible and not at all interested in progressive development. Downtown has been a shithole for years and has a great deal of potential, yet the administration seems uninterested. Basically, the people in power here are fucking idiots. Oh yeah, get ready to see red brick everywhere...it's disgusting...if you've been here you know what i mean.
Buckhead is definately not the place to be (think freaknik every weekend), Atlanta has plenty of great nightlife, and most of the above posters seem to be right on, except for the guy who thinks buckhead is where its at . Plenty of party people around, and the women in this town are unbelievable, I never been anywhere where ther are so many beautiful girls.
There are alot of families here, my wife and I have one child, however there is nothing to do. Lack of large body of water is a real issue for us. Another issue for us is that Atlanta is located in Georgia. So anytime you drive 20 miles out of the city its all rednecks and bible thumpers. Needless to say, not a progressive part of the country.
If your young and un-attached, you will have a blast on the weekends.
Just get out before you become as miserable as I am.
yeah, i'll agree w/ cioabeetch that local government is a big problem, and just when you think something good is going to happen, they manage to foul it up...
leaving atlanta is a tough cookie, though. a friend once told me, "if you want to participate in the conversation, you have to go where the conversation is" (if you can't decipher the metaphor, he's talking about design culture). so part of me wants to go where the most progressive work is being done while another part of me wants to stay and cultivate and be involved in a grass-roots effort to shift the magnifying glass away from NYC and LA and position it over cities like atlanta. but alas, those in charge here don't see it that way...
i saw roger sherman give a lecture here and his studies and proposals for LA (and a couple for NY) left me with an optimistic feeling about atlanta...it's got some wierd stuff and some bad stuff, but that's where the potential and richness can be and usually is.
one more interesting and optimistic fact about atlanta:
as far as residential development goes, atlanta ranks among the top growing cities...big deal, right? the cool part is that in a city like houston, all residential development is controlled by 3-4 different developers...in atlanta, develpment is spread accross dozens and dozens of developers. this translates into very real possibilities for architects to become developer/architects (and in a few cases contractors).
and yes, 8 years in one city is a long time...so is 7 :)
Atlanta definitely is a mixed bag in so many senses. This week's issue of Creative Loafing (the alternative weekly) highlights the fugliness of the city, which has 2 of the nations 10 'ugliest' streetscapes (of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder).
It also has a story about how zoning regulations were carefully re-written for an area to try to create a pedestrian friendly, transit oriented, and walkable area around the lindberg MARTA station, and how those new zoning regulations are being co-opted by a big developer to bring a bunch of big boxes (and traffic) into that part of time. The city planner responsible resigned in frustration, vowing never again to try and "help" Atlanta's urban design.
Atlanta has a lot of potential, but the government always seems to blow it. Take the Olympics for example. A great opportunity to create some real improvements in the cities infrastructure, landscape, etc., and we have next to nothing to show for it, compared to places like Barcelona. A few big-wigs used it as a cash cow, got rich, and gave the world the worst Olympics of modern times.
part of the reason is the local government is hamstringed by the state government, which is uber-conservative and heading further that way by the day. The battles between the city and state government have led to a total collapse of the sewer system and soon we'll be drowning in our own shit. The public transit situation is rapidly degenerating, as the state refuses to subsidize it (the only un-subsidized mass-transit in the country), and the neigboring counties refuse to let lines be built into them because they don't want "crime" (read blacks) coming into their areas from the city. And I won't even get into the commuter rail issue.
weave- way to defend atlanta!
i agree totally, atlanta is alot of "diamonds" in alot of "rough" - you have to find them but they are there. midtown and eastern neighborhood (little 5, east altanta) are all very cool, and castleberry hill is definately worth looking at if you dont mind a little grime to go with your loft.
the architectural culture is almost nill (pitiful attendance at young architects forum, disinterest in ga tech lectures, etc etc) and that is probably the biggest problem, but the schools allow for the possibility of good networking amongst people who are engaged with the profession beyond the 9-5.
i'm currently living in mid-town, too. given a choice, i'll only choose to live in mid-town or buckhead. there are indeed a lot of rainbow flags near this region. atlanta is a very unorthodox city to me. the traffic gets real bad during peak hours. other times, there're just not many cars on the street. regardless, with a population of around 4-million, you wonder where the people are because few are found on the streets, unlike new york, chicago, or other typical city one has in mind. i really admire weave being able to live here without a car, my life will be paralyzed without a car. atlanta actually bloomed after the '96 olympics, the growth has come to a steady state now. in fact, there are too many vacant apartments presently. builders keep building but less people are moving in. however, relative to boston and new york, the rent is much lower here. not a bad place to live. not my favorite city, too.
in response to fakeid's confusion over the population...
4.5 million people live within the "metro area"...the metro area is comprised of like 12 counties...it's pretty insane. only about 300,000-500,000 people live in "atlanta", or within the city limits. this is a huge reason the local government is the way it is...not enough city of atlanta voters...residents pay greatly for the day to day movements of commuters...i realize this is a global problem, but commuters spend a lot of money here (businesses, entertainment, dining, etc.) and then they get back in their cars and drive to their lower-taxed neighborhood in the burbs...i just wrote another 3 paragraphs and then deleted them...this should be and has been the topic of another discussion thread.
anyway, fakeid...you hit the nail on the head: rent is dirt cheap compared to other big cities...another reason to live in the city proper and not in one of the hundreds of burbs...
so yeah, i said it once i'll say it again...i've never had a problem finding affordable housing in really good parts of the atlanta...
matt and collins. you can blame mark for talking too much about archinect over lunch today. i couldn't stay away. it's me *&$#^%* from UCLA.
having left atlanta 4 and half years ago there's nothing really i can say about Atlanta that is really constructive. I didint like it there at all. BUT i left before i really got to know it (i blame not having a car) and i left to cities where people make fun of the "south". I also left to a place in LA where the only other example of Atlanta and GT is "Robbie" needless to say, atlanta has a bad reputation out there i think.
Yes housing is affordable, but do you really want to live in a "townhouse" off the 85, next to a giant mall where included in the rent is some lady picking up and doing your laundry for you? you have to come to LA and NY and slum it with the rest of us. Roger Sherman did. the food is also far superior.
Aug 3, 04 4:15 pm ·
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Atlanta
I'm moving to Atlanta and looking to buy a place. Anyone know any good urban places to live?
Also, any low down on the night life would be great.
east atlanta is where the hardcore go.
the nightlife in atlanta is sick
i need to go back soon for a visit
If you want something approaching an edgy/artsy scene, try looking at Castleberry Hill. Its a neighborhood just south of downtown with a lot of loft conversions. Parts of it can get pretty scary at night, though. And the nightlife in the area leaves a lot to be desired. Further south in the west end, both the edginess and danger are intensified, some people living in storage lockers convereted into lofts.
Midtown and Virginia Highlands have a really strong gay scene, with its accompanying nightlife. A lot of it can get cheesy at times though. Not nearly as cheesy as Buckhead, though, where all the OTP (Outside the Perimeter, Atlanta's equivalent of bridge and tunnel) suburbanites and hicks from further afield go when they are going to the city, as well as a sizable contingent of the bling-bling urban ganstas looking for trouble.
On the east side, Little Five Points is kind of a funky hippy/punk area although some complain that it has become too mainstream. Prices are high for real estate around there too. Close by is Cabbagetown, with lots of lofts/apartments/bungalows, but not much of a concentrated area for nightlife. East Atlanta is nearby, and has a walkable area for bar hopping/shopping/eating out that is probably the best this city has to offer. It hasn't become too mainstream yet (although a big new urbanist development is going up close by) and you can find a lot of cheap, old houses nearby. Not really a 'lofty' area though.
Overall, Atlanta is a city with a very spread out night scene. You must have a car in this city (don't drink and drive!). Some of the best places are holes in the wall. It is also a great city to own a small house in, with a lot of intown neighborhoods of single family homes. Overall, its a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit.
My brother just got a job in Atlanta right out of college and knows nothing about the town. He's planning on moving there in early September. From what has been written I take it that the Little Five Points area is the best, no? I sadly know the airport better than much else in the city. Where is the best place for myself, late 20's scene?
i've lived in atlanta for almost 7 years and for the last year, i haven't had a car. granted, it helps to have friends who are nice enough to drive me to bars/movies, but i get around atlanta w/ no problem.
east altanta, L5P, the highlands, and the ponce de leon corridor are easily traversed by bike while midtown and downtown (even buckhead) are pretty well connected by MARTA. in my experience, you can find affordable ($500-700/mo) apts/houses in all these areas. currently i live in midtown and it's a really solid pedestrian area. but i've also lived in grant park (a quiet neighborhood near oakland cemetery and cabbagetown), home park (a young neighborhood near georgia tech with a lot of affordable houses)...i lived on MLK JR. Dr for awhile, which is going to be a huge redevelopment in the years to come.
as far as nightlife goes, i would agree that buckhead is avoidable, but if you're new to the ATL, you should go at least once (if only to people-watch). ponce de leon offers a great scene for whatever you're into: dancing, hanging out on a patio, sleazy strip club dives, tatoos, coffee, indie-movies, etc. east atlanta offers some other great haunts (this is where a lot of good bands come to play) and cabbagetown is fun too. the highlands seems like a giant meat-market to me...a lot of girls looking for husbands or something...good restaurants though.
speaking of restaurants, it took me a while to figure that buford hwy. is one of atlanta's treasures for dining. this is our 'chinatown' of sorts. here you can authentic cuisine from many asian countries as well as some great mexican food. also, there are several great indian restaurants close to emory/decatur. man, i feel like a tour guide or something...
this is the last i'll say: everytime there is a mention of atlanta on archinect, i'll put in my 2 cents. not to sound pretentious, but i've spent time in the great american cities and most of the great european cities and atlanta gets a bad rap. koolhaas has painted a bad picture of atlanta on his short drive through frmo the airport...this place is pretty rich but it's not going to be served to you on a silver platter.
good luck and if you need anything while you're here, be in touch.
Well someone has to be the spoiler....
I have lived in ATL for 8 years. And enjoyed it for a good bit of the time, however I have now decided to leave. When i first came here I felt the city had a wealth of opportunity. But after 8 years, still the same old stuff. Other than the musuem expansion, nothing is happening. The city government is extremely irresponsible and not at all interested in progressive development. Downtown has been a shithole for years and has a great deal of potential, yet the administration seems uninterested. Basically, the people in power here are fucking idiots. Oh yeah, get ready to see red brick everywhere...it's disgusting...if you've been here you know what i mean.
Buckhead is definately not the place to be (think freaknik every weekend), Atlanta has plenty of great nightlife, and most of the above posters seem to be right on, except for the guy who thinks buckhead is where its at . Plenty of party people around, and the women in this town are unbelievable, I never been anywhere where ther are so many beautiful girls.
There are alot of families here, my wife and I have one child, however there is nothing to do. Lack of large body of water is a real issue for us. Another issue for us is that Atlanta is located in Georgia. So anytime you drive 20 miles out of the city its all rednecks and bible thumpers. Needless to say, not a progressive part of the country.
If your young and un-attached, you will have a blast on the weekends.
Just get out before you become as miserable as I am.
after 8 years any city gets old
yeah, i'll agree w/ cioabeetch that local government is a big problem, and just when you think something good is going to happen, they manage to foul it up...
leaving atlanta is a tough cookie, though. a friend once told me, "if you want to participate in the conversation, you have to go where the conversation is" (if you can't decipher the metaphor, he's talking about design culture). so part of me wants to go where the most progressive work is being done while another part of me wants to stay and cultivate and be involved in a grass-roots effort to shift the magnifying glass away from NYC and LA and position it over cities like atlanta. but alas, those in charge here don't see it that way...
i saw roger sherman give a lecture here and his studies and proposals for LA (and a couple for NY) left me with an optimistic feeling about atlanta...it's got some wierd stuff and some bad stuff, but that's where the potential and richness can be and usually is.
one more interesting and optimistic fact about atlanta:
as far as residential development goes, atlanta ranks among the top growing cities...big deal, right? the cool part is that in a city like houston, all residential development is controlled by 3-4 different developers...in atlanta, develpment is spread accross dozens and dozens of developers. this translates into very real possibilities for architects to become developer/architects (and in a few cases contractors).
and yes, 8 years in one city is a long time...so is 7 :)
Atlanta definitely is a mixed bag in so many senses. This week's issue of Creative Loafing (the alternative weekly) highlights the fugliness of the city, which has 2 of the nations 10 'ugliest' streetscapes (of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder).
It also has a story about how zoning regulations were carefully re-written for an area to try to create a pedestrian friendly, transit oriented, and walkable area around the lindberg MARTA station, and how those new zoning regulations are being co-opted by a big developer to bring a bunch of big boxes (and traffic) into that part of time. The city planner responsible resigned in frustration, vowing never again to try and "help" Atlanta's urban design.
Atlanta has a lot of potential, but the government always seems to blow it. Take the Olympics for example. A great opportunity to create some real improvements in the cities infrastructure, landscape, etc., and we have next to nothing to show for it, compared to places like Barcelona. A few big-wigs used it as a cash cow, got rich, and gave the world the worst Olympics of modern times.
part of the reason is the local government is hamstringed by the state government, which is uber-conservative and heading further that way by the day. The battles between the city and state government have led to a total collapse of the sewer system and soon we'll be drowning in our own shit. The public transit situation is rapidly degenerating, as the state refuses to subsidize it (the only un-subsidized mass-transit in the country), and the neigboring counties refuse to let lines be built into them because they don't want "crime" (read blacks) coming into their areas from the city. And I won't even get into the commuter rail issue.
kakacabeza......was the planner john bell?
weave- way to defend atlanta!
i agree totally, atlanta is alot of "diamonds" in alot of "rough" - you have to find them but they are there. midtown and eastern neighborhood (little 5, east altanta) are all very cool, and castleberry hill is definately worth looking at if you dont mind a little grime to go with your loft.
the architectural culture is almost nill (pitiful attendance at young architects forum, disinterest in ga tech lectures, etc etc) and that is probably the biggest problem, but the schools allow for the possibility of good networking amongst people who are engaged with the profession beyond the 9-5.
- and yes matt, you should come to nyc.
collins...good to hear from you...are you in harlem right now?
did you come down here at all this summer?
i guess this isn't exactly the place for catching up...
i'm pretty sure i have your email address somewhere...
but yeah, go braves.
i'm currently living in mid-town, too. given a choice, i'll only choose to live in mid-town or buckhead. there are indeed a lot of rainbow flags near this region. atlanta is a very unorthodox city to me. the traffic gets real bad during peak hours. other times, there're just not many cars on the street. regardless, with a population of around 4-million, you wonder where the people are because few are found on the streets, unlike new york, chicago, or other typical city one has in mind. i really admire weave being able to live here without a car, my life will be paralyzed without a car. atlanta actually bloomed after the '96 olympics, the growth has come to a steady state now. in fact, there are too many vacant apartments presently. builders keep building but less people are moving in. however, relative to boston and new york, the rent is much lower here. not a bad place to live. not my favorite city, too.
in response to fakeid's confusion over the population...
4.5 million people live within the "metro area"...the metro area is comprised of like 12 counties...it's pretty insane. only about 300,000-500,000 people live in "atlanta", or within the city limits. this is a huge reason the local government is the way it is...not enough city of atlanta voters...residents pay greatly for the day to day movements of commuters...i realize this is a global problem, but commuters spend a lot of money here (businesses, entertainment, dining, etc.) and then they get back in their cars and drive to their lower-taxed neighborhood in the burbs...i just wrote another 3 paragraphs and then deleted them...this should be and has been the topic of another discussion thread.
anyway, fakeid...you hit the nail on the head: rent is dirt cheap compared to other big cities...another reason to live in the city proper and not in one of the hundreds of burbs...
so yeah, i said it once i'll say it again...i've never had a problem finding affordable housing in really good parts of the atlanta...
c'est tout.
matt and collins. you can blame mark for talking too much about archinect over lunch today. i couldn't stay away. it's me *&$#^%* from UCLA.
having left atlanta 4 and half years ago there's nothing really i can say about Atlanta that is really constructive. I didint like it there at all. BUT i left before i really got to know it (i blame not having a car) and i left to cities where people make fun of the "south". I also left to a place in LA where the only other example of Atlanta and GT is "Robbie" needless to say, atlanta has a bad reputation out there i think.
Yes housing is affordable, but do you really want to live in a "townhouse" off the 85, next to a giant mall where included in the rent is some lady picking up and doing your laundry for you? you have to come to LA and NY and slum it with the rest of us. Roger Sherman did. the food is also far superior.
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