Access Atlanta > The Newcomer > Archives > 2008 > October > 29
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Best neighborhood for a young, single woman?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just getting back to work after a few days out of town and while I was gone, commenter lcurtis asked a good question.
“I will be graduating college and moving to Atlanta for work at the end of this year. It would be great if there could be a discussion about what the safest and most affordable neighborhoods for a single, young girl are. Thanks!”
Ooh, that’s a tough one. Safe and affordable are two on a long list of defining characteristics for a good place to live, and there are always exceptions.
My take: this depends a lot on your definition of safe and affordable. It depends, too, on whether you’re renting or buying. As a renter who loathes the idea of a long commute, I sorted through the wildly expensive and uncomfortably dumpy places around Candler Park/Inman Park/Edgewood/Reynoldstown/Cabbagetown/East Atlanta, and found rental I really love. Could I afford to buy? Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh…no.
And like any neighborhood, some of those areas have more crime than others - not so much that I wouldn’t live there as a young, single gal, but not so little that I’d go into much detail about it in conversation with my dad. (“Hi dad!…Yeah, I’m great…Weather’s finally cooling down…Nope, everything here is fine…”)
One way to handle this, I think, is to consider what you really want. My list: a short commute; an apartment, not a single-family home, but not a giant complex, either; something close to a grocery store and a few convenient businesses; an outside entrance, not just a door that opened up to my living room; neighbors I can see, meet and talk with.
Adding all that up, I asked around and found the neighborhoods where that seemed possible, and focused my search there almost entirely.
Here’s a post my co-worker wrote about buying a house in Atlanta. And here’s another where some people talked about their favorite neighborhoods and ZIP codes.
So what do you say, readers? Where would you recommend a young, single woman look for something safe and affordable?
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