Alex Dickos, 25, is the surgery coordinator at a plastic surgery center in Roswell. He moved to Atlanta directly from Germany after graduating school there with a degree in German and English. His good friend, Matt Jones, was attending Emory University and had found the Clifton Apartments, which are close to Emory and convenient to lots of things. They've been living there for two-and-a-half years. Dickos told us what he likes about their apartment.

The apartment: "We have two bedrooms and two baths with a roommate floor plan that has the bedrooms separated by the living, dining and kitchen space. The bedrooms have walk-in closets. We have a sunroom, and we're on the ground floor so we have a porch as well. The sunroom is really great in the summer. We open up the doors to the porch and sit out there and read. In warmer weather, I use the tennis courts quite a bit, too."

Christopher Oquendo/Special (ENLARGE)

The Clifton Apartments are near Emory University and feature a dog park, pool, gym and tennis courts.

Getting there Directions from downtown Atlanta: Take I-75/85 North to Exit 248C (Freedom Parkway). Continue straight through light onto Freedom Parkway. At dead end, turn right onto U.S. 78/278/29 (Ponce de Leon). Take fourth left onto Ga. 42 (Briarcliff Road) Travel three miles to apartments. They will be on the right.

Location: "We're close enough to the city to enjoy all the conveniences, but we're tucked far enough away that we don't have to deal with the hassles. It's a really nice area, calm and quiet even though we're right by the university. There's lots to do nearby, and we've got easy access to I-85 so I can get straight up Ga. 400 to get to work. It's really easy to get almost anywhere."

Great value: "We have a really nice large apartment, particularly for what we pay in rent. And the quality is great. I've seen larger apartments for the same amount of money, but the quality just wasn't there. We think we're getting a great value."

Clifton Apartments

Address: 1901 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta

Information: 404-320-1953; www.theconnorgrp.com/communities.asp

Year built: 1986

Rent (subject to change): One-bedroom (650-1,005 square feet) $849-$1,099; two-bedroom (1,268-1,355 square feet) $1,149-$1,399; loft (1,123 square feet) $1,129-$1,229

Fees: Application fee: $75; security fee is waived based on credit; pet fee: $350; administrative fee: $199

Pets: Yes

Managed by: The Connor Group

Number of units: 214

Amenities, unit features and services: Dog park, pool, gym, tennis courts, gated community, car wash center

Units for disabled: Yes

Public transit: MARTA bus, in front of apartments

Public schools: Briarvista Elementary, Shamrock Middle, Druid Hills High