Are you thinking about moving to Decatur, Ga?
Here are 5 things you may hate about Decatur, Georgia. Decatur is definitely not Atlanta. Decatur has a unique flavor unlike any other part of Metro Atlanta. Watch this video to find out about Decatur GA.
Well if you’ve watched the channel much you know that we talk a lot about where to live near two of Atlanta’s biggest employers: Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Well today we’re gonna hop north of I-85 to the lovely city of Brookhaven. With a population just under 60,000, Brookhaven is the largest city in Dekalb County Georgia. The city of Brookhaven was incorporated in December 2012, so they are coming up on their 10th anniversary. Brookhaven is a very well-run, very efficient city, with their own police department and their own planning and zoning committees. Planning and zoning have been very important in Brookhaven’s rapid growth and I’ll talk more about that later.
Now if you note on the map Brookhaven is entirely inside the perimeter in the north part of Atlanta. Brookhaven is conveniently located near three of Atlanta’s largest healthcare employers. On the south end you have Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory hospital, and on the north end Northside Hospital. Traffic is terrible in Atlanta, so if you’re moving here to work at any of these three healthcare facilities, Brookhaven would be an excellent choice. You’re going to have a very short commute and you’re never going to have to get on the highway.
To keep it simple we’re going to break Brookhaven down into three distinct areas and talk about those. The first part is historic Brookhaven, which is on the west side of Peachtree Road surrounding the Capital City Club and Oglethorpe University. Homes here generally start well above a million dollars. So let’s start in historic Brookhaven near the Capital City Country Club and Oglethorpe University. This part of Brookhaven is filled with homes from the early 1900s – you’ll see the same classical architecture that you find in Buckhead and Druid Hills and that’s because these were all Atlanta’s first suburbs. They were built in the early 1900s. This area around the Capital City Club is on the national register of historic places. In historic Brookhaven you’ll rarely see anything on the market under a million dollars.
Our second part of Brookhaven is located on the east side of Peachtree Road near the Brookhaven village. These neighborhoods are known as Ashford Park and Drew Valley. Ashford Park is north of Dresden and Drew Valley is south, but they are largely homogeneous. Now Ashford Park and Drew Valley were developed primarily in the 1950s and they were formerly filled with hundreds, probably thousands of these very small homes most of them under 1200 square feet and largely obsolete by today’s standards. These homes are being torn down on a daily basis and rebuilt as very livable modern homes, often with four more bedrooms open floor plans, gourmet kitchens and all the details you would expect in a modern home. As I mentioned earlier, planning and zoning has been critical to Brookhaven’s rapid growth over the last 10 years. Brookhaven has streamlined the process so that good homebuilders can do their jobs and build more single-family homes. Literally everywhere you look there are new homes under construction, every street seems to have two or three new houses being built every time you drive through. As you can see, Brookhaven keeps the home styles very classic, very refined you just don’t see the giant bomb shelter mcmansions popping up here like you do elsewhere in Atlanta. Now the good news is that many of these new homes are available starting in the low 700s in fact I just sold one over on Drew Valley road for 715 thousand dollars
Our third part of Brookhaven is north Brookhaven, which extends north of Oglethorpe University all the way up to I-285. The main section of north Brookhaven is the retail and park district at the intersection of Ashford Dunwoody and Johnson Ferry Road. North Brookhaven has a much more suburban feel. Most of the homes there were built in the 1970s up through the 1990s, so these houses are still very functional, with many homes well over 2500 square feet and four bedrooms. There is some infill housing here, but not nearly as much as you’re seeing in south Brookhaven. I mentioned Brookhaven’s terrific park system and north Brookhaven has two of the best and largest parks in the city: Blackburn Park has a large tennis facility a huge green space and several soccer fields just down Ashford Dunwoody Road towards Perimeter Mall is Murphy Candler Park which at 120 acres is the largest park in Brookhaven. Murphy Candler lake has a two mile trail loop and you’ll often see people fishing there. Plus there are more tennis courts, more baseball fields, more soccer fields, more football fields, a swimming pool, playgrounds and more. Brookhaven in fact has 18 different parks and recreational facilities. So if you love to be outdoors and enjoy the great Atlanta weather Brookhaven is a great place to live.
Well, Georgia’s strong economy great weather and low cost of living has gotten a lot of people interested in moving to the state, and if Georgia’s on your mind you’ve come to the right place. I’m a native born Georgian, been here my entire life, and I’m here to tell you the things you need to know before you move to Georgia. Now this video is going to focus on the people and the culture of Georgia. If you’re interested in knowing about the weather, the economy and the geography of Georgia, I’ve posted some links to some of my other videos in the comment section below.
Georgia’s history began in 1733 when Savannah was founded by the British. The name Georgia was chosen to honor King George II. If you’ve never been to Savannah Georgia I promise you it is one of the most beautiful cities anywhere in America.
First up people are so friendly in Georgia. Southern hospitality is a real thing. Total strangers will walk by and wave and say hello, and people behind you in the grocery store line will strike up a conversation. Georgia people are genuinely interested in who you are, where you’re from, where you went to school, your life story. People in Georgia love to talk and have long conversations, and they love to laugh, they’re great storytellers.
Let’s talk about manners. If you come to Georgia please bring your best manners!. Part of being super social and friendly is that Georgians are also incredibly polite people. We’re not big on honking horns and road rage incidents. We are big on saying please and thank you. It may seem a bit anachronistic, but people will still call you sir and ma’am, especially when you get outside of the big cities. One thing I can guarantee you is if you’re at the store and your hands are full somebody will hold the door open for you and oftentimes even if your hands aren’t full they’ll still hold the door open for you.
There are almost 11 million people in the state of Georgia and 7 million in Atlanta alone but it never feels cramped or crowded. It’s not grand central station at rush hour. You don’t have to fight for space you get a lot of personal space. Here people are very much live and let live. Nobody’s in your business – being a busybody is very much frowned upon in Georgia.
Now in Atlanta most people don’t actually have a southern accent obviously lots of people move here from other places but even people I’ve known who’ve lived here their entire lives don’t have a southern accent like me for instance. I don’t have an accent do i? Once you get about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta you really start to hear that classic southern drawl.
You also get a lot of handwritten thank you notes. Georgia people are very appreciative of any kindness and will always take the time to sit down and write you a thank you note .
Let’s talk about food. Food is really big here in Georgia. If you get invited to a party do not come empty-handed. If it’s a catered event bring a bottle of wine. Actually if you get invited to a party just always bring a bottle of wine. Barbecue is serious business here. Everybody has their personal favorite barbecue joint and you will hear long discussions about why this place or that has the best barbecue. Another specialty here is boiled peanuts. Now boiled peanuts are a southern delicacy usually served up piping hot from a giant steaming cauldron – they are salty delicious and insanely addictive. Another southern tradition is on new year’s day we eat greens for money and black eyed peas for good luck. One final southern tradition is the meal train. If a neighbor is sick or has a new baby all the other neighbors will pitch in cook a bunch of meals and make sure they don’t have to do any cooking. So as always if you’re thinking about making the move to Georgia my contact information is in the box below feel free to reach out send me a text send me an email love to talk to you help you find your new home in Georgia.
Hey this is Parker your favorite Atlanta realtor. Today we’re going to take you on a tour of one of Atlanta’s best in-town neighborhoods, and frankly one of Atlanta’s best-kept secrets: a neighborhood called North Decatur. Over the course of this video, I’m going to tell you why I love this area so much, but I’m going to give you the hook right now: value. There isn’t a better bang for your buck anywhere inside the perimeter in Atlanta. North Decatur combines affordable houses with a great location making it easy to get everywhere you want to go in Atlanta. Add to that some of in town Atlanta’s best schools, outdoor recreation, hundreds of great restaurants, and the laid back easy easy-going lifestyle, and all that adds up to some of the best home values in Atlanta.
The primary challenge living inside the perimeter in Atlanta is affordability. Buckhead, Midtown, Virginia Highlands, and Decatur are some of the most expensive neighborhoods with even small homes selling above six hundred thousand dollars, so if you want to live in town in Atlanta, but you need to keep your budget closer to two hundred dollars a square foot, North Decatur is for you.
Let’s take a quick look at our map so we can get oriented here is downtown Atlanta and this big red ring surrounding the city is interstate 285, also known as the perimeter. Just to keep you up to date on your Atlanta lingo, if you live inside of I-285 you live ITP or inside the perimeter, and if you live outside I-285 you live OTP, outside the perimeter. So about six miles east of downtown Atlanta is the lovely city of Decatur, and just North of the City of Decatur is this large unincorporated area of Dekalb County known with great imagination as North Decatur. North Decatur has two zip codes: 30033 and 30345. If you live in 30033, you’ll have a Decatur mailing address, and if you live in 30345 you’ll have an Atlanta mailing address.
In North Decatur you’ll discover that a lot of your neighbors work at Georgia Tech, Emory University, Centers for Disease Control and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. To give you some idea of the distances, it’s about seven miles down to GeorgiaTech, and it’s about two or three miles to get to Emory or Children’s Healthcare. North Decatur is filled with great neighborhoods each which has their own distinct personality in areas like Medlock Park and Lindmore Woods, you have mostly smaller homes that generally are starter homes, sometimes downsizers buy them, but mostly it’s first-time home buyers. Many of these first-time buyers graduate from these areas up into larger homes in Leafmore, Oak Grove, Sagamore Hills or Briarlake. In any case you’ll find some of Atlanta’s most affordable and livable in town communities right here in North Decatur.
North Decatur has a wide variety of price points: you can find starter homes in the mid 300s good three-bedroom two-bath houses fully renovated starting around 600, and you can find these really impressive super contemporary new construction homes that start well above a million dollars. So let’s talk about the houses. The most common house you’re going to find in North Decatur is going to be the classic ranch style home. These are very solidly built houses dating mostly from the 1960s, and as we say in the south, they clean up really well. You can easily paint the exterior and freshen up the landscaping, and quickly take these houses to the next level. Here are some examples of 1960s ranches that have been renovated: these are projects my wife has designed and it usually involves moving some walls and opening up the layout to make the house more in line with how people live today. In addition to the ranch style, you’ll find plenty of two-story traditional vintage, mid-century modern, some 90s infill suburban style homes and even as I mentioned before, ultra contemporary new construction homes that always go on the market over 1 million dollars. Now I’m going to tell you the five things I love about North Decatur.
Let’s start with number one: you’ve probably heard the old joke what are the three most important things in real estate the answer of course is location, location, location. First off you can see how convenient North Decatur is to the highways: it makes it very easy to get around Atlanta. And I mentioned before, we’re very close to some of Atlanta’s largest employers. We’re also very close to some of Atlanta’s most vibrant in-town communities: Decatur, Avondale Estates, Virginia Highlands, Midtown, Buckhead. Just outside the perimeter is Tucker, which is really starting to pop. One of the other places I love is Buford Highway: there are hundreds of great restaurants with every kind of cuisine imaginable from all around the world. And last but certainly not least we love to go out to Stone Mountain, which I’ll talk more about in just a minute.
Number two: the schools. Some of in town Atlanta’s best schools are located right here in North Decatur. Since we’re so close to Emory and Children’s Healthcare and Georgia Tech, naturally a lot of their employees choose to live in the area. As a result we have a very high level of parental involvement in all of our schools. If you want more information about the schools in the area, here’s a list of some of our local public and private schools that you can use for your own research.
Number three: the amenities. We are really blessed to have an amazing selection of stores and restaurants all over the North Decatur area: the Oak Grove Plaza and Vista Grove shopping center are kind of the heart of North Decatur, and most of the restaurants and shops there are locally owned, and they’re just a short walk or drive for many of the neighborhoods. The community turns out in full force almost every night of the week, and these restaurants are always packed. People here love to eat out. One thing I get asked all the time and something that’s on everybody’s mind is where do I go grocery shopping? Where do I buy food? Well if you live in North Decatur, you have a great selection of places to spend your grocery budget: Publix and Kroger are the two big traditional grocery stores. Here in Atlanta we also have Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Aldi, Lidl, and Trader Joe’s.
Number four: the outdoor lifestyle. If you love being outdoors, if you love being active, you’re gonna love North Decatur. We’ve got nature trails, and paths for walking and biking, and several different youth sports leagues for your kids. Some of the best amenities in North Decatur are the swim and tennis clubs, which are located in almost every neighborhood. Just join one of these swim tennis clubs, and you’ll immediately start making new friends. Even if you’ve never played before, there are teams specifically for beginners. Getting outside the North Decatur area, you can quickly drive out to Stone Mountain and hike up to the top, get a great view of the city, or take a trip down to the Chattahoochee River. The great weather in Atlanta, it’s easy to get outdoors all year round.
And finally number five, and the things I love about North Decatur: price to value. Most of the homes built in North Decatur were built after the three-bedroom two-bath became the minimum build size. Unlike most of the homes built in the early 1900s, these houses are all going to have good-sized bedrooms and baths, plenty of closet and storage space, usually a partial basement, if not a full basement, and a carport or a garage. So they’re still very livable by today’s standards. Add to that the other things I’ve mentioned: the terrific location, great schools, access to so many amenities, shopping, outdoor activities, and you have what I think and hopefully have convinced you, is one of the best values you’ll find anywhere in Atlanta. Again North Decatur has been our home for 19 years now, our family has grown up here and gone to all the local schools. We’ve had a fantastic experience – we’re very very happy here. If you’re thinking about making the move to Atlanta, maybe you’re interested in North Decatur, maybe you’re interested in some other part of Atlanta. In any case feel free to reach out to me, my contact information is in the box below I’d love to talk to you thanks.
Hey, this is Parker, your favorite Atlanta Realtor. We’ve done several videos on the City of Decatur, which is just east of downtown Atlanta. The City of Decatur is a very popular spot for people, especially if they’re going to be working at Emory or the CDC. So I wanted to give you 5 interesting facts about the City of Decatur. Let’s get going.
Number one: there are five different zip codes that give you a Decatur mailing address, but only one of those zip codes is actually the City of Decatur. Do you know which one is actually the City of Decatur? We’ll insert the jeopardy theme music here for you, but it’s actually 300300. This is really useful information to know if you’re searching for a home in the City of Decatur. If you pull up listings on Realtor.com for instance, and you see that the zip code is 30030, you know you’re looking at a house within the city limits of Decatur. Any other zip codes with a Decatur mailing address, and what you’re looking at is a home an unincorporated Dekalb County. If you don’t know what unincorporated means, it means it’s part of a county but not part of a city. This is important information because the City of Decatur has its own police department, fire department, and school system. But also has much higher property values and higher property taxes as well. You know the school system and the police department may be a plus or a minus for you depending on your specific needs, and your budget, so having this information will definitely help you with your home search. So again the City of Decatur is zip code 30030, and every other home with the Decatur mailing address is part of Dekalb County.
Number two: the City Schools of Decatur are one of the biggest drivers of demand for housing inside the city limits. City Schools of Decatur are some of the best in the entire state, and many parents are willing to pay that higher premium in the property taxes in order to be in that school system. City Schools of Decatur has five elementary schools, two upper elementary schools, which are fourth and fifth grade only only, one middle school, and one high school, which is conveniently located right next to downtown Decatur square. Almost all of the elementary schools are walk to school with a great community feel. One other unique thing about the City Schools of Decatur is the College Heights early childhood learning center, which goes from six weeks all the way up to pre-k, so it’s sort of like a public preschool. There are several other churches in Decatur which offer preschool programs as well.
Number three: the City of Decatur has a very young and very highly educated population. There’s about 26,000 people in the City of Decatur, The median age is 37 which means half the people are below 37 and half are older than 37 and 75 percent of those people have a bachelor’s degree or higher. So as you might guess, the City of Decatur has a very high median household income. It’s actually just above $106,000 a year.
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Number four: the City of Decatur has a great public park system. There’s almost 60 acres of public parks in the City of Decatur, which is actually quite a lot considering that the total area of the city is only four and a half square miles. Many of the neighborhoods in nearby North Decatur and Druid Hills have their own swim and tennis clubs, which are very popular and sometimes there’s a long waiting list, so they can be difficult to get into. City of Decatur has their own public pools: they have three pools. They have three separate tennis complexes and they have three dog parks.
And finally, number five: if you’re moving to Atlanta and planning on using public transportation, City of Decatur is a great place to be located. There’s the East Lake MARTA station, the Avondale MARTA station, and the downtown Decatur MARTA station, which is conveniently located on Decatur Square. The good news is all of these MARTA stations are surrounded by the neighborhoods – they’re an easy walk. So if you’re planning on using public transportation in Atlanta, Decatur is a fine place to be.
So I hope you found that helpful. Again we have several other videos about Decatur, the most popular and comprehensive of which is our pros and cons of living in Decatur, which I’ll link right there. And if you’re planning a move to Atlanta, please feel free to reach out my information is in the box below: give me a call, shoot me a text, send me an emai,l I’d love to talk to you thanks!