South Atlanta

Atlanta is one of the major cities in the United States. For many years this has been the most significant city in the entire state of Georgia and is the de facto capital of the south. Like many other cities, Atlanta has many neighborhoods. One of these neighborhoods is South Atlanta. South Atlanta is a combination of the southeastern and southwestern parts of the city. With this particular neighborhood, a large and major part of the city exists.

As far as location is concerned, the neighborhood consists of an east and western section. The neighborhood itself is south of downtown and the city airport. This neighborhood borders Chosewood Park, the Betline railroad, Turman Street and Lakewood Heights. This is one of the premier neighborhoods of the city and has lots of tradition.

This particular section of Atlanta has some significant attractions. It is located by numerous prestigious neighborhoods in the city such as the one's previously mentioned. South Atlanta was originally known as Brownsville and was once a slum. However over the years it has improved and become a prominent neighborhood. The main attractions of the neighborhood are close proximity to Downtown Atlanta and also where Clark University was originally founded and located during the 19th century. Gammon Seminary Theological Seminary was also established in this neighborhood. During the neighborhood's history there have been many places for cultural, religious and recreational activities.

To me, living in South Atlanta means contending with inevitable weekday AM/PM traffic on commutes to and from downtown and other points north. But ask any other South Atlantan and they may tell you that the lower cost of living, the sense of ‘community’, and the privilege of being adjacent to most metropolitan conveniences, the peace of relatively wide open spaces, and the access to the airport and cities of College Park, Hapeville and East Point nearby – all make it worth the brutal bottlenecks during the daily commute.

However, a new breed of South Atlantans is making a self-contained community, free from reliance on downtown Atlanta attractions. Over the past 10 years, a new South Atlanta has emerged boasting a mixture of diverse districts: residential subdivisions, industrial areas, commercial offices, recreation and golf, nightlife, restaurants, and an developing Arts culture. It has created its own microcosm. So who cares about traffic on the way downtown, if you hardly ever go there?

And now, more entrepreneurs are also making this a live-work and play haven. Thanks to the efforts of the South Fulton Chamber of Commerce, the low cost and high quality of life drive a growing trend to move from expensive Midtown to a much more reasonably priced South Atlanta. A friend of mine, a successful consultant, moved his company from busy 14th Street to the relative tranquility of South Atlanta. He and his family have never been happier. They have a fabulous home in Jonesboro (just immediately to the south), send their two kids to a well-respected private school in South Atlanta. Now they have joined a growing population that only occasionally visits Midtown from time to time on weekends!

Life has never been richer and more fulfilling since they relocated to this area.