Atlanta is not a dense city, and that matters when you ask where you can live without a car. When I filmed this video in 2021, I put it this way: Atlanta is known for its sprawl, and it is one of the least dense major metros of its size. We do have walkable neighborhoods, but they are often disconnected from each other, so it is hard to find one big walkable area where you can spend a whole day the way you could in New York or San Francisco.
This post is for anyone moving to Atlanta, or visiting, who wants to know where to spend a few hours going from restaurant to shop to workout to time outside. Here are my top five most walkable neighborhoods in Atlanta, counting down from five to one. If you are still getting your bearings, start with my guide to relocating to Atlanta and the Atlanta neighborhoods page. All prices below are what I quoted when I filmed this in 2021, so treat them as a snapshot, not today’s market.
Why the Atlanta BeltLine matters for walkability
The Atlanta BeltLine is the biggest reason the picture is improving. It connects neighborhoods that were not connected before. A few years before I filmed this, you could not walk from Piedmont Park to Inman Park on a safe, paved trail. Now you can. More people move through those areas, more businesses open along the trail, and that is why the neighborhoods it passes through are changing so fast.
5. East Atlanta Village
East Atlanta Village sits just east of downtown, about a 10 minute drive. Glenwood Ave runs right through it, and it is right off Memorial, one of the main arteries we all drive in Atlanta. From here it is a 10 to 15 minute drive to Hartsfield-Jackson airport, about 10 minutes to Piedmont Park, and 15 to 20 minutes to Buckhead and Lenox, depending on traffic.
It really is a village: an artist community with a large walkable area. The Earl is one of our most famous music venues. The Midway Pub is a staple if you want a beer and good bar food. Argosy is a newer, hipper bar with great draft beer. My personal favorite little area is We Sookie Sookie, a cluster of fabulous cheap eats. In the warmer months there is the East Atlanta farmers market, the EAV Strut, and festivals that are often music focused.
It is similar to Little Five Points. I edged East Atlanta Village ahead because the walkable area is slightly larger and it has more of a community feel. Little Five Points sits off a major road for the most part and feels less encapsulated.
The downsides. It is probably better for a younger crowd. Be careful about break-ins: if you park there for a Friday night out, do not leave anything in your car, because people target the area knowing you are out and about.
What it costs (2021). Living in the village proper is expensive and difficult, since it is mostly a commercial district with houses on the outside. To buy close by, plan on $375,000 to $525,000, depending on the size of the house. To rent, you could take a room for $600 or $700 a month, or split a house that rents for $2,400 to $2,500. I did not see many townhomes or traditional condos in this specific area.
4. Virginia Highlands
Virginia Highlands is one of the most desirable places for Atlantans to live. It is highly walkable and full of history. It sits just north of Little Five Points, next to Piedmont Park, and it is a BeltLine neighborhood. The most walkable stretch is right off North Highland, where you will find Murphy’s, Fontaine’s (great oysters), Paolo’s, Press and Grind (a good coffee shop) and Taco Mac if you just want to catch a game. You are also right off Ponce, so you can hop on it for more bars and restaurants or take it further in through Midtown.
It started as a streetcar suburb, and the homes show it, with beautiful architecture and lots of very old historic houses. People want to live here for the central location, the closeness to Midtown, overall safety and the quality of schools.
The downsides. You are in the heart of the traffic coming into the city, right off Ponce and Briarcliff Road. You can avoid it strategically, but you will be surrounded by it. It is also very expensive.
What it costs (2021). Buying is probably north of $800,000 for most of the larger, updated historic homes. An older, smaller or less updated home may come in a bit cheaper, but most new listings were close to $1 million. Renting usually means a room or part of a house directly from a landlord. There are some small apartment buildings of two to four units if a vacancy comes up, and plenty of apartment buildings in nearby Midtown if you want to be close without being in it.
3. Midtown
Midtown is right in the middle of the city, just north of downtown. I have made an entire video and vlog tour about it. It is dense because it packs in a commercial arts district, a residential district, a bar crawl district, a retail district and a restaurant district. There is simply more to do here than anywhere else in the city.
For art, it is hard to beat: the Fox Theatre, the High Museum (my favorite museum in Atlanta), the Atlanta orchestra, the Atlanta Ballet and the Center for Puppetry Arts.
Then there is Piedmont Park, probably Atlanta’s most popular park. It is a huge, gorgeous green space with skyline views, and on a nice weekend day it is packed with people and their dogs, playing games and having picnics. Piedmont Park is now a BeltLine park, so you can hop from Midtown onto the trail. Head south and you pass Inman Park, Reynoldstown and Cabbagetown on the way to south Atlanta. Head north and you reach Lindbergh and the Buckhead area.
What it costs (2021). Expensive in most cases, but you do not have to be a millionaire. There are not many detached homes. The small neighborhoods with older historic homes could run from the mid $500,000s to $2 or $3 million. I had just closed a condo in the Midtown area for $275,000: a one bed, one bath, 800 square foot unit, right by Atlantic Station. Keep the HOA fees in mind, which are often above $500 a month. Condos ran from the mid to high $200,000s for a one-bedroom up to multi-million dollar penthouses. To rent, plan on at least $1,300 to $1,500 even for the smallest apartment, and it goes up from there with space.
2. The City of Decatur
Many Atlantans use “Decatur” as a catch-all for much of east Atlanta. The City of Decatur is the specific area just inside the perimeter on the east side. (The perimeter is I-285. “ITP” means inside the perimeter, and “OTP” means outside it.) It is on what I call the equator of Atlanta: about 15 minutes to Hartsfield-Jackson, and 15 to 20 minutes to Midtown or Buckhead, depending on traffic.
Two things put Decatur on this list: walkability and schools. Decatur Square is a commercial district where people come to work for the city buildings, plus local retail rather than big chains, and really good restaurants and bars. Brick Store is one of the most famous pubs in the country, and Iberian Pig has fantastic Spanish food. Leon’s and Fellini’s are a couple more. It is pretty, it is safe, with police out everywhere, and it is family friendly. It is close to Agnes Scott, an all-women’s college, so there are always students walking around.
On schools: traditionally Atlanta is held back because our public schools in many areas are not good. The City of Decatur is one of the biggest exceptions. The schools are all top rated, and if you want to live inside the perimeter and send your kids to public school, I cannot think of a better area. If you go outside the perimeter, especially into north Gwinnett, Cobb and Forsyth County, you will find some of the best schools. But for ITP walkable neighborhoods where schools matter, Decatur has to be on your list.
You can also take MARTA heavy rail into downtown for a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, or switch lines and go right to Hartsfield-Jackson. If you do not own a car, Decatur is one of the few areas where you may actually get by. I cover the city in more detail in my post on living in the City of Decatur.
What it costs (2021). It is expensive in the city proper. Because of the density you are more likely looking at a townhome than a single-family detached home, and you will probably be above $500,000 in any situation. It can easily reach the million dollar range depending on the size and quality. If the Decatur school district is less important to you, you can be close on a smaller budget in places like Belvedere Park, Scottdale or Avondale Estates.
1. Inman Park
Inman Park is my number one. When I filmed this, I called it probably the most desirable, hottest neighborhood in Atlanta for a few years running. It is just northeast of downtown, next to Little Five Points, Old Fourth Ward and Cabbagetown, and close to Edgewood and Kirkwood. From here you can reach most of the other popular neighborhoods, including Midtown and Grant Park.
Right off Highland Ave is a walkable stretch of restaurants and retail where you can spend hours. These are not chains you see all over the state. There is a wine bar serving tapas, Highland Bakery, Beetlecat (great seafood), Inman Park Coffee and a cigar shop I am a fan of.
What puts it over the top is the BeltLine. Inman Park does not have block after block of walkable area. It has a small one, but because it connects to the BeltLine, a lot more opens up. You can go north to Piedmont Park and Midtown, and the trail is usually full on weekends, with people playing music, walking dogs, biking and riding scooters. Or you can go south toward Cabbagetown and Reynoldstown. It is not purely which area is the most walkable overall. You can walk around downtown Atlanta, but I do not think it would be that fun. I was looking for high-quality things to do in a dense area, plus access to other great areas.
What it costs (2021). Expensive, and more so the closer you get to Highland Ave. Single-family detached homes are often historic, with beautiful Victorian architecture, and ran from the high $700,000s and $800,000s up to the million dollar range, depending on size and finish. There are newer condo buildings, so you can live here on a lower budget if you buy a condo or townhome, but watch the HOA fees. To rent, set a budget above $2,000 regardless of the size of the unit.
Where I would send you first
If you are buying a home in Atlanta and want to know, regardless of budget, where the hottest and most walkable area is, I would check out Inman Park first. If you are visiting for a day, this is what I tell clients and friends: start at Inman Park and work your way up the BeltLine to Piedmont Park and Midtown.
Atlanta is not a dense city, but we are slowly becoming more dense, and with the BeltLine some of these neighborhoods are now connected. If you want to read more on buying here, see buying a home in Atlanta. If you want help working out which of these fits your situation, book a consultation with me and my team.