Where can I find a rental House in Atlanta?
December 5, 2011 4:06 PM Subscribe
I am desperately looking for a rental house in the Atlanta neighborhoods of North Decatur or Druid Hills and have had no luck finding any to even look at and wanted to know if Metafilter might have the answer?
I am fairly new to the city and my wife and I are very ready to get out of our boring apartment. We think we want to live either in Druid Hills or Decatur and both are convenient for our commutes. Atlanta is a big city but we are stuck in an apartment complex far north of our jobs. I thought it would be fairly easy to find a rental house/condo in this economy, but I have really struggled. I need help!
I am fairly new to the city and my wife and I are very ready to get out of our boring apartment. We think we want to live either in Druid Hills or Decatur and both are convenient for our commutes. Atlanta is a big city but we are stuck in an apartment complex far north of our jobs. I thought it would be fairly easy to find a rental house/condo in this economy, but I have really struggled. I need help!
Response by poster: Thanks for the information on the additional neighborhoods. I am still a newbie in this town.
posted by UseyurBrain at 4:35 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by UseyurBrain at 4:35 PM on December 5, 2011
No problem! You also might want to look in Avondale Estates, which is my neighborhood. I live 2 miles from Decatur Square -- close enough to walk to!
posted by runningwithscissors at 4:37 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by runningwithscissors at 4:37 PM on December 5, 2011
Here are the Zillow listings for house rentals in DeKalb county. It's quite possible the sites previously mentioned have the same listings, but it was easy to link. ;)
posted by Monsieur Caution at 4:47 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by Monsieur Caution at 4:47 PM on December 5, 2011
There are plenty of rental houses around Emory University, although they may be filled with students at the moment. Seconding trying Toco Hills and Briarcliff (which happens to be my neighborhood. North Druid Hills is going to be more affordable than Druid Hills. It's convenient to just about anywhere you want to go in the perimeter.) Avondale Estates is also good. I work over there.
posted by dortmunder at 4:51 PM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by dortmunder at 4:51 PM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I grew up in this part of Atlanta. There's really no neighborhood called "North Druid Hills", that I know of. There is a "North Druid Hills Road", however, and that creates some confusion (people sometimes speak of "North Druid Hills High School", for example, which does not exist.) This is a large arterial road, leading from I-285 just outside of Decatur, all the way to the Lenox Square area.
The Toco Hills area mentioned above is at the intersection of N Druid Hills Rd and Clairmont Avenue, about 3 miles north of Decatur, and I'd agree that it's worth looking into houses in the residential areas around there. Some of the neighborhoods around LaVista, Clairmont, Briarcliff, and N Druid Hills are predominantly ranch house style suburbs from the 60's, and may be affordable.
The Druid Hills neighborhood proper is a pretty old, wealthy area, with large houses and huge lawns, and probably does not have many rentals. I note, however, that some of these old houses have what they call "carriage houses" behind them, which, I guess, were where servants lived back in the 1940's, and these are available for rent sometimes. However, they tend to get snapped up by graduate or medical or law students.
Good luck! It's a terrific area to live in. Decatur, which was a sleepy little city that closed down at 6 PM, when I was a kid, is now a vibrant and diverse place, with lots of restaurants etc.
posted by thelonius at 5:18 PM on December 5, 2011
The Toco Hills area mentioned above is at the intersection of N Druid Hills Rd and Clairmont Avenue, about 3 miles north of Decatur, and I'd agree that it's worth looking into houses in the residential areas around there. Some of the neighborhoods around LaVista, Clairmont, Briarcliff, and N Druid Hills are predominantly ranch house style suburbs from the 60's, and may be affordable.
The Druid Hills neighborhood proper is a pretty old, wealthy area, with large houses and huge lawns, and probably does not have many rentals. I note, however, that some of these old houses have what they call "carriage houses" behind them, which, I guess, were where servants lived back in the 1940's, and these are available for rent sometimes. However, they tend to get snapped up by graduate or medical or law students.
Good luck! It's a terrific area to live in. Decatur, which was a sleepy little city that closed down at 6 PM, when I was a kid, is now a vibrant and diverse place, with lots of restaurants etc.
posted by thelonius at 5:18 PM on December 5, 2011
Friend of mine just moved into an apartment on Briarcliff right at Ponce - she used PadMapper in her apartment search, and had a lot of success.
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:38 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by Medieval Maven at 5:38 PM on December 5, 2011
I've found 2 rental places using the Emory Off-Campus Housing Finder and swear by it: https://housing.emory.edu/off-campus/home.cfm
I actually just moved from Toco Hills/NDH to Decatur this summer. I love that it's more walkable and there are tons of fun places to eat out and shop, but I will admit access to 85 was much easier when I lived by the North Druid Hills exit. Either way, I've decided the secret to enjoying life in Atlanta is having a short commute. Best of luck to you!
posted by k96sc01 at 5:56 PM on December 5, 2011
I actually just moved from Toco Hills/NDH to Decatur this summer. I love that it's more walkable and there are tons of fun places to eat out and shop, but I will admit access to 85 was much easier when I lived by the North Druid Hills exit. Either way, I've decided the secret to enjoying life in Atlanta is having a short commute. Best of luck to you!
posted by k96sc01 at 5:56 PM on December 5, 2011
If you know anyone at CDC, ask if they can help you access the CDC classifieds. I also agree with the Emory Off-Campus Housing finder. Tons of stuff on there.
posted by superfille at 6:31 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by superfille at 6:31 PM on December 5, 2011
Drive around. I live in the Briarcliff area and I pass several "For Rent" signs on the way to work every day. Memail me if you want me to make a note of some addresses.
posted by toomuchpete at 10:18 PM on December 5, 2011
posted by toomuchpete at 10:18 PM on December 5, 2011
Hey there! Long time Atlanta resident, and I've rented like 10 places in the past 10 years. Nearly 100% I found through Craigslist. One I found in Creative Loafing. I currently live in Clarkston, which is about 4 miles from downtown Decatur. We're actually buying a house and will be moving out this month. How soon do you need to move, and would you take a 2 bed/1 bath? :)
posted by masquesoporfavor at 10:20 AM on December 10, 2011
posted by masquesoporfavor at 10:20 AM on December 10, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
(BTW, Druid Hills is different from North Druid Hills. You may also want to include Toco Hills or Briarcliff in your search.)
posted by runningwithscissors at 4:32 PM on December 5, 2011 [1 favorite]