Best Neighborhood to Have It All

Yes, WEST END has won awards from Curbed and Redfin proclaiming it Atlanta’s coolest community. But it’s not the first time the neighborhood has been fashionable. The neighborhood that began in the 1830s as a small village and pub called the White Hall Tavern became its own city in the 1860s. Developers over the years built housing ranging from bungalows to gorgeous Victorian mansions — grand homes that, thanks to dedicated longtime residents and new arrivals unafraid to swing a hammer, can be seen in their gabled glory along Peeples Street, Oglethorpe Avenue, and other thoroughfares. Every year, a few well-preserved survivals from those days open up for the neighborhood’s tour of homes. Wren’s Nest is the most famous but it’s got plenty of lovely companions well worth a visit. www.atlantawestend.com. less...

Intown Atlanta’s renaissance was a welcome change, but it posed a conundrum for some neighborhoods: As newcomers settled in, the urban villages began the slow brewing process of finding their identity. Thank God that LITTLE FIVE POINTS doesn’t care if it has a cohesive one. Though best known as the go-to ’hood for music, brews and tattoos, it’s also one of the most homegrown hamlets in Atlanta: Next to Virginia-Highland, no other intown neighborhood offers more independent businesses (community-owned credit union, anyone?). Through white flight and gentrification, L5P has been a welcome reprieve from the plastic Buckhead and the quick-built Atlantic Station. You can nurse (or pound) a beer at Corner Tavern or the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, or you can stop by for an impromptu concert at Criminal Records. Undeniably, home prices have gone up, but the well-inked and laissez-faire vibe remains the same. Euclid and Moreland avenues. www.l5p.com. less...

As small-town main streets go, one of the most charming in these parts belongs to the city of BUFORD, nestled in the northern tip of Gwinnett County. Founded in 1872, the city was put on the map by industrialist Bona Allen, who ran the tannery and leather factory — now fully renovated as an antique mall — that served as the town’s economic engine. In 1912, Allen built a 17-room Italianate mansion, and the home and tannery bookend Main Street, which is now lined by boutiques, antique shops, restaurants and galleries that double as working studios.
www.cityofbuford.com.

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