Best suburb

Because it’s closer to intown Atlanta’s coolest neighborhoods than most of the rest of intown Atlanta, people tend not to think of DECATUR as a suburb. But a suburb it is. The DeKalb County seat is home to 18,000 people who enjoy many of the benefits of suburban living (more green space, a slightly slower pace of life than the city, decent public schools and an accessible local government) with few of the drawbacks. It has public transit, and plenty of places within walking distance of each other, including charming shops, great restaurants, bars and an increasing number of mid-rise condominiums. This fall, it’s even slated to get a free municipal Wi-Fi network that will cover much of the city. Top that, Alpharetta. less...

There’s no suburb in Atlanta where you’ll hear Vietnamese, Somali, Urdu and Serbo-Croatian as commonly spoken as it is in CLARKSTON. The town popped up in the 1830s, when railroad workers laid tracks to connect Atlanta to Augusta. Because the railroad made it easy to commute to Atlanta for work, Clarkston became one of the first suburbs in the South. It fell on hard times in the 1970s and ’80s, but retained its quiet, modest charm. Then, refugees who flocked to Clarkston for public transportation and affordable housing transformed it into a vibrant, eclectic hamlet, and now a new generation of commuters is fixing up old homes and building new ones. How many other quaint neighborhoods have 4-bedroom, 2-bath houses with a backyard for $145,000?
www.cityofclarkston.com

.

less...

Nothing says suburban sensibilities and urban proximity like EAST POINT. Slightly closer to the big city than its sister suburb, College Park, East Point boasts a quaint little downtown with a MARTA stop, a scattering of restaurants and a blues bar. Houses are still affordable, and in the Jefferson Park and Conley Hills neighborhoods, streets are clean, safe, quiet and bear historic designations. And at a mere seven miles south of downtown Atlanta (the same distance Decatur lies to the east), it's a breeze to get in - and out - of the madness. "www.eastpointbuzz.com; www.eastpointcity.org" less...

MARIETTA SQUARE seems unscathed from the OTP and ITP battle, and it defies all things assumed about Cobb County. People who swear they'll never leave Midtown drive to catch shows at Theatre in the Square. Then they stick around to get a bite to eat at one of the numerous international restaurants located around Glover Park. The Square continues to attract locals seeking a more metropolitan flavor with its coffee shops and galleries. But the "Square" extends beyond the park center with antebellum homes that conjure the Old South and the 1909 Post Office that houses the Marietta/ Cobb Museum of Art. And you don't even have to think about finding Marietta's other main attraction - the Big Chicken. "Marietta Welcome Center and Visitors Bureau, 4 Depot St., Marietta. 770-429-1115. "www.mariettasquare.com". " less...