By PAUL DONSKY, TY TAGAMI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Photo:Joey Ivansco/jivansco@ajc.com
Published on: 07/18/08
The list of top places for singles, according to CNNMoney.com, includes some of the most exciting, trendy spots in America: Cambridge, Mass.; Berkeley, Calif.; Boulder, Colo.
Sitting at No. 9: North Druid Hills.
That's right, the editors at the New York-based magazine crunched the numbers and determined that the traffic-clogged DeKalb County crossroads area, best known for the sprawling Toco Hill shopping center and 1960s-era ranch homes, is a haven for swingin' singles.
The Web site even refers to "North Druid Hills, Ga." as a "bike-friendly town" with a view of the Atlanta skyline.
Atlanta is home to plenty of hot spots for the unattached – think trendy Midtown, grungy Little Five Points or crunchy Decatur. Atlanta itself ranks 13th on this list.
But family-friendly North Druid Hills? And just what is North Druid Hills, anyway?
Metro Atlantans rarely, if ever, refer to the area by that name. It's really a no-man's land that's close to identifiable places like Emory University, Decatur and Buckhead. Most often, residents just call it Toco Hill.
Money clearly had a problem identifying the area as well. The story posted Friday included a brief description and photo for each of the top 25 places. Glamor shots included funky downtown Hoboken, N.J., just across the river from Manhattan, and the scenic Charles River in Cambridge.
For North Druid Hills, the editors threw up a Google map with a pointer at the intersection of North Druid Hills and LaVista roads, about where the Dunkin' Donuts is located.
Flo Wolf, who lives near the pinpointed spot, paused a moment to weigh the news.
"Uh huh. Well, somebody's been doing some major PR work out there," Wolf said. The former president of the Merry Hills Homeowners Association said her neighborhood is defined by its proximity to a popular synagogue that has been a draw for Orthodox Jewish families.
"Where I live is a very strong, family-oriented community," said Wolf, whose own two sons grew up and moved away.
Alex Garvin, a city planner based in New York, scoffed at the notion that North Druid Hills should rank high for singles.
"There's no street life," said Garvin, who played a key role in the design of Atlanta's Beltline. "There's nowhere for anybody to be."
Garvin studied the North Druid Hills Road corridor as part of a re-imagining of the area for future development — after developer Sembler Co. proposed a massive redevelopment nearby.
He said the area is anything but bike friendly. The only bike lane he found was a 1/3-mile long stretch on Briarcliff Road about a mile to the west. Mostly, what you see is drivers.
"What you see are people in cars going somewhere else," he said. "They don't stay."
North Druid Hills may not rank among the sexiest of places, but it does offer some advantages for singles. Housing is plentiful and affordable, and the area is close to major job centers like Emory University, Midtown and Buckhead.
According to the Web site, of North Druid Hills 20,607 residents, 47.6 percent are single.
Architect Tyrone Higginbottom, 36, said a lot of the single family homes are rentals that attract students from nearby Emory University. But singles like him don't hang out there at night, he said. With Decatur and Buckhead a short drive away, they go elsewhere.
"If they're saying it's like the hot place to be, I can't think of any places at that intersection that I would go to to hang out," Higginbottom said, "but a lot of people in this neighborhood are single."
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