Lenox

Basically, this “neighborhood” is one giant swath of mall sprawl. In fact, I’m not entirely sure you can even live here, unless you’re squatting in the Crate & Barrel… Which may not be such a bad idea (if you can get away with it), given that the actual residences in this chunk of Buckhead’s immense shopping district consist of a handful of pool-dotted, electronic latchkey apartment complexes priced to reflect the area’s coveted “uptown” image. Traffic is heinous; the population is harried and largely looking to spend money and be seen doing it; and tour-ons flood the place every weekend and on major shopping holidays.

Not even the much-touted fireworks show every Fourth (20 minutes of increasingly unimpressed oohs and ahhs preceded and succeeded by about an hour and 45 minutes of stop-and-go Buckhead traffic or a similar-length trip spent sardined in a MARTA train); or the fact that the mall parking lot – yes, you heard right – serves as the starting line for the Peachtree Road Race (world’s largest 10K, on and off), is enough to redeem this area as much more than a place to drop $$$$ on a pair of undoubtedly fabulous boots.

But, to each his/her own, as they say. If florescent lighting, unflattering mirrors and relentless, base-heavy musak really gets your blue-blood pumping, then welcome to the mothership. Cheers!

If the mere utterance of Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Tiffany & Co., or Jimmy Choo sends thrilling shivers up and down your spine, then the Lenox area of Atlanta might be a place for you. There you can find all of the big name luxury stores between Lenox Mall to the east of Peachtree Street and Phipps Plaza to the West. The Lenox area, the heart of Atlanta’s shopping district, is bordered by busy Peachtree, Lenox and Piedmont Roads with access to Interstate I-85, and Georgia 400 roadways. Lenox is also the home of fabulous and expensive hotels like the Hyatt, Intercontinental, and Ritz Carlton Hotels.

Just by being in the Lenox area, I just feel richer! I can feel the affluence rubbing off on me.

While Lenox shopping is great, the traffic, on the other hand, is maddening. Avoid the area during the AM/PM rush hours, and at lunch time when business people and students come out to look for mid-day vittles at the high-end restaurants like Maggiano’s and Emeril’s. Traffic is also nightmarish around Christmas time for obvious reasons.

With all of this activity and attractions, you have to look very closely for a place to live. But you will find a place, probably in the gated luxury townhomes on Lenox Road, in the tall and expensive high-rise condos bordering Peachtree Road, or on side streets north of the malls. Crime is not so prevalent, except for thefts of high end clothing at expensive boutiques and shops.

Due to the horrible traffic, I feel much more threatened, however, by inattentive drivers on Peachtree Road, than I do by any other crime there!