When you leave your home, do you have to get into your car? Or are you able to walk places that you would like to go – to a coffee shop, to a movie theater, to a restaurant, to a walking trail? The ability to walk somewhere from an abode is known as “walkability” and many websites assign a “walkability score” to a given home and neighborhood. To some people, particularly those who are from larger cities where walking is popular like New York or Toronto, walkability is very important. But traditionally Atlanta has not been known as a particularly walkable town. I remember when I first moved to Atlanta right after law school to start working at my first law firm, I was happy to be able to walk to a local tavern but generally got into my car to get just about anywhere else. My first law firm was just outside the Perimeter at the Ravinia office buildings across from Perimeter Mall. To my chagrin, even though many restaurants and Perimeter Mall were just across the street, there was absolutely no way to walk there. We had to get into the car to get to a restaurant that would have been ten minutes away by foot.

Though we Atlantans have long had a love affair with our cars, all this is changing. From Ravinia, it is now possible to walk to a Starbucks. And elsewhere in Atlanta walkability has taken off in much more dramatic ways. The PATH trails and the Beltline have proven to be immensely popular and housing density and prices have increased exponentially for those homes closest to these popular walking trails. With the Beltline has come the “live, work, and play” concept of not having to go far from your home to do everything that you like to do – with the added benefit of not having to jump into your car to do it.

One of my favorite clients lives in Kirkwood, and walks virtually every day to Oakhurst for coffee and to work. It’s exercise, fresh air, work, and community all in one fell swoop – and all walking distance from her house. Homes like hers and in other areas where residents have this benefit have increased in value at a rate greater than those which are not similarly situated.  Some areas of the Eastside Beltline have doubled in value. The gains elsewhere are more modest, but consistent. To find pockets of future appreciation – areas where an investment now will really pay off later – look for neighborhoods near the as yet undeveloped portions of the Beltline. For instance, Grove Park, a small community south of the Bellwood Quarry, which will become the crown jewel park of the southeast section of the Beltline.

And keep in mind that your current home may be more walkable than you think. Take the time to walk somewhere from your house that you normally would not, and see if it’s something that appeals to you. While my husband and I can reach nature trails at the Chattahoochee easily by foot from our house, it’s not as easy to get to a Starbucks. But we decided to do it anyway. It wasn’t the most serene walk (along a busy street), but it was a fun adventure and coming home we took a much longer route through a residential neighborhood and noticed much more by foot than we would have in a car.

And might I also suggest that even if you have to get into a car to do it, take some time to find the places in Atlanta where you can get out of your car and enjoy a stroll or a hike. No matter where you live in this great city of ours, there’s something wonderful that is not TOO far away.