Nothing less than Robb Report, the print paean to the luxury lifestyle, has rated Buckhead "one of the U.S.A.'s 10 Top Affluent Communities." It's known for gracious mansions, upscale shopping, fine dining, luxury car dealerships and elegant hotels.
Buckhead has been called a "sub-city," but it's another Atlanta neighborhood, although it has more than 40 mini-neighborhoods within it that range from definitely urban to almost suburban. The core of Buckhead, sometimes called "Old Buckhead," proudly wears the ZIP code 30305 and features multimillion-dollar homes. Its borders are I-85 on the east and I -75 on the west, and Atlanta's iconic Peachtree Street runs right through it.
Buckhead has long been known for great upscale shopping at Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, and according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, more than 40 percent of Buckhead shoppers have made a trip of more than 100 miles to shop at stores that include Abercrombie and Fitch, Giorgio Armani, Bloomingdale's, Cartier, Coach, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Michael Kors, Steve Madden, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, Prada, Saks Fifth Avenue, Kate Spade, Tiffany's, Valentino, Versace and Louis Vuitton.
Recently, a popular area of bars and restaurants that was starting to attract a young, fast crowd with money has given way to several blocks of shops intended to turn a section of Peachtree Street into the South's version of Rodeo Drive. The mixed use development, called "Buckhead Atlanta," designed like a pedestrian village, includes Hermes, Etro, Brunello Cucinelli, Helmut Lang, Jonathan Adler, Jimmy Choo and dozens more retailers and restaurants.
Some highlights of several of the most popular sections of Buckhead:
Ardmore Park: Four blocks on the south side of Buckhead between Collier Road and 28th street, Peachtree Road and Ardmore Road; featuring a park on the Atlanta Beltline
Brookwood Hills: Established in the 1920s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places; home styles include Neoclassical, Tudor, colonial and cottage, from single level to two and three stories. Pool, park and tennis.
Buckhead Forest: Surrounds the intersection of Peachtree and Roswell; shady streets; deep wooded lots; Tudors to traditionals to mid-century ranches.
Collier Hills: Historic site of the Battle of Peachtree Creek, with a Beltline park, food trucks, Piedmont Hospital and Wal-Mart.
Colonial Homes: A complex of townhomes and garden apartments between Peachtree Road and Atlanta Memorial Park. Convenient to Peachtree Battle shopping center and Piedmont Hospital.
Garden Hills: A wooded, secluded enclave right off Peachtree with an active civic association and beautiful pool and rec center. Styles range from Georgian, Tudor, Spanish Revival and Craftsman.
Haynes Manor: Beautiful entrance along Peachtree Battle Parkway. Many homes recall English and French manor homes. Two golf courses; Haynes Manor Park and Atlanta Memorial Park; near Northside Beltline Park.
Margaret Mitchell: Less than one square mile west of I-75, with housing stock that ranges from retro modern 60s-style ranches to McMansions; large lots and rolling lawns.
North Buckhead: One of Atlanta's largest neighborhoods. Woodsy, hilly area north of Lenox Square; Lake Emma.
Peachtree Heights East: Off Peachtree Road between Lindbergh Drive on the south and East Wesley Road on the north, with Acorn Avenue on the east. American foursquares and bungalows to Cape Cods, cottages and Tudors; an urban lake called "the duck pond."
Peachtree Heights West: The main reason Buckhead has been compared to Beverly Hills; on the National Register of Historic Places; home of the Swan House.
Peachtree Hills: East of Peachtree Road between Peachtree Creek on the south and Lindbergh Drive on the north; a cozy neighborhood of many Craftsman bungalows.
Peachtree Park: Just 13 tree-lined streets near Lenox Square and the intersection of Peachtree and Piedmont. An easy walk to the heart of the Buckhead business district.
Pine Hills: Behind Lenox Square Mall, bordering Lenox Road, E. Roxboro Road and Buford Highway, in both Fulton and DeKalb Counties, with two different school districts.
Ridgedale Park: Established in the 1920s; a mixture of Tudor revival, Georgian and English and French cottage styles just north of Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza on the east side of Peachtree. Quiet, with deeply set back front yards.
Underwood Hills: Close to The District at Howell Mill, Atlantic Station, the Westside Design District and I-75; Underwood Hills Park. Affordable bungalows and cottages built in the early 20th century.
Buckhead is zoned for Atlanta public schools and has some of the best in the city, including E. Rivers Elementary (K-5), Sutton Middle School and North Atlanta High School, a showplace occupying a former IBM building that became the most expensive school in the state after a $147 million renovation.