So many thoughts cascade through my mind when asked about life in Alpharetta! I’ll tell you how I got here later, but first – life in awesome Alpharetta!

 

I live in the very first mixed-use mid-rise condominium in the city – Alpharetta Lofts on Canton Street at School Drive in the Garden Arts District. This owner-occupied building has 33 single-level lofts surrounding a beautiful open atrium. From my balconies I look out over treetops, can catch the sunrise each day, and listen to sounds of a splashing fountain at Teasley Place below. Everything that Downtown Alpharetta offers is steps away – pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, pocket parks, public art, restaurants, bakeries, wine, boutique shops, Alpha-Loop, City Hall with the Alpharetta Old Milton County Historical Museum, the Arts Center, the Future Farmers of America Log Cabin, and Resthaven Cemetery, just to name my favorites!

 

Pre-pandemic there were street festivals – art, crafts, food, and entertainment – lots of opportunities to enjoy urban life. Even now the sounds of music and laughter can be heard and walking though the neighborhood brings joy. There is vibrancy below the canopies of trees and a sense of living in a small town where history is treasured and the future planned.   

 

A typical day in Downtown Alpharetta finds me walking my two Yorkshire terriers (Nicky and Gracie) and greeting all their fur friends along the way. You could set the clock by our encounters with neighbors doing the same! The coffee aromas are wafting out of the Nest Café as I walk to Old Canton pocket park to check on my Little Free Library Charter #86014 (https://littlefreelibrary.org/ourmap/). We cross the street to say good morning to the huge bullfrog that lives in the koi pond at Flatlands Bourbon & Bayou (too early for the best ever sazerac or an ice cream at Four Fat Cows) and then reserve our spot for Southern Porch’s breakfast with divine buttery grits and beignets. Starting off again, we pause a moment to enjoy Mercantile Social’s current decorating theme (it’s a Grinch world for the holidays!), and turn the corner for a quick check on progress at the Hamilton Hotel construction – beautiful boutique hotel where visiting family and friends will be able to stay.

 

Although I could cross Main Street to walk through City Center, I save that for weekends when I can also enjoy the farmers' market. Heading west on Milton Avenue, I can easily envision the days when this was the core of Alpharetta with small-town stores. Even today, every shopkeeper likely knows your name! I love getting a shout out from my favorite shopkeepers at Korner Soak (softest PJs ever), La Bella Maison (love the Nest fragrances), Sis & Moon (where I first found Kathleen Taylor’s artwork), and Clothes Horse.

 

If food is on my mind, instead of ordering pizza from a chain store like I would have done in the old days, within minutes I can get a wonderful wood-fired pizza from Minnie Olivia Pizzeria complimented by the best butternut squash soup in town! Crossing over Milton I come to my very favorite restaurant, Coalition, where they even created a drink for me – the “Gracie” – a fabulous grapefruit old fashioned. The food is excellent, and the staff (my “food family”) makes me feel so welcomed. This is where my neighbors meet every Wednesday night for burgers and beer!

 

If entertaining at home, then Savory Gourmet may have crafted a charcuterie board for me. I’ve likely stopped by Fermented for the perfect bottle of wine and ElleB for the perfect hostess gift. On the fashion side I’ve gone from collecting Louboutin shoes (way too fancy for walking the dogs) to collecting Chrome Heart sunglasses from b.spectacled. All Inspired has the perfect outfit to compliment my mood, and they always have a biscuit for my pups! If I need my spirits lifted, then I head to Youthtopia MedSpa (where I treated myself to a monthly membership) or Hammond Nails (love the aromatic pedicure). And if feeling punk and need a lift, then I grab a healthy drink at Kale Me Crazy!

 

Remember, all of these delights are just within a block of my home! If I were to become bored, then City Center, Avalon, and NorthPoint are all within 2 miles. My “city” living is everything I envisioned plus more!

 

With my day outlined, now I return to the story of how I ended up in Downtown Alpharetta. The company I worked for was headquartered in Alpharetta on Windward so, in 2002, when I returned to Atlanta after living in Boston for several years, the Alpharetta/Milton area was my first choice. I found the perfect home in Potterstone off Thompson Road: 4,700 square feet of house on over 2 acres of property with a beautiful natural setting and an easy commute to Alpharetta and to 400 when I needed to go into Atlanta.

 

My lifestyle needs changed after retirement (I’m a “recovering” c-level technology executive). In late 2014, I begin looking for a new home where I could focus more on enjoying what life had to offer (versus the work of maintaining a house and property or living to work) and a new community (beyond my work world). At that time, Downtown Alpharetta had a “vision” and was going through an evolution that I wanted to be a part of!

 

Downsizing was not easy – I had several thousand books, a studio with a weaving loom and easel, a basement full of way too many holiday decorations, outdoor furniture, items from the home of my parents who had passed away … just so much stuff accumulated over decades. First-world problem, I know. In hindsight I should have moved sooner, and it would have been easier to donate all and just start over!

 

As I moved into my new home, I found many of my neighbors had gone through similar downsizing experiences. In retirement we rediscovered the value of experiences and relationships over “stuff.” The diversity of our community, the benefits of living in Downtown Alpharetta, and even sheltering together during the pandemic – all brought us closer together. Alpharetta is indeed awesome!