An interesting authority – Niche.com – recently ranked District Lofts’ neighborhood, Atlantic Station, among the top four places to live in Georgia in one of their quantitative studies of neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools. What makes this endorsement particularly interesting is the scientific method Niche uses to arrive at observations such as this.
With a weighted analysis of 15 factors ranging from cost of living, the higher-education rate, health and fitness, and even nightlife – all the way to weather and shortest commute – Niche puts the numbers through their paces as only “quant jocks” can do. The result is a ranking of best places to live that is more fact-based, or at least more factor-based, than any other we have seen. It places Atlantic Station at No. 4 among the top 150 places to live in all of Georgia.
Considering the Source
We can’t help noticing that the folks at Niche who did this analysis are based in Pittsburgh, home of Carnegie Mellon University, a noted hotbed of computer science and home to more than its share of people proud to be math “nerds.” So, although the source may be new to us, the method and credentials are solid. We looked into it and found that Niche has been around for 18 years.
Making Room for That Sixth Sense
Such a rigorous approach to identifying the “best place to live” is impressive. But for many of us, it might miss the point. All the evidence in the world doesn’t seem to count if your heart says, “no.” And all the evidence in the world will only slow you down a little if the heart says, “yes.” Someone who’s worked in a field that depends on knowing this tells us that “desire comes before permission, and analysis is usually used for permission.” What analysis can do very well is add confidence to our decisions.
Yes, desirability is a very individual question and likely to resist analysis because of its own subjectivity and complexity. Someone put it more simply when he said, “different strokes for different folks.” Even the most-accomplished scientists find respect for intuition, because every analysis is, to some extent, “reductive.” Who defines the factors? Who assigns the weights? Only then is the math objective.
For example, someone who looks forward to caring personally for a suburban lawn is probably not a prospect for lofts. However, the fountain-graced Atlantic Green that breathes nature’s reminder into daily living at District Lofts is professionally manicured and awaiting people who have different interests.
For more information on how to own at District Lofts, visit https://owndistrictlofts.com/contact/ or contact us at 404.317.1896.
