Why Old Fourth Ward is so cool

How did Old Fourth Ward get to be one of the hottest neighborhoods in the country?

It took the right mix of walkability, transit, budget, entertainment, lifestyle and weather, according to HotSpot Rentals, which ranked the top 25 hottest neighborhoods in the country.

The intown neighborhood came in at No. 9 on a list which also features historically cool neighborhoods like the Mission in San Francisco, Silver Lake in Los Angeles and Wicker Park in Chicago. It was the only neighborhood in Atlanta (or Georgia) to make it on the list.

Old Fourth Ward ranked high on measures of walkability (82), weather (89), budget (77) and somewhat lower on measures of transit (63), entertainment (63) and lifestyle (61).

For transit, OFW proved weak based on the public transportation system, accessibility, and transit times.

Entertainment options in OFW — which include a number of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, festivals, fairs, arts events and music events in the neighborhood — proved equal to or better than options in several cities, but isn’t quite on par with the entertainment options of neighborhoods in cities like New York or Los Angeles.

Bikeability, pet friendliness and the number of outdoor activities were the focus of the lifestyle measure which was relatively low in all neighborhoods except those in San Diego and Miami.

CONTRIBUTED BY HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM Old Fourth Ward came in No. 9 on the list of the top 25 hottest neighborhoods in the country from HotSpot Rentals.