Nice areas outside of Atlanta?

Me and my gf are moving to ATL next year. We are looking for a very safe place to live. I know there are some nice areas in the city, as well as some nice areas in the surrounding suburbs, but is there a middle ground? Thing is, we won't be married yet and won't have kids by that time, so we still will want to have access to fun, the arts, and entertainment. I'm not knocking the suburbs at all; just trying to consider everything in steps I guess. Then again, you tell me since you probably know better about the city than I do when it comes to other factors like traffic, how close my job is, what all amenities I'm looking for, etc.