Atlanta Named Among Hippest Cities In U.S.

ATLANTA, GA — We may be shopping for vinyl in Little Five Points, checking out a band in East Atlanta or catching an indie movie at The Plaza Theater. But we can all say we were into Atlanta before it was cool.

The ATL, it turns out, is one of the hippest cities in the country. That's according to a new "Hipster Index" released by the website for moving company MoveHub.

According to the index's rankings, Atlanta come in at No. 8 in terms of hipness. Vancouver, Washington, was No. 1, followed by Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Boise, Idaho, and Richmond, Virginia.

So, how did MoveHub decide who's hip and who's not? First, here's how they define a hipster:

"There’s no one prevailing definition, but common qualities are easy enough to spot," says MoveHub. "In brief, hipsters are a subculture of 20- to 30-somethings who position themselves as non-mainstream pioneers; free-thinkers and non-conformist conformists ... .

"From the inside this looks like independent thought, progressive politics, sustainable food, thrift store bargains, delicious local beer, and groups of ardent individuals looking exactly like each other. From the outside peering in it tends to resemble gentrification, sickly vegan dishes, and groups of ardent individuals looking exactly like each other."

So, is making this list a good thing? From that description, we're not exactly sure.

At any rate, here's the criteria that got Atlanta on the list. MoveHub looked at the number of microbreweries, thrift stores, vegan restaurants and tattoo studios in each city per 100,000 residents. They also looked at rent inflation in the last year which, we guess, is a way of measuring which place are considered newly hot.

The Northwest dominated the list (and that's without even counting coffee shops). But it was a bit of a surprise that Vancouver, not perpetually hip Portland, landed in the top spot. Portland came in at 12th on the list.

While it didn't rank overall, another Georgia city made some noise on the list. Augusta, it turns out, leads the nation in tattoo parlors, with more than seven studios per 100,000 people, according to MoveHub.

You can see the entire MoveHub Hipster Index list here.

What do you think? Is Atlanta really among the hippest of the hip? And, is that a good thing?

Stop sipping your Sweetwater and put down your hummus wrap long enough to let us know in the comments, or on social media.

Watch Now: Top 5 Most Hipster Cities In The U.S.A.

Photo via Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau