Decatur, Simon’s Town

Love, Simon was filmed in Decatur, so on a weekend when I was home in Atlanta and not traveling, I drove over to see the town for myself.

Decatur has the easy charm of a place that knows who it is. The old DeKalb County Courthouse anchors the square, and the streets around it lead into quiet neighborhoods with lilies, daisies and coneflowers in nearly every yard. Old cars sit in driveways like they’ve been there for decades, and the railroad tracks cut a straight line through the trees. On the sidewalk, someone had left handwritten notes copied from scripture, small messages for whoever happened to look down.

It’s easy to see why a story about finding your place was told here. Decatur felt welcoming in a way that didn’t need explaining, and I was glad to have it so close to home.