Midtown, Virginia-Highland, and Inman Park (L5P is really the business district that separates the residential Inman Park and Candler Park neighborhoods) are all wonderfully walkable intown neighborhoods, and you should definitely be able to manage the commute within your 30-40 minute window.
Another area to consider is the City of Decatur. It's more like a college town than a "big city" but it's got a wonderful, progressive vibe plus great restaurants, lots of parks, and a fantastic community spirit. It's also really convenient to Midtown. Decatur is sort of half way between Tucker and Midtown so you could get to work more quickly but be close to the more "urban" core of the city when you want to do more "big city" stuff -- like go to the High Museum or the Woodruff Arts Center, for example.
Here are some links for Decatur info:
http://www.decaturga.com/
http://www.visitdecaturgeorgia.com/
http://www.youtube.com/cityofdecatur/
Lisa Crowder
Atlanta Communities
http://www.intownhomes247.com - Wed May 9, 2012