Roswell vs. Marietta (Atlanta, Alpharetta, Kennesaw: middle-class, rental, hotel)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think 15-20 minutes from 575-75 is a stretch- it may feel like it's that long, but I've never spent more than 5 minutes between those two roads, even on weekends or around the holidays. Now, if you sit in the right lane heading West and encounter all of the merging traffic, it might take that long, but there's no reason to do that. Even if you're trying to get into the mall, you simply go past the first entrance (where all the backup occurs) and go around the back.
Probably the biggest jam up there is actually coming off of 575 onto Barrett Parkway, which can get bad on the weekends. The simple solution to that is to get off at Chastain, and come into the shopping centers from the back, bypassing Barrett Parkway completely.
You know, there is a traffic stat website around somewhere which logs this data...I can't remember the link so if anyone has it, please forward. It logs the traffic and density in a given area...neat stuff....I'll try to find and post...it clearly shows you what I am referring to.
I can tell you this. The traffic was so bad in that corridor we gave up offering shuttle service because you couldn't get customer's to pay for the trip times relavent to cost. We use to go door to door from the Airport to any 4 exits in Alpharetta, $45 one way, $80 round....the same trip to the Barrett Pkwy area and up to Bells Ferry was $65 one way, $120 round....the reason? The North Fulton route, 40-45 miles one way, took an average of an hour....the NW side to the Airport....hour and a half...had to account for the time and fuel...people wouldn't pay it...and that was over 10 years ago...I guess they must have installed 10 express lanes over there : )
Here's some more stats that might paint a better picture....has to affect Kennesaw too??? Number 11 on the list.....there ARE worse places though folks and they are NOT in Atlanta....good reading though....food for thought...came out in December 2009.
As of 2009, 714, 692 people reside in Cobb...those are the documented ones....the states population at that time was 9,829,211 or roughly 7.27 percent of the states population resides in Cobb....roughly 1 in 14.....
I then took the entire population of Forsyth County and Dawson County, Alpharetta, Roswell, John's Creek and Dunwoody....total? 409,166....or roughly 4.16 percent of the state's population.....roughly 1 in 24.....
wanna take another swing at how mild that traffic is around Barrett Parkway??? No contest...ergo the reason we dropped the shuttle service way back when.....
I can tell you this. The traffic was so bad in that corridor we gave up offering shuttle service because you couldn't get customer's to pay for the trip times relavent to cost. We use to go door to door from the Airport to any 4 exits in Alpharetta, $45 one way, $80 round....the same trip to the Barrett Pkwy area and up to Bells Ferry was $65 one way, $120 round....the reason? The North Fulton route, 40-45 miles one way, took an average of an hour....the NW side to the Airport....hour and a half...had to account for the time and fuel...people wouldn't pay it...and that was over 10 years ago...I guess they must have installed 10 express lanes over there : )
Please...I won't argue the Barrett Pkwy thing, since I know what my experience has been, and if you think I'm delusional, then so be it.
What I can't leave alone is you comments that make North Fulton sound like a traffic paradise. I have an office in Alpharetta and commute to North Fulton certain days.
GA 400 is a nightmare most days. Rte 9 in Roswell and Alpharetta is a nightmare many days. Holcomb Bridge Rd can be beyond a nightmare many days. Mansell has its moments, as does State Bridge Rd. Rte 92 and many of the back roads to Cobb and Cherokee out of N Fulton can be terrible as well.
Please don't try to come here and tell us that North Fulton is easy and Cobb is a nightmare. That's just BS.
I can tell you this. The traffic was so bad in that corridor we gave up offering shuttle service because you couldn't get customer's to pay for the trip times relavent to cost. We use to go door to door from the Airport to any 4 exits in Alpharetta, $45 one way, $80 round....the same trip to the Barrett Pkwy area and up to Bells Ferry was $65 one way, $120 round....the reason? The North Fulton route, 40-45 miles one way, took an average of an hour....the NW side to the Airport....hour and a half...had to account for the time and fuel...people wouldn't pay it...and that was over 10 years ago...
If this is a true testimonial from a business owner, then I think it's pretty decisive, at least for the time period mentioned. (It's possible relative traffic conditions have changed in the last 10 years).
The question of whether or not cigarettes are a health hazard used to be a hotly debated topic. As far as I'm concerned, the strongest indication that the debate was over, was when insurance companies introduced differential rates for smokers and non-smokers. The insurance companies are in business only to make a profit. They would have no incentive at all to offend smokers and discourage their business, if it was not that smokers were costing them money by dying off faster than non-smokers.
In the same way, if Caleb really used to operate an airport shuttle and found that his operating costs were much higher to the Barrett Pkwy area than up 400, well, I think that's much more powerful evidence than one man's personal driving experiences. I'm sure the shuttle company had no reason to discourage customers from West Cobb, except that they were costing them too much money.
Please...I won't argue the Barrett Pkwy thing, since I know what my experience has been, and if you think I'm delusional, then so be it.
What I can't leave alone is you comments that make North Fulton sound like a traffic paradise. I have an office in Alpharetta and commute to North Fulton certain days.
GA 400 is a nightmare most days. Rte 9 in Roswell and Alpharetta is a nightmare many days. Holcomb Bridge Rd can be beyond a nightmare many days. Mansell has its moments, as does State Bridge Rd. Rte 92 and many of the back roads to Cobb and Cherokee out of N Fulton can be terrible as well.
Please don't try to come here and tell us that North Fulton is easy and Cobb is a nightmare. That's just BS.
Don't be so defensive. Never said you were dillusional or, that North Fulton was a paradise...ANYTHING but....we were simply talking about Barrett Parkway and Cobb in general as the gentleman's inquiries were related to the traffic....I do not profess to know it all, I simply did some research, available on the web to anyone who cares to look (I didn't pen the research, only found it).
It was an interesting topic and it did peak my curiosity. I wasn't aware until I poked around just how much density difference there was between the areas and thus, the obvious conclusions as it relates to getting in and out of popular shopping corridors, in this case, just two of them.
However, I can tell the gent, soon-to-be arriving here in America that if traffic is a concern, then yes, Cobb has quite a bit more of it as it seems to be by these traffic stats.
Me? I found out 10 years ago or so the hard way when we tried to service the area with some very common denominators. In this case, round trips to the airport...a pretty routine traffic route wouldn't you agree???
No offense intended. Just some pretty interesting stats. As I mentioned early on, OUR BUSINESS experience which included driving for a living, 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year concluded that the I-75/575 corridor was without a doubt the worst, followed closely by I-85 and believe it or not, 400 was a close third.
They ALL suck. Some just suck a bit less. Take it for what it is worth for those that are looking to drop an anchor somewhere in the Northern Suburbs.
If this is a true testimonial from a business owner, then I think it's pretty decisive, at least for the time period mentioned. (It's possible relative traffic conditions have changed in the last 10 years).
The question of whether or not cigarettes are a health hazard used to be a hotly debated topic. As far as I'm concerned, the strongest indication that the debate was over, was when insurance companies introduced differential rates for smokers and non-smokers. The insurance companies are in business only to make a profit. They would have no incentive at all to offend smokers and discourage their business, if it was not that smokers were costing them money by dying off faster than non-smokers.
In the same way, if Caleb really used to operate an airport shuttle and found that his operating costs were much higher to the Barrett Pkwy area than up 400, well, I think that's much more powerful evidence than one man's personal driving experiences. I'm sure the shuttle company had no reason to discourage customers from West Cobb, except that they were costing them too much money.
You are spot on. Believe me, we WANTED to service Cobb due to that density but, it just became impossible where the two highways meet and unfortunately, for a door-to-door service which needs 3 riders to become profitable, no one was going to let you spend 3 hours getting them to the airport while you picked up other riders....just wasn't going to happen.....North Fulton's customers got edgy but, the area we serviced (All the way up to the 400 Discount Mall) were okay if the journey never exceeded 2 hours each way. They "got it".
For what they were paying, it was a bargain. Current newspaper in hand, cold water if they wanted it, courtesy mints, clean vans washed daily. Couldn't have bent over anymore if we had to. The 20 hour days (2 shifts) were rough as well.
Supervisor car available near the airport if one van was running late due to the Grady curve...
I do believe, however, it was a true gauge of just how bad traffic is around the Northern Suburbs and that if anyone would know it, a shuttle company would. We were putting 11,000-15,000 miles a MONTH on each van (400-600 per shift...5-7 roundtrips is all it took). Rebuilds were done every 2 years or flat-out replacement on the engines and possibly transmissions. It's as though we could barely turn the things off.
Tires every 4 months (Thank you Pep Boys..as fast as we burned them up, no sense in buying good ones), Oil changes twice a month....
Believe me, I know North Atlanta's traffic patterns. It's just the way it is. Not sure if has really improved. As highways are widened, more people move in...viscious cycle of growth. No one is immune to it. 7 percent of the states entire population pretty much clinches it.
If you have elementary students, I would highly recommend east Cobb county, which includes Marietta, and Roswell. The northeast corner of east Cobb county is Roswell address with Cobb schools, great way to get best of both worlds. We are in Marietta technically, but it's only a couple of miles away.
City of Marietta has a different school district (not recommended) and way more crime. Over here in the unincorporated part of the county, east and northeast schools are pretty doggone great, and property taxes will run you about $1000. less per year for a $250,000 house than in North Fulton county. Housing actually greatly varies and great buys can be found in some pretty awesome neighborhoods these days. I wish we had waited to buy. We paid $228,000 for a 1/2 acre, 4 bedroom, 3 bath house in `06. The values have dropped a bit since, but much less than our old home back in California. These days we could get a bit more for much less $.
My family moved here from Southern California in 2006, and we have two kids in elementary school. Here in east Cobb, I would look for housing in the Walton, Pope, or Lassiter high school districts. We are in Pope.There are a few good ones in the northwest Cobb county area as well, but the commute can get pretty ugly going up the 75 to that area. I think we are really pretty close in, but sometimes the drive can be nasty going down to the city or even worse, Gwinnett.
I was working in Norcross for a few months and a 21 mile drive took almost an hour most days. No direct freeway route. I transferred back to east Cobb and could not be happier.
I still love the quality of life my kids get here. There is plenty of shopping and great grocery stores. During rush hours and Saturday afternoons I'd stay off Roswell rd between East Piedmont and Johnson ferry, but that's about it.
I'd come before the leaves are all down, fall is the the most beautiful season here. Kind of drab by Thanksgiving.
Good Luck, Franz.
You're right, Roswell has a good 'vibe' and since you even mentioned that, Roswell is probably a better fit. I have friends who live in and love Roswell for the vibe. Marietta, not so much. Marietta has a different kind of charm, an older type of mature charm. Best wishes!
Roswell and Marietta are good fits for people with school-aged children. There are pros and cons to both in terms of commutes, and so on, visiting the areas to see for yourself is best. I think both areas are pretty even overall from an outsider standpoint who is looking to relocate to the metro area.
I would probably choose East Cobb area for the public schools over Roswell, but it is a very close call for me. I like housing in both areas, but only slightly prefer East Cobb. Roswell itself has very good public schools and is more scenic to me with the Chattahoochee.
As one Atlanta Magazine article put it "Roswell is beautiful, historic, safe, clean with great schools....the only thing it lacks is diversity".....LOL....happy hunting.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
[/SIZE]
