Good place to live north or east of Atlanta? (Sandy Springs: rental, home)

[Mike7300]

Im looking for a nice area with ponds/rivers and walking/biking trails. Also with an easy commute to downtown. And an area that has some nightlife on weekends, as i am single and 20s. Just tired of being in the city, and want something a little more rural.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Mike7300

Im looking for a nice area with ponds/rivers and walking/biking trails. Also with an easy commute to downtown. And an area that has some nightlife on weekends, as i am single and 20s. Just tired of being in the city, and want something a little more rural.

Vinings is within walking distance of the Chattahoochee.

[rackensack]

I can't think of any place that has an easy commute that could be considered even sort-of rural. If by "rural", however, you mean someplace that has a lot of outdoor activities (like the walking/biking trails you mention) and relatively natural areas, while still having some local bars/restaurants, you could do a lot worse than downtown Roswell. The southern city limit is the Chattahoochee River, and most of the riverside through town has parks and trails along it. There's the Vickery Creek unit of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area which offers several miles of hiking trails through woods within walking distance of downtown, and which connects with the city's linear park system along the river. Azalea Park is home to several rowing clubs and has a canoe/kayak rental concession. It's possible to walk or bike along the river from the western edge of Roswell (at the Cobb County line) almost all the way to Eves Road on the east side of town (and there are plans to extend the trail/sidewalk system from there away from the river to connect to East Roswell Park and the Steeplechase multi-use path to the Horseshoe Bend development. Big Creek Park along Old Alabama Road has extensive mountain bike trails as well as walking trails that connect to the Big Creek Greenway across Mansell Road into Alpharetta, which extends for over 6 miles all the way up into Forsyth County (with plans for it to extend even further).

Several of the city's streets have bike lanes, and combined with the trails these have helped make Roswell Georgia's only League of American Bicyclists "Bike Friendly Community" (Mayor Jere Wood is an avid biker himself).

The Canton Street shopping and restaurant district makes for a pretty good dining scene these days, and there are a number of watering holes in the vicinity that tend toward the neighborhood pub/sports bar sort of scene; there aren't many nightclubs and such like you'll find in Midtown and other parts of the city, however.

The commute into downtown isn't a cakewalk -- it can take a while some days, but once you clear the Northridge exit and the North Springs MARTA station exit, it's usually a fairly fast-moving trip from there to the GA 400/I-85 merge. Getting to 400 can be the time-consuming part, however. Living in downtown Roswell, you'd have the option of taking Atlanta Road/Roswell Road across the river and Dunwoody Place or Northridge Road to hit 400 there -- still can take some time though.

[roxyrn]

Roswell is great except for the commute downtown. If you go early in the morning, it isn't bad, but the afternoon drive can be an hour. The weekends generally offer clear sailing all of the way.

The access to the river for hiking, running, canoeing/kayaking is fabulous. The Atlanta Rowing Club has learn to row programs for those wishing to become competitive or just recreational rowers.

There is also the Whirly Ball and Andretti Cart Racing/Comedy Club as well as a new movie theater/mini-golf complex that just opened.

[Mike7300]

Are there any trains from Roswell into downtown? Or is it car only?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Mike7300

Are there any trains from Roswell into downtown? Or is it car only?

only cars, lots of cars

[misschealsi]

Originally Posted by Mike7300

Are there any trains from Roswell into downtown? Or is it car only?

You could drive down Highway 400 to exit 5 to North Springs station and take the Marta train into downtown.

[Mike7300]

so how close to the city from the north side do you need to be for it to make sense to take train instead of car?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Mike7300

so how close to the city from the north side do you need to be for it to make sense to take train instead of car?

If I had to pick a point I'd say 'Perimeter/Dunwoody' would make use of MARTA the easiest, in the northern sector. Going north from this area is Sandy Springs and Alpharetta--those residents would need to drive and park at one of the 2 Dunwoody stations.

http://www.itsmarta.com/ns-overview.aspx

http://www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...rta-train.html

[Mike7300]

is Dunwoody a nice area or any of the other areas near the train? how does it compare to say Roswell?