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We want to know about surrounding areas of Atlanta like Marietta, Kennesaw, Woodstock or any area northwest of Atlanta. Good schools, shopping conviences (malls, walmarts, targets, grocery), family oriented places to go like.. theme parks, recreational parks, movie theaters etc, and good prospects for jobs in the medical field. A diverse area not to expensive to live but with low crime (because I already know theres crime everywhere), friendly people, churches and where we won't have to travel to Atlanta to get what we need all the time. Please forum I want current info from people who are there now or has lived in those areas in the past 2years. Thanks in advanced for your input.
Before we start let me explain some of the quirks of the area. Most of Cobb County (over 70%) is unincorporated, meaning the area does not fall within any city limits and is controlled by the county and you only pay county taxes and not city taxes. So yes, most people in Cobb County do not live in any city and pay no city taxes. However this creates a confusing problem in that the United States Post Office's address system obviously requires a city, so the Post Office just assigns you whatever city they feel like and that's what's on your address, regardless of what city or area you live in. You could live 2 miles from Roswell and over 10 miles from Marietta but have a Marietta address, even though you live in neither of those cities. Try to find a house that is not within the city limits of the various cities in cobb county, these areas are usually nicer and you don't have to pay city taxes.
Anyway:
Marietta - A town located in the center of cobb county. There's a nice city square but some of the surrounding areas and most of the city limits in general are not so nice. The city limits has its own school system seperate from the rest of the county; the schools are average. The population of the city limits is 60,000 but what most people consider Marietta includes about 2 or 3 more miles in every direction, including the Air Force Base, and the population of this "greater Marietta" is more like 100,000. The average family income for the city is around $60,000, though in actuality there are noticeably poor and rich areas so it's more like $30,000 for the inner city and $90,000 for the outer areas. Most homes are affordable (except the civil-war era mansions which can be found in the city) and most of the area is pretty safe. There's plenty of shopping in the area, tons of grocery stores, several wal marts and targets, and two nearby malls, Town Center a few miles north of the city and Cumberland a few miles south. Marietta is served by a variety of high schools: within city limits Marietta High School (average); just outside city limits - Sprayberry (good), Wheeler (good), Kennesaw Mountain (good), Osborne (terrible), Hillgrove (? it's new), Campbell (bad). There's some historic things like museums and the city square hosts events.
Kennesaw - A historic city northwest of Marietta that's now mostly a college town surrounded by residential area. The jam-packed Town Center area (jam packed with strip malls and traffic) is found in the southeast part of Kennesaw. There's an average mall here, Town Center Mall. There's also just about every single retail chain as far as the eye can see, and some ridiculous traffic. The rest of Kennesaw is mostly residential and includes Kennesaw State University which is huge and a focal point of the city. The city limits have a population of around 30,000 but the area considered Kennesaw is closer to 70,000. The average family income is around $80,000. Most homes are pretty affordable and there are lots of town houses and apartments. Served by two high schools - Kennesaw Mountain (good) and North Cobb (bad). Safe area. Lots of historic things like museums and there are also lots of parks and there is Kennesaw Mountain itself.
Acworth - A kind of rural area (compared to the rest anyway) in the northwest part of Cobb County. Population is exploding but still among the least developed parts of the county. Population of the city limits is around 15,000 but the area considered Acworth goes into 4 different counties, but mostly in Cobb. The Cobb county area of Acworth has around 50,000 population. Average family income is around $70,000. Served by three high schools - Kennesaw Mountain (good), North Cobb (bad), Harrison (above average). A new high school called Allatoona High is opening next year. Very affordable place, terrible commute to city though. Pretty safe area. Lake Allatoona is located here and there are lots of parks.
West Cobb - A fully unincorporated area west of of Marietta all the way to the western edge of Cobb County. Population around 100,000 and average family income about $90,000. Purely residential area and still developing so it's an affordable area. Served by three high schools - Harrison (above average), Hillgrove (new, don't know yet), and McEachern (average).
Powder Springs - Average city southwest of Marietta. City limits population around 15,000 actual population around 50,000. Average family income around $60,000. Served by Hillgrove (new), McEachern (average), Osborne (terrible), and South Cobb (terrible) high schools.
Austell - City south of Powder Springs. City limits population around 10,000 and area population around 30,000. Average family income around $50,000. Not that nice of an area, though Six Flags is here. Served by two of the worst high schools in metro Atlanta: Pepplebrook and South Cobb.
Mableton - Southernmost part of Cobb County. Fully unincorporated city. Population around 50,000. Not that nice but up-and-coming. Average family income around $60,000. Served by three high schools: Pebblebrook (terrible), South Cobb (terrible), Campbell (bad).
Vinings - A prestigious unincorporated town in southeastern cobb county across the Chattahoochee River from Buckhead. Very small area, there's a main village area and some surround residential area. Population around 15,000. Average family income about $100,000. Once this was an exclusive location with only large houses and estates set among the dense forest but now there are a lot of apartments, townhouses, and condos that have moved in, which are pretty affordable. The single-family houses however are very expensive ($600,000+ minimum). Vinings offers one of the best locations in metro Atlanta, everything from downtown to Cumberland to Perimeter to Buckhead is minutes away. Served by a rather poor high school, Campbell High, most Vinings residents sent their children to private school.
Smyrna - A city south of Marietta. Population about 60,000 and average family income about $60,000. Just west of the bustling Cumberland business district and not far from Atlanta, Buckhead, and Perimeter there's plenty of shopping in and around Smyrna. Served by Campbell High school (bad), South Cobb (terrible), and Osborne (terrible).
Cumberland - An unincorporated area in southeast Cobb county north of Vinings, east of Smyrna, south of Marietta. Cumberland is a sprawling, hilly business district with it's own skyline of office towers, in fact Cumberland has more office space than any of metro Atlanta's seven main business districts, including Downtown Atlanta, though Perimeter has more Class A office space. Population about 100,000 and average family income around $60,000. Most people here live in apartments and townhouses although there are some houses.
East Cobb - A large, unincorporated suburb on the northeastern part of the county. Being unincorporated, East Cobb residents have Marietta addresses, however East Cobb is considered a seperate place from Marietta. An affluent area with well-educated residents and some of the best schools in the country. Population about 120,000 and average family income about $110,000 on the northern side and $150,000 on the southern side. Lots of very nice, established neighborhoods on very hilly terrain with tons of trees and there are some rivers and streams here too. There's an upscale shopping complex called The Avenue and unlike the rest of Cobb which is closer to Town Center and Cumberland malls, East Cobb is closer to the more upscale North Point and Perimeter malls. East Cobb is served by 5 high schools - Walton (best school in the state), Pope (among the best in the state), Lassiter (among the best in the state), Sprayberry (good), and Wheeler (good). Note that the Walton, Pope, and Lassiter high school districts lie fully within East Cobb, while Spraybery and Wheeler districts mostly serve unincorporated Marietta and only a little bit of East Cobb. The Walton, Pope, and Lassiter districts also have the best elementary and middle schools in the state. A very family oriented suburb overall. Extremely safe, crime is almost non-existent. Lots of parks. Main disadvantage is price - Western part of East Cobb is most affordable but Sprayberry and Wheeler high schools are less desirable. North part of East Cobb (Lassiter district) is perhaps the best value, not too expensive and amazing schools. Middle part (Pope) is more expensive. Southern part (Walton district) is extremely expensive, cheapest new house is well over $1 million regardless of house or lot size. Also notable - 95% of East Cobb is single-family houses, almost no apartments or townhouses. Of single family houses over 95% are homeowners (probably almost 100%), people don't rent houses here.
As far as the medical jobs go, there are medical jobs in Cumberland as well a lot of on Johnson Ferry Road in East Cobb. The big hub though is the Northside Medical Center which is located in the Perimeter Business district in Sandy Springs (the city across the river from East Cobb in Fulton County). The Northside Medical Center contains three major hospitals and is the largest medical center in metro Atlanta. It's a short commute from East Cobb, Vinings, and Smyrna.
WOW! Thank you for that info, GF72. Can I ask if you are new to the area and just starting out, what area northeast of marietta would you suggest that I move until I find stable employment. Where are you located?
In your PM you said northwest of Marietta so that's what I assume you meant.
Northwest of Marietta I would suggest whatever you can afford in the Kennesaw area, there are lots of apartments both in near the actual city and in the Town Center area (often referred to as just "Barrett Parkway"). As far as "stuff" goes, everything you need can be found there, you probably will never have to even leave the Town Center area except for maybe nightlife and upscale shopping/dining. Kennesaw is a safe place, and there are medical jobs in Marietta, Cumberland, East Cobb, and Sandy Springs which are all fairly close, unfortunately I can't be more specific since that's not my specialty.
The only problem is the horrible traffic on some of the areas during rush hour:
Barrett Parkway - The main street of the Town Center area which also connects you to I-75, horrible traffic
I-75 - The stretch of I-75 from Barrett Parkway to I-285 is virtually a parking lot during rush hour, very annoying commute. However once you pass I-285 the rest of I-75 into Atlanta is pretty smooth until you reach Atlanta itself, and I-285 east to the Northside Medical Center in Sandy Springs isn't that bad until you get to the Roswell Road area.
Cobb Parkway (Hwy 41): Regular road that parallels I-75 with traffic that is just as bad...
Unfortunately you can't really avoid any of these thoroughfares if you live in Kennesaw but be mindful of where you pick a place and your job. Also, remember if you live within Kennesaw city limits you will have to pay city taxes, so it's cheaper to live in unincorporated areas just outside city limits.
Also, it's not northwest of Marietta (completely the opposite in fact), but also consider for temporary housing an apartment/townhouse in Vinings. Much better location than Kennesaw - Northside Medical Center is 20 minute commute, Cumberland is a 10 minute commute, Marietta is a 15 minute commute, East Cobb is a 20 minute commute - these are rush hour times. From Kennesaw double these numbers at the minimum.
In your PM you said northwest of Marietta so that's what I assume you meant.
Northwest of Marietta I would suggest whatever you can afford in the Kennesaw area, there are lots of apartments both in near the actual city and in the Town Center area (often referred to as just "Barrett Parkway"). As far as "stuff" goes, everything you need can be found there, you probably will never have to even leave the Town Center area except for maybe nightlife and upscale shopping/dining. Kennesaw is a safe place, and there are medical jobs in Marietta, Cumberland, East Cobb, and Sandy Springs which are all fairly close, unfortunately I can't be more specific since that's not my specialty.
The only problem is the horrible traffic on some of the areas during rush hour:
Barrett Parkway - The main street of the Town Center area which also connects you to I-75, horrible traffic
I-75 - The stretch of I-75 from Barrett Parkway to I-285 is virtually a parking lot during rush hour, very annoying commute. However once you pass I-285 the rest of I-75 into Atlanta is pretty smooth until you reach Atlanta itself, and I-285 east to the Northside Medical Center in Sandy Springs isn't that bad until you get to the Roswell Road area.
Cobb Parkway (Hwy 41): Regular road that parallels I-75 with traffic that is just as bad...
Unfortunately you can't really avoid any of these thoroughfares if you live in Kennesaw but be mindful of where you pick a place and your job. Also, remember if you live within Kennesaw city limits you will have to pay city taxes, so it's cheaper to live in unincorporated areas just outside city limits.
Also, it's not northwest of Marietta (completely the opposite in fact), but also consider for temporary housing an apartment/townhouse in Vinings. Much better location than Kennesaw - Northside Medical Center is 20 minute commute, Cumberland is a 10 minute commute, Marietta is a 15 minute commute, East Cobb is a 20 minute commute - these are rush hour times. From Kennesaw double these numbers at the minimum.
What is considered the "outside city limits of kennesaw"? I want to live in kennesaw because of the handgun law. Is that law still in effect outside city limits? If I were doing a house search, instead of typing in kennesaw, is there suburbs of kennesaw i should be typing in?
What is considered the "outside city limits of kennesaw"? I want to live in kennesaw because of the handgun law. Is that law still in effect outside city limits? If I were doing a house search, instead of typing in kennesaw, is there suburbs of kennesaw i should be typing in?
Anything outside the city limits of Kennesaw is exactly as it sounds. You can find official maps of Kennesaw at the city website: Welcome to the City of Kennesaw Official Website! (http://www.kennesaw.ga.us/index.asp?NID=258 - broken link)
A lot of properties that are listed as being in Kennesaw aren't actually in Kennesaw, but instead in unincorporated Cobb County. They aren't actually in a city so there isn't anything that you can watch for. The law only applies to the city of Kennesaw so if you are in the county it will not apply to you. I'm not sure it matters though because the law is not enforced.
That law is not enforced, so if you're moving there only because you think everyone owns a handgun, consider another place.
I guess I should've emphasised on how i said it. I've read that because of the hand gun law, the crime rate is nearly non-existent and it was in family circle top 10 places to move your family. I live in a heavily crime area, theres more than one murder every night. i have 2 young children, and I don't want them to grow up here anymore. (milwaukee wi)
Wow - GF72, you beat all my records to typing until fingers fall off. LOL
My vote goes to Kennesaw - because aside from the horrible traffic, schools are decent, crime is lower (comparitively speaking for Atlanta), lots of shopping (say "Costco"), and if you look around you can still find affordable homes in the area. A drive of 1.5 hours north gets you to Chattanooga or other North Georgia areas in less time for recreation.
Before we start let me explain some of the quirks of the area. Most of Cobb County (over 70%) is unincorporated, meaning the area does not fall within any city limits and is controlled by the county and you only pay county taxes and not city taxes. So yes, most people in Cobb County do not live in any city and pay no city taxes. However this creates a confusing problem in that the United States Post Office's address system obviously requires a city, so the Post Office just assigns you whatever city they feel like and that's what's on your address, regardless of what city or area you live in. You could live 2 miles from Roswell and over 10 miles from Marietta but have a Marietta address, even though you live in neither of those cities. Try to find a house that is not within the city limits of the various cities in cobb county, these areas are usually nicer and you don't have to pay city taxes.
Anyway:
Marietta - A town located in the center of cobb county. There's a nice city square but some of the surrounding areas and most of the city limits in general are not so nice. The city limits has its own school system seperate from the rest of the county; the schools are average. The population of the city limits is 60,000 but what most people consider Marietta includes about 2 or 3 more miles in every direction, including the Air Force Base, and the population of this "greater Marietta" is more like 100,000. The average family income for the city is around $60,000, though in actuality there are noticeably poor and rich areas so it's more like $30,000 for the inner city and $90,000 for the outer areas. Most homes are affordable (except the civil-war era mansions which can be found in the city) and most of the area is pretty safe. There's plenty of shopping in the area, tons of grocery stores, several wal marts and targets, and two nearby malls, Town Center a few miles north of the city and Cumberland a few miles south. Marietta is served by a variety of high schools: within city limits Marietta High School (average); just outside city limits - Sprayberry (good), Wheeler (good), Kennesaw Mountain (good), Osborne (terrible), Hillgrove (? it's new), Campbell (bad). There's some historic things like museums and the city square hosts events.
Kennesaw - A historic city northwest of Marietta that's now mostly a college town surrounded by residential area. The jam-packed Town Center area (jam packed with strip malls and traffic) is found in the southeast part of Kennesaw. There's an average mall here, Town Center Mall. There's also just about every single retail chain as far as the eye can see, and some ridiculous traffic. The rest of Kennesaw is mostly residential and includes Kennesaw State University which is huge and a focal point of the city. The city limits have a population of around 30,000 but the area considered Kennesaw is closer to 70,000. The average family income is around $80,000. Most homes are pretty affordable and there are lots of town houses and apartments. Served by two high schools - Kennesaw Mountain (good) and North Cobb (bad). Safe area. Lots of historic things like museums and there are also lots of parks and there is Kennesaw Mountain itself.
Acworth - A kind of rural area (compared to the rest anyway) in the northwest part of Cobb County. Population is exploding but still among the least developed parts of the county. Population of the city limits is around 15,000 but the area considered Acworth goes into 4 different counties, but mostly in Cobb. The Cobb county area of Acworth has around 50,000 population. Average family income is around $70,000. Served by three high schools - Kennesaw Mountain (good), North Cobb (bad), Harrison (above average). A new high school called Allatoona High is opening next year. Very affordable place, terrible commute to city though. Pretty safe area. Lake Allatoona is located here and there are lots of parks.
West Cobb - A fully unincorporated area west of of Marietta all the way to the western edge of Cobb County. Population around 100,000 and average family income about $90,000. Purely residential area and still developing so it's an affordable area. Served by three high schools - Harrison (above average), Hillgrove (new, don't know yet), and McEachern (average).
Powder Springs - Average city southwest of Marietta. City limits population around 15,000 actual population around 50,000. Average family income around $60,000. Served by Hillgrove (new), McEachern (average), Osborne (terrible), and South Cobb (terrible) high schools.
Austell - City south of Powder Springs. City limits population around 10,000 and area population around 30,000. Average family income around $50,000. Not that nice of an area, though Six Flags is here. Served by two of the worst high schools in metro Atlanta: Pepplebrook and South Cobb.
Mableton - Southernmost part of Cobb County. Fully unincorporated city. Population around 50,000. Not that nice but up-and-coming. Average family income around $60,000. Served by three high schools: Pebblebrook (terrible), South Cobb (terrible), Campbell (bad).
Vinings - A prestigious unincorporated town in southeastern cobb county across the Chattahoochee River from Buckhead. Very small area, there's a main village area and some surround residential area. Population around 15,000. Average family income about $100,000. Once this was an exclusive location with only large houses and estates set among the dense forest but now there are a lot of apartments, townhouses, and condos that have moved in, which are pretty affordable. The single-family houses however are very expensive ($600,000+ minimum). Vinings offers one of the best locations in metro Atlanta, everything from downtown to Cumberland to Perimeter to Buckhead is minutes away. Served by a rather poor high school, Campbell High, most Vinings residents sent their children to private school.
Smyrna - A city south of Marietta. Population about 60,000 and average family income about $60,000. Just west of the bustling Cumberland business district and not far from Atlanta, Buckhead, and Perimeter there's plenty of shopping in and around Smyrna. Served by Campbell High school (bad), South Cobb (terrible), and Osborne (terrible).
Cumberland - An unincorporated area in southeast Cobb county north of Vinings, east of Smyrna, south of Marietta. Cumberland is a sprawling, hilly business district with it's own skyline of office towers, in fact Cumberland has more office space than any of metro Atlanta's seven main business districts, including Downtown Atlanta, though Perimeter has more Class A office space. Population about 100,000 and average family income around $60,000. Most people here live in apartments and townhouses although there are some houses.
East Cobb - A large, unincorporated suburb on the northeastern part of the county. Being unincorporated, East Cobb residents have Marietta addresses, however East Cobb is considered a seperate place from Marietta. An affluent area with well-educated residents and some of the best schools in the country. Population about 120,000 and average family income about $110,000 on the northern side and $150,000 on the southern side. Lots of very nice, established neighborhoods on very hilly terrain with tons of trees and there are some rivers and streams here too. There's an upscale shopping complex called The Avenue and unlike the rest of Cobb which is closer to Town Center and Cumberland malls, East Cobb is closer to the more upscale North Point and Perimeter malls. East Cobb is served by 5 high schools - Walton (best school in the state), Pope (among the best in the state), Lassiter (among the best in the state), Sprayberry (good), and Wheeler (good). Note that the Walton, Pope, and Lassiter high school districts lie fully within East Cobb, while Spraybery and Wheeler districts mostly serve unincorporated Marietta and only a little bit of East Cobb. The Walton, Pope, and Lassiter districts also have the best elementary and middle schools in the state. A very family oriented suburb overall. Extremely safe, crime is almost non-existent. Lots of parks. Main disadvantage is price - Western part of East Cobb is most affordable but Sprayberry and Wheeler high schools are less desirable. North part of East Cobb (Lassiter district) is perhaps the best value, not too expensive and amazing schools. Middle part (Pope) is more expensive. Southern part (Walton district) is extremely expensive, cheapest new house is well over $1 million regardless of house or lot size. Also notable - 95% of East Cobb is single-family houses, almost no apartments or townhouses. Of single family houses over 95% are homeowners (probably almost 100%), people don't rent houses here.
As far as the medical jobs go, there are medical jobs in Cumberland as well a lot of on Johnson Ferry Road in East Cobb. The big hub though is the Northside Medical Center which is located in the Perimeter Business district in Sandy Springs (the city across the river from East Cobb in Fulton County). The Northside Medical Center contains three major hospitals and is the largest medical center in metro Atlanta. It's a short commute from East Cobb, Vinings, and Smyrna.
WOW This helped me a lot as well, Thanks!!!
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