Dunwoody or Sandy Springs? (Roswell, Buckhead: apartments, crime, neighborhood)

[society619]

I'm considering moving to one of these two areas soon after graduation so I am asking for a little help in what area to decide. I'm looking for which place is:

More Accessible?
Safer(Crime Rate)?
Single Life(For Men)?
MARTA?
Bars or Nightlife?
Peaceful or Busy neighrborhood?
Closer to Malls and/or restraunts?

[tomno00]

dunwoody or sandy springs after graduation? these are some of the wealthiest cities in the whole country....

[lastminutemom]

Neither is great for new grads, to family oriented.

[BringBackCobain]

Neither... but if I had to choose, the Dunwoody side of Perimeter Center.

[slambango]

Originally Posted by society619

I'm considering moving to one of these two areas soon after graduation so I am asking for a little help in what area to decide. I'm looking for which place is:

More Accessible?

Sandy Springs has better roads & lights. There is significantly less traffic in SS.

Safer(Crime Rate)?

Sandy Springs has a lower crime rate. fewer apartments.

Single Life(For Men)?

Dunwoody has more night life but not by much. It's probably ok for gays.

MARTA?

Pretty equal, there are 2 stops, one hits each... Depending on your location you could walk to the Marta easily.

Bars or Nightlife?

not much of a factor here, really.

Peaceful or Busy neighrborhood?

This really depends on the particular neighborhood, but in general SS is more peaceful, upscale.

Closer to Malls and/or restraunts?

Dunwoody has the upscale mall, but traffic in & around that area is the worst you can imagine. From 400, Mt. Vernon Rd eastbound backs up horribly starting around 3:00 and lasting until 7:30 or so.. the backup is about a mile long & it takes you maybe 6-8 lights to make it through. This is the kind of thing Sandy Springs would fix in a week, but Dumbwoody can't handle it...

[society619]

Originally Posted by slambango

Sandy Springs has better roads & lights. There is significantly less traffic in SS.
Sandy Springs has a lower crime rate. fewer apartments.
Dunwoody has more night life but not by much. It's probably ok for gays.
Pretty equal, there are 2 stops, one hits each... Depending on your location you could walk to the Marta easily.
not much of a factor here, really.
This really depends on the particular neighborhood, but in general SS is more peaceful, upscale.
Dunwoody has the upscale mall, but traffic in & around that area is the worst you can imagine. From 400, Mt. Vernon Rd eastbound backs up horribly starting around 3:00 and lasting until 7:30 or so.. the backup is about a mile long & it takes you maybe 6-8 lights to make it through. This is the kind of thing Sandy Springs would fix in a week, but Dumbwoody can't handle it...

I'm looking for a cheap 1 bedroom apartment in the area. Figuring that the nightlife was more in the innercity I was hoping for a MARTA's help "for selfish drinking reasons". Basically i'm looking into which area is more accessible for stores, food, and basic living needs. I can work my way around the rest.

[spacelord75]

Slambango....are you considering only the area south fo 285 as Sandy Springs? I'm just curious where the data is supporting the statements that SS has fewer apartments and less crime, as I can't possibly imagine that being the case. Granted, Dunwoody has a decent number of apartments near 285 and on Ashford Dwdy, but SS is literally littered with apartments all up and down Roswell Rd. Regarding the light situation on Mt. Vernon, it's pretty bad, but the only way to ever "fix" it would be to make it a 4 lane road for its entire length, which isn't really possible (and would take SS a bit longer than one week) nor is it wanted by the community. Also, I would compare it similarly to the situation on Johnson Ferry Rd with all the East Cobb cut-through traffic, which is equally a living nightmare. Of course Sandy Springs is further along, as it's been a city longer...Dunwoody is making big strides considering it was just granted cityhood 2 years ago. They have a lot of "Dekalb mess" to work their way out of, but a lot of good people are working very hard and honestly to get there.

For the OP, neither Dunwoody nor Sandy Springs are really ideal for a recent college grad looking for nightlife....I would recommend the Highlands or Midtown or even Buckhead to be closer to the action and more singles. There are some decent bars in Dwood and SS, but nothing that would really be "hopping" on the weekends.

[ATL Golfer]

Of your choices, Dunwoody Perimeter Area.

My choice, neither. And I live basically less than a mile from each, inside the perimeter. Great for us with a family.