Is reverse commuting from Atlanta possible? (Macon, East Point: apartments, to rent, condo)
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Hi! My husband is being relocated to (East) Griffin, GA this spring. We are not suburbanites. I'm curious if it is possible to reverse commute from south/southeast Atlanta, in under an hour? Ideally I'd like to live in the Grant Park area (I think - we are moving from Australia, so can only do online research at this time).
Alternately, since the idea of a long commute isn't the most favorable, are there any suburbs south of Atlanta that are bit more cosmopolitan? I am particularly concerned with the lack of diversity I hear about in the south suburbs.
My priorities include Montessori school for my son, and access to organic grocers and produce.
We are buying (up to $400K) a single family, detached home. I really appreciate walkability and the inner city lifestyle.
- What do you mean by diversity? Clayton County, for example, is plenty diverse; there are big Latino and white communities, but the population is mostly black, and it isn't a particularly high status area (some people would consider this understatement). People fault ClayCo, as it's called, for many things, but lack of diversity usually isn't one of them.
- Anything near I-20 is going to be about an hour commute to Griffin. There's just no way around that.
- Fortunately, the delays from traffic won't be bad: counter-commuting on the south side is easily doable. I've been going south from Midtown for a few years, and I'm not sure I've ever once been held up by a delay after I get past downtown. Once you get on I-75 outside of the perimeter, there might be the occasional snag, but it shouldn't be a major problem. I don't ever go that way so I don't know.
- Grant Park is an awesome area to start looking. PLENTY of historic, big houses that need good owners. Great community. Park and zoo nearby. You could walk to baseball games if you ever acquire a taste for the sport.
- The only communities south of town I can think of that might satisfy you are the "tri-cities" of East Point, College Park, and Hapeville. East Point and College Park have access to MARTA, our subway, which goes straight downtown. Hapeville has particularly good access to I-75, but no MARTA. Probably a 15 minute shorter commute each way to live in one of these.
- Hapeville is the smallest and most approachable of the tri-cities imo. Lots of infill in the last 10 years.
- The tri-cities are overwhelmingly black, but have significant Latino influence and a (growing) white community too. There is a major influx of Africans in these places, very rapidly growing (mainly Ethiopians and West Africans).
- The tri-cities probably won't have Montessori (although this has got to be available SOMEWHERE on the southside, most likely in distant suburbs), and you'll have to drive north of I-20 for a traditional organic grocer most likely. There is a major (real) farmer's market just down I-75; one of the biggest in the country.
- A little history lesson: the tri-cities were all rail outposts back in the day (1800s, early 1900s) that were considered way out in the country back then. They all have small downtowns that are clustered against the railroad tracks that run through, with an old train depot in the middle of everything. Thus they have historic houses, but are outside of Atlanta. There are varying levels of shops and services in downtown between the three, but in general they are improving over time and have some good places to eat.
- $400k will buy you a pretty nice house in Grant Park. It's a good budget. In the tri-cities, it will buy a palace; you'll have your pick of big, historic homes. In a place like Midtown, it is a modest budget for a single family home (great for a condo, though).
- Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, and East Atlanta might be worth considering too; all are slightly farther from Griffin than Grant Park.
You can possibly live in Atlanta (Grant Park) and have a reverse commute to Griffin, however, it is a solid hour drive with little or no traffic. During rush hour going in, it would be easy most days but leaving Griffin to return to Atlanta the driver would encounter some traffic on I-75 going north in spots. I would estimate the commute going home to over an hour, maybe 1 hr 15 minutes or so with no interstate shutdowns. I don't recommend it overall. Either way the commute each way is a solid hour. I think it is too much, but your husband may think differently.
I would recommend living within 30-35 miles of where you work, not 50+. There are decent Montessori schools in Fayette County (Fayetteville and Peachtree City). They are a more reasonable commute, but still a solid 45 minute drive with no traffic using backroads. Reverse commuting is possible from there as well. Fayette county is suburban and it is diverse in the northern part. Fayette county is the only suburb in the south metro that I would consider for public schools.
Henry County (McDonough) is another possibility, and it is much closer to Griffin. The schools in Henry county are hit or miss and there is no Montessori school there that I am aware of, unless it is fairly new.
Your best bet is to visit the areas and see what you think firsthand, good luck to you. That is a big move.
There are Montessori schools in McDonough - at least one, but I think there are others. And I agree that McDonough, Fayetteville and Peachtree City would be much better choices than Grant Park. I love GP (rented there for a few years). It is - hands down - my favorite neighborhood in metro Atlanta. But I couldn't imagine commuting to Griffin from there every single day. No way.
If I were you, I would look into one of the Fayette or Henry County cities. There is a whole lot of growth there, and they really do feel like little inner cities. No trains, though...
- What do you mean by diversity? Clayton County, for example, is plenty diverse; there are big Latino and white communities, but the population is mostly black, and it isn't a particularly high status area (some people would consider this understatement). People fault ClayCo, as it's called, for many things, but lack of diversity usually isn't one of them.
- Anything near I-20 is going to be about an hour commute to Griffin. There's just no way around that.
- Fortunately, the delays from traffic won't be bad: counter-commuting on the south side is easily doable. I've been going south from Midtown for a few years, and I'm not sure I've ever once been held up by a delay after I get past downtown. Once you get on I-75 outside of the perimeter, there might be the occasional snag, but it shouldn't be a major problem. I don't ever go that way so I don't know.
- Grant Park is an awesome area to start looking. PLENTY of historic, big houses that need good owners. Great community. Park and zoo nearby. You could walk to baseball games if you ever acquire a taste for the sport.
- The only communities south of town I can think of that might satisfy you are the "tri-cities" of East Point, College Park, and Hapeville. East Point and College Park have access to MARTA, our subway, which goes straight downtown. Hapeville has particularly good access to I-75, but no MARTA. Probably a 15 minute shorter commute each way to live in one of these.
- Hapeville is the smallest and most approachable of the tri-cities imo. Lots of infill in the last 10 years.
- The tri-cities are overwhelmingly black, but have significant Latino influence and a (growing) white community too. There is a major influx of Africans in these places, very rapidly growing (mainly Ethiopians and West Africans).
- The tri-cities probably won't have Montessori (although this has got to be available SOMEWHERE on the southside, most likely in distant suburbs), and you'll have to drive north of I-20 for a traditional organic grocer most likely. There is a major (real) farmer's market just down I-75; one of the biggest in the country.
- A little history lesson: the tri-cities were all rail outposts back in the day (1800s, early 1900s) that were considered way out in the country back then. They all have small downtowns that are clustered against the railroad tracks that run through, with an old train depot in the middle of everything. Thus they have historic houses, but are outside of Atlanta. There are varying levels of shops and services in downtown between the three, but in general they are improving over time and have some good places to eat.
- $400k will buy you a pretty nice house in Grant Park. It's a good budget. In the tri-cities, it will buy a palace; you'll have your pick of big, historic homes. In a place like Midtown, it is a modest budget for a single family home (great for a condo, though).
- Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, and East Atlanta might be worth considering too; all are slightly farther from Griffin than Grant Park.
I LOVE Inman Park!!! Are there affordable houses or apartments to rent there??
I LOVE Inman Park!!! Are there affordable houses or apartments to rent there??
There are still some crappy apartments in Inman Park that are cheap. I recall seeing a 2BR for $700 which was shocking, but the complex was a little too shifty for me. A nicer 1BR will be closer to $900.
Thank you so much for your responses. I really appreciate it!
I think I just have to concede to living in the burbs. If you could answer a few more questions, you'd really be helping out this corporate gypsy. Most of the advise we get from co-workers tend to be nerdy engineer types.
McDonough - I've heard it's pretty rural/sleepy compared to Peachtree City and Fayetteville, yet it was voted one of the 10 best places to live in Georgia. Am I missing something? It doesn't seem like there is much there. Also, how far is McDonough from Griffin (real time), if we should decide to live in Griffin and I have to drive my son to the Montessori there. Montessori is our first priority, as we move so often, and it is fairly consistent around the world.
Peachtree City - I've read in these forum's everything from "Stepford", to "cosmopolitan", to "too snobby". We are white, however, I think it's very important for my son to be exposed to many different cultures and credes (to answer your diversity questions). I am familiar with planned communities from Columbia, MD when we used to live in Baltimore (Federal Hill), if anyone can make a comparison.
Tri-Cities - I would not mind being an urban pioneer and helping gentrify an area, however, I am very concerned about the noise polution from the airport. Can anyone comment on this?
Macon - sounds really interesting, but I think it's even farther than Atlanta (according to Google maps).
Don't know too much about the southern suburbs on the southeastern side. However, I grew up in Peachtree City, and can confirm it is VERY suburban--there is nothing resmbling a city center, and this is on purpose. The whole thing was planned out as a suburb, and was originally just backcountry.
The plus side of Peachtree City is that it's probably one of the most livable cities in America. There is a network of golf cart paths that goes to every part of the city, so there's no shortage of opportunity to bike around and that sort of thing. Lots of scenic paths by the lake. The downside is, Peachtree City to Griffin is not a very easy drive; it's all back roads and smaller highways (2-lane). I've commuted on these sorts of roads and it's no fun. According to Google, it's roughly 40 minutes, as are the tri-cities. For moving yourself SO far from the cultural opportunities of Atlanta, it would be nice to be a bit closer to work. Peachtree City is pretty white bread; no getting around that.
Tri-Cities: airport noise depends on where exactly you are. If you are directly east or west of the airport, the noise is a major problem. Hapeville, as well as some of College Park and all of East Point, are a bit further north and thus not in the major flight paths. The historic part of College Park is under the flight paths, but the historic parts of East Point and Hapeville aren't. Not sure about pollution--maybe this is available online?
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