What is the best suburb of Atlanta for us? (Sandy Springs: for sale, real estate) - City-Data Forum

Momof3! · 07-12-2011, 10:39 PM

I have been to Atlanta about twice a year for the past few years since my sister lives in Duluth. Now I have the opportunity to move to the Atlanta area since my husband decided to go to his company's Atlanta office location! We want a nice house, safe location, good schools, decent commute(we know there is traffic in ATL), and a diverse neighborhood. We definitely want good public schools, but we do not want super intense schools! We are open to private schools.
-Are Gwinnett County or Fulton County Schools better?
-I have been working online for the past four years so I will continue to do that.
-I am 29 and my husband is 32, daughter 11, sons 8, and 7. So we want a family area.
-We are open to other areas. My husband will work in midtown so an ideal commute would be 45 minutes, shorter is better though.
-Our budget is 1.5 million so we are hoping to get all we want. We will go up some as long as it is amazing, it would need to have a pool.
-We would like a gated country club neighborhood. We are very concerned about safety for our children.
-We like brick or stucco houses.

Neighborhoods we know of are:
-The Manor,(but after reading about it on this site we are rethinking it!) It is also a longer commute for the husband.
-Sugarloaf CC,(love the houses and the prices seem good for what you get)
-St. Ives,(seems to be kid friendly, and great deals)
-Windward,(its ok, not my favorite)
-Country Club of the South,(love the houses, and the schools seem really good, but four different private schools pick up kids in here so do most go private?)

Any advice you can give would be good because I am pretty clueless!

ATL_II_DMV · 07-13-2011, 12:17 AM

On average, Gwinnett County schools are much better academically.

North Fulton County has good schools that are indenpendent of the city of Altanta (APS), such as Sandy Springs & Roswell.

I'm not sure if your husband will be working downtown, but the commute coming from Sugarloaf Parkway to downtown Atl is a nightmare during rush hour.

I prefer the Camp Creek area in South Fulton, which is in the Westlake high school district, but not quite as academically good as North Fulton or Gwinnett schools.

StAubin · 07-13-2011, 08:21 AM

I would Suggest Roswell.

The commute down GA 400 is a strait shot to midtown, and if traffic is bad you have marta to fall back on, its about 15 minuites from North Springs station to midtown.

Unlike many suburbs Roswell actually has a nice downtown area with resturants and many shops. Take a walk down canton street sometime if you can.

The public schools are good.

RainyRainyDay · 07-13-2011, 08:25 AM

I have no experience of the OP's price range, but with a budget of 1.5 million and a spouse working in midtown and preferring a shorter commute if possible, shouldn't this family be considering some of the nicest intown neighborhoods?

Ga Jerk · 07-13-2011, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Momof3!

-Sugarloaf CC,(love the houses and the prices seem good for what you get)
-St. Ives,(seems to be kid friendly, and great deals)
-Country Club of the South,(love the houses, and the schools seem really good, but four different private schools pick up kids in here so do most go private?)

Any advice you can give would be good because I am pretty clueless!

All nice 'hoods. I have buddies that live/lived in all of the above.
Check out River Club in Gwinnett. A buddy moved from Sugarloaf CC to River Club a couple years ago(and a couple other buds moved to River Club from St. Ives).
They all send their kids to Atlanta Area Christian on Indian Trail.

ecuresident · 07-13-2011, 08:42 AM

Not unless they want to send their kids to private school which with a budget like that it seems totally doable, I am just against having to spend $10K per kid per year. The OP also said they wanted a gated country club. Im not familiar with the gated country clubs in Roswell, but I would second Roswell in addition to the clubs the OP mentioned. Roswell is closer than Alpharetta and Duluth and has excellent schools. But when it comes to schools you cannot generalize in Atlanta, you need to look at specific schools. Sorry I am not familiar with anything IN Duluth besides where the subdivions are.

Momof3! · 07-13-2011, 01:02 PM

We currently live on Long Island. So we thought the suburbs would get us a lot more for our money, because we could never afford anything we would want for 1.5 in Manhattan. What are nice in town neighborhoods? I know of Buckhead, but would 1.5 get you a nice 5 bedroom 4.5 bath house there? Oh and I realize if you go in town there are not any gated country club neighborhoods. What about Ansley Park? And Sandy Springs? But we still do want to find more out about the suburbs?

shivtim · 07-13-2011, 01:33 PM

I don't have much knowledge about the suburbs, but I can give you some advice on the in-town neighborhoods. You definitely can afford what you're looking for in the in-town areas you mentioned.
For example, Ansley Park is a beautiful, safe area with many houses in your price range:
Ansley Park Homes For Sale, Ansley Park Atlanta Real Estate

Of course it wouldn't be a gated community, but there is a private club in the heart of the neighborhood (with tennis, golf course, etc). You would probably have to go with private schools, although I am not familiar with the private schools in the area. It is also a very safe area. You can check crimes here and see that the residential area of Ansley Park hasn't had a single reported crime so far in July:
APD Zone 5

Also the commute for your husband would be fantastic (maybe a 3 minute drive depending on where in Midtown he will be working), and you would have great access to midtown amenities such as the High Museum of Art, Piedmont Park, Fox Theatre, and the Woodruff Symphony Concert Hall. You might even be able to walk to these places.
Definitely worth considering Ansley Park, although you will be able to get a larger house for your money and better public schools in the suburbs if you're willing to tolerate the long commutes.

AnsleyPark · 07-13-2011, 02:16 PM

Would love to speak with you about Ansley Park. You can buy a spacious nice house here in your budget. I'm out of town but will DM you later.

atl4lyfe · 07-13-2011, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Momof3!

We currently live on Long Island. So we thought the suburbs would get us a lot more for our money, because we could never afford anything we would want for 1.5 in Manhattan. What are nice in town neighborhoods? I know of Buckhead, but would 1.5 get you a nice 5 bedroom 4.5 bath house there? Oh and I realize if you go in town there are not any gated country club neighborhoods. What about Ansley Park? And Sandy Springs? But we still do want to find more out about the suburbs?

Atlanta is cheap, 1 and half will get you anything anywhere in the city. But, most folks with money don't want to live intown. Check up by the Lake Lanier area, and skip this forum.