Ex Military family moving to ATL from UK (Atlanta, Marietta: low crime, house prices)

[mxd.Brit]

Help!!!
My husband and I have read all threads relating to moving to ATL but we have a few extra questions so decided to join this forum. My husband is US active duty air force but getting out next year, I am a Brit we have a 2 year old and one on the way. My husband is a FLoridian and we have been priced out of that market possibly by my fellow Brits.

We would prefer to live South of the city - easier commute for the Floridian family, but flexible.
Budget 200K or less. 1hr max commute to the city for jobs. Good public schools, we are also considering private school. Low crime rate. NOt too far from ammenities - shops restaurants etc

Can anyone recommend any culturally diverse areas and communities. Really important. We will spend about 2 weeks looking but want a few areas to start with.

We currently live in a lovely english village outside of Cambridge with cycling tracks, walking paths, park and very friendly. Can we get this in GA?

[forresthills]

Try peachtree city,tyron, and fairburn ga.

Originally Posted by mxd.Brit

Help!!!
My husband and I have read all threads relating to moving to ATL but we have a few extra questions so decided to join this forum. My husband is US active duty air force but getting out next year, I am a Brit we have a 2 year old and one on the way. My husband is a FLoridian and we have been priced out of that market possibly by my fellow Brits.

We would prefer to live South of the city - easier commute for the Floridian family, but flexible.
Budget 200K or less. 1hr max commute to the city for jobs. Good public schools, we are also considering private school. Low crime rate. NOt too far from ammenities - shops restaurants etc

Can anyone recommend any culturally diverse areas and communities. Really important. We will spend about 2 weeks looking but want a few areas to start with.

We currently live in a lovely english village outside of Cambridge with cycling tracks, walking paths, park and very friendly. Can we get this in GA?

[mxd.Brit]

Thanks forresthills, i am guessing you represent legacy homes //i have read people views on these Legacy homes and to be frank was put off completely.
Thank you for your recommendations -
I did search for houses in Tyrone and Peachtree city and got about 2 results on atlantMLS - NOT GOOD.

Any other recommendations would be great. Thanks for the ones given so far.

[NorthmeetsSouth]

Cobb and Paulding counties are NW of the city, but they are nice areas and you can still find some houses for less than $200k. there are some really nice areas in them, and Dobbins AFB is in Cobb. Lockheed makes the FA22 there so, depending on what your husband's job is, maybe he can get a civilian job there when he leaves the AF. My son was in the AF as an F-15 crew chief in Okinawa.

There are certain counties that you just want to steer clear of because of the crime. Make sure to do your homework before committing to an area. I drive to Fla a few times a year and its not a bad drive from Cobb.

[atlantagreg30127]

Peachtree City does have a more structured feel to it, and they have the golf cart paths and many residents scoot around to local stores on their electric carts. So in that way, it's a neat place. Kind of isolated from other metro towns, but on the southside, that might be a good thing depending on where you're talking about. The $200k price range could be a problem though, unless you're able to find a townhouse in that range and even then it's iffy.

Marietta has a nice square with lots of shops, restaurants, and places of interest, with a village/town feel to it. Some areas near the square are dicey though (a lot of illegal Mexican immigrants), but there are also a lot of new housing developments planned for that area as well - which unfortunately are mostly in the $$$$ range. Still worth investigating with an experienced realtor.

The most "culturally diverse" suburbs are generally in Gwinnett County, but with that you get the worst traffic, most overcrowded schools, furthest from the southside you want, and in some areas, higher crime. So, maybe out of your desired "wants".

[mxd.Brit]

Thank you Atlantagreg30127 and northmeetswest for your info. We were in ATL last year for 5 days and looked in Fairburn. Can anyone tell me what this area is looking like now. There were a lot of communities coming up, are there good public schools now and amenities too?

I've heard not so good things about Jonesboro and i see no one has mentioned it, does that mean not good? House prices are pretty good there it seems.

We have family that moved recently to Marietta although their needs are different to ours but we are definately researching into that area. As for other counties we will right these down and look into def.

I think both of our jobs will end up being in the Metro area so a 1hr commute radius is good.

Can anyone recommend websites that they found helpful!!

Thanx

[mxd.Brit]

Any one living in Fairburn or knowledgeable on whether this area has changed for the good and it's future outlook.

Originally Posted by mxd.Brit

Thank you Atlantagreg30127 and northmeetswest for your info. We were in ATL last year for 5 days and looked in Fairburn. Can anyone tell me what this area is looking like now. There were a lot of communities coming up, are there good public schools now and amenities too?

I've heard not so good things about Jonesboro and i see no one has mentioned it, does that mean not good? House prices are pretty good there it seems.

We have family that moved recently to Marietta although their needs are different to ours but we are definately researching into that area. As for other counties we will right these down and look into def.

I think both of our jobs will end up being in the Metro area so a 1hr commute radius is good.

Can anyone recommend websites that they found helpful!!

Thanx

[chunn7]

Have you checked out Fayetteville? It's south of the city. We just bought a new home there.

[mxd.Brit]

Thanks Chunn7 for that - I have just done a quick search and Fayetteville looks decent. What about schools, are you in the know of any good public ones??

Thanks again.

[mxd.Brit]

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