Best places to live if working at the CDC?

[vince217]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

Would it be that bad of a drive? You can pretty much drive straight in from Johns Creek on PIB. Once you get past 285, its smooth sailings into Dekalb.

Same for 285. No traffic heading southbound.

Long as you avoid 85, I don't think it would be that bad.

Johns Creek to 285 via PIB (lets say from McGinnis Ferry Rd) and back during rush hour can be very congested, it can take you 30 minutes or more. add i guess another 20 minutes to get to Emory from 285/PIB and you have close to a 1 hour drive each way.

[plessthanpointohfive]

To the OP, there are good schools to be had in the city, but you're going to struggle to find a house the size you want for the price you want.

But, Kirkwood is probably a good option.

Someone else mentioned the APS redistricting thing. And nobody knows yet what's going to happen.

But at the moment Kirkwood is districted to Grady, which is a good high school. Also, Toomer is Kirkwood's elementary school. And while Toomer was (I think...KWD residents should correct me if I am wrong) involved in the cheating scandal I would not count Toomer out. KWD (Kirkwood) is rapidly being populated with young families, which means the schools will just continue to improve.

However, there's a chance KWD could get redistricted to Maynard Jackson HS. AT THE MOMENT it's not a good HS. But, by the time the current crop of Toomer kids get there it will be a good school.

Other ES in the Grady cluster that are close to the main Emory campus are Mary Lin, Morningside, and SPARK (Springdale Park). All very good schools in really nice neighborhoods. But with a 350-400K budget you're looking at a smaller house.

4/3 SFH houses in Candler Park/Lake Claire that are not fixer-uppers start at 450K. You can, however, get a multi-story townhouse for under 400K.

Candler Park/Lake Claire are the most affordable of the neighborhoods districted to those schools.

I won't even mention Druid Hills, which is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to Emory/CDC and those kids can go to Fernbank, a top Dekalb County school. Because Druid Hills is $$$$$.


But, I live in Candler Park and it's a 15 minute bike ride from my house to the CDC Campus (I work at CDC, but now at a different campus). It's faster to bike than to drive. When I worked at that campus sometimes I'd walk on a nice day.


Someone else mentioned Sagamore Hills. That, and Briarvista, Toco Hills, and those areas. Look there.

Less close but closer than Sandy Springs, etc, is the Medlock Park neighborhood. I think you can get the size you want for the price you want.

Almost nowhere in the city will you find new construction at your price. But new construction is often over-rated. A 50s ranch or a 40s Tudor or a 20s Craftman can be a much better buy, so long as you do due diligence and get the thing inspected.

As a fellow CDCer I can say that if you do live in town you will find a lot of other CDCers here. But, if you choose to live way out in the burbs you can usually get a teleworking thing going a couple times a week after you've been there 6-8 months.

[Mirabella]

Teleworking is dependent on your branch chief/division director. While the agency supports it, it is not a given.
I spent 17 minutes today going from the CDC entrance to Briarcliff Rd - what's that - a half mile or so? It routinely takes 45 minutes to commute to CDC from Roswell. It's not the interstate or 400 that kills you (generally), its the surface streets.
I would recommend as others have to rent first.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Mirabella is correct about teleworking. It's part of an agency-wide green initiative but not all branches/supervisors support it. My former supervisor did not support it but my current Division actually enforces it because of lack of space.

I would imagine you could advocate for it successfully, though, if you live way out of town.