30 minutes or less to City Hall (Atlanta, Mableton: new house, safe area, construction)

[sdinfjmale]

I am currently a finalist for a position at City Hall, and if I get the position I would need to relocate to the area with my wife and soon to be 2 year old. If we move to the area I would like to find a place where my rush hour commute would be under 30 minutes. My wife and I prefer the suburban lifestyle, and we would want only want a house. Our goal would be to stay under 200k, be in a decent/safe neighborhood with decent schools (preferably public). My question is is there an area close by that would meet this criteria?

[StAubin]

I am not too familliar with the prices there but i would look into Brookhaven.
Its a nice area and has direct MARTA access which could get you to city hall in 30 minuetes.

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by StAubin

I am not too familliar with the prices there but i would look into Brookhaven.
Its a nice area and has direct MARTA access which could get you to city hall in 30 minuetes.

Yes but 200k doesn't get you much of a house in Brookhaven. There will be a few in that price range but not a lot of selection of good quality homes.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by sdinfjmale

I am currently a finalist for a position at City Hall, and if I get the position I would need to relocate to the area with my wife and soon to be 2 year old. If we move to the area I would like to find a place where my rush hour commute would be under 30 minutes. My wife and I prefer the suburban lifestyle, and we would want only want a house. Our goal would be to stay under 200k, be in a decent/safe neighborhood with decent schools (preferably public). My question is is there an area close by that would meet this criteria?

when you say "suburban", do you mean "i just want my own house and yard and a quiet neighbourhood" or do you mean "i want to live out in the suburbs and have a new house"? there are many in-town neighbourhoods that NYCers, for example, would qualify as "suburban" because they're relatively quiet residential neighbourhoods with historic homes, but since they're so far in town here, we consider them to be urban.

[sdinfjmale]

We would prefer a newer house, but would be open to an older one. With "suburban" we would mean the nice quiet neighborhood. In the Charlotte area where we currently live there are these type of "suburban" areas within city limits. I imagine there are these types of areas in Atlanta as well. Another question, how is the commute from Mableton or Stockbridge? Are those areas ok?

[lastminutemom]

Is there any kind of requirement to live in the city limits? I am not sure, but I believe at one time, there was such a requirement for certain positions. (It was a long time ago, it may have changed.)

I would think Stockbridge is a lot further than 30 minutes, because of traffic, but I could be wrong.

[red92s]

To put things simply: if it was possible to spend under $200k to live on a quiet safe cul de sac, newer construction, with good public schools, within 30 minutes commute at peak hours . . . then everyone already would.

A bulk of people who commute an hour our more each way to downtown have done so in order to meet criteria similar to yours for schools, size, safety, and price.

The drive from Stockbridge is going to be about 22-23 miles to City Hall, mostly on the highway. I make a very similar commute, but going the opposite direction of traffic. It takes me about 30 minutes. I'd assume going with traffic both directions, that would go up by 50-75%, putting you in the 45+ minute range. If your goal is to be at work in under 30 minutes, you can't plan on living 20 miles away and using the same roads as everyone else. MARTA opens up some options, but not a ton.

Brookhaven, Druid Hills, Candler Park, Lake Claire, or Decatur might be viable options with a significantly expanded price range (like, 1.5-2x). The sub-$200k constraint strikes out most free-standing homes in a large radius from the city center. The requirement for excellent public schools extends that radius out even further. At that point, the commute is essentially guaranteed to be more than 30 minutes. Something has gotta' move up or down your priority list.

Avondale might be an option if you are willing to reconsider educational resources in favor of hitting your price and commute targets.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by sdinfjmale

I am currently a finalist for a position at City Hall, and if I get the position I would need to relocate to the area with my wife and soon to be 2 year old. If we move to the area I would like to find a place where my rush hour commute would be under 30 minutes. My wife and I prefer the suburban lifestyle, and we would want only want a house. Our goal would be to stay under 200k, be in a decent/safe neighborhood with decent schools (preferably public). My question is is there an area close by that would meet this criteria?

How about Princeton Lakes?

[WannaBeinBoston]

Frankly....these criteria are not realistic at all. Sorry.

[bryantm3]

here's some neighbourhoods to look at:

loring heights and possibly berkeley park, right north of atlantic station near the I-75/I-85 divide on the north side. these neighbourhoods are right close in to west midtown and midtown, but are generally quiet and family oriented.

grant park which is straight east on I-20 and is about a mile from downtown. quiet, the zoo and cyclorama are there but it may be a bit above your price range.

kirkwood, which is also straight east on I-20 from downtown, about 2-3 miles, on the north side of I-20. it is an up and coming community— 15 years ago it was not a safe area but now there are families of types moving in. prices are still relatively low, but rising.

if you're considering kirkwood, you may want to consider oakhurst which is right inside the decatur city limits and next to kirkwood— the prices are a bit higher but the schools are much better, but you'd have to confirm that you're in the decatur city limits before you buy, the city lines crisscross the community.

whittier mill village, which is a little known wonder up near vinings off of a road called parrott avenue. it's a 19th century mill village with a park, and extremely quiet and family oriented, however there are a couple of restaurants within walking distance.