Relocating to Atlanta from South Dakota (Sandy Springs, Alpharetta: condo, low crime, townhome)

[cbest23]

Hi everyone, my family and I are moving to the Atlanta area during the summer from South Dakota ( Sioux Falls ). I'm originally from New Jersey and my wife is originally from Sioux Falls, but has lived all over. We have a 4 year old who is attending Pre-K, so we're looking for a area that has a very good school system. Also, low crime is important, as any parent with a young child would also look for. We're an interracial couple, so we would also like an area that is culturally diverse as well as accepting to us and our daughter, as we can and do get along with just about anyone.

We're looking for homes in the $250-$310,000 range and could go up if needed, but would prefer to keep it in that area. We're coming out next week for a week and was wondering what areas do people think we should look at? Homes, Schools, etc. We have a realtor, who is suggesting the Peachtree City area. We have friends and family wanting us to look in NE Atlanta, where they live and in the Alpharetta/John's Creek areas. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated, Thanks!!

I see that some have broken down what they're looking for into categories, so if it's easier..

1. Budget - up to $310,000.
2. House/Condo/Townhome? House.
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) Work From Home.
4. Children(public school vs. private) either one is fine, I just want the best education for my daughter.
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - Prefer Surburban, but wouldn't mind a nice urban area, actually a mix would be fine as well.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not important.
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. A diverse neighborhood if possible with a mix of different people. People that are friendly and accepting of all races, cultures, etc.

[bear2531]

Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody or Johns Creek. Depending on how far out you want to go Canton is a growing area (overflow from Alpharetta), but far from urban.
There are some great private schools around those areas too, I'm sure the public schools aren't too bad considering the median income of the area, but I have no children so I'm no expert!
Interracial couples are not a problem, very common here. I'm in an interracial marriage myself!
Georgia is very much a melting pot....although these area seem to have a tendancy to be more white (especially heading out further into the suburbs), but it is by no means monochrome. East Indians are actually very common in the Dunwoody/Alpharetta areas, lots of Koreans/Vietnemese not too far away from Johns Creek (in Duluth - more affordable sububurban area), African Americans and Latinos aplenty, and all sorts of other splashes here or there.
Great shopping IMO - malls, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and all that good stuff. And not too far for a high-end shopping spree at Lenox Mall or Buckhead.
Things only get weird in GA when you head way out into the country, then you might meet some characters in terms of 'race', but it's really not like that.
I won't deny there is some sort of invisible segregation sometimes.....but it's hard to explain and just better to experience to know what I'm talking about! Atlanta is it's own animal.
Buckhead is the nicest area of the city, way more urban, but it gets busy! Atlanta traffic, oye! But your close to like.....everything.
I have no idea about Peachtree City - I've heard it before - so it's probably true it's a nice area.

[cbest23]

Thanks Bear for your comments. Everyone that I've spoken to has had nothing but the best to say about the Atlanta area as a whole!! I'm already looking at things to do besides house hunting while we're there. I'm dying to try Big Daddy's, as I've heard great things about the food. If you have any ideas of any great places to eat, I would love to try to get there. As for the areas to live, I plan on checking out Peachtree city, Alpharetta, John's Creek, Decatur and of course, Atlanta proper!! Hopefully it's not too overwhelming trying to check it all out in a week, my wife is only there for six days, but my daughter and I could stay as long as we need to. Thanks again Bear!!

[lastminutemom]

Why are you moving here?

Will your wife be working here? If so, where will her office be?

If you are moving to be near family and they are in N. Atlanta, why consider Peachtree city. It is a nice, unique area but it is pretty far from the Northern suburbs...

[westau]

If you have any desire to be close to that family Peachtree City would be a bad choice. East Cobb or North Fulton would work well for you.

[cbest23]

Hi lastminutemom, my wife will be in Atlanta, I couldn't tell you what part though. As for the family, we aren't moving to be close to family necessarily, but as long as we can see friends or family occasionally, we're fine. It's just that everyone keeps telling us that their areas are awesome and they want us to live them, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind us being a little bit away as we would be alot closer than we are now.. Thanks!!
Yeah westau, I've heard good about both of those areas. We don't have to live that close to family or friends, we're more concerned with the schools, crime and diversity, which from what I hear, all of places seem to be very good for, Thanks!!

[Newsboy]

You're gonna love Peachtree City ...

[lastminutemom]

For quality of life purposes and her sanity, you need to live within reasonable commuting distance for your wife. In Atlanta, there are commutes that you simply can't do at rush hour without hours of extra time. (And frankly, some places are simply too far away from each other to make for a reasonable commute.)

Find out where her job will be and then go from there...

[Born 2 Roll]

If you've got family in Northeast Metro Atlanta that wants you to look in the Alpharetta and Johns Creek areas, then you should definitely seriously think about moving to that area as Alpharetta, Johns Creek and North Fulton County overall are really great areas with generally low crime (by Metro Atlanta standards) and excellent schools.

Peachtree City is a nice area, but it would be far removed from any friends and family you might have on the Northside in the Alpharetta/Johns Creek areas (like almost 60 miles away through very-heavy traffic).

[cbest23]

Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions. Just wondering if anyone has any homebuilders that they would recommend in the Atlanta area. Just wondering what people's opinions are and experiences with any. Any homebuilder info will do, but if anyone knows anything about Crown, and/or Wilson Parker, I would like to know about them too, Thanks!!