Advice please on choosing between Alpharetta, Roswell, Johns Creek, or other (Atlanta: home, landscaping)

[MrsMcFly]

Hi everyone, my husband currently works in Chicago but we are considering him taking a job offer for the CDC in Atlanta. I'm not very familiar with the area, but when I look at the map it appears to be in the NE part of the city. We are in our mid-30's and have four children ages 1-10 who will be attending public school, and I'm a stay at home mom. I'm looking for advice about which suburb would be nicest. Our price range is around 300-350k.

We are not overly concerned with the commute, since right now my husband commutes from Racine, WI to Chicago everyday and has been for 8 years, so anything better than that is already a plus for us. Racine is just such a dump (to be honest) that I'm looking for a nice, clean, low-crime, friendly place to live with great schools, restaurants, shopping, and community activities. Also, a charming little downtown type of area would be really nice. I'd also really love a place where the road medians are nicely maintained with nice trees or plantings. I know that sounds weird maybe, but I just want a place that LOOKS nice. Remember, I'm coming from Racine WI where everything is just so ugly and dirty, and the road medians are just overgrown grass and weeds everywhere.

I've been obsessively trying to research my choices but I still feel so lost about what the right choice would be for us. What about Alpharetta, Roswell, or Johns Creek? Can anybody tell me if these areas sound right for my family? Or are there any other suggestions?

Thanks so much for the help!

[lastminutemom]

Peachtree Corners would work as would Johns Creek. I wouldn't go as far West as Alpharetta or Roswell. And you should be concerned about the commute, because you should be looking for a better quality of life, in my opinion. Neither has their own downtown (they are new cities, recently incorporated) but both are close to areas that are "cute"

Others will chime in about the Parkview High district. I am just not familiar enough with that area.

[MrsMcFly]

Thank you for the reply lastminutemom. I will look into Peachtree Corners since I don't know much about it. How about Suwanee or Dacula? I was looking at an area of Dacula called Hamilton Mill that looked nice.

[flamadiddle]

All of those areas fit the bill, but that would be a painful commute. I know you said the commute is not really an issue, but I'd probably rule out Johns Creek and include Suwanee, which is a nice area close to I-85. Also, sounds like you would really dig Suwanee Town Center. Johns Creek is a very nice area, but I would not want to traverse 141 to get to 285/85 every day. That route is a real parade of pain. Hamilton Mill is also nice, but now you're getting quite far North...

[gerrythesnake]

Move near 85

[MrsMcFly]

Thanks for the advice flamadiddle. I looked up Suwanee Town Center and it looks great. Okay, so Suwanee is definitely on my list now.

gerrythesnake- I think you are right, now that I'm learning more I should probably be focusing on communities close to 85. Hamilton Mill would fit that bill for that, right? Or is that too far?

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by MrsMcFly

Remember, I'm coming from Racine WI where everything is just so ugly and dirty, and the road medians are just overgrown grass and weeds everywhere.

Many Atlanta suburban roads do not even have road medians!

Originally Posted by MrsMcFly

What about Alpharetta, Roswell, or Johns Creek?

Horrible commute if its to the location on Clifton Rd.

Originally Posted by MrsMcFly

Or are there any other suggestions?

I suggest the Parkview high & Camp Creek elementary school district in Lilburn. Check out the Mountain Park elementary district to lessen the commute while still staying in the Parkview high district.

[Tarzanman]

Roswell would probably actually be a shorter commute than Suwanee to the CDC. Do you know in which CDC campus your husband would have his office?

Long commutes are one thing. Traffic is another. I imagine that most people would rather spend 45 minutes moving along than 35 minutes in bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic.

Is there a reason that you haven't considered Dunwoody? Maybe you're trying to put more distance between your home and the city proper?

I am at a loss to recall any places in the metro area outisde of the city that have tree/planter decorated medians. i would reccomend using Google Street view to take a virtual tour of these areas and use the images there to get a good first glimpse of what they look like.

[MrsMcFly]

Tarzanman- his office would be the one on Clifton Rd. Looking at the map, it does look like Roswell would be a bit closer. ???

I will look into Dunwoody but my understanding (maybe I'm wrong) is that the schools aren't as good? Great schools are at the top of our list of importance.

As far as the medians and plantings, we visited Alpharetta in 2009 and thought all of the landscaping everywhere was just beautiful. Like I said, here where I live now everything is just dilapidated and dirty in a lot of parts of the city, so maybe I'm easily impressed. We just really liked how clean and kept-up Alpharetta was and I'm interested in a similar place if Alpharetta isn't feasible because of the commute.

[kferq]

Originally Posted by MrsMcFly

I'm not very familiar with the area, but when I look at the map it appears to be in the NE part of the city.

It depends if he is on Clifton Road (headquarters) or in Chamblee. My Brother-in law was on the Chamblee Campus for 20 years and commuted from Sandy Springs with no difficulty (Dunwoody, Brookhaven or reverse commuting from Buckhead (all beautiful places) would also work) . However, when he was briefly stationed on Clifton, the commute was terrible. I would definitely consider Decatur if he is on Clifton: it has strong schools, a nice downtown and is very pretty.