Neighborhood Suggestions? Intown, $200K and under, safe area (Atlanta, Alpharetta: sales, lease)

[mjedwards409]

So my wife and I will be ending our currentl lease shortly. We have decided to by inside the city of Atlanta. We are in our mid twenties. No kids and no plans on them for the next few years. We do have a medium sized dog so we are looking for a house with a fenced (or fenceable) backyard.

Our needs and wants are fairly simple:

-$200K price cap
-2+ Bedrooms
-1,000+ square ft. (or 900 sq ft for a place that has an efficient use of space)
-Safety (Obviously we know any intown neighborhood in this price range is going to have it's share of non-violent crime, etc. We aren't under the illusion that his will be a gated Alpharetta subdivision here. We just don't want to worry about gang violence, assaults, armed robberies, murders, etc.)
-Backyard with at least decent space

The Standard Template:

1. Budget - $200K max
2. House/Condo/Townhome? House
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) - Wife in Grant Park / I'm in Outside Sales so I travel around midtown area
4. Children(public school vs. private) - No kids at the moment. Will probably try for charter school down the road when we have them
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - Urban (ITP) but also a house in a neighborhood
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not important.
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Diverse is fine, but we don't want to be the ONLY white family.


So far we have come up with a few neighbordhoods that we are looking in. I wanted to start this thread to see if there are any areas we are missing. We don't want anywhere in unincorporated Dekalb.

We have seen a few good options in:

-East Atlanta (Some cool places under $200K a stone's throw away from EAV)

-Cabbagetown (The area doesn't seem sketchy, but the affordable houses seem to need more TLC than we have the time energy for.)

-Cheshire Bridge Rd Area (Yeah yeah yeah, the XXX shops are annoying, but there are some nice residential areas just off the road behind Southern Nights XXX and that car wash. However, I'm not sure what this neighborhood is called. Is it just considered Buckhead-ish?)

-Underwood Hills (This is where we are renting right now. Its a long shot that anything decent here would fall to $200K but we are still keeping our eyes open for bargains that might pop up.

We have done our research on these areas. We are wondering if there were any additional suggestions you guys might have that might meet our needs? We would like to have as many options as possible to look into. Thanks!

[CompassNorth]

Check out Toco Hills area just north of Decatur. You can find some small homes in your price range and it is a decent area.

[mjedwards409]

Originally Posted by CompassNorth

Check out Toco Hills area just north of Decatur. You can find some small homes in your price range and it is a decent area.

Thanks for the suggestion. Hadn't that about TH. Will add that to the list to be willing to look at. Not crazy about the traffic from that particular area coming into the city. Every time we come back to Midtown from the Dekalb Farmers Market is a brutal stop and go that takes about 45 mins. But all options need to be on the table with a $200K price match.

[CompassNorth]

That is one of my biggest complaints about Atlanta is the insane traffic. What part of town do you work in? That would be my deciding factor on where I moved to.

[mjedwards409]

Originally Posted by CompassNorth

That is one of my biggest complaints about Atlanta is the insane traffic. What part of town do you work in? That would be my deciding factor on where I moved to.

My wife works in Grant Park and I work in West Midtown. Normally we have in-town mapped out pretty well and traffic isn't a huge concern. However, that North Druid Hills area specifically has been brutal every time I have driven on it. Not so much because of the traffic alone, but just the fact that the roads are so small and the traffic lights are just a pain in the butt.

[CCATL]

Have you considered looking in Grant Park or Summerhill? Since your wife works in the area, it would be great for her, and it's also a short commute to West Midtown. I think you can find a 2 bed in GRant Park for right around your price range, maybe $215, and Summerhill definitely has some in that price range. They are both safe, walkable neighborhoods - I think they meet your criteria perfectly.

[mjedwards409]

Originally Posted by CCATL

Have you considered looking in Grant Park or Summerhill? Since your wife works in the area, it would be great for her, and it's also a short commute to West Midtown. I think you can find a 2 bed in GRant Park for right around your price range, maybe $215, and Summerhill definitely has some in that price range. They are both safe, walkable neighborhoods - I think they meet your criteria perfectly.

She loves Grant Park. Every time I've been there it seems like all the places are either $350K+ or extremely sketchy. (Admittedly I haven't looked extensively at houses there) We will definitely speak to the realtor and see if she can show us a bit in that area too.

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by mjedwards409

She loves Grant Park. Every time I've been there it seems like all the places are either $350K+ or extremely sketchy. (Admittedly I haven't looked extensively at houses there) We will definitely speak to the realtor and see if she can show us a bit in that area too.

For Grant Park, stay north of the railroad tracks, south of memorial, east of hill, and west of confederate. Any listings that say Grant Park but are not in those boundaries aren't actually in Grant Park. I really wouldn't consider any part of Grant Park sketchy, there may be some run down houses here and there, but they tend to be owned by older people who survived the gentrification of the neighborhood. I can tell you with 100% certainty deals can be had in Grant Park. I bought a house fitting your exact criteria in the neighborhood, move in ready. Prices are going up a bit now, but I recently saw a 2/2 for $215 and a 3/2 for $220 in the neighborhood - they both sold very fast, so just keep an eye out.

For Summerhill, stay north if Georgia ave, and east of Turner Field. It is also a nice area with a very involved neighborhood association.

[mjedwards409]

Originally Posted by CCATL

For Grant Park, stay north of the railroad tracks, south of memorial, east of hill, and west of confederate. Any listings that say Grant Park but are not in those boundaries aren't actually in Grant Park. I really wouldn't consider any part of Grant Park sketchy, there may be some run down houses here and there, but they tend to be owned by older people who survived the gentrification of the neighborhood. I can tell you with 100% certainty deals can be had in Grant Park. I bought a house fitting your exact criteria in the neighborhood, move in ready. Prices are going up a bit now, but I recently saw a 2/2 for $215 and a 3/2 for $220 in the neighborhood - they both sold very fast, so just keep an eye out.

For Summerhill, stay north if Georgia ave, and east of Turner Field. It is also a nice area with a very involved neighborhood association.

Great info. Thanks!

[cqholt]

Kirkwood, east lake, edgewood.