Need help deciding which city is better place to live (Atlanta: affordable apartment, for rent)

[Mr Horne]

In a few weeks my family and i will be moving down to Ga and we narrowed it down to a few cities we would like to live. We are looking to rent either apartment or town-home until we know more about Ga and we can make a more informed decision where to buy a house. Our choices are Alpharetta, Duluth, Marietta and Suwanee. We are a interracial couple Im black and my wife is filipina and we have 2 small children so we want to know which place offers some of the safer more affordable apartment communities and a more diverse culture. My job requires that i travel so commuting is a non factor. I would say that my budget for rent would be nothing more than 1200. My we like to shop and workout so a area with good amenities and local shopping with good gyms would be a nice feature. and also easy access to public transit

[ATLTJL]

They are all good places.

As a black man, you will probably feel comfortable in any of these areas. As a Filipina, your wife will find the most Asian culture in Duluth and Suwanee and will have the most ease obtaining ingredients to cook if she still likes to make Asian cuisine.

Marietta is probably the least culturally diverse area on your list.

[ElleKaye]

Marietta will likely cost less; Alpharetta is newer.

You said "family" so I assume that means children. Alpharetta and East Cobb (Marietta) schools seem to get the highest level of kudos.

For fitness places, I'd still recommend MaYrietta or Alpharetta. I don't think you have to be concerned about racsim issues. It's still the south (make no mistake), but in at least the metro Atlanta, diversity seems to rule.

[WmMeeker]

If you do not have to commute, Suwanee is a great place to live. Quiet, no crime, clean and nice with great parks and schools. It is like Mayberry except it has some black people. You would like it there. 2nd choice would be Marietta.

[dblackga]

Diversity-wise, I'd say you were look at (from most to least)

1. Duluth
2. Alpharetta
3. Suwanee
4. Marietta

In terms of cost from most to least

1. Alpharetta
2. Suwanee/Duluth
3. Marietta

If your traveling will be involving flying in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson, you may want to consider Alpharetta (easier access to MARTA, makes getting to the airport easy), or the Smyrna/Vinings area, just south of Marietta.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Mr Horne

In a few weeks my family and i will be moving down to Ga and we narrowed it down to a few cities we would like to live. We are looking to rent either apartment or town-home until we know more about Ga and we can make a more informed decision where to buy a house. Our choices are Alpharetta, Duluth, Marietta and Suwanee. We are a interracial couple Im black and my wife is filipina and we have 2 small children so we want to know which place offers some of the safer more affordable apartment communities and a more diverse culture. My job requires that i travel so commuting is a non factor. I would say that my budget for rent would be nothing more than 1200. My we like to shop and workout so a area with good amenities and local shopping with good gyms would be a nice feature.

All four cities that you cited are great places to live.

The only issue is that 3 of the 4 cities that you are inquiring about have living options that range widely from aging hole-in-the-wall apartments to newer apartment communities with gated entrances.

Alpharetta and Suwanee overall likely have fewer of the hole-in-the-wall dumps that you and your family need to beware of, though there are many very-nice apartments with affordable rents to be found in all four suburban cities (each of which cover relatively very-large expanses of land area in the North Metro Atlanta suburbs...something which means that you will have MUCH area to cover in your search for the right place to live).

You will just have to great care to make sure that you don't end up living in some seedy hole-in-the-wall dump of an apartment complex (...BEWARE, as there are quite a few of the hole-in-the-wall apartment complexes scattered in amongst the nice ones...in Metro Atlanta there are many areas where seedy hole-in-the-wall dump apartment complexes may be located very-near or even right next to nicer apartment complexes, so be VERY, VERY careful in your search).

Also, Marietta is much more diverse than many Intowners give it credit for being, there just is nowhere near as large of an Asian population in Marietta and Cobb County as there is in North Fulton (Alpharetta) and Gwinnett (Suwanee and Duluth) counties as the minority population in Marietta is dominated mostly by blacks and Latinos.

Though it should be noted that the large and fast-growing Asian population that is found in North Fulton and Gwinnett counties is dominated by Koreans (particularly in the Johns Creek area, which has both Alpharetta and Duluth mailing addresses...and in the Suwanee area, whose mailing area straddles parts of 3 different counties) and Asian Indians (...though Asian Indians are MOST-DOMINANT in Central and South Gwinnett County in areas that are out of the range of your search).

In any case, I will say that your chances of encountering bad apartment dwellings are much less in Alpharetta (and Johns Creek), and Suwanee then they are in Marietta and Duluth where there are many more older and aging (and seedy) apartment complexes.

Originally Posted by Mr Horne

and also easy access to public transit

Like dblackga stated, Alpharetta most likely offers the easiest access to public transit, though you would have to drive about 10-15 miles down GA 400 southbound to the North Springs MARTA Station before being able to directly access public transit, which admittedly has an extremely and severely-limited availability outside of the I-285 Perimeter.

In the other 3 suburban cities that you cited (Duluth, Marietta, and Suwanee), public transportation is so limited (or in the case of much of Suwanee, completely non-existent) that it is virtually completely impractical to be mentioned even as a commuting option unless you are commuting on the region's extremely-limited twice-daily Monday-Friday express bus service to and from an 8-to-5, or a 9-to-5 job in Midtown or Downtown Atlanta.

If you will be needing to commute from almost any area outside of I-285 to and from the Atlanta Airport, you will most likely either have to:

A.) Drive to the airport, park in a long-term parking area and fly-out

B.) Have someone drive you to the airport to fly-out, and have someone pick you up at the airport after flying back into town or...

C.) Use a privately-owned airport shuttle service to commute to and from the Atlanta Airport, of which there are dozens that serve the Atlanta Airport (...the most-expensive airport shuttles (private hired cars, etc) will drop you off at your front door while cheaper airport shuttle services (shared-rides with multiple stops) may drop you off at a fixed location (park & ride location, etc...most-likely a local hotel, or landmark)).

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Mr Horne

In a few weeks my family and i will be moving down to Ga and we narrowed it down to a few cities we would like to live. We are looking to rent either apartment or town-home until we know more about Ga and we can make a more informed decision where to buy a house. Our choices are Alpharetta, Duluth, Marietta and Suwanee. We are a interracial couple Im black and my wife is filipina and we have 2 small children so we want to know which place offers some of the safer more affordable apartment communities and a more diverse culture. My job requires that i travel so commuting is a non factor. I would say that my budget for rent would be nothing more than 1200. My we like to shop and workout so a area with good amenities and local shopping with good gyms would be a nice feature. and also easy access to public transit

Duluth, Marietta, Suwanee, and Alpharetta are all great areas of Metro Atlanta.

However, keep in mind...

Of the cities in the list, Marietta is probably the most misunderstood. The area called "Marietta" covers a very large area in Metro Atlanta. When a lot people say "Marietta" on this forum, they actually mean East Cobb--most of which has a Marietta address (and I think this is the case for you since East Cobb shares many, if not most, of the characteristics of Duluth, Suwanee, and Alpharetta).

[aries4118]

And for the record, y'all...

East Cobb has a fairly large in Asian population. Particularly in the Walton High district, and more specifically the East Side Elementary School district.

Murdock Elementary, Eastvalley Elementary, and Sope Creek Elementary also have decent-sized Asian populations.

[No2Monsanto]

You've narrowed down your list to some pretty good areas.

I used to live in Gwinnett County (Duluth, Suwanee) and Smyrna/Vinings, which is Marietta adjacent. To me, for the best diversity, Duluth or Suwanee for sure, as there is a HUGE Asian population. There ARE Asians in East Cobb, as well as very good schools, but nothing near the Asian population in Gwinnett County. I would say Alpharetta is the least diverse, and I BELIEVE the farthest north from the city, but may be neck-n-neck with the distance of Suwanee.

Amenities won't be a problem no matter what you chose. As for the convenience of public transportation, none of these areas really have a healthy access to MARTA, but maybe more bus service. The fact that MARTA only goes so far north from Atlanta, has been a problem in the city for years, as some residents are very resistant to train service coming to their neighborhood because they feel it would compromise the integrity of it. Whatever. That's just one supposed issue among others. If the Atlanta train system were expanded, we would have FAR less traffic issues, but that's another forum.

As for your budget, you should be fine, depending on how much space you need. You can easily find a nice 2-3 bedroom apartment for $1200 in those locations; a townhouse? Maybe. It depends on how picky you are about the neighborhood and the amenities. How this helps. Good luck.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by No2Monsanto

You've narrowed down your list to some pretty good areas.

I used to live in Gwinnett County (Duluth, Suwanee) and Smyrna/Vinings, which is Marietta adjacent. To me, for the best diversity, Duluth or Suwanee for sure, as there is a HUGE Asian population. There ARE Asians in East Cobb, as well as very good schools, but nothing near the Asian population in Gwinnett County. I would say Alpharetta is the least diverse, and I BELIEVE the farthest north from the city, but may be neck-n-neck with the distance of Suwanee.

Amenities won't be a problem no matter what you chose. As for the convenience of public transportation, none of these areas really have a healthy access to MARTA, but maybe more bus service. The fact that MARTA only goes so far north from Atlanta, has been a problem in the city for years, as some residents are very resistant to train service coming to their neighborhood because they feel it would compromise the integrity of it. Whatever. That's just one supposed issue among others. If the Atlanta train system were expanded, we would have FAR less traffic issues, but that's another forum.

As for your budget, you should be fine, depending on how much space you need. You can easily find a nice 2-3 bedroom apartment for $1200 in those locations; a townhouse? Maybe. It depends on how picky you are about the neighborhood and the amenities. How this helps. Good luck.

Alpharetta actually has a decent-sized Asian population...but not as large as Johns Creek, Duluth, and Suwanee.