Work in 30346. Where can I live? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: real estate market, apartments, condos)

[goodlife36]

Which areas would be nice for a 40 year old professional? I am not into clubs or city life. I just want to live somewhere nice that is easily accessible to work and close to health food stores such as Whole Foods or Trader Joes. I really would like to purchase a small 2 bedroom bungalow in the low $200,000 range in a good solid middle class neighborhood. Is it possible? Zip codes would be helpful.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by goodlife36

Which areas would be nice for a 40 year old professional? I am not into clubs or city life. I just want to live somewhere nice that is easily accessible to work and close to health food stores such as Whole Foods or Trader Joes. I really would like to purchase a small 2 bedroom bungalow in the low $200,000 range in a good solid middle class neighborhood. Is it possible? Zip codes would be helpful.

I don't necessarily know about the availability of small 2-bedroom bungalows in the area, but Sandy Springs 30328 is a really good place to look because of its closeness to your place of work in the 30346 zip code.

Sandy Springs 30328 is also a really good place for you to look because it features both a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's that are only located about a third-of-a-mile apart from each other.

Otherwise, outside of Sandy Springs having both a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's within blocks of each other, Atlanta 30346 (where you work), and Dunwoody (immediately around where you work) are good places to look because of their extremely-close proximity to where you work.

[goodlife36]

Sandy Springs' crime rate is low but why are there so many condos? The condos are nice but I am worried about noise. Are there any other locations that I should be looking at? Dunwoody crime rate is too high for me to invest in real estate.

[westau]

Roswell would be another good option to look at in addition to Sandy Springs.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by goodlife36

Sandy Springs' crime rate is low but why are there so many condos? The condos are nice but I am worried about noise. Are there any other locations that I should be looking at? Dunwoody crime rate is too high for me to invest in real estate.

Dunwoody's crime rate -- what kind of crime is there in Dunwoody? Are you looking at 30338 or 30346. 30346 is the mall area where there is lots of shoplifting, car break ins etc. 30338 is Dunwoody as well. However, 200K isn't going to buy a single family home there or in Sandy Springs.

Maybe Roswell -- perhaps Chamblee

.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by goodlife36

Sandy Springs' crime rate is low but why are there so many condos? The condos are nice but I am worried about noise.

Sandy Springs has so many condos because it is a closer-in post-suburban area that is continuing to transition into a higher-density upscale urban district of metro Atlanta.

Chances are that if you want to find something in Sandy Springs (or anywhere close to, just outside or within the I-285 Perimeter) on your budget of $200k or less, you are going to have to live in a high-density development (like a condo or a townhome).

Originally Posted by goodlife36

Are there any other locations that I should be looking at? Dunwoody crime rate is too high for me to invest in real estate.

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Dunwoody's crime rate -- what kind of crime is there in Dunwoody? Are you looking at 30338 or 30346. 30346 is the mall area where there is lots of shoplifting, car break ins etc. 30338 is Dunwoody as well. However, 200K isn't going to buy a single family home there or in Sandy Springs.

Maybe Roswell -- perhaps Chamblee

.

lastminutemom makes some excellent points.

The reason why Dunwoody's crime stats may appear to be high is because of the petty property crime that occurs around the mall and retail areas there. Outside of the property crimes in the shopping area, Dunwoody is not thought of as being a high-crime area by metro Atlantans and is actually widely-regarded as being a pretty low-crime area in the overall scheme of things.

lastminutemom also makes some excellent suggestions of Roswell and Chamblee.

But if you think that Sandy Springs has too many condos and Dunwoody has too much crime, then you probably most-certainly will not like Chamblee which has just as many condos and apartments and is even more urban then Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.

Like lastminutemom stated, you are also going to have problems finding a detached single-family home for a price as low as $200k in areas like Roswell, Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.

You MIGHT be able to find a detached single-family home for $200k or less in Chamblee, but what you find will likely be a dated older home that needs updates and repairs.

Because of the pick up in real estate activity in the metro Atlanta market in the last couple of years and because of the nature of the residential development on the northside of metro Atlanta (which consists mainly of either 3-bedroom single-family homes and larger or multi-family homes throughout most of North Metro Atlanta), you may likely find it to be a challenge to find exactly the type of home you are looking for (a 2-bedroom bungalow in the low $200's) within close commuting distance of where you work in the 30346 zip code.

[goodlife36]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Dunwoody's crime rate -- what kind of crime is there in Dunwoody? Are you looking at 30338 or 30346. 30346 is the mall area where there is lots of shoplifting, car break ins etc. 30338 is Dunwoody as well. However, 200K isn't going to buy a single family home there or in Sandy Springs.

Maybe Roswell -- perhaps Chamblee

.

I checked 30346 but I see 30338 is a lot lower. Sandy Springs is expensive. Some of the townhouses are $300,000+. The condos are affordable and large but I do not want to hear my neighbors. The single homes are too large. Where are the cute bungalows?

[goodlife36]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Sandy Springs has so many condos because it is a closer-in post-suburban area that is continuing to transition into a higher-density upscale urban district of metro Atlanta.

Chances are that if you want to find something in Sandy Springs (or anywhere close to, just outside or within the I-285 Perimeter) on your budget of $200k or less, you are going to have to live in a high-density development (like a condo or a townhome).


lastminutemom makes some excellent points.

The reason why Dunwoody's crime stats may appear to be high is because of the petty property crime that occurs around the mall and retail areas there. Outside of the property crimes in the shopping area, Dunwoody is not thought of as being a high-crime area by metro Atlantans and is actually widely-regarded as being a pretty low-crime area in the overall scheme of things.

lastminutemom also makes some excellent suggestions of Roswell and Chamblee.

But if you think that Sandy Springs has too many condos and Dunwoody has too much crime, then you probably most-certainly will not like Chamblee which has just as many condos and apartments and is even more urban then Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.

Like lastminutemom stated, you are also going to have problems finding a detached single-family home for a price as low as $200k in areas like Roswell, Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.

You MIGHT be able to find a detached single-family home for $200k or less in Chamblee, but what you find will likely be a dated older home that needs updates and repairs.

Because of the pick up in real estate activity in the metro Atlanta market in the last couple of years and because of the nature of the residential development on the northside of metro Atlanta (which consists mainly of either 3-bedroom single-family homes and larger or multi-family homes throughout most of North Metro Atlanta), you may likely find it to be a challenge to find exactly the type of home you are looking for (a 2-bedroom bungalow in the low $200's) within close commuting distance of where you work in the 30346 zip code.

The houses are out of my price range and way too big. I had a bad experience in an apartment. I do not want to share walls. Are there areas that may be a little more further out that meets my criteria. I can push my budget up to $250K. What about Decatur and Buckhead? I heard they are nice areas but may be too far and out of my price range.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by goodlife36

I checked 30346 but I see 30338 is a lot lower. Sandy Springs is expensive. Some of the townhouses are $300,000+. The condos are affordable and large but I do not want to hear my neighbors. The single homes are too large. Where are the cute bungalows?

Likely not anywhere remotely near where you will be working in the 30346 zip code.

You can check in areas in and around the historic downtowns of small suburban cities like Smyrna, Marietta, Acworth, Woodstock, Canton, Powder Springs, Norcross, Duluth, Lawrenceville, Buford, etc, but what you are looking for is likely going to be very-difficult to come by in this real estate market where investors are often on top of houses before they even hit the market.

Originally Posted by goodlife36

The houses are out of my price range and way too big. I had a bad experience in an apartment. I do not want to share walls. Are there areas that may be a little more further out that meets my criteria? I can push my budget up to $250K.

There might be some areas that might have the type of housing that you are looking for, but they are a much-longer drive/commute away from where you work in the 30346 zip code then you might like.

If you want something for $250k or under, you will likely have to endure brutal rush hour commutes to and from areas that could potentially be kind of far-flung, areas like far-Northern Gwinnett and Hall counties to the northeast; Barrow, Walton, Oconee and Newton counties to the east; Henry County to the south; Paulding, Douglas and Carroll counties to the west; Bartow County to the northwest, etc.

Originally Posted by goodlife36

What about Decatur and Buckhead? I heard they are nice areas but may be too far and out of my price range.

You are correct that Decatur and Buckhead are nice areas, and you are also correct they are likely well out of your price range in most cases, though it won't hurt you to look with a fine-tooth comb in the City of Decatur.

Finding a detached single-family home of any kind for $250k in Buckhead will likely be completely out of the question.

[dblackga]

Originally Posted by goodlife36

Which areas would be nice for a 40 year old professional? I am not into clubs or city life. I just want to live somewhere nice that is easily accessible to work and close to health food stores such as Whole Foods or Trader Joes. I really would like to purchase a small 2 bedroom bungalow in the low $200,000 range in a good solid middle class neighborhood. Is it possible? Zip codes would be helpful.

There are some that pop up occasionally in the Ashford Park/Sexton Woods/Keswick area --there's 3 or 4 that I saw just now on a quick search -- that is a couple of miles south of the Perimeter Mall area. 30341 is the zip code. Otherwise, there's NOTHING in the the 200-220 area in the single family home range in Sandy Springs or Dunwoody.

Don't worry about Dunwoody -- the crime stats are skewed by the mall, the rest of the area is very, very safe. And if you're at all sensible about not leaving things out in your car, then even the mall area isn't a big deal. Mostly crimes of opportunity. But you aren't going to find a single family house in Dunwoody in that price range, anyway, so it's a moot point.

Is there a particular need for a single family? Pets, gardening, just like your privacy? Because there's lots of townhomes (multi-level) and garden homes (1 level) condos around the Perimeter area. Sandy Springs has both a Trader Joes AND a Whole Food about two blocks from each other. :-) Most of the condo complexes are pretty mellow -- I don't think you'd find it "wild and crazy" -- I mean, this IS Sandy Springs/Dunwoody, after all. :-)