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I am relocating from New York City to Atlanta. My job ends here in June so realistically between July and August. I am a 27 year old single mother. I have a 6 year old son. I am looking to stay under 1,200 in rent. After doing plenty of my own research I would like to be northern Atlanta. Dunwoody seems to be an area that has good schools (Austin, Vanderlyn), family friendly but younger. I am cautions because I know Perimeter mall is there and I red traffic is crazy. I want to stay close to Atlanta because it's likely I would be working at a hospital in Atlanta. I know I need to keep traffic under consideration and being a single mom I want to make sure I am able to pick and drop him off at school. I work in healthcare so I am not overly concerned about a job yet. My priority is living in a good neighborhood with a good school. I have the flexibility to work in many different settings with my Degrees. The problem I am finding is the reviews are so all over the place for apartments and even condo's and I can't come back to see them until after June. I want to target my searches so I can make my time more efficient when I come to look at schools. Can anyone recommend good apartment complexes zoned to good schools? Also if anyone knows which hospitals are best to work for or have good reputations for benefits etc?
I have also looked in Smyrna but I wasn't impressed with the schools. I looked in Cobb County and toured Tritt Elementary but I found there are no apartments zoned to most of those schools. Alpharetta seemed to far out for me right now. I am open to other areas but I would like to stay pretty close to Atlanta.
1. Budget: 1,200 (max)
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Open to all
3. Employment Status: Commuting but can be flexible
4. Children: Public but open to private
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference: Mix
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? I have a car but am willing to take public tansit
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: Diverse but safety is first
(I apologize in advance. I know there are similar post (I have read them all) but they are all so old I want to make sure the information is still relevant)
Last edited by Avery22; 05-09-2014 at 09:59 AM..
Reason: Spelling
I am relocating from New York City to Atlanta. My job ends here in June so realistically between July and August. I am a 27 year old single mother. I have a 6 year old son. I am looking to stay under 1,200 in rent. After doing plenty of my own research I would like to be northern Atlanta. Dunwoody seems to be an area that has good schools (Austin, Vanderlyn), family friendly but younger. I am cautions because I know Perimeter mall is there and I red traffic is crazy. I want to stay close to Atlanta because it's likely I would be working at a hospital in Atlanta. I know I need to keep traffic under consideration and being a single mom I want to make sure I am able to pick and drop him off at school. I work in healthcare so I am not overly concerned about a job yet. My priority is living in a good neighborhood with a good school. I have the flexibility to work in many different settings with my Degrees. The problem I am finding is the reviews are so all over the place for apartments and even condo's and I can't come back to see them until after June. I want to target my searches so I can make my time more efficient when I come to look at schools. Can anyone recommend good apartment complexes zoned to good schools? Also if anyone knows which hospitals are best to work for or have good reputations for benefits etc?
I have also looked in Smyrna but I wasn't impressed with the schools. I looked in Cobb County and toured Tritt Elementary but I found there are no apartments zoned to most of those schools. Alpharetta seemed to far out for me right now. I am open to other areas but I would like to stay pretty close to Atlanta.
1. Budget: 1,200 (max)
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Open to all
3. Employment Status: Commuting but can be flexible
4. Children: Public but open to private
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference: Mix
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? I have a car but am willing to take public tansit
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: Diverse but safety is first
(I apologize in advance. I know there are similar post (I have read them all) but they are all so old I want to make sure the information is still relevant)
I recommend looking into the Sandy Springs, Dunwoody or Chamblee areas (Both cities have access to MARTA Rail and Bus). Cobb County does not have access to MARTA rail.
I am relocating from New York City to Atlanta. My job ends here in June so realistically between July and August. I am a 27 year old single mother. I have a 6 year old son. I am looking to stay under 1,200 in rent. After doing plenty of my own research I would like to be northern Atlanta. Dunwoody seems to be an area that has good schools (Austin, Vanderlyn), family friendly but younger. I am cautions because I know Perimeter mall is there and I red traffic is crazy. I want to stay close to Atlanta because it's likely I would be working at a hospital in Atlanta. I know I need to keep traffic under consideration and being a single mom I want to make sure I am able to pick and drop him off at school. I work in healthcare so I am not overly concerned about a job yet. My priority is living in a good neighborhood with a good school. I have the flexibility to work in many different settings with my Degrees. The problem I am finding is the reviews are so all over the place for apartments and even condo's and I can't come back to see them until after June. I want to target my searches so I can make my time more efficient when I come to look at schools. Can anyone recommend good apartment complexes zoned to good schools? Also if anyone knows which hospitals are best to work for or have good reputations for benefits etc?
I have also looked in Smyrna but I wasn't impressed with the schools. I looked in Cobb County and toured Tritt Elementary but I found there are no apartments zoned to most of those schools. Alpharetta seemed to far out for me right now. I am open to other areas but I would like to stay pretty close to Atlanta.
1. Budget: 1,200 (max)
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Open to all
3. Employment Status: Commuting but can be flexible
4. Children: Public but open to private
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference: Mix
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? I have a car but am willing to take public tansit
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: Diverse but safety is first
(I apologize in advance. I know there are similar post (I have read them all) but they are all so old I want to make sure the information is still relevant)
I'm sorry this funny. "1. Budget: 1,200 (max)" You have a max budget of $1200 a month to find a rental in GA?! laughing! I'm sure it probably got you a stove and window in NY, But in GA you can get a 4-5/bdrm 3 bath home. So please get your kids a home with a yard here. "6.Easy access to public transit, important or not? I have a car but am willing to take public transit" This is even funnier. NY has one the best transit systems in the world. However this GA. The train in NY every what 5-10 mins tops. A train in Atl every 15 mins in the morning only and only on week days. After 6pm forget. Say you live in Alpharetta and work Atlanta. You will have to drive to the train station. Which will probably b about 20 mins beacause no buses to the residential parts of Alpharetta. 20 mins to the train station and another 30 mins to Atlanta. "5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference: Mix" Here in Metro Atlanta? Whaaaa? There is no such thing. You either live in the city or you don't. You have small kids and Atlanta is such a party town ehh, no. So the place that would be good for you would be Douglasville! Up and coming, fun for kids, great rental home prices lots of house for the money. Oh and about that commute thing here Metro Atlanta(Fulton, Cobb, Douglas,Dekalb, Henry, Clayton, rockdale, newton, gwinnett counties) Say it out loud "There is no such thing as good traffic in Atlanta". lol! Commuting to work Monday thru friday in Atlanta Am and Pm rush hour... Matthatan at 9pm, on friday night, with and 3 car accident,less taxis more buses.
Yeah that sounds right. Oh but wait it gets better. In the summer when tourists come to Atlanta, your're just getting off work but the family in front you is from Ohio, totally lost & stop & go taking pictures of every building on Peachtree St! Oh & sorry u didn't get the memo that Tyler Perry was making yet another movie here and has a whole street blocked off! #ibeenhereallmylife #iknowmycity #icouldn'tmakethisstuffup. #uthinki'mlyingwaittillyougethere. On the flip side Atlanta is fun, growing, full of activity, fun for kids, lots historic value and plenty of good eat'n.
The poster above that suggests Sandy Springs or Dunwoody is correct. There are also several large hospitals between there and Buckhead that would all have reasonable commutes.
The OP needs to GET THE JOB FIRST and worry about looking for a place to live AFTER getting the job.
The OP may think that she will be guaranteed a job upon moving to Georgia because she works in healthcare, but with Georgia being one of the absolute hardest-hit states during the recent economic downturn and with the Georgia economy and job market still being very-slow to recover from the economic crisis, a job likely may not be guaranteed for the OP after moving to Georgia, even if she is in healthcare.
With the Georgia job market still being somewhat slow in the aftermath of one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, the OP absolutely needs to ensure that she has a job first BEFORE moving to Georgia.
Take it from me. Finding a job is very hard here so you better think twice about moving here with kids and no job. Nene Leakes ain't hiring right now honey.
Some of these posters have been rather rude, so let me share what I can:
I moved here 3 months ago from Mass. for a new job in the Perimeter Center area (Dunwoody/Sandy Springs). I have a nice, spacious townhouse at 1200/mo, but it is 45 minutes away from the office, some days it takes me 75 minutes to get home. Traffic is impossible to predict. I am now searching the area for a house and I have been looking around perimeter center.
Renting something under 1200/mo anywhere near perimeter center is a serious challenge. This is where the good jobs are, some good schools, and homes and even condos and apartments here tend to be very new (few more than 40 years old, many built within the last 20 years) and very spacious compared to up north. So the price of housing per square foot is relatively cheap, but because everything is twice as big, you wind up paying almost the same as the Boston suburbs.
The ATL subway system has few routes. Free daily parking is available at many stations, with plenty of available spots in some cases, but driving to/from these stations involves getting through lots and lots of traffic. I believe it is $2.50 each way to ride the subway. There are a number of bus routes, but what are the odds of finding a route that takes you from home to work?
There are jobs available down here, though they typically pay less because cost of living here tends to be lower (ironic, considering how expensive it can be to live in perimeter center area). And the fact that this area continues to grow and public transportation is minimal means that traffic will only get worse. Driving between 7-9am, and between 4:30-6:30pm is not fun. But driving any other time of day is typically pretty good.
I personally would not have moved without having a job first. And the rental process was much more of a pain in the backside than anything I experienced up north.
You do have the opportunity to live near transit, so isn't it your fault for not doing so? And to say that transit is "minimal" when it is better than but a few U.S. cities is just not true. Minimal might be Buffalo or San Antonio, but not Atlanta.
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