commute times (Atlanta, Roswell, Marietta: buying a house, transferring to, neighborhoods)

[kjjbuck]

My husband is looking at transferring to Atlanta next summer. We have a ton of angles to look at when buying a house (schools, affordability, etc) but I'm wondering if anyone can give me realistic commute times. The best areas for the REST of our needs are looking like Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell, Duluth and Peachtree City. Can anyone give me some insight on the least horrible drive time to/from those areas? He'll be working at the Suntrust building downtown.

BTW - I know it would be much more convenient to live closer in, but we won't be able to afford a nice area closer to town and we're not in the position to put two kids in private school in a not-as-nice area. So a longer commute is looking like the sacrifice we're going to have to make.

Thanks!

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by kjjbuck

My husband is looking at transferring to Atlanta next summer. We have a ton of angles to look at when buying a house (schools, affordability, etc) but I'm wondering if anyone can give me realistic commute times. The best areas for the REST of our needs are looking like Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell, Duluth and Peachtree City. Can anyone give me some insight on the least horrible drive time to/from those areas? He'll be working at the Suntrust building downtown.

BTW - I know it would be much more convenient to live closer in, but we won't be able to afford a nice area closer to town and we're not in the position to put two kids in private school in a not-as-nice area. So a longer commute is looking like the sacrifice we're going to have to make.

Thanks!

Only one word will define the commute from anyplace stated to downtown.
HORRIBLE?
The key will be what time does he need to be there? Either Marietta or Duluth will give 75 or 85 which end up in the same place. Both are beyond crowded in the AM.

I live in NE Gwinnett County, 19 miles from Duluth. Takes me on average 40 minutes to an hour to get there, no matter which way I take. I am lucky enough to get off at Exit 109 if need be since anything after the split to 285 is a parking lot at 7am.
Traveling 400 is even worse, place stays a parking lot even on the off hours mostly due to construction. 75 is 85 less 10 digits. Same traffic.

He could do the MARTA providing he travels during the business rush, thus highly occupied with people going back and forth. If off hours make sure he gets a right to carry permit so he can pack some heat for his protection.

Where do you live now? If you live in Detroit, just look at the Atlanta city limits as the same thing less the cold weather.

[RingALing]

I am very new on here- so I don't know if it is allowed to post URL's or if someone has recently mentioned this... but since the 1996 summer Olympics, there has been signage & webcams to monitor traffic on the main metro interstates.

You can look at Georgia dash Navigator dot com during moring or afternoon rush hours and look at the list of incidents & locations, or view the color coded map (traffic is green, yellow, red) to see trends.

I don't know of a truly easy commute to downtown from anywhere outside the perimeter (285). I wish I did, as I live "outside" and work downtown.

If your hubby can adjust hours, and he is a "morning person", he will do well to plan to arrive at work by 7 a.m. Even if he is not allowed to start work until 8 or later, he may still prefer to arrive early & do personal things until work time begins... I find that less aggravating than sitting in an interstate parking lot.

I either work 7:00 a to 3:30 p... or 7:00 a to 7:00 p. Personally, I don't bother to attempt to leave downtown between 4:30 p and 6:30 p. My morning commute from door to desk (includes slow moving traffic in my parking deck !) is 45 minutes (best case)... and the afternoon commute is getting to be more like 60 minutes as the norm. Those are "non accident in my way" days, and please be aware of the sad fact that if there is one raindrop on the road, you can just stick a fork in it. It is supposed to rain heavily here Thurs & Fri, so we are in for some real fun commutes the next few days.

[backfist]

While Georgia tends to exaggerate, RingALing makes a good point: try to leave between 6:30 and 6:45. And if at all possible, consider riding MARTA. I ride it to and from the North Springs station and it's a snap (if you've ever been to the San Francisco Bay Area, it's not much different). While a couple of the Afro-phobic types around here might snidely suggest carrying a gun with you on MARTA, I don't. A newspaper and mug of coffee are plenty enough to pass the time.

Best of luck.

[nrgpill]

Marta works if you plan on working normal work hours. If you work the late shift or on the weekends, you may see the shortcomings of said service. For example, try riding Marta on a Saturday or Sunday night. You can very well spend twice the time waiting and swapping trains than to simply hop in the car and driving the same route.

[Steven2149]

We live in Southwest Gwinnett (Loganville) and my wife works in Midtown on 17th Street. Best case scenario for her is 1 hour 20 minutes... it have been over 2 hours on many, many occasions. (probably once a week). She takes Highway 78 into town, where it becomes Ponce De Leon. In my opinion, some of the best places to look into would be Lilburn, Tucker, parts of Decatur (expensive though), as well as parts of North Dekalb. Not that any of those are necessarily the greatest or worst of neighborhoods. They are all livable and have some of their own roads that lead into Atlanta without having to fight the freeways quite as much. But even with that said, there is absolutely positively NO way to avoid traffic here. Atlanta traffic is truly an experience.

[backfist]

Originally Posted by nrgpill

Marta works if you plan on working normal work hours. If you work the late shift or on the weekends, you may see the shortcomings of said service. For example, try riding Marta on a Saturday or Sunday night. You can very well spend twice the time waiting and swapping trains than to simply hop in the car and driving the same route.

True. Then again, that's true of most big city light rail systems. Depending on where one lives, driving during non-peak times (like Sunday night) is easier.

[homesource group]

I have a system for traffic. I must often commute to Atlanta to maintain my listings and meet with clients. I do this maybe 3 times a week on average coming from my office in Suwanee. Now I have a small advantage and that's a GPS in my vehicle, which gives me the opportunity to detour out of traffic. I have found that traffic here has somewhat of a pattern. I like Ring a ling's post very cool. I would say that in the mornings you must leave early no doubt somewhere in the 6 am parameter. On the way back though, don't even contemplate going 85N after 4pm. If so, plan for the commute to be about 2 hours for a 30 mile trip. I can't wait for the beltline!! Now you did mention that you wouldn't be able to afford housing in Atlanta along with private school for the kids. I STRONGLY disagree. Many options down there. The one thing you must understand though is that the whole ITP area is experiencing revatilization and therefore pockets exist where the growth has yet to fully be realized. I can't go into too much detail because as I am a Realtor these moderators feel I am simply here for self gain, which I am not. I just love my industry and my profession and am willing to speak to whom ever will listen. Anyhow, areas such as Grant Park, Highlands, Dunwoody, Inman Park and many moe have affordable housing that is really nice and still sitting on possible income potential. Of course as most my comments go, I would always reccommend the cosultation of a Realtor to get some true insight. Good luck!

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by backfist

While Georgia tends to exaggerate, RingALing makes a good point: try to leave between 6:30 and 6:45. And if at all possible, consider riding MARTA. I ride it to and from the North Springs station and it's a snap (if you've ever been to the San Francisco Bay Area, it's not much different). While a couple of the Afro-phobic types around here might snidely suggest carrying a gun with you on MARTA, I don't. A newspaper and mug of coffee are plenty enough to pass the time.

Best of luck.

Now c'mon Backfist, When do I exaggerate.

[Georgia]

What is Afro-Phobic?