Woodstock? (Atlanta, Marietta, Alpharetta: relocating, budget, apartment)

[ckws]

First of all, thanks for all the help I've rec'd thus far on this board.
We are relocating this spring...DH's office @ W.Paces & 285.

We have beaten ourselves down looking @ W. Cobb...have some prospects....but it's not been an easy fit...we have 3 kids...we are trying to match up schools / space / trees and commute.

So we are expanding our search area on our next visit. Realtors suggested Acworth (Bentwater) and looking into the southern tip of Cherokee County (right @ HWY 92...not much further north...not Canton by any means..).

I get that traffic sucks in Atlanta. I GET IT.
Coming from Dallas w/ a 35 mile commute, this isn't news to us. Plus, our family is in ATL so we see it firsthand regularly. So we aren't total newbies thinking GA is the land of milk and honey who will be stunned by all the other people! LOL.

That said....what is the situation traveling from HWY 92 / 575 to the perimeter? He has a million choices once getting to 285...he doesn't have to get on....You can throw a rock @ his office from Cumberland.....

I know it isn't ideal...but trying to balance what we are....E. Cobb is out ($$)..W. Cobb is frustrating....Woodstock has great schools and spacious houses for good prices....

So, barring the periodic 18 wheeler wreck....what is the HWY 92 / 575 / 75 situation? And DH is an early bird....6:30am departure would be standard....

TIA!!

[atl1221]

even @ 6:30, you would want to avoid I-575. 575 is a substandard 4 lane interstate that desperately needs to be widened. your husband can gain access to Canton Road (a busy, but not terrible secondary road that parallels I-575.) it is approx. 10 miles from woodstock to i-75 via Canton Road (Canton Road leads directly to I-75.) usually, not always ,I-75 is still OK until 7:00... after 7, all bets are off.....if your hus can make it to 75 by 7.....it may not be too bad. in the afternoon, I have found its the opposite....I-75 is jammed by 4, and I-575 is good until 4:30...of course this is variable.....but you can still take canton road. it may not be possible, but if you can, come here and take a dry run through the commute.......see how the roads are at the time you need and plan your move accordingly.....welcome to atlanta!

[BobKovacs]

I'll agree with the post above. I live a few miles off Exit 11 on 575 in Holly Springs, so I'm starting around 8 miles from 575, and if I don't hit 75 by around 6, 575 starts to slow pretty quickly. Since DH is an early bird anyway, I'd recommend seeing if he could leave the house by 5:30-5:45, as it'd save him probably 10-15 minutes on his commute. I get into work by 6:15 and try to leave by 4, because 75 starts to really get jammed up north of 285 by then and the intersection with 575 is a mess by 4:30. 575 itself gets pretty backed up to Exit 8 as well, so I usually jump off onto Old Hwy 5 and bypass 575 altogether- it's probably not much shorter timewise, but I just hate crawling along on the freeway- I'd rather move nicely at 45 mph with a few stoplights along the way.

Something else to bear in mind- 92 itself is a really bad road- both during the week and on the weekends. If you're planning on getting more than a mile off of 575, be prepared for alot of traffic on 92 just to get to the store, etc. You may want to consider heading ab it further north on 575 and looking around Exits 11 and 14- while your husband's commute may be 5 minutes longer, it's much less congested in general out there, which makes non-commuting life much more enjoyable.

[ckws]

Thanks so much for the answers! I've been looking at homes in the southwestern area of Cherokee....between 75 and 575....just north of 92....My thoughts were that in that area...he has similar access to each highway...choices are always good in a heavy traffic area? Thoughts?

A few more questions... When you say bad...barring a wreck, of course....are we talking 30mph?

Looking at the map...I was trying to find alternate routes for him...and looked at Cobb Parkway (41) to wade green road...to the 92 area....

I don't think his work schedule would be nearly as flexible as yours Bob....I don't anticipate him leaving before 6:30am...but he won't leave later than that, either....

Thanks for the heads up on 92...we live off a comparable road right now....it's a pain, but we are used to navigating it. You have to find your routes, or you'll go nuts, right?

[Twinkletoes]

OK, so you know the traffic will be bad. There are some back roads, but everybody else is trying to take those too. Even for Atlanta, I would say that commute would be a bit much. It will affect your quality of life - Dad can't make it to the soccer game, orchestra concert, dinner, etc. and may be grouchy after sitting in traffic for an hour and a half. Keep looking, a little closer to the office.

[BobKovacs]

Honestly, it all depends on how much he's willing to tolerate. Alot of people here talk about a 1 hour commute as if it's the end of the world, and how "quality of live" suffers dramatically. I don't know where these people have been living, but in virtually any major metropolitan area, a 1 hour commute is just typical.

Figure it this way- he's probably looking at less than 10 minutes to get to 575 depending on where you end up. We rented an apartment about 2 miles west of 575 on 92 while our house was being built, and we'd leave at 7:15 to drive my daughter to school in Holly Springs (she was the reason we moved down prior to the house being finished)- we could be to 575 in 5 minutes. Even at that time, traffic was moving (albeit slowly) on 575, but it'd get to be stop-and-go as you got closer to 75 (I'd sometimes go that way while the wife took her north to school). The 7 mile trip to 75 was roughly 20 minutes. The merge onto 75 was hit or miss- sometimes it'd be smooth, other times it'd be a mess, but typically I could get to 285 in around 15 minutes or less. Assuming he's 5 minutes off the exit at 285, he'd be looking at roughly a 50 minute commute- call it an hour worst case barring a major accident or rainstorm during the commute.

Coming home he'd probably be an hour if he could leave by 4:30, somewhat longer if he left much after than.

I guess in the perfect world, mom and dad sit down for breakfast with the kids like Ward and June Cleaver, and June has dinner on the table when Ward gets home from the office at 5. Reality, on the other hand, is that you'll be having hubby walk through the door between 5:30 and 6:30, depending on when he leaves the office, which is what most people are used to in this day and age.

You could look at living in Marietta, Kennesaw, etc., but the commute isn't that much better, you'll pay more for equivalent housing, and the non-commuting traffic in those areas is a PITA.

[thisisusername]

it's probably the worst commute in the Atlanta area, I couldn't do it on a daily basis

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by ckws

Looking at the map...I was trying to find alternate routes for him...and looked at Cobb Parkway (41) to wade green road...to the 92 area....

Just say no! He may not make it home at all if he drives up 41...our two cars came from dealers on 41(Spring Rd & Windy Hill). It's only an inch on the map but it can take 30 minutes just getting from one to the other morning rush, lunch rush, afternoon rush...Just say no!

Dang, just find a house in Smynings and let the poor guy have some time at home!

[ckws]

Originally Posted by thisisusername

it's probably the worst commute in the Atlanta area, I couldn't do it on a daily basis

Really? You think it is worse than 400?

He turned down a job @ 400&285 b/c we would end up living in Cumming / N Alpharetta (because of our budget...) and we thought that was the worst commute in ATL.

I appreciate your input!!
K

[ckws]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Just say no!
Dang, just find a house in Smynings and let the poor guy have some time at home!

I so wish!
The housing costs combined with having to pay for private school in that area....Just not financially feasible for us, unfortunately!