Your commute ? (Atlanta, Smyrna, East Point: leasing, home, buying)

[Wayr2go]

So guys, I'm currently searching for my 'humble abode' and have narrowed my choices to midtown and vinings - quite a vast expanse but I love the proximity of midtown to my work in downtown and the general calmness of vinings (and its development prospect).

The two properties i looked at are actually equally priced in terms of rent so essentially it comes down to traveling expenses for me.

And while I was considering that, what struck me was the miles i'd be driving on the daily commute

vinings is approx 11 miles to the town and midtown about half of that one way.

So essentially people commuting from vinings are traveling 11 *2 * + another 20 (if you are traveling for social purposes - grocery, food, restaurants etc.) *365 = 15330 miles a year. thats a bare minimum i'd say. I was shocked to say the least to see that 15k a year is a minimum. I jst moved from Boston where everything was within a 10 mile radius for me and that too on public transportation.

So I'm curious to see what people think of traveling this much per year and how are their cars faring with respect to condition and value? 15-20k a year is almost twice as much as you'd expect a regular car to travel in a year.

Thoughts/perspectives welcome.

Thank you

[Tryska]

I used to live in Vinings and make that commute. And thought nothing of that mileage. I live in East Point now, and commute into midtown. Sometimes by car, sometimes by MARTA. It took me 8 months to trip my 5000 mi odometer on my new car. And I fill up the tank every 2 weeks or so.

[Wayr2go]

Thanks Tryska, you put 5000 in 8 months (625 a month) while traveling from Vinings or from Eastpoint?


I would really like to take up the Vinings lease, but am considering the midtown purely for proximity purposes. I wish Vinings (or nearby area) had a train station. I'm totally open to driving to a train station closeby and parking there instead of driving it all the way to the town.

My cost would include - miles on the car (possible reduction in value) + fuel + monthly car parking.

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by Wayr2go

So guys, I'm currently searching for my 'humble abode' and have narrowed my choices to midtown and vinings - quite a vast expanse but I love the proximity of midtown to my work in downtown and the general calmness of vinings (and its development prospect).

The two properties i looked at are actually equally priced in terms of rent so essentially it comes down to traveling expenses for me.

And while I was considering that, what struck me was the miles i'd be driving on the daily commute

vinings is approx 11 miles to the town and midtown about half of that one way.

So essentially people commuting from vinings are traveling 11 *2 * + another 20 (if you are traveling for social purposes - grocery, food, restaurants etc.) *365 = 15330 miles a year. thats a bare minimum i'd say. I was shocked to say the least to see that 15k a year is a minimum. I jst moved from Boston where everything was within a 10 mile radius for me and that too on public transportation.

So I'm curious to see what people think of traveling this much per year and how are their cars faring with respect to condition and value? 15-20k a year is almost twice as much as you'd expect a regular car to travel in a year.

Thoughts/perspectives welcome.

Thank you

Midtown is maybe 2 miles from Downtown depending on where you're going. I'm in Midtown and only one mile from my offices downtown and I've walked it comfortably. If you're renting what does the development prospect of Vinings matter since you've no long term vested interest unless you plan on renting there for years. I had the reverse commute Midtown->Vinings for a few years and I averaged about ~10k/yr including trips out to the suburbs on weekends.

I think your mileage estimations are a bit off since you usually don't double your commute for groceries and you also tend not to commute 7 days/week. 15k is the average for Atlanta but many people live very far out (mean commute is 34 min each way) so I'd expect them to be 20-30 miles out minimum.

Cars are highly consumable here and you'll find many used cars that average 20-30k/yr. People often forget that when buying/living in the exurbs. It's definitely good you're considering it when doing your due diligence prior to your move.

No. 7: Atlanta, GA - In Photos: 10 Cities With The Most Extreme, Long Commutes - Forbes

[Tryska]

625 month in EP. When I lived in Vinings (and Smyrna - I hopped around the complexes in that area for 13 years), I had to get 3K oil changes about 3 times a year - so I was putting at least 12-15K yearly. I'm looking at just under 10K now.

if you value a train station - I would go with Midtown. It is more interesting too, I think. Vinings - while there is plenty of retail and such up there, is very very auto-centric. To the point where it's difficult to meet people (outside of strip mall bars), or socialize with people you know from elsewhere, because it's so far outside the cut.

If you're into barhopping with the dockers and blue oxford set, though, Vinings might just be for you. lol

[jsvh]

Midtown seem like the easy choice.

If you want to drive from Vinings, be sure to drive it during rush hour a couple times first and keep in mind that it will get worse in the coming years with the Braves Stadium.

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Midtown seem like the easy choice.

If you want to drive from Vinings, be sure to drive it during rush hour a couple times first and keep in mind that it will get worse in the coming years with the Braves Stadium.

Great advice. I used to hate that commute. I can't even imagine it with braves traffic too.

[sedimenjerry]

Originally Posted by Mishap

I think your mileage estimations are a bit off since you usually don't double your commute for groceries and you also tend not to commute 7 days/week. 15k is the average for Atlanta but many people live very far out (mean commute is 34 min each way) so I'd expect them to be 20-30 miles out minimum.

Yea my commute (and my mom's) is almost 30 miles but when I'm at home (which right now is quite often) the farthest "local" thing I drive to isn't even 5 miles away. Most things are just 2-3 miles away. And that's because I live pretty much in the center of a triangle of commercial areas. When I'm not working, it takes many many days to equal one commute round trip.

[Wayr2go]

Mishap thanks, yes -true that the general development is of little economic interest to me if I'm primarily leasing, but I think for a living environment it speaks volumes and as someone who worked in project financing for a while I feel really excited to see newer development everywhere anytime and Atlanta has so much of it which makes me love this city alot more than I would have imagined even though I have no vested interest in it ( I don't think this emotion would be well understood by many).

And thanks for the tip about mileage. Yeah, perhaps the actual mileage may not be all that horrible but it sure looks (on the surface) scary to someone who is only used to 10k tops a year.

Tryska - yeah, I noticed vining isn't a walkable/public transporation driven area and I'm okay with that as driving is going to be a new thing for me which I haven't done for a very long time (on a daily basis). I thought that Vinings had good restaurants/bars that you could enjoy without the hassle of the crazy crowd that i've seen in downtown/midtown area in the 2 weeks i've been in Atlanta. It reminds me of Boston. While I'm looking forward to socializing, I would prefer to not be in overly crowded and pretentious bars/restaurants and instead prefer your regular next door/cornside bar where bartenders display a better attitude and its not filled with teeny boppers binge drinking till they litter the floor with vomit.

I hear about buckhead a fair bit as a good social place but I also hear how pretentious that area is - something I had plenty of in Boston and something I had hoped to leave behind !!!!

I love Atlanta so far and love everything it has to offer.

[Wayr2go]

sedimenjerry, do you (and perhaps your mother) commute in/around Vinings or to and from downtown?

Tryska, I travelled around 10 am and also late in the afternoon around 3:30pm, then 5pm and once late in the evening and so far I didn't see anything that I would consider horrific. Only once did I have to slow down 4 miles away from downtown and it took me 10 minutes to get through that. Overall 40 minutes as opposed to 25 otherwise. I'm OK with that (I think )