Do you think Atlanta's cost of living will ever become NY/LA expensive?? (rental, landlord)

[afdinatl]

Originally Posted by No2Monsanto

I believe I'm open minded, but do want to have an Atlanta address. I'm not a new comer, but moved away 7 years ago to take a job in another state. I will be coming back home later this year. I have no problem with racial diversity either; in fact I welcome it. I don't need to necessarily be near MARTA, because I will have a car.

Look at the cost of living thread i posted that people are skipping over lol

[kaitlyn142]

If you think the COL in Atlanta is ever going to be anywhere near NYC or LA, you have clearly never lived in either of those places.

In LA, I paid $1500/mo for 450 sq ft apt. In the area I lived in, you couldn't buy a house for under $800k. In NY, I couldn't afford to live in NYC, so I lived in one of the "affordable" suburbs. Once again, I was paying $1500/mo, but at least I had 700 sq ft, although I did not have useful things like a parking spot or in-unit washer dryer. The kind of apt where you could get those start at $1800 for a 1 bedroom. You could not purchase a SFH for under $400k in the bad part of town. Good part of town? You started at $550k. And don't forget taxes that were no less than $12000/yr. No, that wasn't a typo.

Here in Atlanta, I'm in one of the northern suburbs (so similar to when I lived in NY). I bought a lovely house 4bd/2.5 bath in a great neighborhood for $250k, and the taxes are so low as to be laughable. In either NY or LA, $250k *might* get you a 1 bedroom condo in a bad area, if you got lucky.

And that's just housing. Restaurants here are cheaper. My utility bills, despite doubling my living space, are significantly lower. The list goes on.

[afdinatl]

Originally Posted by kaitlyn142

If you think the COL in Atlanta is ever going to be anywhere near NYC or LA, you have clearly never lived in either of those places.

In LA, I paid $1500/mo for 450 sq ft apt. In the area I lived in, you couldn't buy a house for under $800k. In NY, I couldn't afford to live in NYC, so I lived in one of the "affordable" suburbs. Once again, I was paying $1500/mo, but at least I had 700 sq ft, although I did not have useful things like a parking spot or in-unit washer dryer. The kind of apt where you could get those start at $1800 for a 1 bedroom. You could not purchase a SFH for under $400k in the bad part of town. Good part of town? You started at $550k. And don't forget taxes that were no less than $12000/yr. No, that wasn't a typo.

Here in Atlanta, I'm in one of the northern suburbs (so similar to when I lived in NY). I bought a lovely house 4bd/2.5 bath in a great neighborhood for $250k, and the taxes are so low as to be laughable. In either NY or LA, $250k *might* get you a 1 bedroom condo in a bad area, if you got lucky.

And that's just housing. Restaurants here are cheaper. My utility bills, despite doubling my living space, are significantly lower. The list goes on.

The sad part is that people actually believe what is being posted by other people lol smh. I actually posted a cost of living comparison thread with real numbers but those same people are scared to post in it. It's a sad day in America when grown people believe Atlanta is more expensive than NYC and Chicago. . Smh lol

[CdotSmith]

As a Jersey head who is looking to move to Atlanta, I know the COL will never match NY/LA in the foreseeable future. I've had many friends and relatives move down and all say their COL is cheaper. I live/rent in a "NYC suburb" in a little cape cod house and I know about all expensive rent, expensive car insurance (and I only have liability with no points) etc. My mother in law has a 2 family house in the hood, I mean crack heads walk up and down the street, abandoned houses that were strip of copper, cops don't come unless you shot hood and her property taxes are over $8000 a year for a house property worth $40,000.

[afdinatl]

tSmith;37951501]As a Jersey head who is looking to move to Atlanta, I know the COL will never match NY/LA in the foreseeable future. I've had many friends and relatives move down and all say their COL is cheaper. I live/rent in a "NYC suburb" in a little cape cod house and I know about all expensive rent, expensive car insurance (and I only have liability with no points) etc. My mother in law has a 2 family house in the hood, I mean crack heads walk up and down the street, abandoned houses that were strip of copper, cops don't come unless you shot hood and her property taxes are over $8000 a year for a house property worth $40,000.[/quote]

Remember this thread in the future when you have questions about Atlanta. Use this to remember who gives out bad info all the time.


Badatlantainfo#


This is the hashtag I'm going to use in the future to search for old threads with bad information

[DaBurgh]

Relax, plenty of options in the city especially on a nurse's salary. $900 won't get you into the most desirable neighborhoods, however, so you'll either have to increase your budget or sacrifice location

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by No2Monsanto

I'm planning to move back home to Atlanta next year, (as I have spoken about on here before) and would really, really, like to live in the city proper. LIKE, REALLY. I have been away for about 7 years, but as I search for apartment rentals in Atlanta proper, I'm struggling to get into a neighborhood I want (Collier, VH, Midtown, Howell Mill, to name a few) and stay under $900 for a one bedroom!! I'll be buying a new car soon due to sheer necessity and need to keep my rent on the lower end. I haven't had a car note in 6 years, and I DO NOT want to be house/car poor with this new purchase. Am I living in an alternate reality or WHAT?!

I'm starting to wonder if with the rapid population growth, corporate headquarters coming to the city, the Hollywood scene increasing, and GOD FORBID we actually get a decent and expansive transit system in place, will Atlanta soon become on par with the cost of living in New York and LA??! I feel like the rising cost in rental property has gotten down right ridiculous!! Or will a nurse's salary just no longer cut it for affordability in the city of Atlanta??? HELP!!

This article puts Atlanta as one of the top cities of 2014 with the HOTTEST neighborhoods in the country. Maybe this is the beginning of the answer to my question.....http://www.redfin.com/research/repor...l#.VK23wb40VFI

Sincerely,
On the edge...

I don't think Atlanta will match NYC or San Fran--or even LA--in cost. Maybe in pockets and certain high-end neighborhoods, but there is so much land to develop--and no oceanfront property and no "Hollywood" or "Big Apple" iconic draws like NY and LA have.

There's simply too much room to expand and outside of the nicer areas and neighborhoods, I think.

[Ant131531]

My dad is paying about $2500 a month mortgage for a 5600 square feet, 7 bedroom, 5.5 bath house about 24 miles away from Atlanta(Northern Rockdale) and it's a pretty safe area. There are still plenty of extremely cheap areas in the Atlanta region that's safe. Why do you think so many are moving down here?

[testa50]

In Atlanta, the $2/SF threshold was passed about 4 years ago and has steadily become the norm for new development in prime areas. This is unprecedented, and has sparked a building boom the likes of which we've never really witnessed. This indicates pretty clearly that $2/SF is the logical maximum for this market; if rent goes much above, new units flood the market until supply and demand stabilize. We will not see $3/SF until general inflation pushes us to that level.

To the poster that said $1,600 is the lowest they saw a "decent" apartment for in Midtown, I would urge you to look harder.

SkyHouse South-Atlanta | Overview

These are the rack rates on Skyhouse South's webpage. This is for one of the nicest, highest-end rental communities we've got, and the location is second to none. Basic singles start at $1,400 and move up to $2,000. And there are plenty of buildings in Midtown with lower rents if you're willing to look for them.

I'll admit the above rent is far from cheap, but if you look at what you get in terms of amenities (rooftop pool, parking space, gym, etc) this is MILES better than $1,500 worth of apartment in LA, SF, NYC, etc. No comparison.

If you're looking to spend $800-$900, you'll need to look at smaller, older buildings that aren't necessarily in the heart of it all. You know, the sort of unit that $2,000 will get you in San Francisco.

[SandyJet]

Originally Posted by No2Monsanto

I'm planning to move back home to Atlanta next year, (as I have spoken about on here before) and would really, really, like to live in the city proper. LIKE, REALLY. I have been away for about 7 years, but as I search for apartment rentals in Atlanta proper, I'm struggling to get into a neighborhood I want (Collier, VH, Midtown, Howell Mill, to name a few) and stay under $900 for a one bedroom!! I'll be buying a new car soon due to sheer necessity and need to keep my rent on the lower end. I haven't had a car note in 6 years, and I DO NOT want to be house/car poor with this new purchase. Am I living in an alternate reality or WHAT?!

I'm starting to wonder if with the rapid population growth, corporate headquarters coming to the city, the Hollywood scene increasing, and GOD FORBID we actually get a decent and expansive transit system in place, will Atlanta soon become on par with the cost of living in New York and LA??! I feel like the rising cost in rental property has gotten down right ridiculous!! Or will a nurse's salary just no longer cut it for affordability in the city of Atlanta??? HELP!!

This article puts Atlanta as one of the top cities of 2014 with the HOTTEST neighborhoods in the country. Maybe this is the beginning of the answer to my question.....http://www.redfin.com/research/repor...l#.VK23wb40VFI

Sincerely,
On the edge...

Market Rate one bedroom apartments at 900 a month were last seen around 1982 in Manhattan.

My sister in law lived in a small studio in Manhattan in 1985 that cost $1,000 a month. Small means like 350 square feet.

Nice One Bedroom Manhattan apartments today are around $4,000 a month. They want a one month realtor fee, one months rent and one months deposit so you need a check for $16,000 to rent an apt in Manhattan in 2015