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Old 02-04-2015, 04:37 AM
 
14 posts, read 23,478 times
Reputation: 14

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1. Budget up to $1600 for 2 bedroom or more.
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Condo/Townhome
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) Work in Midtown
4. Children(public school vs. private) Depends
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two Suburban without being sprawly or bland...perhaps even "exurban" of semi-rural.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not interested in any area with MARTA access
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Since we are Southerners moving back down from the NYC area because we missed the South, we would prefer to be in an area that has more Georgians/Atlantans than transplants from across the United States as well as people from other countries. A more "down home" traditional feel vs. cosmopolitan. We are White if that makes a difference.


Ok, now that's settled. We are both 29, I'm from the suburbs of Birmingham and he is from Fredericksburg, Texas. We both met in NYC, are married and expecting. We were extremely unhappy in NYC and the cosmopolitan, fast paced, "yankee" way of life. We would've personally preferred a more rural place but this is the only place down south that my husband could get an acceptable offer. He will be working in Midtown but will not be commuting in rush hour traffic. He will be working irregular hours. We are Christians and conservative and we would like somewhere with people who are agreeable to that. We are willing to sacrifice a short or convenient commute to live in an area that isn't so inundated with transplant, cosmopolitan or urban kind of culture. We moved back down south to live in the south, not in Long Island with better weather. Just need two bedrooms, a town home or some kind of bungalow would be lovely. Somewhere far away enough that it will not be ruined by urban sprawl. A nice landscape such as mountains would be just great. We looked at Dawsonville or Dahlonega online and it looks beautiful. Our only concerns are that apparently Atlanta is growing northwards and will spoil these communities. We know nothing of communities to the east, west, and south of the city proper. Low crime and southern culture and values are what we seek. A quiet GA community that is accessible within 60 minutes driving with no congestion to Midtown.


Thank You and may God bless you,

Joy Ann
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Old 02-04-2015, 05:56 AM
 
Location: Brookhaven
403 posts, read 613,390 times
Reputation: 436
I don't think there is such thing as a commute to Midtown with "no congestion" especially from the outer burbs.
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Old 02-04-2015, 06:42 AM
 
Location: O4W
3,744 posts, read 4,760,292 times
Reputation: 2076
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteATL41 View Post
I don't think there is such thing as a commute to Midtown with "no congestion" especially from the outer burbs.


Try the Buford/Suwanee area and take the express bus downtown
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Old 02-04-2015, 06:52 AM
 
Location: Lake Spivey, Georgia
1,990 posts, read 2,340,092 times
Reputation: 2348
Hey! Welcome Back South! I am a life long Atlantan and have ALWAYS lived in the southside suburbs. I am pointing that out because you seem to wish to avoid being in a mostly "Yankee Transplant" neighborhood. For such as that I would definitely recommend the southside suburbs over the northern ones. My neighbors are overwhelmingly from the South and many are even Atlanta natives. I live in the Lake Spivey area now in Clayton County and think you would enjoy the area for its numerous amenities: Lake access to Lake Spivey or Lake Jodeco if you own property on one of them, convenient access to grocery stores, relatively close to Atlanta. I also whole heartedly recommend South Fulton County south of the Tri-Cities area (College Park, Hapeville, East Point) more specifically in the Chattahoochee Hills area (beautiful rolling, wooded landscapes with definitely a rural vibe). Southeastern Fayette County may also be a Contender (Whitewater School district). It also has a rural feel. Southwestern Fayette County is the Peachtree City area and definitely has more of a transplant make-up. You would also probably enjoy Coweta County; especially the Newnan (west of Interstate 85 in the old town square side) or Senoia areas (charming small town surrounded by farmland). Coweta County is accessed by the Interstate 85 corridor, and while not close-in, it does have the reputation of being one of the "easier" drives in the metro area. Rural South Fulton/ Chattahoochee Hills is accessible via South Fulton Parkway which cuts off of 285 (our perimeter highway) near the airport. It also is not regarded as "close-in" but does seem to have a more "manageable" commute. For any of the Fayette County/ Chattahoochee Hills/ Coweta County options, if you drive closer in and find the traffic horrible when you get to the Tri-Cities area, you could possible exit I-85 before you get to the Connector (where 85 from the southwest merges with 75 from the southeast to go through central Atlanta) and pick up the MARTA train at one of the stations: College Park would probably be most accessible from I-85, to continue your commute to Midtown Atlanta. Best of luck and welcome back South.
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Old 02-04-2015, 06:55 AM
 
2,167 posts, read 2,815,343 times
Reputation: 1513
I don't care what hours you are working, commuting from Dawsonville to Midtown will get old, fast.
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Old 02-04-2015, 09:15 AM
 
10,334 posts, read 11,336,626 times
Reputation: 7699
Quote:
Originally Posted by BamaGirl4761 View Post
1. Budget up to $1600 for 2 bedroom or more.
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Condo/Townhome
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) Work in Midtown
4. Children(public school vs. private) Depends
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two Suburban without being sprawly or bland...perhaps even "exurban" of semi-rural.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not interested in any area with MARTA access
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Since we are Southerners moving back down from the NYC area because we missed the South, we would prefer to be in an area that has more Georgians/Atlantans than transplants from across the United States as well as people from other countries. A more "down home" traditional feel vs. cosmopolitan. We are White if that makes a difference.


Ok, now that's settled. We are both 29, I'm from the suburbs of Birmingham and he is from Fredericksburg, Texas. We both met in NYC, are married and expecting. We were extremely unhappy in NYC and the cosmopolitan, fast paced, "yankee" way of life. We would've personally preferred a more rural place but this is the only place down south that my husband could get an acceptable offer. He will be working in Midtown but will not be commuting in rush hour traffic. He will be working irregular hours. We are Christians and conservative and we would like somewhere with people who are agreeable to that. We are willing to sacrifice a short or convenient commute to live in an area that isn't so inundated with transplant, cosmopolitan or urban kind of culture. We moved back down south to live in the south, not in Long Island with better weather. Just need two bedrooms, a town home or some kind of bungalow would be lovely. Somewhere far away enough that it will not be ruined by urban sprawl. A nice landscape such as mountains would be just great. We looked at Dawsonville or Dahlonega online and it looks beautiful. Our only concerns are that apparently Atlanta is growing northwards and will spoil these communities. We know nothing of communities to the east, west, and south of the city proper. Low crime and southern culture and values are what we seek. A quiet GA community that is accessible within 60 minutes driving with no congestion to Midtown.


Thank You and may God bless you,

Joy Ann
Finding "a quiet GA community that is accessible within 60 minutes driving with no congestion to Midtown" is a very tall order and is probably an impossibility....That is unless one will be commuting to and from Midtown in the middle of the night when there is very little traffic out on the roads.

If one has to drive at anytime between the hours of 6am-8pm, they are going to be dealing with heavy traffic of some kind (...with the absolute worst traffic of course being between the hours of 6:30am-7pm).

In the type of far-flung semi-rural area that you seem to be looking for, condos and townhomes (and even high-quality apartments) potentially might be somewhat difficult to come by.

To get away from being in areas with transplants from other states and other countries, one might have to get kind of far out of Atlanta (...like 40 or 50 miles away from Atlanta in some cases).

That's because the area with the transplants sprawls across parts of about 14-15 counties.

Dawsonville and Dahlonega are good places to look, though the transplants and the development and the sprawl have moved in on Dawsonville....That's because part of the Dawsonville area has some very prime residential real estate that sits on Lake Lanier, which is a very popular source of water supply and recreation for Metro Atlantans....And another part of the Dawsonville area is home to the popular North Georgia Premium Outlets Mall which draws shoppers and tourists from all over the region.

The transplants, heavy development and the sprawl have not yet moved in on Dahlonega because Dahlonega is not immediately on Lake Lanier (Dahlonega is several miles off of Lake Lanier) and because Dahlonega is further away from Atlanta than Dawsonville....But with the beauty of the mountains, you can best believe that the heavy growth of Metro Atlanta is probably headed that way!

In addition to Dawsonville (Dawson County) and Dahlonega (Lumpkin County), try looking in far-flung outlying areas to the north of Atlanta like:

> Cartersville and Bartow County...

> Jasper and Pickens County...

> Ellijay and Gilmer County...

> Cleveland and White County...

> Habersham County (Alto, Baldwin, Cornelia, Demorest, Clarkesville, Dicks Hill and Tallulah Falls)...

> Toccoa and Stephens County...

> Jackson County (Jefferson and Commerce)...

> Barrow County (Auburn, Carl, Winder and Statham)...

> Oconee County (Bogart and Watkinsville).

The commutes between these areas and Midtown Atlanta will generally be long....Multi-family housing like condos and townhomes will also very likely be difficult to come by....But they are semi-rural and rural areas that provide the type of Southern lifestyle where one is much less likely to run into transplants from out-of-state and out of the country.
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Old 02-04-2015, 09:29 AM
 
Location: O4W
3,744 posts, read 4,760,292 times
Reputation: 2076
Newnan/ Tyrone
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Old 02-04-2015, 12:47 PM
 
Location: Sandy Springs, GA
2,278 posts, read 3,012,891 times
Reputation: 2973
Quote:
Originally Posted by BamaGirl4761 View Post
1. Budget up to $1600 for 2 bedroom or more.
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Condo/Townhome
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) Work in Midtown
4. Children(public school vs. private) Depends
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two Suburban without being sprawly or bland...perhaps even "exurban" of semi-rural.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not interested in any area with MARTA access
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Since we are Southerners moving back down from the NYC area because we missed the South, we would prefer to be in an area that has more Georgians/Atlantans than transplants from across the United States as well as people from other countries. A more "down home" traditional feel vs. cosmopolitan. We are White if that makes a difference.


Ok, now that's settled. We are both 29, I'm from the suburbs of Birmingham and he is from Fredericksburg, Texas. We both met in NYC, are married and expecting. We were extremely unhappy in NYC and the cosmopolitan, fast paced, "yankee" way of life.
I wonder how much you've spent in the northeast if you think that NYC is the "Yankee" way of life.

Quote:
We would've personally preferred a more rural place but this is the only place down south that my husband could get an acceptable offer. He will be working in Midtown but will not be commuting in rush hour traffic. He will be working irregular hours.

Quote:
We are Christians and conservative and we would like somewhere with people who are agreeable to that.
Bless your poor, politically persecuted hearts. Is it tough being a member of the largest ethnic and religious group in the country?

Quote:
We are willing to sacrifice a short or convenient commute to live in an area that isn't so inundated with transplant, cosmopolitan or urban kind of culture. We moved back down south to live in the south, not in Long Island with better weather.
Try Woodstock or Canton. Peachtree City, Kennessaw or Acworth might work in a pinch, but you're more likely to run into transplants in those areas.
Quote:
Just need two bedrooms, a town home or some kind of bungalow would be lovely. Somewhere far away enough that it will not be ruined by urban sprawl.
You do realize that you're moving into the 9th largest metro area in the USA, right?

Quote:
A nice landscape such as mountains would be just great. We looked at Dawsonville or Dahlonega online and it looks beautiful.
Why not just move into those areas?

Quote:
Our only concerns are that apparently Atlanta is growing northwards and will spoil these communities. We know nothing of communities to the east, west, and south of the city proper. Low crime and southern culture and values are what we seek. A quiet GA community that is accessible within 60 minutes driving with no congestion to Midtown.
It sounds like you want to move into an insular, sparsely populated town where you won't meet anyone whose perspective challenges your world view (NYC must have been a complete nightmare for you). In that case, you should have probably chosen Colorado, Texas or moved back to Atlanta 20 years ago.... The areas around Atlanta currently that will check most of your tick boxes are exurbs which are more than a 60 minute drive to the city.

Acworth, Kennessaw, Canton, and Woodstock all get traffic. Peachtree City gets traffic. Douglasville gets traffic... even Dahlnoega or Milton get their share of traffic. You will not be able to completely avoid some semblance urban environs or transplants while still anchored to midtown Atlanta.

I find many of your preferences for your way of life quaint (to put it mildly), but I think that your family would be better served taking lower income position in an geographic area that will make you more content. Money isn't everything, and there are still small towns around the country that would meet more of your expectations than a large metro area like Atlanta.



Quote:
Thank You and may God bless you,
Joy Ann
Good luck.
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Old 02-04-2015, 02:45 PM
 
Location: East Point
4,790 posts, read 6,825,758 times
Reputation: 4782
i'll be honest, it sounds like atlanta is not the place for you at all. i can't think of a single place like that where you could get to midtown in less than a 90 minute drive one way.
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Old 02-04-2015, 02:52 PM
 
10,974 posts, read 10,809,449 times
Reputation: 3435
I don't think a commute to the exurbs you are looking for will be possible.

But one thing to consider is some of the original suburbs in-town. Beautiful old houses with front porches and history in leafy neighborhoods. Go walk around Inman Park and see if neighborhoods like that would work, because they would have very reasonable commutes to Midtown.

Otherwise you will want to kill yourself with a long commute out to the exurbs.
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