Job transfer - family of 4 (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: condo, townhouse, employment)

[Acropolerca]

1. Budget
Rent - no more than 1200

2. House/Condo/Town home
House or townhouse with yard

3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)
Commute

4. Children(public school vs. private)
Public - good schools are very important

5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two
Suburban or mix

6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?
Important

7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.
Prefer diverse neighborhood

My job is transferring me to Atlanta from the Bay Area (NorCal). I am married with two children (preschool and elementary school age) and we currently live in a very diverse area which I enjoy. I commute daily to SF from the greater East Bay and would like to be near public transportation to commute when we relocate. My job in ATL will be in the Concourse buildings, so ideally I would like to move as close to a Marta station as possible (less than 10 mile drive to station from home). I have been looking into Lawrenceville, Snellville (Brookwood cluster) and Loganville primarily due to home prices (I want to buy within the next year and spend no more than 255k) and schools/diversity of student body, however none of these are near Marta. Any suggestions for other comparable neighborhoods close to Marta?

Thank you in advance for all replies.

[lastminutemom]

Would you consider park n ride? If so, you could go up 400 to Forsyth County and likely find what you are looking for. You would have to drive to a park n ride, hope on bus to MARTA station, but better than commuting all the way in, perhaps?

The neighborhoods probably won't be as diverse as you may be used to (heavily Asian, Indian and White)

[lorilove]

Have you looked at the MARTA rail map for your commute. It does not make sense to me. You would still have to drive quite a distance to the Doraville station and then go south to change trains at Lindbergh so you can go north to the Concourse buildings.

That seems like a horrible commute!

I agree with lastminutemom that you would be better going North up 400.

[sedimenjerry]

Does not compute.

A drive from near Snellville to Perimeter Center/Sandy Springs on 85 and 285 is one of the worst in the metro area. Easily an hour+ in the mornings at peak times. Afternoon? I shudder just thinking about it. Most days an hour 15+. Add 10-15 minutes trying to get over to Grayson/Loganville.

[DaBurgh]

Roswell may work, you should be able to get into a townhome for 1200 but I'm not sure. You can drive to the North Springs MARTA station.

A house purchase there for 255k should be doable depending on age, size, condition, part of town.

[Acropolerca]

Thank you for your responses. We are flexible with where we live so long as the neighborhood is safe and schools are strong.

I have looked at the Marta map but as I haven't taken Marta I am still learning.

Thank you for suggestions of Forsyth and Roswell. I will check both out.

[DaBurgh]

Post a street name or address if you find anything you may like in Roswell. Most of it is safe but there are some areas to avoid.

[Acropolerca]

Will do DaBurgh - thank you.

[OneTrickNet]

A home/townhome in that budget up around Perimeter isn't going to happen. Well, it could, but it'll most likely be an older home that probably needs a little TLC. Living in Snellville or Lawrenceville and driving to Perimeter - as you suggest - is murder. Easy 1+ hour on a normal occasion; 1.5+ hours if there's bad weather, an accident, etc.

I'll echo what someone else suggested- your best bet is either to suck it up and have a long commute or do a park-and-ride from one of the more northern suburbs (Alpharetta, Cumming, Forsyth County, etc.). You might want to even check out Cherokee County, although the back roads into Perimeter would still be rough going.