Moving from Houston to Atlanta in March (Dunwoody, Newnan: apartment, rental)

[Larry X]

I would not recommend Smyrna/Vinings, you need somewhere near Marta subway if you want to avoid rush hour traffic, I recommend East Point/Camp Creek, West End, or SW Atlanta/SW Fulton County, the traffic is much better.

[Lynn1973]

Originally Posted by bu2

What part of town do you commute from in Houston and to where? (i.e. Jersey Village to Galleria, Pearland to Hobby Airport, etc.)

Humble/Atascocita to Bush Airport

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by Lynn1973

Humble/Atascocita to Bush Airport

just googled that commute. if you're looking for a commute that short, you will have to live on the south side or near a marta station. smyrna/vinings is twice the distance and twice the commute, but a lot of people like it enough that they put up with the commute. but if commute length is important, there are nice areas that are closer.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Lynn1973

Humble/Atascocita to Bush Airport

I don't know the prices in Peachtree City on the southside, but you might check that out. There are a lot of Delta Airlines employees who live there. There are also some neighborhoods in Henry County that might suit you.

Again, Smyna/Vinings might work as well.

The other suggestions would be quite a contrast from Humble/Atascocita.

[Born 2 Roll]

The original poster is probably not going to find anyplace like they currently live in Humble/Atascocita very close to Bush Airport when searching for someplace of similar quality in Metro Atlanta.


The OP will find many places with the quality of life that they likely currently get in the Humble/Atascocita area of Houston but they likely will have to look a little farther away from the Atlanta Airport to get the same type of quality of life that they currently get close to Bush Airport in Houston.


That's because, even though Houston and Atlanta are often compared to each other as automobile-oriented Sunbelt cities that mostly developed during the post-World War II era of automobile-dominated development patterns, the socioeconomic makeup and geographical layout of the Atlanta area is somewhat substantially different than Houston.


Atlanta sprawls more than Houston because of topography and the historical layout of the surface road network (and Atlanta sprawls more than Houston on a surface road network that is generally much poorer and much more limited than Houston).


Like some of the other posters have stated, the OP's best bet for finding what she wants will be to look in areas with a very high quality-of-life that are relatively very close to the Atlanta Airport (by Atlanta's sprawling standards)....Areas (north of the Airport) like Smyrna/Vinings (the morning commute down I-285 between Smyrna/Vinings and ATL Airport is not that bad by Atlanta standards...but the afternoon commute could potentially be slightly more challenging, particularly on game days after the new Braves baseball stadium opens in Cumberland near the junction of I-75/I-285 Northwest in 2017), and areas south of the Airport like Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Tyrone and selected areas of Newnan/Coweta County and maybe even areas west of the Airport like selected areas of Douglasville.


Other parts of Metro Atlanta beyond the aforementioned areas likely would not be as viable as considerations for relocation because of the frequent severity of the rush hour commutes to and from the Atlanta Airport.


Though, if not commuting to and from the ATL Airport during rush hours, other areas (like Lawrenceville and Buford in Gwinnett County, etc) might potentially be more viable as considerations for relocation (but ONLY IF one is NOT commuting to and from the ATL Airport during rush hours and/or peak hours).

[Burquebinder]

^?? Peachtree City is virtually identical to Atascocita, and would be a nearly identical commute. Humble is similar to East Point/College Station area, but the comparable areas in Atlanta have MARTA service, so your road network comparisons are moot.

I never really understood choosing to live more than 30 minutes drive from work when moving to a new place, when good options across the spectrum from old-new are closer and/or transit accessible. I mean, if you're working at the airport, just pick a neighborhood you want to live in along MARTA. 1500 a month will get you a decent 1 bedroom most places.

[Gunion Powder]

As a Texan I'd say you would easily enjoy Hapeville the most.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Burquebinder

^?? Peachtree City is virtually identical to Atascocita, and would be a nearly identical commute. Humble is similar to East Point/College Station area, but the comparable areas in Atlanta have MARTA service, so your road network comparisons are moot.

I never really understood choosing to live more than 30 minutes drive from work when moving to a new place, when good options across the spectrum from old-new are closer and/or transit accessible. I mean, if you're working at the airport, just pick a neighborhood you want to live in along MARTA. 1500 a month will get you a decent 1 bedroom most places.

Peachtree City is about 20-25 miles away from the Atlanta Airport (roughly a 40-45 minute drive to/from the airport during rush hour) while Atascocita is only about 12 miles or so from George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport (roughly a 25 minute drive during rush hour).


So Atascocita is a little closer commute to and from the George Bush Airport than Peachtree City is to and from the Atlanta Airport.

[Lynn1973]

I appreciate all the advice. So far in our search we like Newnan a lot. Peachtree city is very nice but hard to find a decent 3/2 rental home for $1500 or less.

Yes, the commute to Bush airport from our home in Atascocita is like 20 minutes with no traffic. Rush hour time is closer to 40 minutes.

My husbands coworkers who already live in Atlanta live in Dunwoody and Cumming. Cumming seems really far and the racial history scares me, since I am white, husband is black and daughter is biracial. Though we are all about the same skin tone. And Dunwoody rentals are way out of our budget, starting at $2000+ a month.

My husband works in the medical field and will be driving to Atlanta hospitals as well as flying to other hospitals in Al, MS, and TN. how far of a drive would Newnan be to the Atlanta medical center?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Lynn1973

I appreciate all the advice. So far in our search we like Newnan a lot. Peachtree city is very nice but hard to find a decent 3/2 rental home for $1500 or less.

Yes, the commute to Bush airport from our home in Atascocita is like 20 minutes with no traffic. Rush hour time is closer to 40 minutes.

My husbands coworkers who already live in Atlanta live in Dunwoody and Cumming. Cumming seems really far and the racial history scares me, since I am white, husband is black and daughter is biracial. Though we are all about the same skin tone. And Dunwoody rentals are way out of our budget, starting at $2000+ a month.

My husband works in the medical field and will be driving to Atlanta hospitals as well as flying to other hospitals in Al, MS, and TN. how far of a drive would Newnan be to the Atlanta medical center?

Sorry for the delay in responding to you as I have been exceptionally busy as of late.


Newnan is about 45 minutes away from Atlanta Medical Center with no traffic (about an hour and/or more with traffic).


Dunwoody is a highly-regarded area on the Northside with an upscale housing market and generally highly-regarded schools close to many amenities, including TONS of retail and direct access to about a couple of MARTA Heavy Rail Transit stops for rush hour commutes to and from Central Atlanta and the Atlanta Airport.


The Atlanta area housing market is different from Houston in that in a relatively close-in upscale area like Dunwoody, one is going to find many upscale and good-quality/high-quality apartments, condos and townhomes (along with increasing competition to get into those apartments, condos and townhomes in an increasingly competitive Atlanta metro rental market).


You could possibly get a good rental property in Dunwoody for your price range, but you would have to settle for an apartment, condo or Northeastern-style townhome (...high-density and multi-family properties like apartments, condos and townhomes are a very big part of the Atlanta housing market (ESPECIALLY in the close-in suburban areas on the Northside of Atlanta inside, along and beyond the I-285 Perimeter highway), likely much more so than in Houston).


If you are going to look for housing on the Northside, higher-density and multi-family housing options will most likely have to be a major factor when looking for a place to live in your price range....That's because high-density and multi-family housing seems to play a larger role in the Atlanta housing market than in the Houston housing market.


You are correct in your assessment that Cumming is really far away from both the Atlanta Medical Center and the Atlanta Airport (rush hour commutes between Cumming and Atlanta can be extremely challenging on many days on Metro Atlanta's severely-limited multi-modal transportation network).


Though it should be noted that despite its racial history and still overwhelmingly predominantly white demographics, Cumming and Forsyth County is becoming more diverse by the day, particularly in the southern part of the county in the South Forsyth and Lambert school clusters/feeder zones where the Asian population is exploding and spilling over from much more diverse neighboring North Fulton and Gwinnett counties.