Young Couple needs centrally located suburb to the City (Atlanta: affordable apartments, rental)

[cityhopper]

I lived in ATL before and it's a strong possibility that I may be making a return. Before I lived in Clayton County and had the awful opportunity of commuting up to Kennesaw and Alpharetta to work. So, I certainly want to avoid that!

We need to be somewhat centrally located downtown, as SO will be working off of Andrew Young. I have somewhat more flexibility as I work for a financial institution that is located in almost of the major suburbs. I'm okay with a 30 minute drive.

We will be renting. Max Rate = 700 We desire a 3/2 or 2/2 but will sacrifice a bedroom to be in a safe area and be somewhat close to generic stores (grocers, basic restaurants, etc.)

I was looking at Austell (may be a bit too far) and Smyrna. What is the area called that would be located north of where 75 splits off from the connector?

Thanks

[cityhopper]

Also, could anyone locate me to a map that highlights the major/minor suburbs within a 20 mile radius of downtown Atlanta?

Thanks Again!!!

[plessthanpointohfive]

Do you have kids you have to worry about? Your budget doesn't give you many choices in the suburbs, at least not in any suburbs worth living in. You may want to consider moving to West End or Westview neighborhoods inside the city. They are are on the upswing of gentrification. You can still get a home for well under 200K or rent within your budget. And your commutes would be a lot shorter and you'd be closer to everything.

Hey, all the young West End Viewers, come talk up your hood!

Welcome to Atlanta!

[CityFan]

20 miles is far out from downtown. If you live in town and travel to suburbs to work, trafic is not bad. Opposite travel can be a nightmare. I live in downtown and travel to Marietta to work daily, it takes me 30 min to travel 22 miles including 5 miles on surface road drive. I don't think you can find a good apartment in a nice location for 700 range.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by cityhopper

I was looking at Austell (may be a bit too far) and Smyrna. You'd have better luck in Mableton. What is the area called that would be located north of where 75 splits off from the connector?

Thanks

You're going to have a tough time renting anything in Smyrna for $700 (it has gone up a lot in the last few years). Your best bet is looking off of Spring Rd or Village Parkway. Brookwood and Lindbergh (parts of Buckhead) are located North of where 75 splits off. Again, you'll have a tough time but you may actually have better luck than in Smyrna. I'd check craigslist to see what's listed. I think you'll find more affordable apartments in Mableton, West midtown (Marietta Blvd / Chattahoochee Ave), Bolton, Grant Park and Mechanicsville and these areas are relatively safe.

With the condo/townhome market saturated in Smyrna/Vinings, you can get some good deals on older townhomes in Smyrna right now, especially off the Village Parkway and Spring Rd. I know you said you wanted to rent, but considering the way the market is right now you may want to take the opportunity to buy if you have the credit. What that means for you is that you will be paying a stabilized amount year to year and can rent it out after you move away. Considering that most of the areas will have increasing rents, that's not a bad deal.

[plessthanpointohfive]

I've got some people I work with who are young couples with no kids. They rent over off Cheshire Bridge Rd. It's a little grungy but it's got a MARTA station and several new and nice apartment complexes have come up in the past few years. You could look there.

[cityhopper]

I know the $700 rental rate desired is tight but we want to stay within a good price because for the next two years one of us will be working fulltime while the other goes to school PT & works PT. So we want to be safe in setting maximums during that time frame. No kids or pets! Prefer renting over buying (at least for the first 12 months)

I will look into the suggested areas. Any thoughts on....

....the area around West Paces Ferry Rd?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by cityhopper

Also, could anyone locate me to a map that highlights the major/minor suburbs within a 20 mile radius of downtown Atlanta?

Thanks Again!!!

I think you can zoom around this map and get some info: Map of Atlanta Neighborhoods: Demographic and School Information

But I agree with most, that it'll be next to impossible to find apartments in nice areas in the $700 range unless you downgrade to a 1BR/1BA and even then it's going to take some searching. Ask anyone who's done it, and they'll tell you that even lovey dovey couples start to get on each others nerves in tight quarters like that, too.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by cityhopper

Also, could anyone locate me to a map that highlights the major/minor suburbs within a 20 mile radius of downtown Atlanta?

Most of the suburban area in the Atlanta metro is developed-but-unincorporated (not incorporated cities), and many of the area labels are informal ones like "Vinings" or "Mableton" or "East Cobb", so good luck with that.

[VJP]

I hate to say it - if 700 is your budget - a) you need to up it and b) you need to cut costs elsewhere to make it happen. This is a big city - the cheap Atlanta is gone if you want to live where you can commute 30 mins to Kennesaw or alpharetta. My first apartment out of college in 2004 was 840 in a swanky ish midtown loft. Things have changed a bit since. Things are more expensive. You can do it - but it wont be easy.

If you're like me, the sacrifice is worth not spending so much damned time in the car.

I don't have even 1 BR apartments I could recomment to you for that price range central to the city - suburb or not.

Good luck.