Quick Opinions on Two Cobb areas? (Atlanta, Marietta: apartment, leasing, condos)

[hilltop180]

My wife and I live in Mableton and we like it. We do not have kids either. Personally I am not that crazy about Austel. It just seems depressed. A lot of restaurants have closed down, and all the retail stores are really run down. My friend's sister lived off Austel Powder Springs Road and their entire first floor flooded during the 2008 flood. They repaired it but sold it as fast as they could. I am starting to look for another house and I'm looking at areas over by Concord Road/Covered Bridge, Hurt Road, and also Hicks Road up near Milford Church Road. There's a lot of folks selling their homes in the Osbourne High School area to move further out in West Cobb. Another area to check out is Mableton down by Oakdale Road. There are 2 big parks and it has quick access to 285 and I-20. They are also planning on building a mixed use community down by the Chattahoochie River off Riverline Parkway. I think the further you get towards Powder Springs it is nicer; like out near Mceachern High School.

[Rhaethe]

That flood plain link was very helpful! The neighborhood we were eyeing there appears to be in an area of "minimal flood hazard". I was wrong about it being near Sweetwater Creek. The name of the creek it is near is Ollie, and it is also next to Sweetwater Park ... which is why I got the names switched in my head, I think.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Rhaethe

Thanks

The neighborhood in Austell we are looking at happens to be next to Sweetwater Creek and a lake. So that is definitely something to consider.

Conversely, the location of the railroad in proximity to the neighborhoods in Powder Springs we are checking is also worrisome. How often does the train go through, do you know, and whats the decibel level when it does?

The trains go through that area quite frequently as the tracks in question lead in and out of the Whitaker Intermodal Facility, a rail-to-truck/truck-to-rail transfer facility that is recognized by many as being one of the absolute largest and busiest intermodal facilities on the North American continent east of the Mississippi River....Though the tracks in question are much busier on the southeast side of the intermodal facility than they are on the northwest side of the intermodal facility....But the tracks on the northwest side of the intermodal facility are still very busy seeing as though those tracks are a key logistical link between the Southeastern and Midwestern regions of the U.S.

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

The trains go through that area quite frequently as the tracks in question lead in and out of the Whitaker Intermodal Facility, a rail-to-truck/truck-to-rail transfer facility that is recognized by many as being one of the absolute largest and busiest intermodal facilities on the North American continent east of the Mississippi River....Though the tracks in question are much busier on the southeast side of the intermodal facility than they are on the northwest side of the intermodal facility....But the tracks on the northwest side of the intermodal facility are still very busy seeing as though those tracks are a key logistical link between the Southeastern and Midwestern regions of the U.S.

Out of curiosity, are these the same trains that go through Vinings? When I lived there, it could happen around noon and sometimes around 9 at night. I'm sure there were other times but I was not home then.


OP, you know what? It may sound kind of weird, but I liked the night train. I lived near the Home Depot so I was pretty close to the tracks. I think it made me feel like I was in the city, and I could count on it like a clock. It was so quiet the rest of the time that I found the little bit of noise comforting.


And sight unseen, I'd select Powder Springs over Austell. I know they are next door neighbors, and I find getting tangled up in the maze of Powder Springs annoying but it would still have to be my first choice of the two. Do you think maybe you should look at some other places in the area like Mableton or Smyrna?

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

Out of curiosity, are these the same trains that go through Vinings? When I lived there, it could happen around noon and sometimes around 9 at night. I'm sure there were other times but I was not home then.


OP, you know what? It may sound kind of weird, but I liked the night train. I lived near the Home Depot so I was pretty close to the tracks. I think it made me feel like I was in the city, and I could count on it like a clock. It was so quiet the rest of the time that I found the little bit of noise comforting.


And sight unseen, I'd select Powder Springs over Austell. I know they are next door neighbors, and I find getting tangled up in the maze of Powder Springs annoying but it would still have to be my first choice of the two. Do you think maybe you should look at some other places in the area like Mableton or Smyrna?

Checked Google maps just to make sure but these are not the same lines. The tracks thru Vinings are the main lines that connect Atlanta to the Midwest, roughly follow 75 to Chattanooga. The Powder Springs line splits off the main western line out of Atlanta at Austell, that main line continues on thru Douglasville and heads to Birmingham and points west. The line thru Powder Springs connects to the multi modal facility that Born2Roll mentions but after that it looks like it loops up to Rockmart then to Rome and then circles back to Calhoun where it rejoins the line coming thru Vinings and Marietta from Atlanta to Chattanooga.

[ElleKaye]

Thanks Saintmarks. I was not sure at all, but the line in Vinings isn't really that invasive regarding sound. The line near where the OP is considering may be different.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

Thanks Saintmarks. I was not sure at all, but the line in Vinings isn't really that invasive regarding sound. The line near where the OP is considering may be different.

I lived right by a major line during my grad school years. So loud you had to pause a phone conversation til it passed. But like anything else repetitive, i got used to it and it didn't bother me. Of course being single in my 20s, no kids to wake up.... might think differently now, lol.

[Rhaethe]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

Do you think maybe you should look at some other places in the area like Mableton or Smyrna?

I went to take a gander at the properties we were eyeing this past weekend. Based upon that visit, and driving around, intentionally getting "lost" and then "unlosing" myself, we've decided to open the search up to Mableton, Smyrna, and parts of Marietta. Vinings, too, maybe, though I believe that is still Fulton?

Not that I am particular to which County an area is covered by.

[hilltop180]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

I lived right by a major line during my grad school years. So loud you had to pause a phone conversation til it passed. But like anything else repetitive, i got used to it and it didn't bother me. Of course being single in my 20s, no kids to wake up.... might think differently now, lol.

I lived in Vinings for 5 years. When we first moved in our condo I remember the first night hearing the train and really wondering how I was going to live there with any type of peace. After about 3 months I actually started to like the sound of the train at night. It was kind of loud trying to talk on the phone outside.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Rhaethe

I went to take a gander at the properties we were eyeing this past weekend. Based upon that visit, and driving around, intentionally getting "lost" and then "unlosing" myself, we've decided to open the search up to Mableton, Smyrna, and parts of Marietta. Vinings, too, maybe, though I believe that is still Fulton?

Not that I am particular to which County an area is covered by.

Vinings is Cobb. Anyplace you cross the Chattahoochee from south of I-20 all the way up to Roswell, you are leaving Fulton and going to Cobb.