Can't seem to find a good fit for us? (Moving OTP Atlanta) (Sandy Springs: real estate, apartments)

[KiersaCarstairs]

1. Budget: 750-850 a month
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Rental House (dogs)
3. Employment: Commute to East Point, Ga.
4. Children(public school vs. private): Good public schools.
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two: Mix.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not important.
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: Diverse.

Looking to relocate from Griffin to the northern side of Atlanta. Looking for a relatively safe community with average home values less than 200K. Decent schools. Husband currently works in East Point and has a hour commute. Would prefer to have a hour or less commute to work definitely.

I have looked into:
Woodstock
Acworth
Kennesaw
Duluth
Norcross
Snellville
Doraville
Tucker
Lilburn

Very interested in Gwinnett as Cobb seems to be out of our price range.

But I can't seem to find houses for rent anywhere for less than about 1000 a month. The cost of living here is so affordable (Griffin) but crime is rising quickly.

Anyone have an idea of how to find what we are looking for? Thanks in advance.

[evannole]

While I like the northside and live there myself, I would think that you'd have better options if you stuck to the southside. From what I have seen, you're correct in thinking that your budget is going to make it difficult to find a single family house that can accommodate a dog in a northside area with good schools that is within an hour's commute of East Point. That's quite a list of parameters, unfortunately.

I don't know Gwinnett very well (2 decades in Cobb) but suspect that the good areas would either be too costly or be too far out. I wouldn't go very far into Gwinnett at all if I worked in East Point. (I actually work right next door to East Point, in Hapeville, and my commute from Marietta is a very tolerable 40 minutes, but there's not much for rent in this area at the price point you specified.)

As much as I prefer the northside, even though I work on the southside, I would think that parts of Fayette or Coweta Counties might work better for your parameters.

[KiersaCarstairs]

I've seen a few places I was interested in near Marietta but my brother in law (who lives in Kennesaw) said that traffic from Marietta to East Point would be horrendous.

I would much prefer the Cobb area over Gwinnett as far as distance goes, I was just thinking I may find more in Gwinett pricewise. Fayette and Coweta are not an option. We just have zero desire to live there. We really want to move north but not too far from Atlanta.

My in laws live in Tucker but it's out of our range rent wise.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by KiersaCarstairs

I've seen a few places I was interested in near Marietta but my brother in law (who lives in Kennesaw) said that traffic from Marietta to East Point would be horrendous.

I would much prefer the Cobb area over Gwinnett as far as distance goes, I was just thinking I may find more in Gwinett pricewise. Fayette and Coweta are not an option. We just have zero desire to live there. We really want to move north but not too far from Atlanta.

My in laws live in Tucker but it's out of our range rent wise.

Hmm, I suppose it depends on where in Marietta, but I live near the Square and the drive is really quite easy. You could go down Atlanta Road or I -75 and then hop on 285 straight to East Point.

Where in Marietta were these places? Of course the Marietta street address area extends well beyond the city limits and some of those areas might provide a lousy commute, but if you're anywhere near the Square or I -75, you ought to be just fine.

[KiersaCarstairs]

I'm not sure. I've never been to Marietta! Lol. So I should probably do that. I am in love with that general area though, Acworth, Kennesaw, Marietta. But I'm not sure we could afford to live in Cobb.

There are some things I love about living here in my small town but the drug and gang violence is getting out of hand. I just want something better for our kids. I'd love for them to live somewhere where they'd have more amenities as well.

But I know or budget is limited.

[KiersaCarstairs]

Interested in Cherokee County as well.

[Born 2 Roll]

The OP is very much correct that their housing rental budget is limited....VERY limited.

With a budget of about no more than $750-850/month, the best that one probably can hope for is to find a quality older apartment or rental townhome at that price point in this very competitive rental market in the Atlanta metro area.

Rental rates are going to be even higher in Northside areas with good-to-adequate schools (particularly in most areas of Cobb, North Fulton and Gwinnett counties where you seem to be most interested).

Most parts of Gwinnett are likely going to give your husband a very challenging rush hour commute to and from his job in East Point on most days.

A detached single-family home with a yard in an area of good schools is likely in many (if not most or virtually all) cases pretty much going to be completely out of the question in what is currently a very competitive metro Atlanta real estate and rental market where detached single-family homes in areas of good schools seem to be in very high demand in many instances.

Also, with the continuing mounting traffic challenges in North Metro Atlanta, you should probably look no farther away from your husband's East Point job than the south part of Cobb County.

(...I-75 north of I-285 can often be extremely challenging during morning and afternoon/evening rush hours, particularly if there are major traffic delays caused by collisions and/or weather.....Which means that you should probably give less consideration to an area like Cherokee not only because of rental pricing but also on the basis of frequent severe rush hour traffic congestion on major roads like I-75 and I-575 north.)

A rental budget of $750-850 monthly more than likely will not get you into the absolute best school districts in metro Atlanta in many cases. But maybe you potentially might have an opportunity to get into an affordable quality older apartment or townhome in some Northside areas.

There are many affordable quality older apartments and townhomes in quality Northside school districts/clusters like Wheeler (in Southeast Cobb County), Sandy Springs (North Fulton County) and Chamblee (in North DeKalb County) where your husband could potentially use MARTA to commute to and from his job in East Point (or use the east and south stretches of the I-285 Perimeter).

(...Wheeler is a really great cluster of schools with lots of affordable quality older rental dwellings (apartments and townhomes)...really great (excellent) math and science magnet program at Wheeler along with a good regular curriculum outside of the very highly touted.)

There are also many affordable quality older rental dwellings in Northside areas like Vinings (Campbell cluster in Southeast Cobb County which is not as highly regarded as the schools in other parts of Cobb but seems to be on the rise over the long term) and Norcross 30093 and the US 29 corridor in Lilburn (the Meadowcreek and Berkmar clusters in Gwinnett County are not the most highly-regarded school cluster in Gwinnett but is certainly much better than the schools may be in Griffin...the Meadowcreek and Berkmar clusters are also very close to your in-laws in Tucker).

If your husband is willing to opt for a longer commute on some days (either with MARTA Heavy Rail Transit by way of the Doraville MARTA Station and/or by driving around the east and south sides of I-285), you may also want to take a look at the Peachtree Corners area where there are many affordable quality older rental options in an area of quality schools in the Norcross High School cluster.

While Fayette would most likely be out of the question with your budget, you also probably should not be so dismissive of Southside suburbs like Coweta County.

Coweta has a moderate-sized cluster of rental dwellings (apartments) very close to an area of many retail amenities around the junction of I-85 and GA 34 in an area of quality schools on the east side of Newnan in the East Coweta and Newnan high school clusters that you could look into because of the relative ease of the commute to and from your husband's job in East Point.

On the Northside you could also look inside the city of Marietta in the quality Marietta City Schools system where there continue to be many affordable quality older rental options (particularly along Powder Springs Road in the southwest part of the city) despite the ongoing gentrification of the part of the city closest to the historic Marietta Square.

There are also many affordable quality older rental dwellings (mostly apartments but also some smaller townhomes) in the Osborne and South Cobb high school clusters in South Cobb County.....Though the schools in those areas are not as highly-touted as they are in other areas of Cobb County.

[evannole]

Great comments from B2R, as usual!

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by KiersaCarstairs

My in laws live in Tucker but it's out of our range rent wise.

Check again and include Lilburn and Norcross. You might be able to find something in that southern portion of Gwinnett. Also, check out the part of Dekalb (Doraville) just north of 285 but east/west of 85 before it reaches Gwinnett too.

[jeoff]

With dogs, you might be able to do some duplexes and townhomes. (I rent out a duplex that is fenced on both sides--not advertising, just letting you know they are out there.--it might help to open up as many possibilities as you can).