DC to Atlanta move? Smart Idea? Where to live? Help! (Marietta: apartment complexes, renters)

[Shin Dynamo X]

I am in the same boat as you! I will be leaving (Fairfax) VA to move to GA.

Now 30331 has some nice houses, but I would not recommend the schools as they are rated very low. You would have to put the kids thru private school, and the houses may later be hard to sell. There's a reason why these houses are so massive. For example, there is a nice big McMansion with a basketball court located at 245 Arledge Ln SW,
Atlanta, GA 30331. But yet it is not moving even though it is near the city. Zillow even listed that zip code as COLD.

As for 30311, the houses are very nice, but with poor schools similar to 30331. I think you should also think about how far/long you are willing to commute because it may be better for you to consider North Fulton, Cobb, or Gwinnett counties for a cheaper and safer quality of life. Check out Sandy Springs, Duluth, or Dunwoody.

BTW, Midtown is very nice but it comes at a price.

[uniquestar06]

Thanks @Shin Dynamo X!

I'm also in Fairfax! I completely agree about 30331. My husband and I don't have kids yet so not to concerned about schools with a rental. When we buy schools will most definitely be a big concern as the home we buy we will probably raise kids in. There are so many McMansions for sell in 30331 but I have a feeling not a lot of buyers for the area. I thought it would be ok but actually driving through there made me realize its not really where I want to be. I don't want a commute longer than 30 minutes top. I've been spoiled and I live across the street from metro and it takes me about 20 minutes to get into the city everyday for work so I can't imagine driving longer than 30 minutes each way. For that reason I think Sandy Springs is out. I'm hoping Smyrna/Vinnings work out and maybe one day Midtown but I certainly don't plan to move from the DMV to GA to pay the same amount for housing. Blows my mind!

[Shin Dynamo X]

Originally Posted by uniquestar06

Thanks @Shin Dynamo X!

I'm also in Fairfax! I completely agree about 30331. My husband and I don't have kids yet so not to concerned about schools with a rental. When we buy schools will most definitely be a big concern as the home we buy we will probably raise kids in. There are so many McMansions for sell in 30331 but I have a feeling not a lot of buyers for the area. I thought it would be ok but actually driving through there made me realize its not really where I want to be. I don't want a commute longer than 30 minutes top. I've been spoiled and I live across the street from metro and it takes me about 20 minutes to get into the city everyday for work so I can't imagine driving longer than 30 minutes each way. For that reason I think Sandy Springs is out. I'm hoping Smyrna/Vinnings work out and maybe one day Midtown but I certainly don't plan to move from the DMV to GA to pay the same amount for housing. Blows my mind!

What a small world, we may even be neighbors in VA (I live on the other end near Fair Oaks Mall).

My commute to the Vienna Metro was 30 minutes because I lived more near Route 28. So I got used to long 75 min commutes to DC, and in addition I was paying a big mortgage on top of that. It's funny because it should be a a balance in this picture (i.e. short commute/expensive house or long commute/cheaper house).

You're leaving the DC area at a good time because if you own property, the houses have increased well and you will go to Atlanta with a lot of equity. It makes it easier to buy a house, but if you don't own, then the cheaper market in Atlanta will be less of a financial strain.

See, I was born in Georgia so my return is more of a homecoming. The problem is that everytime I visit ATL, I have relatives begging for my time and it takes away from my house search, which is my own fault. I haven't thought about Smyrna, but what is the closest MARTA stop near there?

[Shin Dynamo X]

Originally Posted by uniquestar06

Thanks @Shin Dynamo X!

For that reason I think Sandy Springs is out. I'm hoping Smyrna/Vinnings work out and maybe one day Midtown but I certainly don't plan to move from the DMV to GA to pay the same amount for housing. Blows my mind!

BTW, you need to know this about your car. If you move to GA, then you have to pay a 1 time full amount of tax on your vehicle about 30 days of entry. You can finance the payments, but if you plan to get rid of your car anytime soon...then I would highly, highly recommend ridding it before you move to Atlanta, and simply buy another vehicle there. Nothing worse than playing annual VA car taxes, only to also pay full taxes on your vehicle when you move the GA right after.

I plan to sell my car before I move to GA because I want to trade it in eventually anyway.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by uniquestar06

So my husband and I came down to Atlanta this past weekend and checked out many areas. Realtor.com and Zillow.com can be very misleading. lol. We looked at 30331...not my cup of tea. Not terrible but not where I think we would want to be. A lot of random big homes but it seemed the homes that were for rent in this area were in neighborhoods that were not taken care of as a whole. We also looked at 30311 which seemed a little better but there wasn't anything for rent with a fenced in back yard. I would consider this possibly. Would love to hear opinions on 30311. We did look at midtown (LOVE)! lol. Reminds me Alexandria outside of DC in so many ways, but that price tag! My husband and I already discussed that if we can rent well under 2000 a month for a year or two we could afford to possibly buy in Midtown. We looked at Smyrna/Vinings. I really like this area as well but still not a lot for rent with a fenced yard. I think if we were moving immediately this is the area I would want to be in. If we couldn't buy in midtown the next buying area would be smyrna/vinings i think. We did look at Mableton and although you get bang for your buck its soooooooo pedestrian and suburban. Smyrna seems to have a little more spunk. Am I missing any key areas? I was little dismayed that all the areas we liked had very few rentals and the rentals they had were super old. The most up to date rentals were in neighborhoods we don't prefer...I hope I'm missing something here. As for Atlanta has a slew of cheap housing I 100% with you guys that they whole statement is misleading. You need atleast 500k bare minimum to buy into midtown and brookhaven....well anything NE.

Single-family homes with fenced-in yards are going to be challenging to come by in areas with hot real estate markets like Smyrna/Vinings, Midtown, Brookhaven, etc.

Much of the nation is currently in a really active real estate market, particularly in highly-populated metro areas with robust economies (like Atlanta).

If you want to find a home for rent or purchase with a fenced-in yard, you may have to relax some of your expectations and be willing to consider older homes for rent/purchase in areas that either are not the hottest and/or areas that might be a little farther out then you might currently like.

If you want to rent/purchase a single-family home (with a yard) in a hot area like Smyrna/Vinings, Midtown, Brookhaven, etc, you potentially might have to consider going beyond your home purchasing budget limit of $400k.

If you want to stay within the home purchasing budget of $400k and be in an area of high-quality schools and amenities, you potentially may have to consider expanding your search parameters to include farther out areas that are highly suburban in nature with commutes that might be longer than you might prefer.

Originally Posted by uniquestar06

We also looked at 30311 which seemed a little better but there wasn't anything for rent with a fenced in back yard. I would consider this possibly. Would love to hear opinions on 30311.

30311 has a little bit of everything from enclaves of wealth, affluence and upper-middle class living (particularly along the Cascade Road corridor) to transitional areas to highly-transient areas and everything in between, with socioeconomically disparate areas sometimes located right next to each other.

[uniquestar06]

Thanks! @Born 2 Roll My husband and I have already come to realization that we will probably bump up our budget to 500k to buy minimum. I'm hoping that will help. But for now in terms of renting I'm surprised how many of these huge homes don't have fenced in back yards. The DC MD VA area is one of the most dog friendly areas and I guess I have taken that for granted when considered the availability of fenced back yards. You are right on relaxing my my wants for the rental. I have seen some older homes in Brookhaven and Smyrna with fenced yards...just much older than I would potentially like but I may adjust that expectation. Also, I haven't been able to find any townhomes with enclosed yards. I thought looking at TH's and SFH's would open up my search but not really.

[uniquestar06]

Shin Dynamo X Thanks! I did not know that about the vehicle tax.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Shin Dynamo X

I haven't thought about Smyrna, but what is the closest MARTA stop near there?

Unfortunately there is no MARTA Heavy Rail Transit/subway stop near the Smyrna area.

Because of political reasons, the MARTA heavy rail system does not serve (or even go near) the Smyrna area which is located in Cobb County which has traditionally been highly-averse to the concept of having a rail transit connection to neighboring Atlanta and Fulton County.

If one wants to utilize public transit for commuting into and out of Central Atlanta, there is some very modest bus service in the form of a couple of bus lines (a CobbLinc commuter bus line and a MARTA local bus route) that one can use if they are really eager to use transit to commute into and out of Central Atlanta (Midtown and Downtown Atlanta).

Otherwise, the best option for commuting for those who live in the Smyrna area (as it is for most metro Atlantans who live outside of the I-285 Perimeter highway) is by private automobile.

[Shin Dynamo X]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Single-family homes with fenced-in yards are going to be challenging to come by in areas with hot real estate markets like Smyrna/Vinings, Midtown, Brookhaven, etc.

Much of the nation is currently in a really active real estate market, particularly in highly-populated metro areas with robust economies (like Atlanta).

If you want to find a home for rent or purchase with a fenced-in yard, you may have to relax some of your expectations and be willing to consider older homes for rent/purchase in areas that either are not the hottest and/or areas that might be a little farther out then you might currently like.

If you want to rent/purchase a single-family home (with a yard) in a hot area like Smyrna/Vinings, Midtown, Brookhaven, etc, you potentially might have to consider going beyond your home purchasing budget limit of $400k.

But isn't the Smyrna/Vinings area going to turn into traffic hell once that new Braves Stadium is built? If I am correct, it is right near the interestate leading to that direction around Cobb County. Correct me if mistaken.

Braves address traffic concerns around new stadium | WSB-TV

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Shin Dynamo X

But isn't the Smyrna/Vinings area going to turn into traffic hell once that new Braves Stadium is built? If I am correct, it is right near the interestate leading to that direction around Cobb County. Correct me if mistaken.

Braves address traffic concerns around new stadium | WSB-TV

The traffic that the new stadium generates will affect the Cumberland area (particularly the area around the I-75 and US 41 interchanges on the westbound direction of the I-285 Top End Perimeter) much more than it affects most of the Smyrna/Vinings area during evening rush hour on Braves' game nights.

One will still be able to traverse between the Smyrna/Vinings area and Downtown Atlanta with relative ease during evening rush hour on Braves' game nights by way of alternate routes like Atlanta Road/Marietta Boulevard, GA 280-South Cobb Drive/James Jackson Parkway and I-20/I-285 West.