Perimeter Center/SW Henry County - Any Areas in Between... (Atlanta: apartment, lease)

[Chan_T]

I'm currently working in the Perimeter Center area (and renting an apartment in the area). It is possible that my spouse may have an opportunity in SW Henry county. The lease ends in June...so the plan is to either rent for a year in the area where we are considering buying (very good schools, safe, family friendly, affordable) or look to buy this summer. Renting for a year is a strong consideration...so we could get familiar with the 'new' area before buying.

Based on some of the posts that I've been reading on the board, I have been checking out areas in east Cobb and Roswell/John's Creek. However, that was all before this possible opportunity for my spouse in SW Henry county. Now, I'm not sure what areas we should consider since there would be quite a bit of distance between our respective work locations. I know that work locations can change, so, although that is a consideration (due to the insane traffic/wanting to minimize commute times), we really want a diverse, safe, family friendly area with great schools and access to shopping, dining, and activities.

What areas would offer that and provide commutes that we could tolerate? Most of the recommendations on the board, especially when schools are a consideration, tend to trend towards east Cobb, areas to the north, or areas far south. Are there other areas that we should consider? Of those areas, which would provide the better commutes for both of us?

Thanks in advance!

I've tried to put some of this info into the questions at the top...

1. Budget
Rent - Target range would be around $1500 - $1600 for a 2BR/2BA apartment. We could go a bit
higher if needed for the area…or if we decided to rent a house.
Buy – Target range would be $450K or less. Could possibly go a bit higher if necessary...but would prefer not to exceed that too much.

2. House/Condo/Townhome?
Rent – Apartment/Condo/Townhome/House
Own – House (would prefer a community setting with amenities such as a clubhouse, pool)

3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)
Commute 1 – Perimeter Center area (possibly WFH 1 day a week)
Commute 2 – SW Henry County

4. Children(public school vs. private)
Yes, 1 child in elementary school. Would prefer public school…would like an area that has very good
elementary, middle, and high schools. We would also prefer an area that has a high percentage of
students moving from the (zoned) elementary to the (zoned) middle and from the (zoned) middle to
the (zoned) high school.

5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two
Prefer a bit of a mix. Like the suburban lifestyle, but still like to be close to dining, shopping, activities.

6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?
We each have vehicles…but having access to public transit would be a nice to have. I could actually
take the train to the Perimeter center area if convenient enough.

7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.
We really want a diverse, safe, family friendly area with great schools and access to shopping, dining,
and activities.

[primaltech]

I presume 'SW Henry County', you mean the Hampton area.

If so, Hampton is not really near the freeway, but it's a straight shot down US 41/Tara Blvd, from Atlanta/East Point area. And East Point has MARTA access to Perimeter Center. But I don't know about the schools around there, and the safety.

Best option in your situation might be Fayette County, which fits your description, with good schools. And it would be a good commute for your spouse, into nearby Henry County.

For you, it will be a terrible commute up to Perimeter Center, but you might could make it slightly better if you parked at College Park MARTA station and took the train from there? I don't know how easy that is to do, or if it's even preferable.

But if you can WFH at least 1 day of the week and the spouse can't, then let them have the better commute.

Sorry, basically, there's no great answer, because this region is plagued by terrible traffic and very few options.

[Born 2 Roll]

Whew! Perimeter Center and Southwest Henry County is quite the case of divergent commuting patterns within the same household.

The first places that I can think of to recommend right now are the Parkview and Brookwood clusters of south-central Gwinnett County.

I recommend the Parkview and Brookwood clusters (the clusters of schools in south-central Gwinnett County that are anchored by Parkview and Brookwood high schools) because of the extremely high quality of the public schools in those areas (where the schools are known to be some of the best public schools in the entire Southeastern U.S.) because that area of south-central Gwinnett County is somewhat equidistant to both the Perimeter Center and Southwest Henry County areas.

The Parkview and Brookwood areas might also be good candidates for relocation for the OP and the OP's spouse because the Perimeter Center would only be a moderately-challenging commute for the OP on many days while Southwest Henry County would mostly be a reverse-commute for the OP's spouse.

Hopefully some of the other regulars on the Atlanta forum will weigh in with suggestions on areas to look for housing that can help the OP's unique household commuting situation.

[Chan_T]

Thanks for the feedback primaltech and Born 2 Roll.

I did a quick check of the schools in East Point and most are ranked near the bottom, so I don't think we would want to consider that area.

I'm not sure if it could work, but I'll look into commute options from Fayette county.

I will add the Parkview and Brookwood clusters to areas to consider.

Would areas such as East Cobb and Roswell provide too challenging of a commute for my spouse?

[fieldm]

Move to either 75/285 in Cobb or 85/285 in Gwinnett because the drive to Hampton will be a reverse commute

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Chan_T

Thanks for the feedback primaltech and Born 2 Roll.

I did a quick check of the schools in East Point and most are ranked near the bottom, so I don't think we would want to consider that area.

I'm not sure if it could work, but I'll look into commute options from Fayette county.

I will add the Parkview and Brookwood clusters to areas to consider.

Would areas such as East Cobb and Roswell provide too challenging of a commute for my spouse?

Fayette County would be a good choice for a commute to the Hampton/Southwest Henry County area, but would provide for a challenging rush hour commute to and from the Perimeter Center area on many days.

East Cobb would be good for peak-hour commuting to and from the Perimeter Center area but would provide for a somewhat long peak-hour/rush hour commute (at least an hour or so each way on good days under the best commuting conditions, much longer on not-so-good days) to and from Southwest Henry County.

Roswell would provide for an even longer and more challenging rush hour commute to and from Southwest Henry County, particularly on the worst days and especially with a massive traffic congestion-generating multi-year reconstruction project ramping up at the already very busy I-285/GA 400 North interchange in Sandy Springs.

The spring 2017 opening of a new MLB (Major League Baseball) stadium for the Atlanta Braves at the very busy I-75/I-285 Northwest (Cobb Cloverleaf) interchange also raises concerns about possible severe congestion during evening commutes on dates when the Braves will play their home games on weeknights.

It is because of these factors (length of time, new stadium, massive highway reconstruction, etc) that it may not be recommended that you saddle your spouse with either an East Cobb-SW Henry County or a Roswell-SW Henry County rush hour commuting pattern at this time or for the foreseeable future.

The opening of the new MLB stadium for the Braves and the massive reconstruction of the I-285/GA 400 interchange also might be good reasons to be extremely mindful about the possible ramifications of a Fayette County-Perimeter Center rush hour commuting pattern.

In any case, you might want to avoid saddling either you and/or your spouse with a commuting pattern that might involve heavy use of the Top End of the I-285 Perimeter between the I-75/I-285 Northwest (Cobb Cloverleaf) and I-85/I-285 Northeast (Tom Moreland/Spaghetti Junction) interchanges during peak hours (particularly during morning and afternoon/evening rush hours).

[GA5mom]

I would suggest you both try to keep your jobs on the same side of town. That commute would be terrible for one of you. Can you look for a job opportunity on the south side as well? If you were both on the south side, with spouse working in Hampton, then I would suggest looking at Fayette County or McDonough (Union Grove school zone). If you like where you are at now, then I would suggest spouse look for other job opportunities on the northside. Traveling from Gwinnett to south Henry daily is not a good option IMO. Good luck!

[Chan_T]

Thank you all for the feedback! At this point, it is only a possibility...nothing firm yet. I just wanted to get some ideas...as to what our options could be if things progress...

[lastminutemom]

I might suggest that she/he keep job hunting. Or you look for a job that direction.

Keep in mind that for the3 or so years, Perimeter Center is going to be tougher than normal because of the 400/285 interchange project.

[Chan_T]

I will start a new thread since I can't edit the title of this one. We now have updated commute info.
Commute 1 – Perimeter Center area (possibly WFH 1 day a week)
Commute 2 – Near Emory University

We are looking to rent a Townhouse or Single Family Home for a year…then would like to buy a single family home, preferably in the same area (school district) where we are renting (would prefer a community setting with amenities such as a clubhouse, pool).