Potential Job Transfer to Covington from Twin Cities (Atlanta, Tucker: rent, condo)

[scienceisgreat]

All,

I have potential opportunity to relocate to Covington, GA within my current company. Prior to engaging management on this, I'd like to gather some input.

I'm looking for some advice on several fronts, but most notably where the best location to live would be with my wife. Currently, we have no kids, but they are on the radar in the next 0-2 years. I'll tell you where we are at, what we desire and other information

Our current location is in Roseville, MN. Roseville is smack in the middle between Minneapolis and St. Paul, and provides tremendous access to the entire metro. It's generally older housing, our home was built in 1951, and they are generally ramblers (i.e., 1500 ft2). Our commutes currently are minimal, at 15 minutes each.

However, it appears as though traffic is a different animal than the twin cities, and this may not be replicated easily.

1. Budget - Rent initially for one year or more - budget would be up to $2000/month, but prefer $1800/month. Home is preferred, but open to other options (i.e., townhome).
2. House/Condo/Townhome? See above
3. Employment Status - Work in Covington
4. Children(public school vs. private) - Public preferred
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - Here is the difficult part - we currently have a mix of the two. Roseville is generally considered an inner ring suburb of the twin cities, but has excellent access to each urban area within the metro. We absolutely love the location due to it's accessibility. That said, if we moved to the area in Atlanta, we would desire something similar or more urban. At this time, neither one of us would be looking to live in Covington, as it appears it's a bit too suburban and too...small / sleepy?
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Would be nice - unknown if required depending on wife's job.
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Mid or Upper middle class, safety is a top priority. We currently have outstanding safety in our neighborhood and once you are used to that, it's tough to go back.

I would also be travelling for work 15% of the time, or so, and not having a ridiculous commute to the airport would be convenient but not required. Put it on the 'nice to have' list. A downtown area would be nice, particularly if it's walkable, but again not required at first.

My primary question revolves around #5 - I wouldn't mind having a longer commute, if it meant that I could drive a reverse commute with less traffic or just a commute from (somewhere) without traffic even though it would be a long drive. I've done very little research, but am thinking somewhere North, NE or East of Atlanta that has 'decent' access to the city but also would provide a commute that isn't unrealistic.

Ideally, 45 minute commute would be fine on average. Less than that is, of course, even better.

Any input from the members here would be appreciated, even better if you've lived in the twin cities.

Thank you!

[Born 2 Roll]

You are likely not quite going to find anyplace that is like Roseville, Minnesota that will be within a really short commute of your job in Covington which is an outer-suburban/exurban area which lies about at the very eastern edge of the famed Atlanta sprawl.

The closest to a Roseville-type feel that you would get would probably be in the Northlake/Tucker area of North-Central DeKalb County which is about 35 miles (or at least about a 40-45 minute drive) from the Covington area.

The Northlake/Tucker area is an area that would provide the type of inner-suburban vibe that you are used to in the Roseville area of the Twin Cities.

For an even more urban vibe you could look in some of the many popular and rising urban neighborhoods and districts of Intown East Atlanta.

Both the Northlake/Tucker and Intown East Atlanta areas would provide you with a reverse-commute to and from your job in the Covington area.

The Northlake/Tucker area has schools that range from just slightly above-average to above-average/very-good in the clusters anchored by Lakeside and Tucker high schools in the DeKalb County school system.

The schools in the Intown East Atlanta area range from rapidly-improving in the Atlanta Public Schools system to excellent in the Decatur City Schools system.

[WannaBeinBoston]

I know Roseville MN pretty well and the closest thing to it would maybe be Decatur or Avondale Estates if you wanted a similar feel of being close the "City". Also the Northlake/Tucker area is also good given it's proximity but if the walkability of a small downtown area is what you want, I think Decatur meets your criteria including good public schools.

[atl1221]

Sounds like Decatur is what you are looking for. The commute wouldn't be great but most days you would be going against the main flow of traffic.