Researching a Move to ATL (Smyrna/Marietta Area) (Atlanta, Roswell: rent, condo)

[Borracho]

Hi There! I'm considering a move to the NW Atlanta area (Company HQ in Smyrna) and will be visiting soon for a look see. I'll have about a week with my wife to look around and would appreciate any tips on where to spend our time looking at possible neighborhoods.


Also any other "good-to-knows" would be appreciated


My wife and I are about 40 with kids 8,6, and 4.


Referencing the "Moving to Atlanta?" Sticky:
1. Budget About 300k give or take (probably rent first, then buy)
2. House/Condo/Townhome? House (some yard, pool etc would be nice)
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)Wife stays home, I travel a lot but will probably work at least 50% of the time in the SW area of Smyrna
4. Children(public school vs. private) Currently homeschool, considering options
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two Suburban to Rural
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not important
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Upper Middle Class/Professional/Young Kids/Families
8. Airport access, important or not? Somewhat important, currently I'm about 2 hours from major airports, which I use at least monthly. It would be nice to be an hour or less from ATL

Coming from Northern CA, we're used to commuting/traffic issues and would prefer to avoid those. I'd like to stay within about 30-40 minutes of Smyrna. Also, we're in the Central Valley so we're used to it being quite hot (though admittedly not quite as humid...I think it will be a relatively even trade)

Thanks in advance for any help!


B

[primaltech]

West Cobb area would probably be great for you, I'd say. Fits all of your criteria there: quiet suburban area, easy commute to Smyrna area, not too far from the airport. You could take the East-West Connector right into work, I'm guessing.

Here's an example of a 4 bedroom family home in that area:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...45_rect/12_zm/

That one's right in your price range. Lots of different options around though, you could do some hunting online, then get yourself an agent when you're ready.

I've lived in the Atlanta area all my life, and the weather in general is actually pretty great here. It's not perfect weather, but you do get a lot of good, great, and perfect days every year, kind of randomly mixed in around all 4 seasons.

[Born 2 Roll]

If you think that you might send your kids to public school after moving to Georgia, look in West Cobb County in the cluster of Cobb County schools that feeds into Hillgrove High School.

If you think that there will be no chance of sending your kids to public school, look in Paulding County which (while the schools unfortunately are not up to the level that they should be (with the exception of the North Paulding cluster)) will give you the semi-rural outer-suburban/exurban lifestyle you are looking for.

[lorilove]

I travel to the airport every week from Smyrna - on average it takes less than 30 minutes with the worst being the 3 miles to get on I-285. That is at 8 am. I typically return in the evening when there is no traffic but on the occasion when I hit rush hour it is close to 45 minutes.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by Borracho

Hi There! I'm considering a move to the NW Atlanta area (Company HQ in Smyrna) and will be visiting soon for a look see. I'll have about a week with my wife to look around and would appreciate any tips on where to spend our time looking at possible neighborhoods.


Also any other "good-to-knows" would be appreciated


My wife and I are about 40 with kids 8,6, and 4.


Referencing the "Moving to Atlanta?" Sticky:
1. Budget About 300k give or take (probably rent first, then buy)
2. House/Condo/Townhome? House (some yard, pool etc would be nice)
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)Wife stays home, I travel a lot but will probably work at least 50% of the time in the SW area of Smyrna
4. Children(public school vs. private) Currently homeschool, considering options
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two Suburban to Rural
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Not important
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Upper Middle Class/Professional/Young Kids/Families
8. Airport access, important or not? Somewhat important, currently I'm about 2 hours from major airports, which I use at least monthly. It would be nice to be an hour or less from ATL

Coming from Northern CA, we're used to commuting/traffic issues and would prefer to avoid those. I'd like to stay within about 30-40 minutes of Smyrna. Also, we're in the Central Valley so we're used to it being quite hot (though admittedly not quite as humid...I think it will be a relatively even trade)

Thanks in advance for any help!


B

Maybe I'm being a little biased, but Woodstock would be a great option and fits all of your criteria. About a half hour north of Smyrna (depending on the time of day, of course). If you can do a lot of your traveling out of the airport during non-rush hour times, it has consistently taken me 40-45 minutes to get to the airport when picking up family coming down to visit.

Depending on your housing needs, $300K is about right for the area. We bought in one of the nicer (if not nicest) parts of Woodstock (again, biased) in an area called Towne Lake for $335K, and that got us 5-6 beds, 3.5 baths on cul de sac street. But prices are steadily climbing in this area as well.

Schools are good to great depending on which school cluster your house is zoned in. They may not be on par with some of the competitive top schools in neighboring areas (Alpharetta, Roswell, East Cobb) but we have heard nothing but great things about the school teachers and administration in this area. The online ratings (if you look into that type of thing) are good as well.

[Borracho]

Hey Thanks a lot for all the responses so far.. keep em' coming!


I started looking at West Cobb and Woodstock...both look really nice and a lot of great properties in my $$ wheelhouse..