Best cities near Alpharetta? (Atlanta, Roswell: to rent, how much, homes)

[momof4es]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

#1 & 2 - It's "possible" but won't be easy. It really depends on what you're trying to get as well. If you're looking to PURCHASE a town home and put a decent sized down payment down then yes $1,300 is possible. If you're looking to rent or get into an apartment, you're going to be limited to 1 or 2 bedrooms at the very most. Looking to rent only

#3 North Druid Hills is INSIDE of I-285, or basically inside the perimeter as you noted that you didn't want to be in the Metro area so living here would put you well into the Metro area which you noted you don't want.. now if you mean Metro area as in the Suburbs then that pretty much knocks everything out because the Suburbs sprawl out pretty far, much further than Alpharetta. The cities between Alpharetta and North Druid Hills are:
Roswell (most likely your best bet)
Sandy Springs (expensive)
Buckhead (expensive and no real houses unless you consider the mansions, plus inside the perimeter)
N.Druid Hills (expensive plus inside the perimeter.)

There's also Doraville, Norcross and Chamblee but I'd recommend not attempting as they're not really that great.

#4 I'm unsure of this but right now you'll be lucky to find a place let alone what amenities are around said place.

#5 All the areas I mentioned - and everything between Alpharetta and N.Druid hills will be riddled with traffic and grid-lock..you're going to have to drive to get around any of those places.

#6 Not important, mass transit here is a joke and the homes they put around it cost more for almost no pay off in the end. I mean, it helps maybe on those events that bridges fall from the sky or we have events in downtown.. otherwise..worthless.

#7 Not in Atlanta.. prepare for alot of racism and people who do NOT want you around them just because they assume that you're just here to start trouble because you're not the same color as they are, this place is very prejiduce and bluntly in your face racists.. if this is a must for you..you really may need to reconsider moving here.

I might have misspoke about "Atlanta Metro" I'm not fully certain what area that entails. I just don't want to be in the middle of the city/downtown. We lived in Chicago before moving to Florida and I don't really want to go back to big city life with all my littles; however we'd love areas like Hyde Park or Bucktow or suburbs like Oak Park, Tinley. Mostly though I've come to appreciate the small town feel very much.

Clearly I don't know enough about Atlanta areas. I was very surprised about the comment about the prevalence of racism there. For some reason I assumed it was much more diverse and metropolitan.

Thank you for all of the suggested cities. I have them on our list to research online. I'm going to try to check out as many of the towns as I can while still trying to give the kids some sort of mini-vacation.

[momof4es]

Originally Posted by DaBurgh

Any chance you can stay in FL until the Druid Hills project starts?
.

This is something that we are seriously considering, but not something we necessarily want to do as my husband would be away so much. He'd have to travel back for weekends. Although he'd still have to find a place to rent while in Alpharetta. Maybe he could do a two-bedroom so at least we'd be reasonably comfortable when the kids and I visited. Hard decisions....

[momof4es]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Finding a multi-bedroom apartment or townhome for $1300/month or less potentially could be a challenge in the current highly-competitive Northside Atlanta metro rental market, but likely will not be completely impossible.

Wanting to be in a city that will be a good midpoint between Alpharetta and North Druid Hills while not being in the Atlanta metro area is not realistic. If you want to be located between Alpharetta and North Druid Hills, you are going to have to live in the Atlanta metro area because everything between those two areas is inside the Atlanta metro area.

Most of Northside Atlanta metro is extremely diverse and extremely accommodating to newcomers because much (if not most) of the population of the Atlanta metro area comes from outside of the state of Georgia.

While your budget of $1300 or less will not necessarily put you immediately in the area of the type of small-town village atmosphere that you seem to desire.

You potentially might be able to find something in or near that price range that will give you access to areas with the type of small-town feel that you are looking for.

For access to the type of small-town community vibe that you seem to desire, look in areas like:

> The Peachtree Corners 30092 and Norcross 30071 zip codes, areas that give you access to the village area of Downtown Norcross while also providing decent access to both the Alpharetta and North Druid Hills areas...

> Roswell, for access to the historic village area of Downtown Roswell and good access to Alpharetta (...though access to the North Druid Hills area will be somewhat challenging on many days)...

> Duluth (...great town green area with lots of activities in a growing village area in Downtown Duluth).

To further increase your chances of finding a multi-family dwelling in or near your price range, also look in areas like Chamblee, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and Brookhaven.

Canton is somewhat okay (though definitely NOT best) for access to Alpharetta, but Canton will provide very poor (if not extremely poor) access to North Druid Hills.

The north side of the Atlanta metro area (where Alpharetta and North Druid Hills are) is the most heavily developed (overdeveloped) and populated (overpopulated) side of the metro area, which means that traffic is going to be a significant challenge on many days....So be prepared for the continuing reality of dealing with extremely heavy traffic on everyday of the week, except perhaps for many (but not all) Sundays.

Thank you so much. I am going to check these areas out. Duluth sounds very interesting and my husband's boss highly recommended Sandy Springs. This is going to be a hard decision because I truly do not want overpopulated or overdeveloped. Ridiculous traffic was one of the reasons I wanted to leave the Chicago. My husband currently commutes through I-4 daily and complains everyday. I've heard ATL interstates are worse. Although I'm not commuting for work, I like to take the kids out a lot and would rather spend our time at wherever we're heading rather than in the card waiting to get where we're going.

[momof4es]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

It is unfortunate that you may have had a personal experience with racism.

But not everyone has those types of experiences here. Many people, in fact, do not have that type of experience here.

That does not mean that the potential for unfortunate experiences does not exist here. The potential for unfortunate social experiences exists here just as it exists everywhere else.

But it is not accurate to give the impression to newcomers that life will be tainted with unfortunate social experiences after moving here.

The north side of Atlanta is an extremely diverse community (racially, ethnically, socio-economically) with people from many different backgrounds and where newcomers from out-of-state rarely encounter any major problems.

Thank you for your input. I was quite surprised when I read the other comment. It's good to know about the different experiences, both positive and negative, others have had.

[momof4es]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Thank you for saving me the trouble of jumping on that.

I wouldn't dismiss Chamblee, either. It's one of the hottest, up-and coming neighborhoods in the metro right now.

I will check out Chamblee.

[momof4es]

Originally Posted by PTC Dad

I would look in the Brookwood or Parkview areas of Gwinnett. The schools are excellent & diverse. I think both of these schools are about 35-40% white and around 20-25% black, 20-25% Hispanic, & about 15-20% Asian.

There aren't a lot of apartments in this area, but you might be able to find an single family home to rent in that price range. It's also close to Stone Mountain & Gwinnett has some of the best parks & recreation facilities in the nation. It should be within 45 minutes of both Druid Hills & Alpharetta.

Thank you. Added these to the growing list.

[momof4es]

Originally Posted by primaltech

There appear to be 3-bedroom apartments in Peachtree Corners for $1300:

https://www.apartments.com/apartment...ms-under-1300/

I would go to some of these apartments' leasing centers and show interest. They'll usually give you a tour of what they have available, and they will give you their actual rates. Online is not always accurate.

Good idea!

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by momof4es

Clearly I don't know enough about Atlanta areas. I was very surprised about the comment about the prevalence of racism there. For some reason I assumed it was much more diverse and metropolitan.

You can hold on to your original assumption and dismiss that previous comment as bogus. I've spent the last 23 years here in a mixed marriage and have never had a problem.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

You can hold on to your original assumption and dismiss that previous comment as bogus. I've spent the last 23 years here in a mixed marriage and have never had a problem.

Exactly.

Born 2 Roll is much more diplomatic than I am. That remark was an outright lie, plain and simple. That is FAR from the reality here.

I take it you guys are in Metro Orlando. Alpharetta and the Northside in general is very similar to the Northern suburbs of Orlando.

Think Lake Mary, only much larger with the amenities that go with this. Traffic is basically the same, GA 400 is just as congested as I-4. The quality of live is very similar, it's the 'desirable' suburban area of the Metro. Your budget may need to be increased slightly, but you'll be just fine.

Welcome, and good luck!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by momof4es

Thank you so much. I am going to check these areas out. Duluth sounds very interesting and my husband's boss highly recommended Sandy Springs. This is going to be a hard decision because I truly do not want overpopulated or overdeveloped. Ridiculous traffic was one of the reasons I wanted to leave the Chicago. My husband currently commutes through I-4 daily and complains everyday. I've heard ATL interstates are worse. Although I'm not commuting for work, I like to take the kids out a lot and would rather spend our time at wherever we're heading rather than in the card waiting to get where we're going.

If you struggled with traffic in Chicago and are currently struggling with traffic in Orlando, then you probably will not like Atlanta traffic, which will be a challenge in the areas that are being discussed on the Northside of the Atlanta metro area.

North metro Atlanta has lots of excellent qualities, but traffic will be a challenge on most days. That is just the reality of the situation.