Moving in 2 weeks and need help! (Atlanta, Marietta: apartment, rental, crime)

[Hkw41541]

Hey my fiancé and our 2 toddlers have been in GA for a year next month, we are currently in Stockbridge on the Clayton county side and are looking to give up our apartment for a house hopefully closer to the city. On the southside I've found that I like the campcreek/cascade area , and I also like the Smyrna area but I don't see ANYTHING in our price range that doesn't look like it came from that 70's show. We are paying about $1100 for a 3/2 apartment and would love to stay within that price range maybe no more then 1300 my fiancé works in west midtown and I'm a stay at home mom, we also only have one vehicle so being closer to his job would be GREAT! We relocated from from Baltimore so I'm trying to get used to everything being so spaced out! Also if anyone knows a good private landlord that would be great! Are there any other areas I should be looking into? We are exhausted from driving around and searching zillow to come up with dead ins and it's a little discouraging

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Hkw41541

Hey my fiancé and our 2 toddlers have been in GA for a year next month, we are currently in Stockbridge on the Clayton county side and are looking to give up our apartment for a house hopefully closer to the city. On the southside I've found that I like the campcreek/cascade area , and I also like the Smyrna area but I don't see ANYTHING in our price range that doesn't look like it came from that 70's show. We are paying about $1100 for a 3/2 apartment and would love to stay within that price range maybe no more then 1300 my fiancé works in west midtown and I'm a stay at home mom, we also only have one vehicle so being closer to his job would be GREAT! We relocated from from Baltimore so I'm trying to get used to everything being so spaced out! Also if anyone knows a good private landlord that would be great! Are there any other areas I should be looking into? We are exhausted from driving around and searching zillow to come up with dead ins and it's a little discouraging

With your husband working in West Midtown, Smyrna would be a really good area for your family to relocate to because of the relatively short commute to and from your husband's workplace that a Smyrna residency would provide.

The main challenge with Smyrna is that it is such a HOT inner-suburban area with young professionals that you potentially may experience some challenges finding a 3-bed/2-bath rental dwelling (house or apartment) within your price range of $1100/month.

The Camp Creek/Cascade area might be a good area for you to look in because of its relative extreme closeness to your husband's place of work in West Midtown (by Atlanta's "spread out" standards) and because of the retail amenities that are available in areas like Camp Creek Marketplace at I-285 and Camp Creek Parkway and at and around the I-285/Cascade Road interchange.

The challenge with the Camp Creek and Cascade areas is that some of the schools can be hit-and-miss. Though some of the lower-ranked schools in the area look to be trying to improve because of some degree of attractiveness of the area with younger black professionals with families.

Being that this is metro Atlanta (a metro area with a very high population of lower-income transient residents), crime will be a concern in both the Smyrna and Camp Creek/Cascade areas, though crime will be more of a concern in the Camp Creek/Cascade area than it will be in the Smyrna area.

[Hkw41541]

Thank you! You addressed some of my main concerns , Smyrna doesn't seem to have our price range unless it's some of the apartment communities with bad reviews and crime, and the nice areas of campcreek/east point which are directly behind the market place are outside of our price range even for a 2 bedroom, then the other side of east point is under our price range but can be real sketchy and not some where I would want to live. Our apartment in Stockbridge is pretty safe we've had zero issues with safety here. And we refuse to go back to sketchy or hood areas since moving from Baltimore. So I've been trying to figure out what other areas I could potentially look into?

[CaliDreaming01]

Hkw, I can really identify with your dilemma. I think all but the very rich have the same problems when it comes to finding the right balance between safety, education and commute times in the Metro Atlanta area. To get all of those things in a home in the ATL, you're going to have to pay big bucks no matter what part of town you live in here.

Many families with young children decide to put up with a longer commute to be able to find nice and affordable housing in a safe neighborhood with decent schools. Another plus is you'd probably be able to get a larger, relatively new house with a nice yard too. It's all about tradeoffs. Since it sounds like you're not willing to compromise on safety, it seems like the thing you're going to have to sacrifice is the commute time. Stockbridge is a tough commute to West Midtown, so you might be able to have an easier drive in one of the western suburbs off I-20.

One thing to think about too is that since your kids are still toddlers, you don't have to worry about the quality of the schools right away. The schools with the highest rankings are going to be the most expensive and that is going to be the case whether you're close to in-town or way OTP. I would focus on nice neighborhoods with lower ranked schools for now and then work on being to afford a home in a better school district by the time your kids are ready to enter school.

I am not familiar with particular neighborhoods or schools on the west side of town, but I'd start researching places like Douglasville, Austell and Lithia Springs. I used to live in Austell near I-20 a long time ago, and remember my commute was a snap most days. That was about 20 years ago though, but I'd imagine that the commute would still be manageable. The neighborhood I lived in was very safe and nice area but the schools were crap. That wasn't an issue for me at the time because I was single and childless. I was mostly concerned with safety, convenience and price as a young, single woman and was able to get that in West Cobb/Douglas County.

[AtlJan]

What about Mableton?

[CaliDreaming01]

Originally Posted by AtlJan

What about Mableton?

Excellent choice and affordable.

[Hkw41541]

Originally Posted by CaliDreaming01

Hkw, I can really identify with your dilemma. I think all but the very rich have the same problems when it comes to finding the right balance between safety, education and commute times in the Metro Atlanta area. To get all of those things in a home in the ATL, you're going to have to pay big bucks no matter what part of town you live in here.

Many families with young children decide to put up with a longer commute to be able to find nice and affordable housing in a safe neighborhood with decent schools. Another plus is you'd probably be able to get a larger, relatively new house with a nice yard too. It's all about tradeoffs. Since it sounds like you're not willing to compromise on safety, it seems like the thing you're going to have to sacrifice is the commute time. Stockbridge is a tough commute to West Midtown, so you might be able to have an easier drive in one of the western suburbs off I-20.

One thing to think about too is that since your kids are still toddlers, you don't have to worry about the quality of the schools right away. The schools with the highest rankings are going to be the most expensive and that is going to be the case whether you're close to in-town or way OTP. I would focus on nice neighborhoods with lower ranked schools for now and then work on being to afford a home in a better school district by the time your kids are ready to enter school.

I am not familiar with particular neighborhoods or schools on the west side of town, but I'd start researching places like Douglasville, Austell and Lithia Springs. I used to live in Austell near I-20 a long time ago, and remember my commute was a snap most days. That was about 20 years ago though, but I'd imagine that the commute would still be manageable. The neighborhood I lived in was very safe and nice area but the schools were crap. That wasn't an issue for me at the time because I was single and childless. I was mostly concerned with safety, convenience and price as a young, single woman and was able to get that in West Cobb/Douglas County.

Thank you so much! And your absolutely right, I've been coming to terms that I'll have to be further away to be able to get what I want. Now I haven't tried douglasville or lithia springs mainly bc I know nothing about them, but I'll start to look them up! And I've looked into Mableton but haven't found anything worth living in, in my price range I'll keep checking but I'm running short on time. A lot of ppl I know from Baltimore stay in Gwinnett county but that just seems so far and so much traffic!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Hkw41541

Thank you! You addressed some of my main concerns , Smyrna doesn't seem to have our price range unless it's some of the apartment communities with bad reviews and crime, and the nice areas of campcreek/east point which are directly behind the market place are outside of our price range even for a 2 bedroom, then the other side of east point is under our price range but can be real sketchy and not some where I would want to live. Our apartment in Stockbridge is pretty safe we've had zero issues with safety here. And we refuse to go back to sketchy or hood areas since moving from Baltimore. So I've been trying to figure out what other areas I could potentially look into?

Originally Posted by Hkw41541

Thank you so much! And your absolutely right, I've been coming to terms that I'll have to be further away to be able to get what I want. Now I haven't tried douglasville or lithia springs mainly bc I know nothing about them, but I'll start to look them up! And I've looked into Mableton but haven't found anything worth living in, in my price range I'll keep checking but I'm running short on time.

CaliDreaming01 and AtlJan's recommendations of Douglasville, Austell, Lithia Springs and Mableton are good places to look with your housing budget.

Of the four areas, Douglasville is the area with the best schools in the clusters anchored by Alexander, Douglas County and Chapel Hill high schools in the Douglas County school system.

Many of the schools in the Austell, Lithia Springs and Mableton areas are lower-rated and can be hit-or-miss.

CaliDreaming01 mentioned the length of one-way commutes between an area like West Midtown Atlanta (where your husband will be commuting to and from for work each day) and the West metro suburban areas being discussed in Douglas and South Cobb counties.

Mableton, Austell and Lithia Springs would each provide your husband with relatively shorter one-way rush hour commutes (by metro Atlanta standards) to and from his job in West Midtown Atlanta. Though some parts of the Douglasville area potentially may provide your husband with longer one-way commutes than he may be experiencing now between the Clayton County side of Stockbridge and his job in West Midtown.

Originally Posted by Hkw41541

A lot of ppl I know from Baltimore stay in Gwinnett county but that just seems so far and so much traffic!

You are right in your assumption that many (if not most) parts of Gwinnett County will provide a severely-congested and fairly lengthy commute for your husband to and from his job in West Midtown Atlanta.

Though there are some parts of Gwinnett County where the one-way commutes to and from your husband's job in West Midtown Atlanta potentially may be comparable to the commute your husband now experiences between the Clayton County side of Stockbridge and his job in West Midtown as well as to the relatively shorter commutes between West metro Atlanta suburban areas and West Midtown Atlanta.

The Norcross 30071 and Peachtree Corners 30092 areas are two neighboring parts of Gwinnett County with good schools (in the Norcross High School cluster of the Gwinnett County Public Schools system) that could provide your husband with a reasonable commute (a one-way commute of about an hour or so on most days) to and from his job in West Midtown Atlanta.

Because of the relatively short one-way rush hour commutes (by metro Atlanta standards) that they can provide your husband, because of the relatively high quality of the schools in their areas and because of the relatively very high amount of rental dwellings in their areas, you should look to see if you can find any housing within your budget in Northside areas like:

> The cluster of schools anchored by Wheeler High School in the Cobb County school system...

> The cluster of schools anchored by Chamblee and Tucker high schools in the DeKalb County school system...

> The cluster of schools anchored by Lakeside High School in the DeKalb County school system...

> The eastern part of the cluster of schools anchored by Dunwoody High School in the DeKalb County school system.

[JMatl]

Born 2 Roll, you continue to not only be the most helpful, but also the most insightful member we have regarding all things Atlanta!

I can't rep you, but you deserve an award for your continual helpfulness to newcomers and natives alike in understanding our amazing Metro.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Tarzanman]

Norcross to West Midtown (I still hate that term) is not an easy commute at all, in my opinion. Unless you're lucky enough to live on the very southern edges of Norcross near GA 141, GA 23 or I-85 then you're going to spend at least 15 minutes just getting to I-285. I currently live at the edge of Norcross up Peachtree Industrial. My last job was located *at* spaghetti junction (Chamblee Tucker Rd, just inside the perimeter) and my typical commute was 15-20 minutes (fastest route was south on GA 23). All of the roads (Jimmy Carter, et. al.) taking you to the highway are heavily congested (and not just during rush hour).

Unfortunately, your route options worsen from that point. You can take I-85 south all the way to the connector and tack west on 17th, 14th, 10th, or even loop back north for Northside Dr or even Howell Mill... but you will be traveling through a series of clogged roads and merges almost the entire drive.

I would not consider any area east of GA 400 any farther north than Brookhaven. Your best bet is the west-to-northwest sector of the city. Looking anywhere between Marietta, Austell and Underwood Hills would be a good start.