If you work in Buckhead (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: mortgage, real estate, budget)

[magicbug]

and want to limit the commute to 30 minutes (or less) one way, what would be the best place to live for great pre-k/elementary schools?

[plessthanpointohfive]

Why not live in Buckhead? There are some good schools there. So, too, in Midtown.

[magicbug]

Thanks a lot for the reply! Would you please just give some names?

The only concern is about the high price for houses. I am not sure if we can afford a SFH in buckhead.

[plessthanpointohfive]

I'm not rich either but I live intown. It was just worth it to us not to commute!

I can't remember the names of the schools in Buckhead exactly but if you search this forum you will find them. One is, I think Morris and the other Brandon (but I could totally be misremembering these!).

But, in Midtown, your kids could go to Morningside Elementary, which is a very good school, and leads into good middle and high schools.

Seriously, though, you can probably find a way to afford living intown. Whether you buy a fixer-upper (but not with real serious problems) or a duplex (which is what we did) or even a townhouse instead of a traditional home...you can probably find something.

What is your budget for a house?

[pinetreelover]

Check out Sandy Springs - especially in the Heards Ferry district. A quick 10 - 15 min to Buckhead. The best Buckhead area elementary schools are Sarah Smith, Warren Jackson and Morris Brandon (you were close plassthanpointohfive).

[plessthanpointohfive]

LOL! I redistricted Morris Brandon into two schools!

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by magicbug

The only concern is about the high price for houses. I am not sure if we can afford a SFH in buckhead.

Right...it's hard to make a recommendation without knowing your budget...we're generally talking about some pricey neighborhoods thus far.

[magicbug]

Thank you all!!

I am thinking of something around $400k I am currently in Sandy Spring and love this area. I have never been to midtown () so am totally a stranger there. I will do some research!

Thanks again for all the suggestions and I would be happy to hear more from you guys. with $400k, maybe i should think about townhouse? With two kids i was always thinking a SFH.... And could I got to any elementary school within a county or zipcode (sorry the last questions is very stupid, i am still learning the pre-k system these days as someone new to this area)

[plessthanpointohfive]

You can find something on your budget. My duplex was JUST under 400K. We bought it last year when my husband wasn't working and our real budget for a house was really under 300K. Having a thrid of the mortgage paid by a tenant made it easily affordable. And now that my husband is out of all school and school-like training it's REALLY affordable. We only have 1 child so we can live in the 2 bedrooms place just fine. You might want to go for 3 bedrooms.

Definitely consider townhomes but you can probably find a house, too.

Here's a craigslist search in Morningside for 400K and under:

atlanta craigslist > real estate for sale: search for "morningside" (broken link)


And here's midtown:

atlanta craigslist > real estate for sale: search for "midtown" (broken link)


If you are looking to put your children in Atlanta Public schools make sure to check the street address for the home you're considering here: Address Lookup - APS

It will tell which school you child would go to, no matter what the real estate ad says!

[plessthanpointohfive]

Oops. I posted the wrong link for address lookup! That's for some place called Aurora! BRB with the right one!