cost of living (Atlanta, Marietta, Dunwoody: transplants, real estate, apartments)

[mjay11]

can someone answer a question for me?
Just like many people here, I am thinking about moving. Atlanta caught my eye. Georgia itself seems like a beautiful state but, something is baffling me. Why are homes and rentals so affordable? Well... compared to Vegas anyways (my current residence). I mean Atlanta is a huge city, I would expect prices to be much higher.

[CalieCat]

There are all different price points in the Metro Atlanta area, some cheap and some very expensive. In our county you can get a small run down home for under $100,000 or you can go over 1 Million. For what ever reason the Atlanta area might be considered "reasonable", please don't jinx it!!

[mjay11]

I definitely don't want to jinx it. I am just pleasantly surprised! Vegas has gotten ridiculously expensive over the past couple of years. You pay well over a grand a month just to have a decent apartment and single family homes now start in the mid $300's, and that is for something relatively small and older. I might just have to put Atlanta on my list of places to check-out for my move! I've heard there is a bit of a traffic problem there but I lived in LA for a couple of years and I was able to get through it. Not to mention Vegas' horrible roads...they're always under construction, it's a nightmare. I guess my next question would be...how's the job market?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by mjay11

I definitely don't want to jinx it. I am just pleasantly surprised! Vegas has gotten ridiculously expensive over the past couple of years. You pay well over a grand a month just to have a decent apartment and single family homes now start in the mid $300's, and that is for something relatively small and older.

Well, I know someone who rents a 650 square foot studio and pays around $1,050.00 for it, so trust me, rents CAN be very high here. The latest crop of new intown apartments average a lot higher than the older units that are a bit further out. It's getting to be not so uncommon to see a 2BR/2BA unit in the 1050 square foot range to be around $1,150 and higher per month - some much higher depending on location of course. The suburbs and/or outer areas are a little lower.

Small older homes in the outer burbs that may need a little maintenance can still be found in the $150K range, but generally a lot of the newer stuff is averaging around $225k and up these days in the burbs, again. Those are for relatively smaller places without a ton of upgrades. You can however find plenty of $500k to 1-million+ homes in the burbs, too. Likewise, intown home prices are much higher.

Originally Posted by mjay11

I've heard there is a bit of a traffic problem there but I lived in LA for a couple of years and I was able to get through it.

"A bit of" a traffic problem is somewhat understated. If you've lived in L.A., then Atlanta traffic wouldn't freak you out as much as it does some, but many even from larger cities are surprised at how congested it is here. It was recently ranked as having the second worst congestion problem only under L.A., too. Two years ago in summer we had more "smog alert" days than L.A. as well.

That, plus last year alone the metro area added 150,000 people, and will continue to grow nearly that fast, means it's only going to get worse - quickly. The general commandment you'll hear people say here is, "Live close to where you work", and that's a very wise thing to do.

[mjay11]

Ahhh....so the places I have been looking at, Kennesaw, Dunwoody and Marietta are the suburbs right? Cheaper housing but longer commute, and horrible traffic...I think I am seeing the picture. I got it, live close to work but, that means higher living expenses (in the city). I am still wondering about the job market, can someone help me? anyone....anyone . I work mainly in hospitality and do a lot of administrative, data entry....exciting stuff. (In case you didn't catch that...I am being very sarcastic).

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by mjay11

Ahhh....so the places I have been looking at, Kennesaw, Dunwoody and Marietta are the suburbs right? Cheaper housing but longer commute, and horrible traffic...I think I am seeing the picture.

Dunwoody would be the closer of them but yes, they're all suburbs. Dunwoody probably being overall more expensive, but you have access to Atlanta's public transit (MARTA) in that area (bus, and not far from rail). Marietta is a NW suburb and Kennesaw is North of that and further out still. They do not have access to Atlanta's public transit as they are in Cobb County and Cobb isn't connected to MARTA at all. Cobb does run it's own very limited bus system (CCT) and there are express buses in the AM and PM in those areas for those who don't like to commute into the city via car, though.

Marietta has varied priced homes. Kennesaw is more upper middle income in many area (and also heavy traffic in spots, too). If you go West and Southwest of Marietta to the areas of Austell and Powder Springs then home prices drop considerably, but of course the commutes are even longer and the areas are hit-and-miss regarding good vs. bad neighborhoods.

Can't help with jobs.

[CityFan]

Originally Posted by mjay11

Ahhh....so the places I have been looking at, Kennesaw, Dunwoody and Marietta are the suburbs right? Cheaper housing but longer commute, and horrible traffic...I think I am seeing the picture. I got it, live close to work but, that means higher living expenses (in the city). I am still wondering about the job market, can someone help me? anyone....anyone . I work mainly in hospitality and do a lot of administrative, data entry....exciting stuff. (In case you didn't catch that...I am being very sarcastic).

You said you worked in hospitality. There is high demand in downtown, midtown and buckhead area, such as hotels, restaurants and condominium associations. You just need to contact them and land a job easily. You can live near MARTA train a little farthur from town and pay lower rent.

[hindsight2020]

Originally Posted by CalieCat

There are all different price points in the Metro Atlanta area, some cheap and some very expensive. In our county you can get a small run down home for under $100,000 or you can go over 1 Million. For what ever reason the Atlanta area might be considered "reasonable", please don't jinx it!!

That cat's been out of the bag for a while now. It's already jinxed. I lived in ATL in the 98-01 period, and continued visiting every other weekend during 02-03, and things have changed dramatically regarding cost of living. The influx of transplants in the last 5 years has fueled an increase in the median home price from less than a decade ago; rents have followed suit, anything decent ITP above 1000/mo or is a shoebox...the point of living in ATL was to avoid the Chicago/Boston/NYC shoebox living! It used to be the showcase of Atlanta that you could attain the same general access to ammenities and job opportunities as traditional super-cities such as Houston and DFW, for a fraction of the cost. In 2000 I would have said so, not so today. Traffic issues and commuting times have actually exceeded those of traditional culprits such as Houston, and the air quality issue is no joke. So I don't think Atlanta is the bargain it once was, and Charlotte is another example that's following suit, and it's a shame, they were awesome cities QOL-wise.

I'd say you'd probably find a reduction in overall cost of living, primarily because of housing costs, but they are marginal at best nowadays, and that comparison is generic because you're comparing a de facto west coast market with a southeastern market..i.e. you could make the same comparison using Houston, Dallas and you'd come up with similar numbers. I think there are places where you could get more bang for the buck than ATL, Jacksonville for example, and still find some employment in your field. Good luck with your move. Commuting sucks, avoid it like the plague even it means considering other cities.

[netdragon]

Vegas is surrounded by mountains, which affects expansion and puts pressure on real estate prices. The only thing slowing Atlanta's expansion is traffic.

[George Chong]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Vegas is surrounded by mountains, which affects expansion and puts pressure on real estate prices. The only thing slowing Atlanta's expansion is traffic.

Yes - we have no geographical boundaries like other cities so we can just keep sprawling and sprawling along...