Where should we live? Main Office in Alpharetta, 1 day per week in Buckhead Atlanta (Sandy Springs: new home)

[clickbrain]

My wife, 5 month old baby, and I are likely moving to the Atlanta area. The company for which I will work has an office in Alpharetta and one in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. They are flexible and I can work 4 days per week in Alpharetta and 1 in Atlanta or vice versa if I like or all days in Buckhead area.
We want to buy a house. 3-5 BR, $200 - $350k. Nice neighborhoods, parks, schools, etc. Want to reduce my commute as much as possible and prefer transit when going to Atlanta.

What would you Atlanta area experts recommend with these parameters?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[merlin70]

why not just live in Alpharetta if you will be working there 4 days a week? Yeah the commute to Buckhead isn't great but it will only be one day a week.

Your price range might be just a touch low for what you want, but you should be able to get something. You also might want to look at Roswell, it seems a little cheaper. Only issue there is commuting to Alpharetta, it can be bad depending on where you are in Roswell.

[clickbrain]

Thanks. Sounds reasonable. I keep hearing about this commute into Alpharetta and it sounds incredible that that small a town could have that big a traffic problem, but I guess anything is possible.

[stvincent]

The Atlanta area is one of the fastest growing metros in the country and this area hasn'e had a clue as to how to plan for the amount of people who keep moving down here. As, a result, our highways need constant expanding, our strrets aren't even nearly on a grid, so everyone uses the same main roads to go everywhere, and because suburbs like Alpharetta oppose MARTA rail lines coming into the area, everyone is forced to drive instead of being a choice of mass transit. Alpharetta has also become a major employment center so along with all the people who live up there, there is now a plethora of people trying to get into the city to go to work.

I would suggest you move into the northern Sandy Springs or Southern Roswell area. The schools are great in both area's and contrary to popular belief you can find an older ranch style home there for about $300-350,000. If you are looking for a new home in that price range then Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Alpharetta are out of the question, for they are some of the most expensive and affluent areas of the Metro area. I believe you said that you could choose to wok in Buckhead five days a week if you chose to...if that is true you should try the Pine Hills neighborhood at the eastern edge of Buckhead. It's in an amazing location off of Roxboro Road, like five minutes from the Lenox/Phipps area. And Sarah Smith Elem. serves the area and is one of he best in the state. Most of the homes are older but are priced only in the $300,000-400,000 range.

[clickbrain]

I appreciate the excellent advice and information and will check the areas you suggested.