Northern Atlanta Burbs vs Southern Atlanta Burbs (Marietta, Kennesaw: real estate, rental)

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Not really. I live in west Cobb and can get to/from the airport, even in rush hour, in around 30 - 45 minutes. I just avoid downtown and take I-285.

Really, I live in NE Gwinnett, close to the Jackson line. Need to leave about 3 hours before take off. This is the North I was writing about. Cobb is a little closer of course.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by Georgia

Really, I live in NE Gwinnett, close to the Jackson line. Need to leave about 3 hours before take off. This is the North I was writing about. Cobb is a little closer of course.

Well sure....by that end of Gwinnett, I agree. I lived in Duluth and later Lawrenceville, years ago before the traffic, and it took 45 min at that time to get to the airport. From out further in Buford or Dacula, I'm sure it's no picnic.

It really depends where on "the north side" and how far OTP you live.

[doggiebus]

Thank you all again for the insight. I found an interesting article on the Atlantas Southern Metro area. Georgia Trend

[flagal2]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Not sure yet, we are still in the decision faze right now, we haven't decided if Atlanta Metro is right for us. The fact that Atlanta is land locked is holding me back (I have lived near the ocean all my life)

Having moved here from SW Florida, I understand all about the ocean!

Where you live in Atlanta depends a lot on where you work, how much time you're willing to commute and how much you want to spend on a house.

My spouse works in Vinings and frequently travels. We looked at homes from Canton to Newnan and finally settled on Acworth. Lake Allatoona is close by. The Southside does have some beautiful areas, but the thug element that has overtaken Clayton County is slowly drifting farther south. My friends in Coweta and Fayette counties are definitely worried.

[Big L]

I lived in Clayton County for almost three years and have been in Cobb County for over four years. The main issue that I had when I lived in Clayton was that the vast majority of corporate jobs that weren't Downtown were either in North Fulton, Gwinnett, or Cobb. If you are a resident of Clayton, Henry, or Fayette, that leads to horrible commutes to most jobs. Cobb may not be utopia, but being less than 3 miles from work is a huge plus in my book. Regardless of the industry, if you look on any job search engine you will see more jobs in the northern suburbs than in the southern suburbs.

When I lived in Clayton, a good number of the people in our subdivision either worked at the airport (Delta, etc.) or at Fort Gillem. Housing was cheaper down there, but you made up for it in gas and wear-and-tear on your vehicle since there was a good chance that your job was not on the Southside. Clayton's school issues have been well-documented, so I won't even go into detail on that.

Henry, Fayette, and Coweta are nice, but I wouldn't recommend them for single people that work outside of those counties.

[cool_mommy]

I strongly agree with Pomartini's post. I have been here for about one year (Coweta County) and am still not quite certain if Coweta County is considered part of "the southside". I know that it is considered part of metro Atlanta. I do NOT see any of the negative stigma portrayed by "southside" comments. The crime is very low, with maybe the exception of petty crimes. I haven't heard of any gang activity. Some of the schools in Coweta County are ranked up there with the best in the state. This area has some extremely beautiful subdivisions and magnificent rural areas as well. As Pomartini mentioned "Ashley Park" in Newnan has brought some very upscale stores and restaurants to the area, with many others set to open there soon. Not to mention the vast amount of stores and restaurants that have already set up shop here.

I personally do not make the commute into Atlanta but the majority of my neighbors do. They are either employed in the city or at the airport.

While I personally do not see any of the "southside" influence in Coweta County, the stigma really doesn't bother me that much. I would not want to deal with the traffic that the northside deals with in correlation to the area's popularity.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by cool_mommy

They are either employed in the city or at the airport.

I think that's the crux of the conversation. Unless you work at the airport or downtown (with accompanying commute), there is less opportunity on the south side of Atlanta. Many corporate HQ's or regional offices are located in north Fulton, Cobb, or Gwinnett.

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by neil0311

I think that's the crux of the conversation. Unless you work at the airport or downtown (with accompanying commute), there is less opportunity on the south side of Atlanta. Many corporate HQ's or regional offices are located in north Fulton, Cobb, or Gwinnett.

Do you think this could change in the next 10 years as more people move to the south? More land down there for new HQ to be built, less traffic, many new homes for the employees. Might be a better location in the future. Could this change down the road?

I ask, just because I have seen this happen in my area. I remember 15-20 years ago when a development was built really far out from the downtown, nothing much around. HQ started to move out there because of many reasons (cheaper, less traffic, etc), now it is totally built out all the way out there with homes, shops, restaurants, malls, entertainment, etc. So maybe Atlanta may take that route in the next 20 years, seems like it has already started.

[Big L]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Do you think this could change in the next 10 years as more people move to the south? More land down there for new HQ to be built, less traffic, many new homes for the employees. Might be a better location in the future. Could this change down the road?

I ask, just because I have seen this happen in my area. I remember 15-20 years ago when a development was built really far out from the downtown, nothing much around. HQ started to move out there because of many reasons (cheaper, less traffic, etc), now it is totally built out all the way out there with homes, shops, restaurants, malls, entertainment, etc. So maybe Atlanta may take that route in the next 20 years, seems like it has already started.

I don't foresee that happening unless companies that aren't already in Metro Atlanta relocate and then settle in the southern suburbs. The chances of most companies in Duluth or Alpharetta moving to the southern suburbs are slim-to-none and the bulk of the wide-open spaces in the south tend to be further out (Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Spalding, etc.). Aside from the fact that a lot of open areas are trending more towards subdivisions, it would take a lot of incentives for a company to settle in a southern suburb as opposed to a northern suburbs that may already have available office space and amenities.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Big L

I don't foresee that happening unless companies that aren't already in Metro Atlanta relocate and then settle in the southern suburbs. The chances of most companies in Duluth or Alpharetta moving to the southern suburbs are slim-to-none and the bulk of the wide-open spaces in the south tend to be further out (Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Spalding, etc.). Aside from the fact that a lot of open areas are trending more towards subdivisions, it would take a lot of incentives for a company to settle in a southern suburb as opposed to a northern suburbs that may already have available office space and amenities.

However, with the redevelopment of the old Ford plant in Hapeville and the adjacent development of Asbury Park (both bordering the Airport and the new International Terminal)--I can see the airport area becoming more of a "edge city" a la Cumberland/Vinings, Perimeter Center, and Buckhead/Lenox. The airport "edge city" will be similar to what one finds already at Dallas and Dulles. Atlanta's airport area is actually behind in developing prime office real estate.

A true "edge city" on the south side would eventually bring corporate headquarters, etc...and the area will be a magnet a for jobs beyond just "airport jobs."