Northern Atlanta Burbs vs Southern Atlanta Burbs (Sandy Springs, Roswell: crime, credit)

[doggiebus]

Forgive me if this question has been asked already, I searched but couldn't find the answer. I am trying to figure out the layout of the metro area. When I have visited we have stayed in Buckhead or in Northern Atlanta, so I am not familiar with the southern Atlanta burbs.

From what I have read on here, the majority of the people live in the northern atlanta suburbs. Why isn't Southern Atlanta and its suburbs as jam packed as Northern Atlanta? Also I noticed that many good restaurants and malls are on the northern side of Atlanta. I assume this is because the people are there. So my question is, do you think the Southern part of Atlanta will eventually get the good restaurants and shops (Bloomingdales, Cheesecake Factory for instance) that are on the northern side when/if more people move to Southern Atlanta burbs?

The reason I ask is, I like the new homes in the Southern Atlantas burbs, but the fact that the majority of the shops and restaurants we like are in Northern Atlanta or downtown Atlanta makes it a hard choice. I don't want to drive 30 minutes to get to Nordstroms. But I want to live in a nice area with at least an acre. Thanks for any help.

[LovinDecatur]

Good question.

I've lived here my whole life, and I can tell you that for long time (at least 60 years), the south side was always looked at by natives as the 'poor' side of town. That might have been an unfair assessment, but there it was. Until I was an adult, I never even set foot in a south side neighborhood...there was no reason to, except for curiosity.
Will this change? I think it already has begun to, but it will take time...its' proximity to downtown and the airport is certainly a drawing card, and the interesting thing about many of the southside neighborhoods is that they haven't been touched by development in decades and are 'pristine'. There is not as much bad redevelopment to contend with when trying to gentrify the neighborhood IMO.

[netdragon]

One major difference is that the Northern suburbs are generally higher density than the Southern suburbs. In fact, some parts of the Northern suburbs are more densely populated than all of Atlanta except for midtown, downtown and the Lenox part of Buckhead. Examples are the Northside perimeter, Cumberland, central Smyrna, central Marietta, Kennesaw Town Center CID, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, etc. Additionally, much of the Southern suburbs is pretty much original (lots of 50s-70s homes), whereas much of the Northern suburbs has been redeveloped. Finally, a lot more of the wealth is concentrated in the Northern suburbs (including Decatur and Cascade).

There are nice parts of the Southern suburbs. These are often the low or medium density areas with newer neighborhoods like Sandtown along Camp Creek Parkway or Peachtree City. There aren't really the high density nice areas like in the Northern Suburbs. Higher density in the Southern burbs is usually a higher density of poverty and crime than in outlying areas (College Park, East Point, etc) and that crime and poverty affects lower density surrounding areas as well. Now, don't get me wrong, these areas are improving, but they have a long way to go considering the denser parts of the Northern suburbs have often had urban renewal happen decade after decade.

If commuter rail isn't built in the Northern suburbs, you'll probably see a lot more re-development going on in the Southern suburbs sooner and it'll probably get a lot nicer over the course of 20 years or so. If commuter rail is built, it could take longer since there will be less pressure on the Northern suburbs' real-estate market, and the Southern suburbs will probably get fully built out then remain that way until the next development wave in the Northern suburbs ends with very little reason to re-build in the Southern metro with the land value being so much higher in the North (and thus redevelopment being more profitable).

[suzie02]

We live in the North because my dh works in Roswell. A lot depends on your commute.

[netdragon]

That brings up another good point. A lot more high-income work is available in the Northern suburbs, with the exception of some airport jobs.

[lastminutemom]

Where will you be working? That should be the most important thing you consider-- not where Nordstroms is. Shopping is easy as you can schedule it around traffic... work not so much.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Forgive me if this question has been asked already, I searched but couldn't find the answer. I am trying to figure out the layout of the metro area. When I have visited we have stayed in Buckhead or in Northern Atlanta, so I am not familiar with the southern Atlanta burbs.

From what I have read on here, the majority of the people live in the northern atlanta suburbs. Why isn't Southern Atlanta and its suburbs as jam packed as Northern Atlanta? Also I noticed that many good restaurants and malls are on the northern side of Atlanta. I assume this is because the people are there. So my question is, do you think the Southern part of Atlanta will eventually get the good restaurants and shops (Bloomingdales, Cheesecake Factory for instance) that are on the northern side when/if more people move to Southern Atlanta burbs?

The reason I ask is, I like the new homes in the Southern Atlantas burbs, but the fact that the majority of the shops and restaurants we like are in Northern Atlanta or downtown Atlanta makes it a hard choice. I don't want to drive 30 minutes to get to Nordstroms. But I want to live in a nice area with at least an acre. Thanks for any help.

The jobs are in the north, the money is in the north and the south suburbs are overrun by crime, corruption and incompetent governments. In fact Clayton County is about to lose its school accreditdation!

[doggiebus]

Thank you all, I think I understand. Down south I have seen some nicer developments with 800k to million dollar homes east of PTC. Would it be fair to say these areas are still pretty rural and safe (some have guard gates)?

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Where will you be working? That should be the most important thing you consider-- not where Nordstroms is. Shopping is easy as you can schedule it around traffic... work not so much.

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) So don't know where we would work, either from home, maybe get office space close by, or last resort get a 9-5 job working for someone else. I work from home right now, which is really nice, so would hope to continue that. If we do have to work 9-5 in an office, it would help to make our decision on where to live, but we are still a little ways off from that. Need to pick a city first. Thanks.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Thank you all, I think I understand. Down south I have seen some nicer developments with 800k to million dollar homes east of PTC. Would it be fair to say these areas are still pretty rural and safe (some have guard gates)?

I wouldn't call that 'rural', but I think that it's reasonably safe.