Could use some advice on relocating to Atlanta (Savannah, Sandy Springs: 2013, homes)

[Further North]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Note that MARTA here is nowhere as good as MTA/Metro North/LIRR. So a car is a must for most people.

Yeah I definitely plan on having a car either way (2 actually).

[john-staten island]

Originally Posted by Further North

Thanks everyone, really appreciate all of the feedback so far. This has been a big help.

Some follow up questions.

So I know that my exact work location is going to mater a lot for exact real estate prices of nearby areas, but would you say is the general low end of the market for houses? It's definitely a down the road decision for me, but good to know if I decide to stay long term.

Also curious about what the more artsy areas of ATL or the Metro are? I wouldn't say it's a must have criteria, but it would be good to know for reference.

My daughter relocated from Staten Island 4 yrs ago and has learned to love the Arts District area.She rented for 2 years before buying in the Midtown area.She walks to Whole foods, Publix and has MARTA nearby. Really no comparison to NYC mass transit wise, the train is great but limited..I spent last week in Atlanta, while much better in handling Covid than NY..Not much going on downtown..Some dicey areas around Atlanta so be mindful of that..Area around the Cumberland Mall, Braves ballpark in Cobb County is nice..inside the Perimeter would be my preference ..Marrietta area also..I guess the closer to your work..the better..Good luck..

[Further North]

Okay, so I had another call with the Recruiter and I finally no who and where this company is!

It's located near Alpharetta off of HWY 400 near MacFarland Parkway. So it looks to be a bit NE of Alpharetta.

What can you guys tell me about that area?

Is living in Alpharetta kind of a no brainer or are any of the surrounding cities like Milton, Crabapple, etc. offer anything better in the way of things to do for restaurants, nightlife, etc?

How bad of a drive in is it to downtown Atlanta on a Friday night?

[sedimenjerry]

Alpharetta is a great place to be. Milton/Crabapple are also nice but downtown Alpharetta and Avalon (which is very close to downtown Alpharetta) will have most of your activities. Crabapple does has some stuff that it's been building but it's not the same scale as Alpharetta. Milton is largely exurban. Great residential area, but not much going on.
To me Alpharetta is a no brainer. I'm off 400/Haynes Bridge Rd and my office (which I haven't been to since last March) is off Windward Pkwy. Nice easy commute and I'm close to a lot of stuff.

McFarland itself is actually in southwestern Forsyth County which is cheaper but it's a nice area. However, you'd probably end up driving to Alpharetta/Roswell more often than Cumming. It's not that far though.

Also I'll throw in Roswell. Although I will say avoid right there at 400/Holcomb Bridge (especially immediately west of 400). It's an older section of Roswell and has some older apartments. Whenever there's a notable incident of crime it seems to be right there. But the rest of Roswell is nice and Canton St has plenty going on. And still close to Alpharetta.

A drive downtown during rush hour will not be fun. Pre-covid traffic would back up southbound on 400 at Holcomb Bridge where it goes from 4 lanes to 3 (and then back to 4). Then there'd be another slow down most afternoons approaching 285 although with the interchange construction, that may change in the near future. Then south of Buckhead on 400/85 there'd be more traffic headed towards downtown.
But, waiting til like 6/7 or later won't be that bad as compared to 5 pm. Taking MARTA from N Springs Station (direct access to 400) is an option but MARTA doesn't run very late at night I don't think.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Further North

Okay, so I had another call with the Recruiter and I finally no who and where this company is!

It's located near Alpharetta off of HWY 400 near MacFarland Parkway. So it looks to be a bit NE of Alpharetta.

What can you guys tell me about that area?

Is living in Alpharetta kind of a no brainer or are any of the surrounding cities like Milton, Crabapple, etc. offer anything better in the way of things to do for restaurants, nightlife, etc?

How bad of a drive in is it to downtown Atlanta on a Friday night?

On a good note, the best bagel shop around is on McFarland west of 400. If you care for such things. I’d rank it the same as a good LI bagel shop (but not as good as a LI deli).

Milton is quiet horse country. Kind of like Dix Hills in a way. Crabapple is just being built up so too soon to tell.

Alpharetta has a vibrant downtown, walkable and has lots of restaurants.

They’re also building up Halcyon off of McFarland, which is kind of the next Avalon.

As far as driving to Midtown Atlanta, I’d guess around 45 minutes without traffic. Downtown a bit longer.

[Further North]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

Alpharetta is a great place to be. Milton/Crabapple are also nice but downtown Alpharetta and Avalon (which is very close to downtown Alpharetta) will have most of your activities. Crabapple does has some stuff that it's been building but it's not the same scale as Alpharetta. Milton is largely exurban. Great residential area, but not much going on.
To me Alpharetta is a no brainer. I'm off 400/Haynes Bridge Rd and my office (which I haven't been to since last March) is off Windward Pkwy. Nice easy commute and I'm close to a lot of stuff.

McFarland itself is actually in southwestern Forsyth County which is cheaper but it's a nice area. However, you'd probably end up driving to Alpharetta/Roswell more often than Cumming. It's not that far though.

Also I'll throw in Roswell. Although I will say avoid right there at 400/Holcomb Bridge (especially immediately west of 400). It's an older section of Roswell and has some older apartments. Whenever there's a notable incident of crime it seems to be right there. But the rest of Roswell is nice and Canton St has plenty going on. And still close to Alpharetta.

A drive downtown during rush hour will not be fun. Pre-covid traffic would back up southbound on 400 at Holcomb Bridge where it goes from 4 lanes to 3 (and then back to 4). Then there'd be another slow down most afternoons approaching 285 although with the interchange construction, that may change in the near future. Then south of Buckhead on 400/85 there'd be more traffic headed towards downtown.
But, waiting til like 6/7 or later won't be that bad as compared to 5 pm. Taking MARTA from N Springs Station (direct access to 400) is an option but MARTA doesn't run very late at night I don't think.

Thanks!!! Appreciate the info!

So I'm kind of curious too, if I wanted a sort of "Half Way Point" between work and the city proper, are places like Sandy Springs, or Dunwoody any good?

Or how about Norcross or Duluth if I were to go more SE (well NE of the city)?

Just trying to get a feel for what my options might be.

[Further North]

Originally Posted by markjames68

On a good note, the best bagel shop around is on McFarland west of 400. If you care for such things. I’d rank it the same as a good LI bagel shop (but not as good as a LI deli).

Milton is quiet horse country. Kind of like Dix Hills in a way. Crabapple is just being built up so too soon to tell.

Alpharetta has a vibrant downtown, walkable and has lots of restaurants.

They’re also building up Halcyon off of McFarland, which is kind of the next Avalon.

As far as driving to Midtown Atlanta, I’d guess around 45 minutes without traffic. Downtown a bit longer.

Thanks!

Yeah I'm going to be kinda devastated by missing out on the food here! Gonna really hate crawling back to Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, and Dominos. The bagels too. Thanks for the tip on the McFarland place though, I'll have to look that up.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Further North

Thanks!

Yeah I'm going to be kinda devastated by missing out on the food here! Gonna really hate crawling back to Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, and Dominos. The bagels too. Thanks for the tip on the McFarland place though, I'll have to look that up.

Well, you don’t necessarily have to “crawl back” to only eating at the national chains if you like to eat pizza.

The Atlanta metropolitan area (including affluent Northside suburbs like Alpharetta) is home to what many outsiders (especially many who might be familiar with the famous pizza dining scenes in large major metro areas like the Northeast Corridor and Chicago) may find to be a surprisingly robust local pizza scene, much (if not most) of which seems to be heavily directly affected by the New York pizza scene.

While nothing seemingly likely may compare to New York’s famous pizza scene, there are a lot of great pizza restaurants to sample and explore in the greater Atlanta area, probably starting with Antico Pizza Napoletana in Avalon in Alpharetta, which is a very popular, highly critically-acclaimed local pizza restaurant that was started by and is owned and operated by an Italian-American guy from New York City.

Antico Pizza’s flagship location in near-West Midtown Atlanta near Georgia Tech has previously been recognized by food critics as being the best pizza in the entire nation and as being one of the best pizzas on the entire planet.

Atlanta's Antico Pizza Napoletana Wins International Award from World-Renowned Italian Authority - Atlanta's Premier Pie Crafters Honored by Festa Della Pizza, Named Top in Class in the United States (Cision PR Newswire, 22 Sept 2010)

The Ultimate Atlanta Pizza Spots for a Legit Slice - We’ve asked the experts. (thrillist, 14 Oct 2020)

Antico Pizza among best in U.S. (Atlanta Business Chronicle, 14 Oct 2013)

The Best Pizza In 10 Big Cities Around The US (Business Insider, 13 Oct 2013)

“Best pizza in America” - Review of Antico Pizza Napoletana (Tripadvisor, 12 July 2014)

2 GA Pizzerias Among 101 Best Pizza Joints In US: Daily Meal - The Daily Meal recently released its ranking of the 101 best pizzas in the nation. See which joints from the Atlanta region made the list. (Atlanta Patch, 5 Oct 2019)

10 Top U.S. Pizzas (epicurious)

30. Antico Pizza Napoletana - 50 Best Restaurants in Atlanta (Atlanta Magazine)

24 Pizzerias to Try Around Atlanta - Neapolitan, deep dish Detroit-style, and New York-inspired pies (Eater Atlanta)

75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta (Atlanta Magazine)

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Well, you don’t necessarily have to “crawl” back to only eating at the national chains if you like to eat pizza.

The Atlanta metropolitan area (including affluent Northside suburbs like Alpharetta) is home to what many outsiders (especially many who might be familiar with the famous pizza dining scenes in large major metro areas like the Northeast Corridor and Chicago) may find to be a surprisingly robust local pizza scene, much (if not most) of which seems to be heavily directly affected by the New York pizza scene.

While nothing seemingly likely may compare to New York’s famous pizza scene, there are a lot of great pizza restaurants to sample and explore in the greater Atlanta area, probably starting with Antico Pizza Napoletana in Avalon in Alpharetta, which is a very popular, highly critically-acclaimed local pizza restaurant that was started by and is owned and operated by an Italian-American guy from New York City.

Antico Pizza’s flagship location in near-West Midtown Atlanta near Georgia Tech has previously been recognized by food critics as being the best pizza in the entire nation and as being one of the best pizzas on the entire planet.

Atlanta's Antico Pizza Napoletana Wins International Award from World-Renowned Italian Authority - Atlanta's Premier Pie Crafters Honored by Festa Della Pizza, Named Top in Class in the United States (Cision PR Newswire, 22 Sept 2010)

The Ultimate Atlanta Pizza Spots for a Legit Slice - We’ve asked the experts. (thrillist, 14 Oct 2020)

Antico Pizza among best in U.S. (Atlanta Business Chronicle, 14 Oct 2013)

The Best Pizza In 10 Big Cities Around The US (Business Insider, 13 Oct 2013)

“Best pizza in America” - Review of Antico Pizza Napoletana (Tripadvisor, 12 July 2014)

2 GA Pizzerias Among 101 Best Pizza Joints In US: Daily Meal - The Daily Meal recently released its ranking of the 101 best pizzas in the nation. See which joints from the Atlanta region made the list. (Atlanta Patch, 5 Oct 2019)

10 Top U.S. Pizzas (epicurious)

30. Antico Pizza Napoletana - 50 Best Restaurants in Atlanta (Atlanta Magazine)

75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta (Atlanta Magazine)

Tell it, Born 2 Roll!

"Crawling back to National chains" is exactly the attitude that turns people here off, and will win you nothing but a very cold shoulder at the minimum. This is a major Metropolitan area, not some third rate backwater. Atlanta has a very robust culinary scene that we are rightfully quite proud of. The fastest way to turn people off and be labeled as an arrogant jerk is to take the 'this is how we do it in New York' stance. Don't do it, as it's considered extremely insulting by a majority of residents - including many transplants.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by JMatl

Tell it, Born 2 Roll!

"Crawling back to National chains" is exactly the attitude that turns people here off, and will win you nothing but a very cold shoulder at the minimum. This is a major Metropolitan area, not some third rate backwater. Atlanta has a very robust culinary scene that we are rightfully quite proud of. The fastest way to turn people off and be labeled as an arrogant jerk is to take the 'this is how we do it in New York' stance. Don't do it, as it's considered extremely insulting by a majority of residents - including many transplants.

Yep.

There’s even been some aspiring national chain restaurants which have expanded into metro Atlanta thinking that it was an area that would be the most fertile ground for the growth of their particular cookie-cutter national chain restaurant because Atlanta was a large major metropolitan area in the Sun Belt with a huge suburban expanse.

But they seemed to have been unpleasantly surprised when they found out the hard way that many residents of a metro like Atlanta would not just automatically eat at a restaurant just because Atlanta is a large Sun Belt city/metro with a huge expanse of suburbs.

Ohio-based Donatos Pizza found out the hard way that just being a chain restaurant alone does not guarantee automatic success in a city/metro in Atlanta that the pizza restaurant’s corporate leaders at the time thought was a prototypical metropolitan area in the Sun Belt.

Donatos Pizza (which at the time likely had over-expanded into metro Atlanta just after being acquired by McDonald’s before being resold to the company’s founder just 3 years later immediately before leaving the Atlanta market) left the Atlanta market after only about 4 years after entering the market and trying to sell cheap-ingredient pizza to a market where residents have much higher dining standards (including pizza dining standards) than their corporate overlords seemed to have originally thought.

“A Decade Later, Former Donatos Pizza Serving Chicken, Phones, Cash and Thickburgers” (Atlanta Tomorrow’s News Today)

Donatos Pizza very recently re-entered the state of Georgia in 2019, opening up one new store in Savannah after fleeing the Atlanta market in 2002.

Though, Donatos seems to be contemplating attempting to re-enter the much more discerning Atlanta market, they seem to be staying away for now.

“Donatos Pizza returns to Georgia with fresh look” (Nation’s Restaurant News)

Granted the pizza restaurant chain at the time was run by some corporate overlords seemingly just looking to make a quick buck without caring about the quality of the product they were selling, Donatos seems to be an unfortunate example of a faction that came to Atlanta thinking that they could attempt to mass-sell what many people thought was a below-quality product, just because Atlanta is a large major city/metro in the Sun Belt that they thought would buy chain pizza, no matter the actual quality.