I have 4 days...what to see with the family? (Atlanta: apartment complexes, lease)

[live-fit]

We are taking a "look and see" trip to the Atlanta area and have about 4 days to scope out the neighborhoods we'd consider living in and taking the kids out for some family fun.

Where should we take the kids besides, ofcourse, the aquarium to have some fun?

Also,

We're moving from Northern VA....so as far as schools, suburban feel, access to gyms (Life Time Fitness), shopping and restaurants I'm hearing a lot about Roswell & Alpharetta or East Cobb County to find the same feel as Northern VA.

Can anyone recommend any specific areas or neighborhoods in this area to focus our attention. Thanks kindly in advance!

[plessthanpointohfive]

Are you working somewhere? Your best recommendation is based off of where you work...commutes here can be nasty.

[goozer]

Originally Posted by live-fit

We're moving from Northern VA....so as far as schools, suburban feel, access to gyms (Life Time Fitness), shopping and restaurants I'm hearing a lot about Roswell & Alpharetta or East Cobb County to find the same feel as Northern VA.

Depends what part of Northern VA you are referring to. If you are referring to Herndon/Chantilly/Ashburn/Leesburg, than I would say East Cobb County and places like Alpharetta are similar (but far less expensive). If you are referring to Alexandria and Arlington, you may want to take a look at Decatur and some of the closer "in town" neighborhoods like Candler Park, Lake Claire, Virginia Highlands, and Morningside (again, these closer in suburbs are much less expensive in terms of home prices than their NoVa counterparts). I grew up NoVa and if I ever moved back I would be looking to live in Alexandria or Arlington. To be honest, I wish I could take Decatur and plop it down somewhere just across the Potomac river because I prefer it to Alexandria (except for the Old Town area) and Arlington to be honest.

[genki]

Take the kids to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Fernbank Museum of Natural History) and then for lunch at one of the nearby Fellini's (there are 3 within a relatively quick drive depending on which neighborhood you are interested in) - Fellini's Pizza & La Fonda Latina Restaurants
The closest one is the Ponce de Leon location, also there are locations in Candler Park and Decatur if you want to check out those areas.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by plessthanpointohfive

Are you working somewhere? Your best recommendation is based off of where you work...commutes here can be nasty.

Listen to this - it's the holy commandment of Atlanta. Try to live 8 miles or closer to where you work. Not always possible but FAR too many people here live on the other side of the metro area as they work, and spend 2+ hours a day in their cars commuting. Not a good way for quality family time in the evenings.

Spend a day in the Alpharetta area and check out their neighborhoods and the "Northpoint Mall" shopping area. If you drive about 30 miles North of Alpharetta, you can find the North Georgia Premium Outlet Mall in Dawsonville. In that area there is a town called Dahlonega with a town square filled with artists galleries and stuff like that, and somewhere around there is an animal sanctuary as well. Living on that side of the metro gives you access to the city but also this woodsy/small town stuff in North Georgia as well.

[smoothrat]

Stone Mountain park is a great outing. Ride the cable cars to the top of the mountain; take the train ride; riverboat; etc.

I agree about buying your home with an eye towards your commute. Living intown ensures you'll at least be going against traffic if you work OTP. And if you work intown, your commute will be a breeze from an intown neighborhood.

[chip1980]

Atlanta History Center
The King Center
The Cyclorama
Rhodes Hall
Margaret Mitchell House
High Museum
Carlos Museum
CNN
World of Coca Cola
Georgia Aquarium
Stone Mountain
Atlanta Zoo
The Botanical Gardens
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center
Puppetry Arts center (kids)
Children’s Musuem
Castleberry Hill Art District
Centennial Park
Six Flags
White Water

[TakeAhike]

Chip has pretty covered the places to visit.

The Atlanta History Center should go at the top of the list. Tour the Swan House/example of homes in Atlanta's early years.

Swan Coach House

Then go to lunch at the Horseradish Grill>>
Horseradish Grill - Atlanta's Oldest Continuously Operating Restaurant

Take a tour of Buckhead soon to be 'like Rodeo Drive'>>
Buckhead - Atlanta, Georgia - 2300 Peachtree Road

Head back toward midtown/intown and visit Piedmont Park --then take the 'kids'--not certain of the ages through Little 5 Points--Funky/Key West part of Atlanta--then on to the Emory area--at N. Decatur Rd there is a small shopping center --Bicycle South, Wuxtry records/CD's recycled--and Rainbow Foods and a few little ethnic restaurants.

Piedmont Park>>>
Piedmont Park Conservancy

Inman Park

Along the way to Emory you can tour Virginia Highland--many shops, places to eat--Murphy's is good and so many more.

Virginia Highland :: Atlanta, Georgia

Restaurant VH>>
Restaurants Near Virginia Highland, Atlanta | MyTravelGuide.com

You might find Dunwoody to be comparable to NO VA. They have a new skateboard park.

Dunwoody, Georgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brook Run Skateboard Park>>
Resources « Brook Run Skate Park

[rroach]

Hi I looking for a clubhouse or poolhouse to rent for a family meet and greet. This would be for 7/18/08 from 6P - 9P Does anyone know any apartment complexes (preferably with a pool) around the area who would lease for 1 day to a non-resident?

Also does anyone know of a nice park in the city that we could use for 7/19/08. It appears most parks are booked for that saturday. At this point we would entertain another culb house etc. for Saturday as well as Friday any help would be greatly appreciated.

rroaches@hotmail.com

[VLopzez2]

You could look up a place on sneakysunday.com that's close to you. It's important to find a location near, where you don't have to commute 2+ hours to get to places.