Considering Marietta or Alpharetta... (Atlanta, Smyrna: middle-class, apartment, homes)

[AOYAS]

Hello,

My husband and I are relocating from Phoenix to Atlanta toward the end of summer. He'll most likely be working downtown, and I'll probably be taking some classes at Georgia State (downtown, right?), while working downtown, too.

We're just under 30 years old, with no kids. We'll probably be living in an apartment for 3-12 months when we first get to town, so that we'll be able to decide exactly where we'd like to purchase a home. When we do purchase (probably sometime in 2008), we'll most likely be spending between $275k and $350k.

We'd like to buy in a nice, middle/upper-middle-class, safe suburban neighborhood. Two story (preferrably brick) home, at least 2000 sq ft, no more than 20 years old, but not brand new either (we'd like mature landscaping), possibly with a finished basement (not a deal breaker), and a large, fenced yard for our dog to run around in. Although we don't currently have kids, we'd like to live in an area with good schools. Traffic to/from downtown will definitely be a consideration, since we'll both probably be working there, but we're used to traffic in LA and Phoenix, so lots of traffic won't shock us.

We've heard that Marietta, Smyrna, Alpharetta, and Kennesaw are good suburbs, and possibly fit what we're looking for.

Will these places provide what we're looking for, and if so, which might be best for our situation? Are any of them more built up/convenient to entertainment, dining and shopping than others? It seems that according to maps, Alpharetta and Kennesaw are waaaay out there...is that true? Can someone tell me the honest approximate average commute times during "rush" hours for any of these places? Do any of them have much higher prop taxes than the others? Any info would be extrememly helpful and much appreciated...

[jxu66]

I don't know about commuting situation in other locations. But commute from Alpharatta will take at least an hour to downtown. That's with help taking MARTA train at North Spring station. Straight driving is even more. Wouldn't recommend if you are going to take class in Georgia State downtown although I know a lot of people are doing it everyday for their family.

[atlantagreg30127]

Kennesaw is a nice area, but congested traffic wise, and you're stuck to using the interstates for commuting for the most part (or express bus routes that go into the city). Marietta is diverse with some good and some bad areas, with a similar commuting situation.

Alpharetta is the nicest area in terms of neighborhoods and homes, but as jxu stated, you'd have to drive on GA. 400 in order to get to and from Atlanta, and during rush hour this road is VERY... as in VERY congested. Now, our rapid rail system (MARTA) does have a line that goes North, but not nearly as far as Alpharetta, but it is an alternative to getting downtown once you get to it. Over time they ARE planning to expand the rail further North toward the Alpharetta area, but it's going to depend on funding and time, so it could be literally years and years before that happens.

If you want to avoid traffic, you can copy/paste the URL addresses below for maps on alternate method and where they go in the areas you're looking at.

For the GRTA Map of express bus routes: http://www.xpressga.com/route_pages/XpressSystem.htm (broken link)

For MARTA's rail line map: http://www.itsmarta.com/maps/viewer.asp (broken link) (it's a new interactive funky map that you can click on to enlarge it, or "drag" it to move it around.