Where should an Emory post-doc live? (Atlanta, Albany: apartments, lease, condo)

[UnityMom]

DH and I are hoping to relocate from upstate NY to Atlanta for his post-doc work at Emory. his job is to pass the interview, my job is to find us a place to live.

Here's what we want:
* a house (rent or own), not an apt, not a condo
* close to Emory (less than 30 minutes drive)
* a quiet, suburban neighborhood.
* a safe area, where we don't have to worry about crime (we have a young baby)
* a low traffic area.
* budget: for owning - $120K or less, for renting $800/mo or less

does this even exist?
the closest i've found is Stone Mountain? (assuming St. Mt. is in person what it appears on the internet - suburban, low crime, 20 minute commute to Emory)

if we can't have all that, then i would have to prioritize:
* safe, comfortable neighborhood would have to be my first priority. if i don't feel safe walking down the street with my 4 month old baby, i just can't live there. period. (lived all my life in quiet suburbs, where no one even needs to lock their cars or houses)
* 30 minutes or less to Emory would have to be next.

i guess i could do condo or apt, but would need a small yard for the puppies. (2 small dogs)

please, please, help! i need all the suggestion, guidance i can get!

[xxman777]

Well I think you are probably going to want to rent. You can get into St Mtn for $120k, but it isn't going to be what would generally be considered a safe neighborhood. For example, a few months back the guy who used to manage my package store (near Emory) was returning home to St Mtn after work one night and was shot and killed in a random robbery. You might luck out and find a cheap affordable neighborhood in St Mtn but most of the area is pretty rough. The nicer areas are north toward Tucker or east of the park.

For $800 you are going to have a real tough time finding a two bedroom as well. I live in an older apartment building and pay about $800 for a one bedroom. Most of the complexes in the area are much more expensive. You could try in the Vinings area, you could probably find what you are looking for there but I'm not sure where else.

You should probably look at places northeast and east. The drive is going to be brutal but you aren't going to find what you are looking for closer in.

[Figment 07]

He's right. The Emory area can be quite expensive. However, there are a few affordable options listed among these:

http://www.housing.emory.edu/off-campus/home.cfm

Emory Off-Campus Housing Finder

(Thanks to LLD for posting this useful website originally!)

[xxman777]

I checked out that site (thumbs up to LLD and Figment; excellent resource) and if you go down about a third of the way down there is a couple of postings which might work for you. "Apartment in quadraplex" and "Beautiful downtown Decatur!!!" (both were updated 1/22/07) are both $800 for a 2bd, 1 ba. Most of the listings on the site seem to be for shared housing or for larger, more expensive homes, but those two might actually work for you. I would be careful agreeing to sort of lease without checking them out in person but they are both in good areas. The area around the quadraplex one is a very congested area (it's very near Emory which is a very congested area) but it would be closer to work.

Both are in the city so you should always lock your doors but these are both relatively safe areas for any major city.

[jeweloflight]

Yikes! I hate to tell you, but you'll never own anything near Emory University for $120k. $800.00 for a two bedroom? Not likely. I don't know about the site Figment suggested, but if you get something for rent in that price range, it will be the pure luck of the draw. Owning around Emory is quite expensive; it is safe though, for the most part. I live in Vinings/Smyrna area, and my mother works at the VA hospital, which is down the street form the University, and she gets there in 30 minutes flat, sometimes less. I never lock my car doors at night. You may want to consider that 30 minute or less commute, and check out some nearby neighborhoods. I'm not telling you to give up on living near Emory, I hope you do find something, but $800 a month is more like a one bedroom price in that neighborhood. Happy hunting!

[xxman777]

Oh yeah, be very careful with either of these or anything else you find. $800 is cheap for this area so there is bound to be something wrong with it. I can tell you the Quadraplex one has pretty bad access (assuming the map of where it is, is actually correct) but the I don't know anything about the Decatur one. If you want I can try and do a drive by of the Quadraplex one in the next couple of days.

Vinings/Smyrna isn't a bad idea either. You can probably find something there in your price range; nice, fairly suburban, relatively low crime, about a 30 minute commute. That's a good suggestion.

[UnityMom]

thanks for the info (and the offer to drive by and check it out!!!)
the Quadraplex one won't work -- we have two small dogs, and it's a no-pet zone. i like the Adair apts.
i guess it's hard -- we're home owners right now. the idea of going back to apartment living . . . it just feels like such a step down, ya know?

i'm also coming to the conclusion that we're looking at one of three options:
1. live way the heck out of town, in a nice home . . . and DH will spend all his time commuting, and our son (4 months old) and i will never see him.
2. we live in a crappy, run down hole that we can afford on my husband's salary near emory, or a bad neighborhood -- in which case i would then be a stay-at-home-mom, staying home where i'm miserable.
3. i go back to work. i don't get to be home with my son, but at least we can afford a nicer place to live.

assuming a bigger income, how are these areas?
* orchard street
* 168 garden lane
* oakwood vista apartments
* blackmon drive
* 1231 Clairmont Rd?

thanks again for the info!

[darkone]

Where in Upstate NY are you moving from, btw?
I moved from Ithaca, from a university there.
Are you and your husband doing the same perhaps? It will be a big change, but in some respects in a good way.

If you aren't from there, then you're moving from Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Binghamton or Buffalo .... the names make me homesick and nauseous all at once.

Also, I know personally, that the last thing any post-doc would want to do is commute long hours. He will need to work extra long hours (compared to a regular job) and commuting is just not conducive to this. My $0.02.

[Figment 07]

Originally Posted by UnityMom

his job is to pass the interview, my job is to find us a place to live.

Your job might be harder than his, UnityMom.

You should probably consult Emory Apartment Finders, too:

"... a free apartment-locator service created by a group of Emory students who wanted to simplify the process of finding off-campus housing in the Emory area"

http://www.emoryapartmentfinders.com

[xxman777]

Let's see, I'll try and let you know what I know about each of them.

orchard street- Not sure about this one, the only Orchard St I could come up with was in Hapeville (by the airport) which is generally a pretty rough area. It's starting to gentrify and this might be an ok neighborhood but I don't really have enough info to help you beyond that.

168 garden lane-Great location, safe area. I'd have to do a drive by to be sure but this would probably be my top pick. It's close to Emory, close to Decatur, safe. The downfall would be it's right on Scott Blvd which has a lot of traffic.

oakwood vista apartments- I believe this is a complex in Tucker (Norcross address). I'm not real familiar with this area but most posters will tell you it isn't a good. Also you are probably going to experience the worst traffic of any on the list here.

blackmon drive- Similar to garden lane, I can do a drive by but it's a good area, low crime, decent amount of traffic (it's also on Scott Blvd).

1231 Clairmont Rd- If I know what complex this is it's kind of run down but it's a good area, low crime, close to Emory and lots of traffic.