Emory Residency - where to live? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: renting, houses, neighborhoods)

[drewblue]

Hey all,

I've been lurking for quite some time and I decided to post tonight, as I feel many of you offer excellent advice and are very knowledgeable about Atlanta. My wife and I are moving to Atlanta in June so she can complete her residency at Emory. We have an Realtor who has been helping us out -- she's great actually -- but I was looking for some other opinions on some of the communities we've been looking at to possibly purchase a home.

We're looking for something within a 20 minute drive of Emory. Our price point, 230k, gives us some flexibility, but not a whole lot inside the perimeter. School districts aren't as important right now as we have a 15 month old baby, but of course, a strong school district would be a plus for resell value down the road. We're looking for a community with character, but close enough to be near retail like Target, Starbucks, Publix, etc... We come from a diverse urban neighborhood in Memphis, and we like it, but it's very important that we live in a community where we feel safe -- walks at dusk and playtime in the park are very important to us. We have a home now that has great character, 1930s shotgun-style, but we are open to all types and ideas in Atlanta (maybe not split-levels ) A newer home would be great, but I understand that my expectations can't be too high with our price point.

I've been researching for about a year now, and here's what I've come up with. Could I get some feedback on what some of you think of these communities? I've jotted down my initial thoughts on these areas. We've visited some of these already, and will be making a trip soon for the others. Thanks in advance...

City of Decatur - high taxes, out of our price range?

Avondale Estates - love the small town feel, limited number of homes in our price range.

Pine Lake - seems very peaceful and quaint, safe

Tucker - heard good things, but don't know much about it

Stone Mt. - safety concerns?

Clarkston?

Thanks again...
d

[JPD]

Tucker is within 20 minutes of Emory (10 minutes when it isn't rush hour), has the best schools in your price range, is safe to walk at night (my wife and I walk to dinner all the time when the weather is nice), several parks nearby (Cofer Park, Henderson Park, Stone Mountain Park). Tucker is getting a new library (by the end of next year) and, supposedly, a new high school. Considering the inside of the perimeter is mostly filled up and expensive, it is miraculous that Tucker, being just outside the perimeter, has not boomed yet. It's only a matter of time before it does.

I've heard good things about Pine Lake, but I doubt you'd make it to Emory in 20 minutes from there, even with no traffic.

Clarkston has good and bad areas. It's probably worth consideration. I've met some people who live there and like it.

Avondale Estates and City of Decatur will probably be out of your price range.

[drewblue]

Great. Thanks for the info. We seem to be narrowing it down to Avondale and Tucker. Any others with opinions of Tucker, Pine Lake, and Avondale Estates?

[nlupfer]

We are also moving to Atlanta while my husband will complete his Master's and PhD there. Is is important to us to live as close to Emory as possible. We are not a fan of suburbia, but also don't want to live in the middle of downtown. We've found some neighborhoods inside 285 that we both really like with older homes (1950's and 1960's). Many of them have been redone, some of them have been flipped. We plan on spending between 215-250 for a home and have that most are in our price range. Check out these neighborhoods...

University Heights
Medlock Park
North Druid Woods

Mostly you will find 3/1 or 3/1.5 brick ranches. We plan on adding a second full bath.

These are just right down the street from Emory between North Decatur Road and North Druid Hills road. They are also in the Druid Hills HS zone, which I've heard is the better HS in DeKalb county. Two out of the three are right on the border of Decatur, but you don't have to pay their high taxes.

We don't have children yet, so finding a good school district is not paramount, but is good for resale. Most of the homes in these communities are in the Laurel Ridge Elem. or Medlock Elem. zone. I don't know much about the schools, but I haven't heard anything negative.

Just as a side note, I drove through Tucker last time I was up there - I wasn't all that impressed. I didn't spend a whole lot of time there, so don't base your impression solely on my opinion, but I thought it looked like Anywhere, USA.

Hope this helps!

[drewblue]

Great. Thanks for the help. We're going to tour Tucker in early May, so we'll have a better gauge of the area. I really do like Avondale, but I know it's a bit high. On our last trip, we toured several of the neighborhoods you mentioned, and we thought they were ok, but the square footage wasn't that great. I know that inside the perimeter we have to make sacrifices, so we may need to adjust our priorities. Thanks for the info and good luck on your search. Keep me posted!
thanks, d

[lastminutemom]

Inside the perimter in Dekalb, with the exception of the most of the Lakeside Cluster and the areas that feeds Fernbank Elem and Livsey Elem, you won't find to many people buying because of the schools, especially the middle schools. That said, you generally can't go wrong with a close in location. (excluding DeKalb also) They area is going to continue to appreciate because of the great location. Downtown and midtown Atlanta are just so close as is Emory and Emory Hospital.

Most people don't want to raise big families in small houses anymore in Atlanta, so nowadays many close-in, smaller, homes turn over as the family grows anyway.

Avondale Estates has a strong young family component. Many of these families are staying, adding on to their houses, and mostly putting their kids in private schools. there is work underway to change this, there is a group of parents working on Avondale Elem.

Drewblue, will you be working as well... If so, do you have any where. If your wife is a resident, I think they work less traditional, but very long hours. If you are going to have a regular 9 to 5 job, location should matter to you to....

[JPD]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Inside the perimter in Dekalb, with the exception of ... the areas that feeds ... Livsey Elem

FYI, Livsey is outside the perimeter. Livsey is a good school, as are Brockett and Midvale. All of which are in Tucker, and all of which are just a bit outside of the perimeter.

[drewblue]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Inside the perimter in Dekalb, with the exception of the most of the Lakeside Cluster and the areas that feeds Fernbank Elem and Livsey Elem, you won't find to many people buying because of the schools, especially the middle schools. That said, you generally can't go wrong with a close in location. (excluding DeKalb also) They area is going to continue to appreciate because of the great location. Downtown and midtown Atlanta are just so close as is Emory and Emory Hospital.

Most people don't want to raise big families in small houses anymore in Atlanta, so nowadays many close-in, smaller, homes turn over as the family grows anyway.

Avondale Estates has a strong young family component. Many of these families are staying, adding on to their houses, and mostly putting their kids in private schools. there is work underway to change this, there is a group of parents working on Avondale Elem.

Drewblue, will you be working as well... If so, do you have any where. If your wife is a resident, I think they work less traditional, but very long hours. If you are going to have a regular 9 to 5 job, location should matter to you to....

Thanks so much everyone for responding. Sorry I've been putting off replying until we visited -- which we did this past week. Had several job interviews across town - downtown; Sandy Springs; Buckhead - no nothing is final in that department. We're looking near Emory because we at least know one of us won't have to suffer with the commute!

We really liked Pine Lake and there are two homes we love within that community. Very quaint -- like a beach town really. But I'm concerned about the area surrounding the community. I've searched some of what others on the board feel about Rockbridge road and Hairston road and the stone mountain area, and there's not a lot of great things said. Anyone live in or near stone mountain that have had any safety issues, particularly near where we may be living. I'm not worried about Pine Lake -- I'm concerned about grocery shopping, getting gas, etc... in Stone Mtn. when we have to leave Pine Lake. Are my concerns justified? Thanks for your help and I'll make sure to respond more quickly next time... thanks again.

[sweettea1]

Were you able to take a walk at night? This is a great way to tell how you feel. Also, would your wife feel comfortable taking a stroll with the baby? You don't want to feel like you're on an isolated street surrounded by crime. Will you have a chance to come back again before putting an offer on a house? Have you considered renting for a while? The other area I would suggest is closer to the Toco Hills center, off of Lavista and Briarcliff. Tons of young families.