Where should we live in North Atlanta? (Alpharetta, Dunwoody: cul-de-sac, house)

[neenzy]

I've scoured all the topics and read a lot about all of the cites in North Atlanta but still not sure where we should start looking. I'll try to give as much info as I can and thanks in advance for any and all of your help.
My husband works from home most of the time, but he will have to drive to the airport about once per week and to Norcross 2-3 times per month. Sometimes he'll go during rush hour and sometimes not.

Ok, so if I could have the perfect perfection of a home, here's what it would be:

Town:
-excellent schools
-clean, well-planned
-downtown or main street shopping/eating district
-safe, with normal precautions
-good traffic flow (I can handle rush hour traffic, just not 24 hours a day traffic jamups)
-airport no more than 60 min. drive in rush hour
-culture/entertainment no more than 45-60 min. drive
-library, tap/ballet, gymnastics, etc. classes,
-community recreation center or swim club
-trusted preschools
-ethnic diversity
-not too conservative politically


House:
-at or Less than $360,000
-brick or a mix of hardyplank siding
-open floor plan, not boxy
-1/4 to 3/4 acre lot
-cul-de-sac
-4-5 bedroom
-level backyard
-reputable builder

We like Alpharetta but not sure if this is optimal. I do like being near shopping. Thanks again. We are coming from Florida and lived here all my life, so this is a big, big move. =)

[xixonmn]

Zipcode 30043.

[jln69]

What about Johns Creek. Great schools. Very convenient to Norcross. Airport is a drive (about an hour or a little more in rush hour) but you can take Marta. There is shopping, restaurants, activities and a library. Most neighborhoods have swim/tennis.

Dunwoody is an option. It is a bit pricier. Much harder to find something in your price range. The home will be older and need some work. I don't mean that negatively. Very convenient to Norcross as well and the airport is closer. Plenty of shopping, restaurants and activities. There are neighborhoods with swim/tennis. I find some of the schools are questionable. I personally prefer the elementary in the Dekalb part of Dunwoody but prefer the middle and high schools in the Fulton part of Dunwoody. Johns Creek will provide you with more solid schools all around.

Good luck.

[48hrresume]

Alpharetta is really great, especially for schools. It is worth it.

[neenzy]

Thanks for your help. This is great because we really like the Alpharetta area. We did think about Lawrenceville but we thought it would be less metropolitan, if that's the right word.

[jln69]

Originally Posted by neenzy

Thanks for your help. This is great because we really like the Alpharetta area. We did think about Lawrenceville but we thought it would be less metropolitan, if that's the right word.

When you say Alpharetta do you JUST mean Alpharetta because since the forming of Milton and Johns Creek there is not much Alpharetta left. Alpharetta now is just Windward, developments off Old Milton and Kimball Bridge, Waters and a few off Hwy 9 near downtown. The rest is all businesses.

Don't want you to limit yourself since they are all the same. We used to be Alpharetta and still think of myself as Alpharetta but we are technically Johns Creek now.

[jln69]

Also when you are house hunting, Realtors still put Alpharetta in the MLS and they are really Johns Creek and Milton because most people still think of the area as Alpharetta so Realtors don't want their listing to be overlooked when doing a search.

[Tresninas]

What part of Norcross will you need to go to?

The part of Johns Creek that used to be Duluth (east of 141) is very close to Norcross. It also has just about everything you're looking for.

[neenzy]

Yes, we understand that Duluth, Johns Creek, and Alpharetta all blur together as far as house hunting goes. I still do separate searches on realtor.com just to be sure. We found a house in Highgate subdivision off Parsons Rd. The house listed across the street was Duluth and this one was Johns Creek. The negotiations did not go well for that house. So in the meantime, I went ahead and posted here because I want to be sure our realtors know what they are doing, as far as commute and all that. I know absolutely nothing about Atlanta so I sure do appreciate all of your responses. This does seem like a nice area.