Lake Alltoona or Lake Lanier? Job Relocation to Atlanta in 5 Weeks! (Macon: apartment, renting)

[Rich13]

My employer just told me I have been relocated to Atlanta, with a report date of mid November. I have 5 weeks to find a new place to live. I am currently on a large lake in VA (Smith Mountain Lake) and I have a 21.5' walleye fishing boat (62mph).

I worked my whole life to be able to afford a place on a lake with good fishing, so I hate to leave my current lakefront home but I have no choice. My only consolation is to try to find a waterfront home on a lake outside of Atlanta with good fishing that is big enough for my lake. Oh, and most important, I need to be able to commute to mid town Atlanta within an hour max.

Can anyone tell me what options I have. I have done a little research and it seems I am limited to Alltoona or Lanier. I have only been able to do a quick drive by Lanier and while it is certainly big enough, I didn't see much in terms of local conveniences (i.e.: shopping, restaurants, CVS, etc).

I am really in a bind, wife is freaking out...I need help!!! Pros/cons of Alltoona vs Lanier? Major factors I need to consider are the neighborhoods, local convenience, commute time, deep water (I understand both lakes suffer greatly in terms of water fluctuations) and fishing quality.

Thanks so much for any help!

[wxjay]

The only way you can commute from either Allatoona or Lanier is to work seriously non-rush hours. Both places are easily 1-1.5 hours away in traffic, and if it's raining or a Friday or football weekend or something, you can expect longer.

If you can get to work early and leave early, then you might be able to do it. But your 1 hour max criteria really yields this two lakes too far away for you to consider.

But, you don't care about possibly having a 1.5 hour commute, then I would say Allatoona will likely have less expensive homes, though Lanier area is more developed and closer to greater amenities.

[johnnyboy2008]

Not familar with altoona.

I will say that the west side of lanier near cumming would have more development/shops/retail than the eastside.

And the westside of lanier would use GA 400 which has lots of traffic, but it would be free of the out of state pass through traffic on interstate 75/85 from up north.

That would be my choice.

[LovinDecatur]

Residential development on Lake Allatoona is very limited (although what is there is quite nice), as most of the lake frontage is public land. Lanier would have a much greater variety of housing stock.

[graywolf73]

Neither Allatoona nor Lanier would be within 1 hr commute to Midtown. Like another poster said, you're looking at 1.5 hrs each way. Lake Allatoona is large and stretches into Cobb and Cherokee County. The cheapest houses would be in Woodstock which is in Cherokee. Lake Lanier is in Forsyth County, the city is Cumming. But you're going to have to make a choice, either live closer to work and just tow your boat to the lake, or live on the lake and have a very lengthy commute.

[sweettea1]

Do you have kids? Are schools an issue? If not, I'm wondering if it's worth renting an apartment near your office during the week and then spending your weekends at the lake of your choice. May make life a whole lot easier. Of course it all depends on so much, including your budget, but there are other ways to skin a cat so may be worth a consideration. The traffic here during the week is pretty bad so the last thing you want is to ruin your fishing time by yelling at the guy in the next lane on your way home!

[aries4118]

There is also Jackson Lake/Lake Jackson in the far southern Atlanta suburbs. Good commute, only 44 miles from Downtown/Midtown. It's often "off the radar" of many Atlantans. May be exactly what you are looking for.
Check it out...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_jackson_GA

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by aries4118

There is also Jackson Lake/Lake Jackson in the far southern Atlanta suburbs. Good commute, only 44 miles from Downtown/Midtown. It's often "off the radar" of many Atlantans. May be exactly what you are looking for.
Check it out...

Lake Jackson (Georgia) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That's not going to be 1 hour max from/to Midtown.

[cityrover]

lanier hands down. allatoona is like a pond in comparison and lacks boating fun big time

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by wxjay

That's not going to be 1 hour max from/to Midtown.

Coming from the southside (great access to Downtown/Midtown, less traffic), it could be pretty close.


Remember, it takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to go from Atlanta to Macon.


Plus, it's another (often forgotten) alternative to Lanier and Allatoona...it think more people should be looking the direction of Lake Jackson.