Anyone live in Conyers and commute to downtown? (Atlanta, Marietta: apartment, how much)

[upallnite]

Moving to GA. with a job downtown. Now, I've been to Atlanta several times as my wife is from the area, but not looking forward to living IN Atlanta.

I grew up in New York (Manhattan/ Brooklyn) so I am sick and tired of "living close to work" or "living in the city" and I need space and quiet... and Conyers seems to have a lot of it. However, looks about 24 miles out - Google map says it's 28 minutes but I've heard about Atlanta traffic.

Does 28 minutes sound about right? Maybe rounded up to 30 minutes? Or is that a complete crock?

[MattCW]

Try 45-50 minutes on a typical day. I commute through Atlanta from Conyers to Marietta, and it takes that long just to reach the Brookwood split which is about even with Midtown but that's all highways, I don't know how much time the surface streets add. We do have XPress buses, but they run sparingly, and only at the peak times, and mostly at the peak direction. They take as long or a bit longer than driving (stuck in the same traffic) but at least it's someone else doing the driving. You might try looking toward the GA-400 corridor and using MARTA Bus/Rail to get downtown, it's about as fast, runs all day except a few hours at night, and cheaper than driving.

What interesting though is that we're opposites, I'm trying to move to New York to be near the city, and more importantly, transit into the city.

[belleislerunner]

Matt - check out North Bergen/West New York, NJ - There are buses that run 24 hours into Port Authority (42nd and Eighth) and it's only a 15-20 minute bus commute - since there is no subway - the prices are much more afforadable than Hoboken or Jersey City. Plus you get the stunning skyline view of Manhattan looking across the Hudson. A view of New York (Manhattan) from West New York, New Jersey at dawn | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[upallnite]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Try 45-50 minutes on a typical day. I commute through Atlanta from Conyers to Marietta, and it takes that long just to reach the Brookwood split which is about even with Midtown but that's all highways, I don't know how much time the surface streets add. We do have XPress buses, but they run sparingly, and only at the peak times, and mostly at the peak direction. They take as long or a bit longer than driving (stuck in the same traffic) but at least it's someone else doing the driving. You might try looking toward the GA-400 corridor and using MARTA Bus/Rail to get downtown, it's about as fast, runs all day except a few hours at night, and cheaper than driving.

What interesting though is that we're opposites, I'm trying to move to New York to be near the city, and more importantly, transit into the city.

Thanks for the reply Matt. Hm, 45-50 minutes... I've spent that long on the subways going to work.

That is interesting, I guess too much of anything can make a person want the complete opposite. My in-laws live near Fairburn(?) and work up near Buckhead - they say it takes about 40-45 minutes to get to work but when they get home they have 3 acres to relax on. The last decade in Brooklyn, I'd go from a crowded train to a not-so-large apartment with no outdoor space, so that 3 acres is looks like a vacation spot to me.

[MattCW]

I will say that there are some real suburban-feel areas, pretty close to downtown. I couldn't really offer any suggestions personally, the Atlanta forum would be better for that. But looking at Google Maps, there are a number of single-family homes on what looks like decent-sized lots that practically back up to the denser areas of at least Midtown. There are also areas closer in like Decatur that I've heard may have what you need, that not only are a shorter drive to Atlanta, but they have good transit access. Having ridden both our MARTA of course, and the NYC subway, MARTA is quite different and is probably halfway between the subway, and the Long Island Railroad and Metro North Railroad electric trains. Any MARTA line offers one-seat ride to downtown (Five Points station) and is usually faster than driving once you're at the station.

[upallnite]

Yea, that's pretty much the only reason I would take a job in Atlanta, the countryside. Not trying to be sarcastic (but I'm a New Yorker so it might come out that way) but I could move to Queens if I wanted suburban. When I was first called about the job in GA. I wanted to live in a farm house out in the sticks.. but that doesn't seem possible when working downtown.

When I say I want space and quiet, I was initially looking at properties on 50 acres in GA. - my wife had to talk me down from a ledge on that - but once I told her that I had never walked out my front door and NOT seen people until I was in my 20's (and on vacation) she understood. Being surrounded by 15+ million people from the day you were born kinda makes a man want to see NO one - that's probably the main reason why I was looking in areas like Conyers (and whereever else I could think of) - oh to be able spend just one Saturday watching a baseball game outside and not see a soul... that would make a slightly longer commute worth it.

I went to look at a place in Stone Mountain on 2 acres for a decent price but I've heard mixed reviews about the area.