Metro-Atlanta Area Described
Posted 05-29-2015 at 09:58 AM by Pinkmani
I can't quote because the thread is closed, but GF72 wrote this post on a thread about Atlanta.
Well first of all just so you know Atlanta is not exactly comparable to most other southern cities, there are a lot of wealthy minorities, and metro Atlanta in general is wealthier overall than places like New Orleans or Memphis, especially on the north side (all of those places are on the north side). Also, Atlanta is diverse, even on the wealthy, desirable north side of the metro area there is no city that has higher than 75% white population, usually closer to 60% or so, though in Atlanta the minority population is pretty evenly divided among Asians, blacks, and hispanics (Asians tend to be the largest minority in the wealthy areas you are looking at).
Since you are new I'll give you a quick break down of the metro Atlanta area:
Atlanta city limits: Atlanta city limits are very small and only 10% of the metro Atlanta population lives within city limits. Depending on where you are, Atlanta city limits contains both the poorest and richest parts of metro Atlanta. North of Midtown Atlanta is the area called Buckhead. It is the wealthiest area in Atlanta and one of the top 10 wealthiest places in the country. Think historic mansion estates. Buckhead is located directly between Midtown and Sandy Springs so as far as commute goes it's perfect for your family; your budget will get you a house in the area, but be aware that a $500,000 house in Buckhead is on the lowest end of the spectrum. Buckhead has its own urban "downtown" area with skyscrapers and residential condo towers if you are into those types of homes.
Southern suburbs: Directly south of Atlanta city limits are poorer, majority black suburbs like Clayton County and Forest Park. You would not be comfortable here. However, farther south is Fayette County and Peachtree City which are upper-middle class suburbs with good schools. This area is like 90% white and it's pretty much the only higher income area in metro Atlanta with such a high white percentage. However it's kind of "out in the middle of nowhere" by Atlanta standards (everything here is on the north side).
Western suburbs: Basically Douglas County, it's the least developed of the suburban areas, I'd compare this area to a lot of Alabama, very southern area but it's becoming more popular and modern.
Eastern suburbs: Very diverse area. Immediate east of Atlanta is Dekalb County... south Dekalb is very black, you wouldn't like it. In the middle is the city of Decatur, diverse, progressive, liberal area. North Dekalb is wealthy, more whites. Dunwoody is the northernmost part of Dekalb County I'll talk about that later. Farther East is the Snellville area of Gwinnett County, typical nicer suburban area, mostly white but decent amount of Asians, blacks, and hispanics.
The vast majority of Atlantans live in the northern suburbs, which can be broken into three areas:
Northwest Suburbs (follow I-75 N): Cobb County (except East Cobb) and includes places like Marietta, Kennesaw, Smyrna, West Cobb.... South Cobb County has a lot of blacks, but a lot of whites are moving into this area since it's kind of a hot market in places. It's very diverse and you can find cheap housing or big new mansions. West Cobb is typical suburbia, north Cobb is too but it's a little poorer, the cities of Marietta and Kennesaw are typical southern towns morphed into suburbs. White percentage in Cobb County is typically around 60% though it can go higher or lower depending on where you are.
Northeast Suburbs (follow I-85 N): Gwinnett County. Gwinnett County is a huge diverse sprawling suburb. Blacks, hispanics, Asians, whites, they are everywhere and somewhere in Gwinnett there is a place where all of these groups are a large presence. Places like Peachtree Corners, Duluth, and Suwanee have a lot of whites and are nice places, but it will be a bad commute to both Midtown and Sandy Springs.
North Suburbs (Follow GA-400 N): Honestly this is where you want to be. In between the "V" formed by I-75N and I-85N this where most of the upper middle class in Atlanta lives. About 400,000 population and avg. household is above $100,000 across the board. For reference this area is made up of East Cobb, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Duluth, Peachtree Corners, South Forsyth... (these places are in eastern Cobb County, northern Fulton and Dekalb Counties, western Gwinnett County, and southern Forsyth County). This area is basically 60% to 75% white, with Asians usually being the largest majority, but some areas have decent amounts of blacks and hispanics as well. For best commute to Sandy Springs and Midtown you want to be in the southern part of this area, which would be Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and the southern parts of East Cobb.
Basically think of Sandy Springs as the center point. East of that is Dunwoody, west is East Cobb, and south is Atlanta (Buckhead first, then Midtown). So a house in Sandy Springs or Buckhead would be the best for commute. Southern Sandy Springs is basically just like Buckhead, even the rest of Sandy Springs is an expensive area, $500,000 will certainly get you a house but it's not going to be new or anything. Dunwoody is more affordable but it's still a very nice area. Southern East Cobb is a hot housing market because of the low taxes and excellent schools, new houses average $900,000 or so, but $500,000 will get you a great older home.
You can get more for your money in the farther north suburbs like Alpharetta and Johns Creek (these areas have excellent schools too) but the commute will be worse. Don't even bother with Cherokee or Forsyth Counties, they are very far from your work. These areas are extremely white, especially the farther north you go (like 90%+) but at the same time, the farther north you go the poorer it gets, as it becomes less suburban and more rednecky.
So basically for you I recommend Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and the southern part of East Cobb (Walton High school district, anything more north is too far). With some looking you should find a nice house you can afford and you'll find that the commutes shouldn't be too bad.
Well first of all just so you know Atlanta is not exactly comparable to most other southern cities, there are a lot of wealthy minorities, and metro Atlanta in general is wealthier overall than places like New Orleans or Memphis, especially on the north side (all of those places are on the north side). Also, Atlanta is diverse, even on the wealthy, desirable north side of the metro area there is no city that has higher than 75% white population, usually closer to 60% or so, though in Atlanta the minority population is pretty evenly divided among Asians, blacks, and hispanics (Asians tend to be the largest minority in the wealthy areas you are looking at).
Since you are new I'll give you a quick break down of the metro Atlanta area:
Atlanta city limits: Atlanta city limits are very small and only 10% of the metro Atlanta population lives within city limits. Depending on where you are, Atlanta city limits contains both the poorest and richest parts of metro Atlanta. North of Midtown Atlanta is the area called Buckhead. It is the wealthiest area in Atlanta and one of the top 10 wealthiest places in the country. Think historic mansion estates. Buckhead is located directly between Midtown and Sandy Springs so as far as commute goes it's perfect for your family; your budget will get you a house in the area, but be aware that a $500,000 house in Buckhead is on the lowest end of the spectrum. Buckhead has its own urban "downtown" area with skyscrapers and residential condo towers if you are into those types of homes.
Southern suburbs: Directly south of Atlanta city limits are poorer, majority black suburbs like Clayton County and Forest Park. You would not be comfortable here. However, farther south is Fayette County and Peachtree City which are upper-middle class suburbs with good schools. This area is like 90% white and it's pretty much the only higher income area in metro Atlanta with such a high white percentage. However it's kind of "out in the middle of nowhere" by Atlanta standards (everything here is on the north side).
Western suburbs: Basically Douglas County, it's the least developed of the suburban areas, I'd compare this area to a lot of Alabama, very southern area but it's becoming more popular and modern.
Eastern suburbs: Very diverse area. Immediate east of Atlanta is Dekalb County... south Dekalb is very black, you wouldn't like it. In the middle is the city of Decatur, diverse, progressive, liberal area. North Dekalb is wealthy, more whites. Dunwoody is the northernmost part of Dekalb County I'll talk about that later. Farther East is the Snellville area of Gwinnett County, typical nicer suburban area, mostly white but decent amount of Asians, blacks, and hispanics.
The vast majority of Atlantans live in the northern suburbs, which can be broken into three areas:
Northwest Suburbs (follow I-75 N): Cobb County (except East Cobb) and includes places like Marietta, Kennesaw, Smyrna, West Cobb.... South Cobb County has a lot of blacks, but a lot of whites are moving into this area since it's kind of a hot market in places. It's very diverse and you can find cheap housing or big new mansions. West Cobb is typical suburbia, north Cobb is too but it's a little poorer, the cities of Marietta and Kennesaw are typical southern towns morphed into suburbs. White percentage in Cobb County is typically around 60% though it can go higher or lower depending on where you are.
Northeast Suburbs (follow I-85 N): Gwinnett County. Gwinnett County is a huge diverse sprawling suburb. Blacks, hispanics, Asians, whites, they are everywhere and somewhere in Gwinnett there is a place where all of these groups are a large presence. Places like Peachtree Corners, Duluth, and Suwanee have a lot of whites and are nice places, but it will be a bad commute to both Midtown and Sandy Springs.
North Suburbs (Follow GA-400 N): Honestly this is where you want to be. In between the "V" formed by I-75N and I-85N this where most of the upper middle class in Atlanta lives. About 400,000 population and avg. household is above $100,000 across the board. For reference this area is made up of East Cobb, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Duluth, Peachtree Corners, South Forsyth... (these places are in eastern Cobb County, northern Fulton and Dekalb Counties, western Gwinnett County, and southern Forsyth County). This area is basically 60% to 75% white, with Asians usually being the largest majority, but some areas have decent amounts of blacks and hispanics as well. For best commute to Sandy Springs and Midtown you want to be in the southern part of this area, which would be Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and the southern parts of East Cobb.
Basically think of Sandy Springs as the center point. East of that is Dunwoody, west is East Cobb, and south is Atlanta (Buckhead first, then Midtown). So a house in Sandy Springs or Buckhead would be the best for commute. Southern Sandy Springs is basically just like Buckhead, even the rest of Sandy Springs is an expensive area, $500,000 will certainly get you a house but it's not going to be new or anything. Dunwoody is more affordable but it's still a very nice area. Southern East Cobb is a hot housing market because of the low taxes and excellent schools, new houses average $900,000 or so, but $500,000 will get you a great older home.
You can get more for your money in the farther north suburbs like Alpharetta and Johns Creek (these areas have excellent schools too) but the commute will be worse. Don't even bother with Cherokee or Forsyth Counties, they are very far from your work. These areas are extremely white, especially the farther north you go (like 90%+) but at the same time, the farther north you go the poorer it gets, as it becomes less suburban and more rednecky.
So basically for you I recommend Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and the southern part of East Cobb (Walton High school district, anything more north is too far). With some looking you should find a nice house you can afford and you'll find that the commutes shouldn't be too bad.
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