Going to be new to the Atlanta area (Roswell, Marietta: rental, townhome)

[momof2monkeys08]

My husband is being relocated to the Atlanta area. He will either work in Roswell, Duluth, Woodstock, Smyrna or Kennesaw. We should hear by the end of this week where exactly his office will be. I will be staying at home. He would not mind a commute since he used to commute to work for about 45 minutes one way.
We are looking for a rental home with either 3 or 4 bedrooms in the range of $1000-1500 a month although we would not mind a townhome with at least 1800 sqft if it is in a good area with good schools. We don’t want to buy because we will only be in the area for 3 years.
We need to find good elementary schools public (with a good autism program) or private (including Montessori). Our son is very high functioning and currently only has an IEP for his speech delay.
We’d like to live in a good community not too far from the city but still somewhat quiet and calm.
We are new to the area and would like to find a neighborhood where we can feel at home with our young family. We are in our 30s with a toddler and a preschooler.
We currently have high hopes for Roswell, Duluth and even Woodstock although we haven’t seen much about Woodstock on the forum. Would it be worth it to live all the way out in Alpharetta or stay in Roswell? The schools in Alpharetta are all good and most I have seen were rated 10 out of 10.
Suggestions are welcome.

Thank you

[flyonpa]

I'm sure you have allready read that traffic is bad, Before you start your house hunting, I would wait to find where DH will be working. All the cities you listed are east/west of each other, and the road in that are dont realy run east west. they run towards the Atlanta. I285 round e/w but traffic is bad. The state Hiways run east/west most are 2 (some 4) lane, with traffic lights. The North Fulton/Forsyth school are all good.

[tamlym]

Look in Marietta as well. I have heard the schools there are good as well.
Except if hubby ends up working in Duluth - then look into Duluth/Johns Creek/Alpharetta).
Driving east/west is horrible here....two lane roads with traffic lights. UGH

[Mattie]

You can't go wrong in any of the towns you have listed, so, as suggested, wait to see where the office is going to be. During rush hour it can take 30+ minutes to get from one side of a town to the other.