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Everyone here has been so helpful to me in our neighborhood search. I have posted a couple of other times but wanted to check back in for some advice on the latest areas we are exploring - Close-in E. Cobb (Sibley Forest) and "Brookhaven" (Ashford Park).
My questions about Sibley area are ... where do you go to dinner out (non-chain restaurants) if you don't want to drive 20 mins? Is the Delk Rd shopping center the best option for groceries/errands? It seems a little rundown. Is it really as close-in as it seems on the map or am I kidding myself that we would ever go in-town for dinner etc?
My questions about Ashford Park ... How is that elementary school? How long would the commute be to downtown (I don't want to take Marta)? Are there many young families here?
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For reference here are my original posted requirements:
1. Budget - $515K max
2. House/Condo/Townhome? House w/ garage and basement (finished or unfinished), prefereably open floor plan
3. Employment Status - I will commute downtown and he will commute downtown and to the airport - Would like to keep commute under 35 mins
4. Children - Not yet but hopefully soon...Looking for an area with good public elementary (we would likely move again before we would worry about middle/h.s)
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - I guess suburban close-in or in-town w/ neighborhood feel and yard
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? Don't care
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. - Young professionals w/ kids. We are looking for a neighborhood with couples around our age with young kids. My vision of the perfect neighborhood would be hanging out with the neighbors sipping wine or beers while our kids play in the cul-de-sac.
I LOVE Sibley Forest. Hands down my favorite neighborhood in that area, even over those with much higher price points. It is idyllic. Now I don't know what anyone is like who lives there, just love the homes and ambiance. It is zoned to Sope Creek Elementary and there is even a little walking path through the neighborhood to the school, so kids from the neighborhood can walk easily to school without having to navigate real streets. By all accounts Sope Creek is a fabulous school. I know two people who moved to the area for the school.
But... IMO, that area is not close in to the city. People who live there can give you better information, but there is no really easy access to either 400 or 75, making the Buckhead/midtown/downtown commute difficult (in Atlanta suburbs, just getting off the surface streets can take as long as negotiating the highways). It isn't as close in as it looks on a map, and you should try the commute for yourself when you visit Atlanta both at rush hour and non-rush hour. I doubt that you would go to dinner intown very often living there. It is an affluent area, so there must be options other than just chains. But I am sure there are fewer than closer in neighborhoods.
I live quite close to Ashford Park. It is "close-in" and you would definitely go to dinner in Buckhead regularly, midtown and other intown neighborhoods for a night out. The commute to downtown would be about 25 minutes during rush hour depending on where you actually live. The thing about Ashford Park is that it is not a neighborhood the way Sibley Forest is... Well, it is a neighborhood, but the name developed a bit of a cache during the real estate boom, so lots of areas call themselves Ashford Park that are pretty far from what I would consider the neighborhood itself. They do have a very active neighborhood association (Ashford Park Civic Association) that could give you more info.
There are tons of young families in the area. They have a great little park with a nice community meeting room. The park has all the normal park/playground amenities, but in addition people have left tons of old Little Tykes-type toys there. So there are kitchens, houses, riding toys, etc. all over the place. Very funny and fun. And now the but... The elementary school is struggling and I don't know how much the neighborhood families are rallying around it versus sending their kids to nearby private schools. Right now there is a large Hispanic population at the school and a large poverty population (don't know the current stats, but around 50% each). If you have kids, I would recommend getting in touch with both the neighborhood association and the school PTA to get a better sense of what is going on at the school. I got talking to a mom at a Chic-fi-let who lived in the neighborhood and she said "no one" was sending their kids to the local school. Now she came across as pretty ethnocentric, but if many people have the same attitude that may be a problem. The upside is that the middle and high schools are quite good.
Always a give and take looking for a home in Atlanta!
Saw on your old posts that someone recommended 30319. If you push a bit further toward Chamblee, but still in 30319, you move out of the Ashford Park Elementary and into the Montgomery Elementary district. You are still in the same vicinity without the school issues and still lots of young families.
A couple of thoughts -- for that price, could you find a house in Buckhead proper? (No idea, really, just asking?)
Twice in the last three years, there have been significant noises from the DeKalb County School system about redistricting both into or out of Ashford Park Elementary School. We know of a couple of families, who exhausted from the stress of the possibility of redistricting into the Cross Keys attendance zone, have moved. We also know of many families in the area who never tried public school.
As Gumboula indicated, Ashford Park is more like a state of mind in some areas than actually being part of the AP neighborhood/community.
A couple of thoughts -- for that price, could you find a house in Buckhead proper? (No idea, really, just asking?)
Twice in the last three years, there have been significant noises from the DeKalb County School system about redistricting both into or out of Ashford Park Elementary School. We know of a couple of families, who exhausted from the stress of the possibility of redistricting into the Cross Keys attendance zone, have moved. We also know of many families in the area who never tried public school.
As Gumboula indicated, Ashford Park is more like a state of mind in some areas than actually being part of the AP neighborhood/community.
515K is very possible in Buckhead proper, I second that suggestion. All the elementary schools are great. You could look into the Garden Hills and E. Rivers district and you should be able to find something nice that doesn't need to be updated. My top suggestion would be a home in the Peachtree Park neighborhood, it's a very close knit family community, right in the heart of Buckhead. It'll be a smaller home but better than both areas you're considering now for resale and can't beat the convenience to any and everywhere you may need to go in the metro.
Garage, basement, and open floor plan in these neighborhoods for $515?
OK no. You're right, all that's not going to happen in Buckhead for 515K. I was thinking convenience to what the city offers was more important to her. I guess I missed that description the first time around when she listed her criteria.
I LOVE Sibley Forest. Hands down my favorite neighborhood in that area, even over those with much higher price points. It is idyllic. Now I don't know what anyone is like who lives there, just love the homes and ambiance. It is zoned to Sope Creek Elementary and there is even a little walking path through the neighborhood to the school, so kids from the neighborhood can walk easily to school without having to navigate real streets. By all accounts Sope Creek is a fabulous school. I know two people who moved to the area for the school.
But... IMO, that area is not close in to the city. People who live there can give you better information, but there is no really easy access to either 400 or 75, making the Buckhead/midtown/downtown commute difficult (in Atlanta suburbs, just getting off the surface streets can take as long as negotiating the highways). It isn't as close in as it looks on a map, and you should try the commute for yourself when you visit Atlanta both at rush hour and non-rush hour. I doubt that you would go to dinner intown very often living there. It is an affluent area, so there must be options other than just chains. But I am sure there are fewer than closer in neighborhoods.
I live quite close to Ashford Park. It is "close-in" and you would definitely go to dinner in Buckhead regularly, midtown and other intown neighborhoods for a night out. The commute to downtown would be about 25 minutes during rush hour depending on where you actually live. The thing about Ashford Park is that it is not a neighborhood the way Sibley Forest is... Well, it is a neighborhood, but the name developed a bit of a cache during the real estate boom, so lots of areas call themselves Ashford Park that are pretty far from what I would consider the neighborhood itself. They do have a very active neighborhood association (Ashford Park Civic Association) that could give you more info.
There are tons of young families in the area. They have a great little park with a nice community meeting room. The park has all the normal park/playground amenities, but in addition people have left tons of old Little Tykes-type toys there. So there are kitchens, houses, riding toys, etc. all over the place. Very funny and fun. And now the but... The elementary school is struggling and I don't know how much the neighborhood families are rallying around it versus sending their kids to nearby private schools. Right now there is a large Hispanic population at the school and a large poverty population (don't know the current stats, but around 50% each). If you have kids, I would recommend getting in touch with both the neighborhood association and the school PTA to get a better sense of what is going on at the school. I got talking to a mom at a Chic-fi-let who lived in the neighborhood and she said "no one" was sending their kids to the local school. Now she came across as pretty ethnocentric, but if many people have the same attitude that may be a problem. The upside is that the middle and high schools are quite good.
Always a give and take looking for a home in Atlanta!
I co-sign The two neighborhoods are totally different. Based on where the OP works, the commute downtown from Ashford Park would be much easier.
I have clients that have conducted the same search but in a lower price point. They decided on Sope Creek because of the amount space that they could get for their money and the husband only has to commute to Buckhead.
Sibley Forest/Sope Creek offers very quick access to I-75 via Terrell Mill Road/Delk Road.
It is a very close-in part of East Cobb with good, convenient access to Downtown Atlanta.
Remember, Sibley Forest is located on the opposite end of Paper Mill Road from the Atlanta Country Club/Chattahoohee Plantation/Johnson Ferry/Southern Walton District part of Paper Mill Road (the part which in turn offers quick, convenient access to the Perimeter Business District).
East Cobb is vast. The southwestern part (which includes Sibley Forest) borders directly on the Cumberland/Vinings area.
Last edited by aries4118; 07-05-2011 at 04:05 PM..
I am from the area (Sandy Springs) and lived close to Sope Creek (but still in Fulton off of Johnson's Ferry). I think Murphy Chandler Park area is great for young families. Very active, lots of walkers, bikers, hikers, etc. Hop right on GA400 for Downtown.
Ashford Park area is also pretty cool. Have several friends in that area. I believe Montgomery is a better school and that is why we chose to live here. We also plan to move before our 1yr old reaches high school. Most likely to Sandy Springs.
For $500k you can get a pretty swank house in 30319 Murphy Chandler area. Or Ashford Park area for that matter. These places both have tons of young families. Sibley Forest/East Cobb...not so much. I think you would be bored over there....well, perhaps I'm projecting my own feelings...I know I'd be bored over there.
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The two neighborhoods are totally different. Based on where the OP works, the commute downtown from Ashford Park would be much easier.
