Possible Dallas to Atlanta Move (Alpharetta, Dunwoody: condos, transferring to, public schools)

[jetter2]

I'm being considered for a position in ATL and was looking for some local insight from you fellow E46'ers.

(1) The Job is in Dunwoody, If I lived more towards downtown and commuted north in the morning would it be a nightmare? I live in uptown in Dallas and commute north OUT of the city in the AM and traffic is a piece of cake as I'm headed the reverse direction of everyone else.

(2) What is the "Dallas uptown" equivalent to Atlanta? Basically professionals in their mid-late 20's(yuppies). I am used to a real spread out town, but apparently you guys have better Public transit than we do so I'd like to live somewhere near the good bars/pubs/restaurants that I could walk to. Are the people in ATL as pretentious as a lot of the Dallas uptown people?

(3) Is downtown off limits for a normal white guy? In Dallas you can get some spots downtown and as long as you stay in the core, its fine..I have heard suggestions AGAINST living downtown in ATL.

(4) I would be transferring to Georgia Institute of Tech. Does anyone know if they have a community college system like we do where classes will transfer in? I have a hard time justifying $1200/class for Physics 2 when I can take it at a CC for 1/4th the price.



I have heard ATL isn't a big sports town..hell they lost their Hockey team but what does everyone get into if it isn't sports?

Just looking for some local insight, TIA.

[lorilove]

Your commute north to Dunwoody should be better but not a piece of cake. GA400 gets backed up so if you have to rely on that route it will still have some challenges.

I spent a great deal of time in Dallas many years ago but don't remember the names of the areas. Buckhead would be similar to Addison I would call this our Uptown area. Atlanta is equally spread out as Dallas, our public transportation has a very limited reach. I will let the younger members comment as the best place for you.

Downtown Atlanta would not be my recommendation for anyone unless you have a specific reason. There are lots of communites that are intown (within 5 miles of downtown).

Braves, Hawks and Falcons are still very popular here but in the Southeast College Sports are huge - specifically the SEC (UGA) and ACC (GaTech).

[starsweet]

I went to GA Tech, they are super strict about about transferring classes, basically they won't take most of them.

[hal2814]

1. Compared to a northern commute out of Dallas, yes it would be a nightmare. Traffic in Atlanta isn't as unidirectional. It's sometimes slightly better in one direction but nothing like heading north vs. south on US-75.
2. Buckhead would probably be the closest thing to a Uptown Dallas. I'm not sure where you got the idea that Atlanta has better public transportation. Marta is IMHO a more sophisticated but far more limited rail system than DART rail. The bus service is a wash.
3. I don't know what you mean by "off limits" or "in the core" but I personally wouldn't live in downtown Atlanta.
4. You don't get the same level of class transfer you do in most Texas public schools, but you can always look up what will and won't transfer in before taking the classes.

Atlanta isn't a big pro sports town. Yeah, there are Braves, Falcons, and Hawks fans but aside from the beginning of the Braves World Series visits and the Falcons Super Bowl, they don't get nearly the attention that's showered on the Cowboys or Rangers in Dallas. However, Atlanta is a huge college sports town. Atlanta is situated geographically more or less in the middle of both the SEC and ACC. A lot of people from those member schools end up moving to Atlanta for work after graduation. Atlanta hosts the Peach Bowl and is a regular for being the NCAA Tournament Host City. Atlanta also now hosts the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic.

[testa50]

I'm surprised the word "Midtown" hasn't been mentioned yet. It's basically a more urban, less pretentious version of Buckhead (although I don't consider Buckhead super pretentious, really), that is definitely livable by any demographic. Downtown isn't quite as nice--the commuters head out by 7PM, leaving it feel a bit dead, except for the touristy part of Peachtree around International Blvd. The dining and shopping scene in Downtown is not as good as Midtown or Buckhead. Oh, and 1BR high rise condos in all three districts can be had for well under $200k if you want, or even less then $100k.

Commuting north on 400 from there won't be super quick, but it's far from a crippling commute (I've got friend who commute from Midtown to Alpharetta, 10 miles north of Dunwoody). Buckhead > Dunwoody would be very easy.

Check to see if your office is within walking distance of a MARTA station (some of them are in that area). If so, that would probably be the most stress-free option (you can always drive in bad weather or whatever).

Public transit is actually not bad in central Atlanta: it reaches the major intown commercial areas as well as the airport. But it is nonexistent in the burbs.

[Chalie Brown]

Greater Uptown Dallas is essentially a "scaled down" version of Midtown Atlanta. So yes, midtown is where you should focus on. Not sure what your commute will be like.

Buckhead is a more built up, less upscale version of the Preston Hollow/Park cities region of Dallas.

[jetter2]

Fantastic! Sounds like Buckhead and Midtown are my parts of town =] I'll check them out next time I get to ATL.


Thanks again for the advice!