Moving to Atlanta (from Long Island)...please help find neighborhoods! (Marietta: real estate, crime)

[idrlindy]

Hello! It looks like we are moving to Atlanta from Long Island. I have 2 boys (3 & 5) and looking for SAFE, family-oriented neighborhoods with excellent schools, friendly/open people, and lots of activities for kids (sports, music lessons, skate park, ice skating rink, pools, etc). My husband and I both love music and good restaurants (not chains) and visiting museums, etc. Ideally if the area had a cool night life that would be good too (but life for kids comes first), so we could always drive to do that on the rare occassions we have a date night, LOL.

I did some preliminary research and really ike the Northern Suburbs of Dunwoody & East Cobb area of Marietta for the schools. Also, Decatur sounds interesting. Only thing, is my husband will be working in Fayetteville and need access to an airport since he will do alot of travel for his job. So from what I read it would be too far to commute from the North, right?

People in his new office seem to all live (and rave) about Peachtree City...which sounds interesting but with the driving around in golf carts, I wonder if it's very country club like? I don't golf, and I'm not really the country club type...and the video on youtube felt a bit "Stepford"ish. Am I wrong? I hope I am...it does sound like Peachtree City has good schools and is safe in terms of crime. Is that really our only option?

Where do you think we should focus on? Our budget is up to 500-550K. He doesn't mind commuting, but prob no more than 45 min (bec it sounds like with bad traffic it could be double that on some days).
Thank you so much in advance for any feedback and advice!!

[JoeTarheel]

There have been several threads about Peachtree City...maybe reading through these you can find the information you are looking for. Beware of some of the overly negative posts - they always seem to surface in any Atlanta thread and usually are realistic.

//www.city-data.com/forum/georg...negatives.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...peachtree.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...tree-city.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...tree-city.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...peachtree.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...tree-city.html

[idrlindy]

ok, thanks. do we have any other options besides Peachtree City? Could we live in the Northern parts?

[cittic10]

Dunwoody has the marta train station and husband can take the train to the airport.
However going to work in fayatteville... that commute is not going to be any fun.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by idrlindy

ok, thanks. do we have any other options besides Peachtree City? Could we live in the Northern parts?

Some of the southern suburbs are just as nice as the northern ones, so I wouldn't discount them immediately. Peachtree City is beautiful, as are Newnan, Fairburn, McDonough, and Fayettville. I'm sure there are some that I'm forgetting. A commute from the north Metro to Fayetteville would be at least an hour each way.

[testa50]

Traffic south of I-20 in the morning is a non-issue. The only question is where exactly he is working in Fayetteville--interstate access to Fayetteville is quite poor, and some parts are worse than others. So he'll face a slog on surface roads no matter what, but not necessarily fighting much traffic.

Decatur could be an option--the commute would come in right around 45 minutes, but he won't face major traffic jams very often.

Northern suburbs ain't happening in under a 1 hour commute. You don't have the benefit of a countercommute if you live on the north side. Generally you get more house for your money on the south side than you do on the north side as well.

Peachtree City is the "easy option"--there are plenty of nice neighborhoods and the commute is no problem. But it's not a cultural destination or anything, and chain restaurants probably outnumber non-chains. Decatur is a fantastic, liberal, walkable city (you might call it the Berkeley of the southeast), but you'll be looking at older homes and a more strenuous commute. Decatur will get you a lot less house for your money--it's very in demand right now. Definitely need to visit the areas, as they are quite a contrast.

Both have fantastic schools and are safe (PTC is probably a good bit safer, though, being way out in the burbs).

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by testa50

Traffic south of I-20 in the morning is a non-issue. The only question is where exactly he is working in Fayetteville--interstate access to Fayetteville is quite poor, and some parts are worse than others. So he'll face a slog on surface roads no matter what, but not necessarily fighting much traffic.

Decatur could be an option--the commute would come in right around 45 minutes, but he won't face major traffic jams very often.

Northern suburbs ain't happening in under a 1 hour commute. You don't have the benefit of a countercommute if you live on the north side. Generally you get more house for your money on the south side than you do on the north side as well.

Peachtree City is the "easy option"--there are plenty of nice neighborhoods and the commute is no problem. But it's not a cultural destination or anything, and chain restaurants probably outnumber non-chains. Decatur is a fantastic, liberal, walkable city (you might call it the Berkeley of the southeast), but you'll be looking at older homes and a more strenuous commute. Decatur will get you a lot less house for your money--it's very in demand right now. Definitely need to visit the areas, as they are quite a contrast.

Both have fantastic schools and are safe (PTC is probably a good bit safer, though, being way out in the burbs).

Another note on Decatur...beware of a Decatur address versus the actual city of Decatur. There are some areas that are in unincorporated Dekalb County that are sometimes called Decatur, especially by real estate agents.

[idrlindy]

Ok, so read more on Peachtree City. It does sound beautiful and with lots of amenities for the kids and outdoor space, but ugh, the country club lifestyle really really turns me off (just being honest), as well as the lack of diversity and culture/restaurants which would be find if it was 20 min away, but it's more like an hour away. Of course, schools is huge draw and proximity to workplace as well as less crime in that area.

BUT, what if he leaves that job in 2 years....now we are isolated from the northern part, aren't there more jobs in that part of Atlanta? Maybe he will just have to deal with a longer commute? HELP! LOL.

He would be working around this address: [SIZE=4]1500 Peachtree St. NE[/SIZE]

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by idrlindy

Ok, so read more on Peachtree City. It does sound beautiful and with lots of amenities for the kids and outdoor space, but ugh, the country club lifestyle really really turns me off (just being honest), as well as the lack of diversity and culture/restaurants which would be find if it was 20 min away, but it's more like an hour away. Of course, schools is huge draw and proximity to workplace as well as less crime in that area.

BUT, what if he leaves that job in 2 years....now we are isolated from the northern part, aren't there more jobs in that part of Atlanta? Maybe he will just have to deal with a longer commute? HELP! LOL.

He would be working around this address: [SIZE=4]1500 Peachtree St. NE[/SIZE]

I thought you said he would be working in Fayetteville? If so, I wouldn't wish that commute (from the northern burbs) on anyone.

Maybe there is a Peachtree Street in Fayetteville? I don't know...

[roxyrn]

The biggest negative about living in the Atlanta area is the traffic (my husband is from Long Island); you really have to plan your schedule around it. You really don't want to commute from North Fulton or East Cobb to Fayetteville.
Although you may not be into your perception of the "county club lifestyle" in PTC, it certainly has lots of things going for it- safety, nice neighborhoods, lots of family-oriented activities and close proximity to the airport. With small children really, how many times do you head out to museums, fine-dining, nightclubs? Not too far to PTC is Senoia (cute little town) or Serenbee (a couple of good "date" restaurants.)
And, don't discount golf- my husband never played golf in New York and has just started playing and is totally addicted.