ADVICE NEEDED - Buying in Alparetta or East Cobb - Commute to Buckhead

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by 2020rob

Thanks Arjay...we are renting an apartment in Buckhead right now and our son attends Sarah Smith. We do love it....And do love our current 10 minute commute. That said, we are not as enthusiastic about our middle and high school options. We really do not not want to have to shell out 20K+ per year for middle and high school if we can avoid it. The two other factors in play right now are the current low interest rates and the desire to have our Son grow up in one home with the same peers from grade to grade through high school. We have discussed having him attend Sarah Smith through 5th and then moving. The problem with that is not knowing where interest rates would be at that time and of course he would have to transition to a new area and make new friends.

It's obviously your choice, Rob, and I know y'all have thought this out thoroughly.

We've been through the same analysis in my family and I'll offer just a couple of passing thoughts.

(1) Interest rates can work for or against you. And of course they can go up or down (which is why many of us periodically refinance), and you can never be sure about tax treatment or how they will figure into your long term financial mix. In other words, while they are factor I'm not sure they are really a key concern in deciding where to live.

(2) You also have to figure in other costs. Let's say you move 20 miles away from work. At standard mileage rates, that works out to an extra $5,500 a year. And if you assume that you can make the trip in only 45 minutes, and allocate the value of your personal time at $15/hour, that works out to an another $5,625 a year. In fairly hard dollars, the additional commute will cost you an additional $11,000 a year.

So even if you write off Sutton Middle School (which I will come back to in a sec), you could bank another $55.000 before your child reaches middle school. If your son did go to Sutton, you'd have an additional $88,000 in the bank before he hits high school.

(3) Regarding Sutton, if you check the details you'll note that the kids there are equaling or outperforming their peers at Mabry and Northwestern.

(4) After considerable talking and consulting with other parents and grandparents, we felt like the value of changing "your crew" after elementary school outweighed trying to keep the same group together all the way through high school. In today's world, that's not so easy, considering how people much move around. Moreover, when they go to high school they're going to be mixed in with kids from several other schools. Most importantly, we felt that there was value in having our kids periodically make at least a partial break. That's sort of how the world works and learning to socialize in a new environment is a critical skill.

Of course all long term plans are fraught with uncertainty. Schools and neighborhoods can change dramatically and quickly, so who really knows what the future holds?

Best of luck to all of you!

[2020rob]

Roxyry... I agree.

I did a test drive last night (I know...this was a snapshot in time).

5:40 pm: Left East Paces Ferry and Peachtree in Buckhead (Slight to moderate rain)
5:45 pm: Took on ramp to GA 400 at Lenox.
5:58 pm: At Abernathy Road.
5:59 pm: At North Springs MARTA.
6:03 pm: At Northridge Road.
6:06 pm: At Exit 7.
6:07 pm: At Exit 8.
6:10 pm: Took Haynes Bridge Exit 9.
6:14 pm: At Haynes Bridge and Old Milton.
6:19 pm: Arrived at Peyton Farm (1640 Mid Broadwell Road)

39 minutes door-to-door. Like I said, I know this was a snap shot in time. This was a Monday evening rush hour commute, school in, raining leaving Buckhead at 5:40. I know it will be MUCH worse with an accident or road construction.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by 2020rob

Roxyry... I agree.

I did a test drive last night (I know...this was a snapshot in time).

5:40 pm: Left East Paces Ferry and Peachtree in Buckhead (Slight to moderate rain)
5:45 pm: Took on ramp to GA 400 at Lenox.
5:58 pm: At Abernathy Road.
5:59 pm: At North Springs MARTA.
6:03 pm: At Northridge Road.
6:06 pm: At Exit 7.
6:07 pm: At Exit 8.
6:10 pm: Took Haynes Bridge Exit 9.
6:14 pm: At Haynes Bridge and Old Milton.
6:19 pm: Arrived at Peyton Farm (1640 Mid Broadwell Road)

39 minutes door-to-door. Like I said, I know this was a snap shot in time. This was a Monday evening rush hour commute, school in, raining leaving Buckhead at 5:40. I know it will be MUCH worse with an accident or road construction.

AND a holiday for many folks.

[2020rob]

Crap! Good point. Wish I had yesterday off. Looks like another test drive is in order.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by 2020rob

Crap! Good point. Wish I had yesterday off. Looks like another test drive is in order.

rob, Atlanta metro traffic is a strange animal. On Fridays, it looks like NObody has to GO to work; then, about 3pm, it looks like EVERYbody is going home/leaving town! I'll assume the usual Halloween traffic jams started around 4pm as they have in the past?

Unless things have REALLY changed, your running the speed limit between Abernathy Rd and Exit 9 was an anomaly(any weekday between 4 and 7pm, give or take).