East Cobb versus East Roswell (Atlanta, Chamblee: HOA, homes, neighborhood)

[Silverstar5]

Our family will likely be moving to the Roswell area from Maryland this summer to enroll our older son in a private middle school just east of GA-400 off of Holcomb Bridge Road.
We are looking for a family-freindly neighborhood with contemporary homes around 300k and I have narrowed my search to Loch Highland / Chimney Lakes in East Cobb and the Rivermont neighborhood in John's Creek.
Public elementary schools for our two younger children appear relatively equal for both areas.
I would like to hear your thoughts about traffic and travel times during the morning commute.
We would likely rely on bus transportation to the local elementary schools for our younger children, but we will need to drive our older son to the middle school at Holcomb Bridge/GA-400.
I do not have a job in place yet, but it will likely be somewhere inside the Perimeter and I would be commuting to the North Springs MARTA station.
Using Google Maps, I see fairly equal commutes from each area to the private school and the MARTA station.
6-7 miles / 15 minutes to GA-400/Holcomb Bridge AND 11-12 miles / 22 minutes to the MARTA station from each neighborhood.

Here's the big question:
East Cobb vs. East Roswell
Who wins the race to both of these destinations during the average morning commute?

I've read some other posts referring to this section of Atlanta as OTR (outside the river).
We previously lived ITP in Chamblee in the 90's (w/o kids) before moving to DC, so I am a bit unfamiliar with the infamous congestion in this area that I have read about in many of the other posts.
For anyone familiar with Maryland/DC, I currently commute from Columbia,Maryland to downtown DC with an average one way commute of 90 minutes (+/- 45 minutes). The distance from the Roswell area to downtown Atlanta is about the same, but I'm hoping to improve on my 1-1/2 hour commute.

[Tarzanman]

Sounds like you're sending your kids to mt. pisgah or the atlanta academy. I used to live right in that area.

Rivermont is your best bet. It will still take you a good 10-15 min in rush hour to get from Rivermont to GA-400 as old alabama/nesbit ferry/brumbelow can get very trafficky

I wouldn't consider east cobb. You are guaranteed heavy traffic on holcomb/92 and making the left turn to get to atlanta acad or Mt. Pisgah will be infuriating.

At least if you live in Rivermont you won't be going out of your way to drop the son off at school.

[Silverstar5]

I just realized my geography was a bit off in my original post because our private schools of interest (Eaton Academy, Cottage School & Swift School ) are all west of Ga-400 off of Holcomb Bridge. My concern on the Rivermont area would be trying to break through the congestion at Ga-400 to get to the other side and back. I can see how Rivermont is the better area for access to Atlanta Academy or Mt. Pisgah. Does the East Cobb area start to hold the advantage when you don't have to cross to the other side?
I played with a new tool on WalkScore last night that seemed to indicate that the Loch Highland neighborhood in East Cobb is at least a 30 minute drive to any interstate (400,75, or 285). This would seem to be a worst-case scenario based on peak rush-hour when I use the same 30 minute drive range for areas around DC and Baltimore that I am more familiar with.

[Mattie]

Why not stick to Roswell? Yes, it will be time consuming to go from the east side of 400 to the west side, especially during rush hour. My good friend's daughter is enrolled at the Cottage School, and I've picked her up a few times. The less time spent on Holcomb Bridge, the better.

[Silverstar5]

The historic Roswell area west of GA-400 may eventually be the place for us to look as you have suggested. I've been attracted to the Rivermont and Loch Highland areas because of the quality of public schools and the rather large inventory of contemporary homes on the market that seems to be unrivaled by anywhere else along the East Coast. Those areas will quickly lose their appeal to us if the local commuting times become an ordeal every morning.

[msh0146]

Rivermont is a great neighborhood and tremendous value for the $$, IMO. Believe that's Barnwell Elementary. My kids do not attend that school but I have several colleagues with kids there, and they are pleased.

I'd see about living as close as you can to the school drop-off. Traffic in that area on "secondary" roads (meaning not Hwy 92 or GA 400) will be very familiar to you coming from the DC metro. It can be infuriating, as I'm sure you know.

Roswell to Downtown, Midtown, or Buckhead is a difficult commute by car, but not nearly as bad as what you're accustomed to. If you get lucky and your office ends up being close to a MARTA station, you're in business. That will be an enormous plus.

[Silverstar5]

Sor far, it sounds like East Roswell is the clear victor over East Cobb in access to GA-400.
A visit and a dry-run or two will be in order next to see if Rivermont works for us.
If not, we'll steer to the Roswell area west of 400.
I was drawn to the Rivermont area simply because of the inventory of contemporary homes.
Would Rivermont hold the same appeal without the golf course weaving through the neighborhood?
I'm an occassional golfer, but I would have no interest in joining the country club to golf once or twice a year.
It sounds like there is a lower priced voluntary HOA with pool and tennis access that we would plan to join for the family.
Home prices do seem to be slightly higher than those directly to the west (Spring Ridge, Woodfield, Martins Landing). but the homes and lots also seem to be larger to justify the higher price.
Let me know if I'm off-base on any of my assessments.

[roxyrn]

Have you looked at Brookfield in Roswell, close to the high school? Seems to have a mix of traditional and contemporary homes with a lot to offer (very family oriented with lots of activities) and close to shopping, parks etc.

[Silverstar5]

I had not heard about Brookfield likely because there do not appear to be any contemporary homes on the market that would have led me there (on the internet). On paper, the location does not appear to have a significant advantage over Rivermont or Loch Highland with the same advertised distance and drive time to our schools of choice at Holcomb Bridge/GA-400.
It does seem to provide a straightforward route along 92, but many posters have also mentioned 92 as the road to try and avoid. Thank you for the input. I can't base my decision solely on homes on the market because they will likely be gone when we are ready to buy a few months from now.

[10 feet tall]

Not many contemporary homes in Brookfield. It is much more traditional, although there are a good amount of one-level ranches on basements which may work for you.