Relocating to Alpharetta - visiting now, what to see??

[mrstsh2004]

Hello,
As you probably can tell, Atlanta is spread out and there are many different areas even within the same city. Sometimes we refer to areas by their proper city name or mailing address and sometimes we mean a certain community. So, also check out the areas known as Crabapple and Milton. Personally, I prefer this west side of GA 400, rather than the Johns Creek side or north into Forsyth county. I think GA 400 gives great access to the actual city, unless you have to do that commute everyday.

Definitely check out the historic Roswell area while you are here. There are two sections - around the "Roswell Mill" and the Canton Street area. Alpharetta does have a much smaller downtown area than Roswell. Both places have a visitors center where you could stop to get ideas of other things to do in the area. The Mountain Park area is a cool part of Roswell too but with a cabin/lake home feel. Roswell is still part of Fulton County and the North Fulton schools are well regarded.

For a good (maybe touristy) overview, you can visit the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola Museum, CNN Center and the Olympic Park downtown.

I love Decatur and Oakhurst too if you are considering living closer to the city proper. Virginia-Highlands, Morningside, Druid Hills and Midtown are other communities with walkability. There are other areas too that are up and coming but I am less familiar with those on the west side.

We definitely depend on our cars here in the suburbs. "Walkable" to me is about one block.

Good luck!

[10 feet tall]

Originally Posted by belleislerunner

Alpaharetta is a similar place where people try to impress strangers who don't think of them and outduel each other in debt riden games of McMansions, European imports, nannies and private school. You'll fit in perfectly.

Have you ever been to Alpharetta? Its way more middle class than you think it is.

Private schools? The main reason anyone moves there is public schools. There are way more private school families in town.

European imports and nannies? Again, way more of that in town. Again have you been to Alpharetta?

McMansions? Ok, well I'll give you that one.

[2020rob]

Originally Posted by 10 feet tall

Have you ever been to Alpharetta? Its way more middle class than you think it is.

Private schools? The main reason anyone moves there is public schools. There are way more private school families in town.

European imports and nannies? Again, way more of that in town. Again have you been to Alpharetta?

McMansions? Ok, well I'll give you that one.

Agreed...we just moved to Alpharetta from Buckhead (Atlanta). We enjoyed being close to work but really wanted a bit of a smaller feel, more space and a big house with a big yard that we could reasonably afford. Our son attending Kindergarten at Sarah Smith (Public). Even there we had kids getting dropped off by the nanny driving a Range Rover, Bentley, etc. In fact, it was not uncommon to see kids dropped off or picked up by their Chauffer driver Lincoln Towncars :-)

[joey86]

Originally Posted by 10 feet tall

Have you ever been to Alpharetta? Its way more middle class than you think it is.

Private schools? The main reason anyone moves there is public schools. There are way more private school families in town.

European imports and nannies? Again, way more of that in town. Again have you been to Alpharetta?

McMansions? Ok, well I'll give you that one.

Alpharetta still has trailer parks. Only a stones throw from the McMansions in Crooked Creek.

[joey86]

Or is that Milton? It's all still Alpharetta to me.

[2020rob]

Originally Posted by joey86

Alpharetta still has trailer parks. Only a stones throw from the McMansions in Crooked Creek.

Too funny...True. Not as many or as sporadic and frequent as West Cobb and perhaps a few parts of East Cobb :-)

[joey86]

Pure Taqueria is a Mexican fusion style restaurant next to downtown Alpharetta. At night it they serve the local drinking crowd but lunch should be fine. Buford Hwy(twenty minutes or so from Alpharetta) is home to what is probably the most diverse collection of restaurants in the south if not the whole U.S. As others have posted, Alpharetta doesn't have a very good downtown area, but the future of the downtown area looks good. They are building a new city hall, library, green space, pedestrian features along with mixed use development and the new restaurants and shops that will bring. I second the previous recommendation of visiting during the Taste of Alpharetta.

[ThreeSides]

IMO, nothing in town beats The Fernbank Museum of Natural History for children. We spent a few hours there today. The mammals exhibit is on display know. Quite impressive! The permanent exhibits are also enjoyable AND great learning tools. Memberships are the way to go. That said, our children prefer Stone Mountain. I'll never forget the first time that we on on top of the megalith. Because of the craters, my son asked if we were on the moon.

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by FromGA

Avalon that tonygeorgia mentioned is a worthwhile project. After a 5 year hiatus, that large piece of land had a ground breaking 5 weeks or so back. But to my knowledge there has been very little work even since then.

If you do need to live in metro Atlanta, and need a suburb with a downtown, look into Roswell (Alpharetta's neighbor). That is something at least worth visiting as a downtown, most of which probably developed in last 5-10 years. But not sure how much it will meet your expectations.

On the Avalon land, the old parking(?) concrete stucture that has been there for years is now being dismantled. Also scrub and small trees are being removed. So the project is slowly progressing.

Roswell "downtown" is interesting, but I hear the restaurants are very crowded, even during the week. Also, many homes in Roswell are older, but that may not be a problem for many people. Roswell, however, has lots of charm.