You use to live intown had kids, then moved to North Fulton? Any Regrets? (Atlanta: apartment, house)

[WannaBeinBoston]

I'm not starting an ITP vs OTP thread. I want to acknowledge the benefits to both and hence my dilemna. I would like to get perspective of those that use to live intown but then moved out....do you have any regrets?

About us...both work from home, young kids in private school, an occasional trip to office in midtown for one and weekly airport use for the other. At some point, we want to main stream the kids away from their coddling school environment, save tuition, live in a swim/tennis so that they can grow up with neighborhood kids, attend same schools, be part of a community, etc. Obviously harder to do living intown.

Our concern is, will we feel isolated being so far from the center of the city? Admittedly, we do enjoy our location but with the kids, it's really about outdoor activities, parks, swimming, tennis, golf anyway so it's not as though we're hanging out in VA-Hi.

Would love some feedback/thoughts. An admitted temptation is to move out to burb, get a larger nicer home and pay cash and not worry about mortgage.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

I'm not starting an ITP vs OTP thread. I want to acknowledge the benefits to both and hence my dilemna. I would like to get perspective of those that use to live intown but then moved out....do you have any regrets?

About us...both work from home, young kids in private school, an occasional trip to office in midtown for one and weekly airport use for the other. At some point, we want to main stream the kids away from their coddling school environment, save tuition, live in a swim/tennis so that they can grow up with neighborhood kids, attend same schools, be part of a community, etc. Obviously harder to do living intown.

Our concern is, will we feel isolated being so far from the center of the city? Admittedly, we do enjoy our location but with the kids, it's really about outdoor activities, parks, swimming, tennis, golf anyway so it's not as though we're hanging out in VA-Hi.

Would love some feedback/thoughts. An admitted temptation is to move out to burb, get a larger nicer home and pay cash and not worry about mortgage.

Did exactly that 3 months ago. Great decision for all of the reasons you mentioned. I don't need to go into Midtown but about once per week. Saving lots of money on mortgage. Live in Forsyth and local taxes are a fraction of what they were in the city. Do I miss being in the city? I do. But like you, it's not as though we were hanging out ion VA-HI and going to bars and clubs. Our big night out was a trip to the Kroger!

[WannaBeinBoston]

Ansleypark, you're my new hero! Good for you guys. May I ask why Forsyth? We were thinking Alpharetta, Johns Creek and the like.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston

Ansleypark, you're my new hero! Good for you guys. May I ask why Forsyth? We were thinking Alpharetta, Johns Creek and the like.

We really like the St Marlo community - being gated, we feel much safer than we did living in Midtown. A bit more mature (infrastructure, landscaping) than some of the others. It's less than a mile from Johns Creek by the way, and allowed us to avoid FulCo property taxes. The community clubhouse, pool and swim facilities are top notch and the golf course is very pretty (I'm not a golfer). The folks there are very friendly, lots of families with children and Lamberth High is one of the best high schools ithe area, and won't cost me $22k+ a year. I'm happy to give you more details about our decision if you would like to DM me.

Know, that I have always been a supporter of living Intown. And, for 23 years that was a good choice for me. But, lives evolve and our evolution took us out of the city, although we could have remained there indefinitely.

[ATLTJL]

I lived in Buckhead for 7 years.

I didn't have kids, but I met a woman and it was time to buy a house. Well, as much as I would have loved to, I couldn't afford a home in Buckhead, and I didn't want to be an urban pioneer and buy in a questionable area, which on my budget, I would have had to do.

So instead of buying a 1950s brick ranch with weird rooms, low ceilings, and no insulation, I came to the suburbs. I bought a house in Duluth. It's a modest 3 bedroom/2 1/2 bath in a modest neighborhood. But everyone is friendly, the neighborhood is well maintained, it's safe, and I'm very close to Sugarloaf Country Club and only 5 minutes from St. Marlo. That means everything I go to is nice. The Kroger is nice, the movie theaters are nice, you get the picture.

Do I miss Buckhead? Yeah, sometimes. But like everybody else is saying, I wasn't hitting the bars and clubs anymore. I got sick of having to valet my car to eat out. I wanted more space. I just no longer needed the things that Buckhead offered.

We were discussing the possibility of moving last night, because I work downtown. I bought out there thinking I would never have to work regular hours, but now I do. We won't move anytime soon, but if we ever do, we decided that we still won't move intown. We would move to the perimeter area. We both feel that it has proximity to town, but more of the things we have grown to love about the suburbs, mainly lots of space for our 70 pound active dog.

No regrets here. My only choices to live intown were stay in a 1 bedroom apartment, buy a house I would have hated, buy a house in a location I would have hated, or not save any money and never be able to retire. The only thing that is occasionally annoying is my commute, but for work from home it would be a non-brainer.

Final thought: When I moved into Buckhead, I promised myself I would never become one of those ITP snobs who refused to venture OTP. I knew all of the amenities that were located in the suburbs and promised myself I would continue to use them, and I did. When I moved to the suburbs, I made the same promise that I would go into the city whenever I felt like it. So we still go intown about every month to eat out, go to a concert, etc. I also hang out with friends every Thursday night on my way home from work in East Atlanta.

[WannaBeinBoston]

Ansley. I sent you you a DM.

ATLTLJ. Thanks for your perpspective here. You make a compelling case as does Ansley.

[Atlanta_BD]

I am a parent who lives in town and wouldn't have it any other way, but at the end of the day you have to do what works best for your family. When you are married, have more than one child and maybe even a dog, city living just isn't feasible after a while for most because there just aren't a lot of affordable and safe options with good schools and space for a growing family. When you have a family, your priorities change and you have to do what works best for your circumstances. It sounds like living in North Fulton would work out well for you all.

[Strangejelly]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Our big night out was a trip to the Kroger!

Scary

[AnsleyPark]

I love cooking and do so better than most restaurants. So not scary at all!

[WannaBeinBoston]

While we do love to eat out, we do so because our kitchen isn't conducive to a large gathering place. If we do move. I would miss the restaurant options intown but then again places we want to eat at, aren't kids friendly.