Need some advice on where to move around ATL (Atlanta: real estate market, house)

[jackttd]

Hi, I've got a possible job prospect in Downtown Atlanta near 5 points. I've got a family, 3 kids, and I'm looking for an area to move where schools are really good. I've got around 300K to 350K for a house. I know the traffic is murder, but I'm looking for suggestions on a nice suburb for the family.

Is driving from Marietta to the Sandy Springs Train station and then taking the train downtown a crazy idea? Just a thought, I'd appreciate yours.

Originally from the Chicago area.

[lorilove]

Originally Posted by jackttd

Is driving from Marietta to the Sandy Springs Train station and then taking the train downtown a crazy idea? Just a thought, I'd appreciate yours.

Originally from the Chicago area.

For clarification purposes, East Cobb primarily has a mailing address of Marietta but is NOT in the City of Atlanta.

Parts of East Cobb are a reasonable drive to Sandy Springs but Marietta proper is absolutely not a reasonable drive.

In general I would say NO to East Cobb over to the Sandy Springs Train Station. I just think the traffic crossing over GA 400 to get to the station is not going to be worth it.

[Mattie]

The idea of parking at North Springs and taking MARTA downtown is a solid one, but you would be better off concentrating your house hunting to Roswell or Alpharetta.

[gerrythesnake]

It doesnt matter where you live OTP since you work downtown because you can take the express bus into downtown to work and it's a straight shot

[jackttd]

Any other suburbs you'd suggest?

[jackttd]

Also, the express bus. Are those times guaranteed? Do they have their own lane?

[gerrythesnake]

Xpress...commuting made easy. Operated by the GA Regional Transportation Authority

Here is the map. I would suggest any area north of the city off of 75N, 400N or 85N if you take the commuter bus into the city daily so that you do not have to worry about driving in our traffic.

But to answer your question Woodstock, Roswell, Suwanee, Alpharettta, etc.

I do not think the times are guaranteed because of traffic. The bus can ride in the HOV/Peach Pass lane on 85 but that is about it.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by jackttd

Hi, I've got a possible job prospect in Downtown Atlanta near 5 points. I've got a family, 3 kids, and I'm looking for an area to move where schools are really good. I've got around 300K to 350K for a house. I know the traffic is murder, but I'm looking for suggestions on a nice suburb for the family.

Is driving from Marietta to the Sandy Springs Train station and then taking the train downtown a crazy idea? Just a thought, I'd appreciate yours.

Originally from the Chicago area.

...Sounds like an excellent plan to me.

With the schools in East Cobb (an area which has a Marietta mailing address) being some of the most highly-regarded schools in the entire Southeastern U.S., you will have to be assertive (if not aggressive) in your search for a house in that area which is among one of the hottest local real estate markets in the country right now because of the excellent quality of the schools in that area (particularly in the feeder zones for Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler, Sprayberry and Kell high schools).

Originally Posted by jackttd

Any other suburbs you'd suggest?

If you are unable to find anything that you like in East Cobb, then like Mattie suggested, you could look in North Fulton County in the GA 400 and GA 141 corridors where the schools are also of really good to excellent quality and there is rush hour express/commuter bus service that connects with MARTA trains at the North Springs and Doraville MARTA Stations (one can also drive to those stations, park and ride MARTA trains into work from those stations just like at the Sandy Springs MARTA Stations).

As gerrythesnake mentioned, you could also expand your search out to areas even farther out where the schools are also of very-high to excellent quality (like West Cobb, North Paulding, Cherokee County, Forsyth County and Gwinnett County) and use GRTA Xpress commuter buses to and get to and from work in the Five Points area of Downtown Atlanta without having to drive directly in very-heavy rush hour traffic (if desired).

While obviously not as optimal as a commuter rail service in other large metro regions (like in Chicago and the Northeast), the presence of the GRTA Xpress commuter bus service does enable you to expand where you can search for housing in areas of high-quality schools if you are not able to find anything in your desired area of East Cobb, which with the really high quality of the schools there is not at all a bad place to start your real estate search in Metro Atlanta.

Originally Posted by lorilove

For clarification purposes, East Cobb primarily has a mailing address of Marietta but is NOT in the City of Atlanta.

Parts of East Cobb are a reasonable drive to Sandy Springs but Marietta proper is absolutely not a reasonable drive.

In general I would say NO to East Cobb over to the Sandy Springs Train Station. I just think the traffic crossing over GA 400 to get to the station is not going to be worth it.

Driving down Johnson Ferry and Abernathy roads over to the Sandy Springs MARTA Station parking and taking the train into the city is much better than trying to commute down GA 400 southbound during the morning rush hour (when traffic is often very slow on southbound GA 400 heading towards I-285 and is often gridlocked from the Buckhead exit on GA 400 south down through the GA 400/I-85 southbound merge, the I-85/I-75 southbound merge below the Brookwood Interchange, and down I-85/I-75 SB to the Williams Street and Courtland Street exits).

Taking the train from Five Points up to the Sandy Springs MARTA Station is also much better than trying to drive up I-85 and GA 400 Northbound during the afternoon/evening rush hour (when sometimes traffic backs up on I-85 NB before the GA 400 North split, and backs up and or stops on GA 400 NB before I-285, particularly if there is some kind of accident which frequently occurs at the outdated and unsafe I-285/GA 400 interchange).

Using MARTA between Sandy Springs and Five Points during morning and evening rush hours is an excellent idea, particularly with the often very-severe traffic congestion that plagues GA 400, I-85 and the I-85/I-75 Downtown Connector during morning and evening rush hours.

If someone can and wants to spare themselves a massive chunk of those often agonizingly-slow and stressful rush hour commutes by using MARTA (or even GRTA Xpress commuter buses) to avoid having to drive in the worst part of the rush hour commute, they should definitely go for it!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by lorilove

Parts of East Cobb are a reasonable drive to Sandy Springs but Marietta proper is absolutely not a reasonable drive.

In general I would say NO to East Cobb over to the Sandy Springs Train Station. I just think the traffic crossing over GA 400 to get to the station is not going to be worth it.

One should also keep in mind that Johnson Ferry and Abernathy roads were just recently reconstructed and widened between the Chattahoochee River and GA Hwy 9 Roswell Road.

That means that driving between East Cobb and the Sandy Springs MARTA Station by way of Johnson Ferry and Abernathy roads is now infinitely much easier than before the completion of that crucial transportation project.

[DunwoodyPanhandle]

It's not worth it - the time door-to-door, the inconvenience - to drive from East Cobb to Sandy Springs MARTA.

I'd live in either East Cobb and Dunwoody and just bear the commute. It's not that bad if you leave earlier. You may also want to check out the 30345 zip code.

Forget Alpharetta, Roswell, Suwanee, Woodstock...too far from Downtown.