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My family is relocating to Atlanta in two months from Denver for a job transfer.
It looks like my new office will be in Dunwoody. What neighborhoods have good schools and are less than a 30 minute commute to my office? We are flexible on price range but a 4/5 BR, 3BA in the 450 to 500k range would be ideal.
For those familiar with the Denver area, we're currently living in Cherry Creek and are looking for a similar area in Atlanta. The relocation agent I've been assigned has already suggested Eastern Cobb, Northern Fulton and Southern Forsythe as options. Looking at Google maps, these locations still cover a huge area - where would you recommend I focus? And what is considered the boundaries of these areas? Is Sandy Springs part of "North Fulton"?
Also, are there other areas that fit my profile? On Google maps, I see that much of Gwinnett county is very close to Dunwoody yet I'm not hearing these areas touted much. Is there any reason why?
The reason you are being steered to those areas is because they are where the really good schools are.
Sandy Springs is not generally considered part of North Fulton. Actually, Sandy Springs is a much more valuable area than North Fulton. The reason you aren't being shown much there is because the schools aren't as good as the other areas you are being shown. That's because there is a lot of money in Sandy Springs, and most people just send their kids to good private schools.
The good news is, with your budget, you can probably afford something more than decent in Dunwoody or Sandy Springs. You'll just be stuck with the possibility of having to deal with private schools depending on your tolerance (the schools aren't bad, they're just ok). The areas of North Fulton, East Cobb, etc. will get you more house for your money and you won't have to deal with private schools....but you might kick yourself every day as you're trying to get to and from work.
On this board, we'd be able to help you more if you could rank the following in importance: budget, schools, commute.
Most importantly, schools and commute. That's where your balancing act is going to be.
I don't know how good or bad the schools in Dunwoody or Sandy Springs are. I don't think they are war zones like some other metro schools, but you never see them on the list of top schools in the area either. I think they are just so-so, but I don't have much experience with them and I know that people in those areas who can afford not to do not typically use them.
It would also help us to know exactly where your office in Dunwood is. If it's on the east side of Dunwoody, areas like Peachtree Corners may be viable options, but if it's in the Perimeter area, you'd be better off going up 400 to areas like Roswell and Alpharetta. If you're being shown East Cobb instead of Gwinnett, that probably means your office is close to 400.
My family is relocating to Atlanta in two months from Denver for a job transfer.
It looks like my new office will be in Dunwoody. What neighborhoods have good schools and are less than a 30 minute commute to my office? We are flexible on price range but a 4/5 BR, 3BA in the 450 to 500k range would be ideal.
For those familiar with the Denver area, we're currently living in Cherry Creek and are looking for a similar area in Atlanta. The relocation agent I've been assigned has already suggested Eastern Cobb, Northern Fulton and Southern Forsythe as options. Looking at Google maps, these locations still cover a huge area - where would you recommend I focus? And what is considered the boundaries of these areas? Is Sandy Springs part of "North Fulton"?
Also, are there other areas that fit my profile? On Google maps, I see that much of Gwinnett county is very close to Dunwoody yet I'm not hearing these areas touted much. Is there any reason why?
Thanks for your input!!
If you are looking at East Cobb, North Fulton (Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton), and South Forsyth, then you should also add the Duluth/Suwanee Area of West-Northwest Gwinnett to your list.
My family is relocating to Atlanta in two months from Denver for a job transfer.
It looks like my new office will be in Dunwoody. What neighborhoods have good schools and are less than a 30 minute commute to my office? We are flexible on price range but a 4/5 BR, 3BA in the 450 to 500k range would be ideal.
For those familiar with the Denver area, we're currently living in Cherry Creek and are looking for a similar area in Atlanta. The relocation agent I've been assigned has already suggested Eastern Cobb, Northern Fulton and Southern Forsythe as options. Looking at Google maps, these locations still cover a huge area - where would you recommend I focus? And what is considered the boundaries of these areas? Is Sandy Springs part of "North Fulton"?
Also, are there other areas that fit my profile? On Google maps, I see that much of Gwinnett county is very close to Dunwoody yet I'm not hearing these areas touted much. Is there any reason why?
Thanks for your input!!
From Denver to Atlanta....Man, are you ever in for one heck-of-a culture shock, LOL!
Anyways, from what I know of the Cherry Creek area of Denver, it is a very-upscale and affluent urban village district with a upscale shopping mall (Cherry Creek Shopping Center), high-end storefront shops and restaurants, and high-end housing with home prices that range up to about $5 million or so in a very-compact Intown area (only about 1 square mile) with really good public schools fairly close (only about 4-5 miles) to Downtown Denver.
There's also the Cherry Creek Trail and urban greenway which has won national acclaim as a linear park and recreational trail that served as an early model for other urban greenway projects that followed around the country later on.
You're not going to find anything quite like Cherry Creek in the Atlanta area.
The closest thing to the Cherry Creek area that you will find in the Atlanta area are the areas of Buckhead and Decatur.
At about 9 miles north of Downtown Atlanta, Buckhead is a very-upscale area with the type of high-end shops (2 high-end mega-malls at Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza), restaurants and housing that you may be familiar with in the compact Cherry Creek village area of Denver.
The biggest difference between Atlanta's upscale Buckhead district and Denver's upscale Cherry Creek district is that Atlanta's Buckhead district is much-larger in scale, spreads over a much-larger area, and likely has infinitely-worse traffic than Denver's Cherry Creek district.
The public schools in Atlanta's Buckhead district also are not necessarily as highly-rated or as highly-regarded as the schools may be in Denver's Cherry Creek district, though Atlanta Public Schools recently made national news with the $147 million construction of a brand new public high school complex (North Atlanta High School, which serves the Buckhead area) on the former campus of a IBM-anchored business park complex in the western section of Buckhead. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/ed...ools.html?_r=0
At about 7 miles east of Downtown Atlanta, the City of Decatur is an popular and highly-regarded urban village area built around a MARTA heavy rail station (...a rarity in transit-averse Metro Atlanta) and a historic county courthouse and square with many shops, restaurants and higher-density housing that is similar to Denver's Cherry Creek area in terms of compactness and walkability, but without the very-upscale and very high-end shopping and dining that a Cherry Creek or Buckhead may have.
The City of Decatur also has great public schools with an excellent small city school system that is regarded by many to be one of the best small city public school systems both in the Southeastern U.S. and in the nation.
The City of Decatur (not to be confused with the large unincorporated area of DeKalb County with a Decatur address south of the City of Decatur with questionable schools and high crime) would also mostly be a "reverse commute" in the opposite direction of the absolute heaviest rush-hour traffic from the City of Decatur up to the Dunwoody area by way of Clairmont Road to GA 141 to Johnson Ferry and/or Ashford Dunwoody roads.
As for the relocation agent's suggestions of Eastern Cobb (East Cobb), Northern Fulton (North Fulton) and Southern Forsythe (South Forsyth)...all three areas have EXCELLENT schools, though South Forsyth (the area for the feeder zones of Lambert and South Forsyth high schools) may present the most-challenging rush-hour commute by far of all 3 areas that the relocation agent recommended, because of its farther distance away from Dunwoody than East Cobb and North Fulton, and because of the limited commute options by way of the severely-congested commuter routes of GA 400 and GA 141.
Depending on where you are coming from in North Fulton, your rush-hour commutes between North Fulton and Dunwoody will either be just plain challenging (if you are coming from the Roswell and Alpharetta areas by way of GA 400) or very-challenging (if you are coming from the Milton and/or Johns Creek areas by way of GA 400 or GA 141).
East Cobb (the somewhat expansive upscale area of East Cobb County with Marietta and Roswell addresses with very-competitive public schools in the feeder zones for Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler and Sprayberry high schools that is centered on shopping areas at GA 120 Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads, and at Sandy Plains and Shallowford roads) can also present a somewhat-challenging rush-hour commute by way of Johnson Ferry and Abernathy roads (though that commute has recently improved somewhat substantially with the recent improvements that have been made to Johnson Ferry and Abernathy roads east of the river through Sandy Springs).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncos2013
Looking at Google maps, these locations still cover a huge area - where would you recommend I focus?
...In such a large, expansive and complex metro area as Atlanta, the locations/areas of East Cobb, North Fulton and South Forsyth ARE areas of focus, despite the somewhat relative expansiveness of the areas in question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncos2013
And what is considered the boundaries of these areas?
...The boundaries of North Fulton are basically everything inside of Fulton County above the GA 400 crossing over the Chattahoochee River (an area which includes all of the incorporated cities of Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Milton).
The boundaries of East Cobb are a little harder to quantify, though the easiest and simplest description of the area that East Cobb covers is everything in Cobb County EAST of the city limits of Marietta and south of the Cherokee County line over to the Fulton County line (..generally everything in Cobb County EAST of Canton Road, I-75 and the GA 120 Marietta Parkway Loop...an area which includes ALL of the feeder zones for very-competitive and highly-rated and highly-touted Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler and Sprayberry high schools and part of the feeder zone for Kell High School).
The boundaries of South Forsyth are even harder to quantify in terms of absolutes, though the area commonly referred to as being South Forsyth generally includes everything in Forsyth County SOUTH of the city limits of Cumming in the feeder zones for highly-rated and highly-regarded Lambert and South Forsyth high schools.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncos2013
Is Sandy Springs part of "North Fulton"?
As another poster stated, Sandy Springs is generally not officially part of North Fulton, but in the political scheme of things and for political purposes (endless high-profile political food fights and continuing political tension within Fulton County government and the Georgia State Legislature between the black, Democrat and Liberal south end of Fulton County and the white, Republican and Conservative north end of Fulton County), Sandy Springs always sides with political interests in North Fulton County who have in recent years been trying to break the more-affluent north end of Fulton County off from the less-affluent south end of Fulton County and the dysfunctional Fulton County government to form a new separate Milton County government.
From Denver to Atlanta....Man, are you ever in for one heck-of-a culture shock, LOL!
Anyways, from what I know of the Cherry Creek area of Denver, it is a very-upscale and affluent urban village district with a upscale shopping mall (Cherry Creek Shopping Center), high-end storefront shops and restaurants, and high-end housing with home prices that range up to about $5 million or so in a very-compact Intown area (only about 1 square mile) with really good public schools fairly close (only about 4-5 miles) to Downtown Denver.
There's also the Cherry Creek Trail and urban greenway which has won national acclaim as a linear park and recreational trail that served as an early model for other urban greenway projects that followed around the country later on.
You're not going to find anything quite like Cherry Creek in the Atlanta area.
The closest thing to the Cherry Creek area that you will find in the Atlanta area are the areas of Buckhead and Decatur.
At about 9 miles north of Downtown Atlanta, Buckhead is a very-upscale area with the type of high-end shops (2 high-end mega-malls at Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza), restaurants and housing that you may be familiar with in the compact Cherry Creek village area of Denver.
The biggest difference between Atlanta's upscale Buckhead district and Denver's upscale Cherry Creek district is that Atlanta's Buckhead district is much-larger in scale, spreads over a much-larger area, and likely has infinitely-worse traffic than Denver's Cherry Creek district.
The public schools in Atlanta's Buckhead district also are not necessarily as highly-rated or as highly-regarded as the schools may be in Denver's Cherry Creek district, though Atlanta Public Schools recently made national news with the $147 million construction of a brand new public high school complex (North Atlanta High School, which serves the Buckhead area) on the former campus of a IBM-anchored business park complex in the western section of Buckhead. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/ed...ools.html?_r=0
At about 7 miles east of Downtown Atlanta, the City of Decatur is an popular and highly-regarded urban village area built around a MARTA heavy rail station (...a rarity in transit-averse Metro Atlanta) and a historic county courthouse and square with many shops, restaurants and higher-density housing that is similar to Denver's Cherry Creek area in terms of compactness and walkability, but without the very-upscale and very high-end shopping and dining that a Cherry Creek or Buckhead may have.
The City of Decatur also has great public schools with an excellent small city school system that is regarded by many to be one of the best small city public school systems both in the Southeastern U.S. and in the nation.
The City of Decatur (not to be confused with the large unincorporated area of DeKalb County with a Decatur address south of the City of Decatur with questionable schools and high crime) would also mostly be a "reverse commute" in the opposite direction of the absolute heaviest rush-hour traffic from the City of Decatur up to the Dunwoody area by way of Clairmont Road to GA 141 to Johnson Ferry and/or Ashford Dunwoody roads.
As for the relocation agent's suggestions of Eastern Cobb (East Cobb), Northern Fulton (North Fulton) and Southern Forsythe (South Forsyth)...all three areas have EXCELLENT schools, though South Forsyth (the area for the feeder zones of Lambert and South Forsyth high schools) may present the most-challenging rush-hour commute by far of all 3 areas that the relocation agent recommended, because of its farther distance away from Dunwoody than East Cobb and North Fulton, and because of the limited commute options by way of the severely-congested commuter routes of GA 400 and GA 141.
Depending on where you are coming from in North Fulton, your rush-hour commutes between North Fulton and Dunwoody will either be just plain challenging (if you are coming from the Roswell and Alpharetta areas by way of GA 400) or very-challenging (if you are coming from the Milton and/or Johns Creek areas by way of GA 400 or GA 141).
East Cobb (the somewhat expansive upscale area of East Cobb County with Marietta and Roswell addresses with very-competitive public schools in the feeder zones for Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler and Sprayberry high schools that is centered on shopping areas at GA 120 Roswell and Johnson Ferry roads, and at Sandy Plains and Shallowford roads) can also present a somewhat-challenging rush-hour commute by way of Johnson Ferry and Abernathy roads (though that commute has recently improved somewhat substantially with the recent improvements that have been made to Johnson Ferry and Abernathy roads east of the river through Sandy Springs).
...In such a large, expansive and complex metro area as Atlanta, the locations/areas of East Cobb, North Fulton and South Forsyth ARE areas of focus, despite the somewhat relative expansiveness of the areas in question.
...The boundaries of North Fulton are basically everything inside of Fulton County above the GA 400 crossing over the Chattahoochee River (an area which includes all of the incorporated cities of Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Milton).
The boundaries of East Cobb are a little harder to quantify, though the easiest and simplest description of the area that East Cobb covers is everything in Cobb County EAST of the city limits of Marietta and south of the Cherokee County line over to the Fulton County line (..generally everything in Cobb County EAST of Canton Road, I-75 and the GA 120 Marietta Parkway Loop...an area which includes ALL of the feeder zones for very-competitive and highly-rated and highly-touted Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler and Sprayberry high schools and part of the feeder zone for Kell High School).
The boundaries of South Forsyth are even harder to quantify in terms of absolutes, though the area commonly referred to as being South Forsyth generally includes everything in Forsyth County SOUTH of the city limits of Cumming in the feeder zones for highly-rated and highly-regarded Lambert and South Forsyth high schools.
As another poster stated, Sandy Springs is generally not officially part of North Fulton, but in the political scheme of things and for political purposes (endless high-profile political food fights and continuing political tension within Fulton County government and the Georgia State Legislature between the black, Democrat and Liberal south end of Fulton County and the white, Republican and Conservative north end of Fulton County), Sandy Springs always sides with political interests in North Fulton County who have in recent years been trying to break the more-affluent north end of Fulton County off from the less-affluent south end of Fulton County and the dysfunctional Fulton County government to form a new separate Milton County government.
Please forgive Born2Roll ... He has a habit of providing WAY more information than is really necessary!
Here's what you do: find out precisely WHERE in Dunwoody your job is, draw a circle around it like the face of a clock, then narrow your housing search to areas between 9 and 1 -- basically due WEST of work to just slightly north EAST. This will include the areas you cited -- East Cobb and North Fulton, as well as Peachtree Corners in Gwinnett County. At your price range ($500,000+) the housing options will be limitless and every school district within that arc is outstanding!
Please forgive Born2Roll ... He has a habit of providing WAY more information than is really necessary!
Here's what you do: find out precisely WHERE in Dunwoody your job is, draw a circle around it like the face of a clock, then narrow your housing search to areas between 9 and 1 -- basically due WEST of work to just slightly north EAST. This will include the areas you cited -- East Cobb and North Fulton, as well as Peachtree Corners in Gwinnett County. At your price range ($500,000+) the housing options will be limitless and every school district within that arc is outstanding!
...Though, no one can ever have TOO MUCH information about an area that they have never been to, have very-little knowledge of and are totally unfamiliar with, particularly when they are moving there from over 1,400 miles across the country.
That's what the purpose of these forums are, which is to help people out by providing them with pertinent information so that they can make informed choice, not to withhold that pertinent information from people who ask important questions about important decisions they have to make just because a few others may not like to read anything more than a couple-of-sentences.
Please forgive Born2Roll ... He has a habit of providing WAY more information than is really necessary!
Here's what you do: find out precisely WHERE in Dunwoody your job is, draw a circle around it like the face of a clock, then narrow your housing search to areas between 9 and 1 -- basically due WEST of work to just slightly north EAST. This will include the areas you cited -- East Cobb and North Fulton, as well as Peachtree Corners in Gwinnett County. At your price range ($500,000+) the housing options will be limitless and every school district within that arc is outstanding!
Wow guys - thanks so much for this wealth of information. This is great. I will look into Peachtree Corners and Suwanee. One additional question though - how do school systems in Atlanta work? I'm noticing a lot of systems are run by the county - but do you still attend a locally zoned school? Systems here in Denver all have school choice with preference given to families located within a certain distance from each school. In practice, this means the best schools fill up many times over before transfers from families in outlying regions are even considered so you still have to consider schools when purchasing a home. Is this how Atlanta schools determine eligibility as well?
Also, to provide some more details.
ATLTJL - My work location is in the Perimeter Center area. It's very close to 400. That said, how long is the commute from South Forsyth to Dunwoody? It looks much further out than the other areas.
Born 2 Roll - sorry I wasn't more clear in my initial email. We are in the Cherry Creek School District, which is different than the Denver neighborhood you referenced. The town is Greenwood Village (Western Arapahoe county).
Lastminutemom - Primarily looking for a house constructed within the last 20 years. The area where we live is well-established and has aged well. We're hoping to find a similar area in Atlanta and trying to avoid the sprawly, cookie-cutter feel.
Wow guys - thanks so much for this wealth of information. This is great. I will look into Peachtree Corners and Suwanee.
...When you look in the Peachtree Corners area, concentrate your search in the feeder zone for Simpson Elementary School and Pinckneyville Middle School, which both respectively are the highest-rated and most highly-regarded elementary school and middle school in the Peachtree Corners area.
Both Simpson ES and Pinckneyville MS feed into Norcross High School which is a school that receives a very-strong amount of financial support from the surrounding community through the Norcross High School Foundation for Excellence which is the very-active fundraising arm for the school's academic, arts and non-football athletic programs (the football program has a very-strong fundraising arm of its own through its booster club). Norcross High School Foundation for Excellence - Home
When you look in the Suwanee area, concentrate your search in the feeder zone for the highly-rated and highly-regarded North Gwinnett High School which is where the best housing options are (in your price range) west of Suwanee Dam Road and east of the Chattahoochee River.
You can also look around in the feeder zone for Peachtree Ridge High School, which straddles the line between Duluth and Suwanee.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncos2013
One additional question though - how do school systems in Atlanta work? I'm noticing a lot of systems are run by the county - but do you still attend a locally zoned school? Systems here in Denver all have school choice with preference given to families located within a certain distance from each school. In practice, this means the best schools fill up many times over before transfers from families in outlying regions are even considered so you still have to consider schools when purchasing a home. Is this how Atlanta schools determine eligibility as well?
...From what I understand, most school systems in the Atlanta region do not offer school choice programs unless the student is accepted for enrollment into a magnet or gifted program at a school that is outside of attendance zone for the school that the student lives in.
Though hopefully some of the Atlanta forum posters that are familiar with the school systems in the Northern suburbs can comment on that subject and confirm whether or not school choice actually exists across-the-board in North Metro Atlanta school systems, though I don't think that it does, but I am not exactly sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncos2013
Also, to provide some more details.
ATLTJL - My work location is in the Perimeter Center area. It's very close to 400. That said, how long is the commute from South Forsyth to Dunwoody? It looks much further out than the other areas.
...Depends on what exact hour and what part of South Forsyth County you will be commuting from (the GA 400 side or the GA 141 side).
If you are commuting from the GA 400 side of South Forsyth County in and near the feeder zone for South Forsyth High School it can take anywhere from 25 minutes (if you live really close to GA 400, the traffic is moving good and it is before about 6:30am when the major slowdowns start to occur on southbound GA 400) up to an hour or more (if it is after 6:30-7am, things are going REALLY bad, which they have a tendency to do sometimes on that particular stretch of roadway if/when there are delays caused by some kind of freak accident, untimely police traffic stops, or wet or inclement weather or a bad combination of all three).
If you are commuting from the GA 141 side of South Forsyth County from in the feeder zone for Lambert High School (which, ironically has a Suwanee address, but in Forsyth County) it can take anywhere from 40-45 minutes (if it is before 6:30am and/or things are going REALLY, REALLY well) up to an hour or more (if it is after 6:30am and things are going really bad due to one or more of the aforementioned factors/hazards).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncos2013
Born 2 Roll - sorry I wasn't more clear in my initial email. We are in the Cherry Creek School District, which is different than the Denver neighborhood you referenced. The town is Greenwood Village (Western Arapahoe county).
...Well, in that case...from what I know of the Greenwood Village area, it is in the south suburbs of Denver kind of on I-25 South and is home to a commercial/business district called "Denver Tech Center" which is part of a corridor of high-rise, mid-rise and low-rise office buildings that stretches for about 6-7 miles down I-25 south of the I-225 junction.
Ironically, the I-25 corridor south of Denver has some minor similarities to the area of the GA 400 North corridor north of Atlanta from I-285 and the Perimeter Center north to the Alpharetta area which is quickly growing into a hub for tech businesses (largely due to the City of Alpharetta's increasingly-intense courtship of those tech businesses and their high-paying jobs).
So it looks like we may have found an area of Metro Atlanta in Alpharetta and North Fulton County in the Northern suburbs of Atlanta that has some of what you are looking for as far as similarities to the Cherry Creek School District area of the south suburbs of Denver.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncos2013
Lastminutemom - Primarily looking for a house constructed within the last 20 years. The area where we live is well-established and has aged well. We're hoping to find a similar area in Atlanta and trying to avoid the sprawly, cookie-cutter feel.
Hopefully, you should not have much of a problem finding what you are looking for with a price range of $450-500k as the Northern suburbs of Atlanta seemingly have a relatively wide range of options from $200k (or lower) Northeastern-style attached townhomes to detached multimillion-dollar mansions in country club communities on golf courses.
Good luck on your family's housing and schools search...I hope that you find what you are looking for and I hope that you enjoy living in North Georgia.
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