Young Family Atlanta Relocation (Newnan, Douglas: apartment, condo, student loans)

[cd7449]

My wife and I are considering a job related move to Atlanta. I realize that job location is a key indicator of where to live. The job is walking distance to the Peachtree Center MARTA station.

1. Budget $150,000 and under...more comfortable in the $120-$130 range. I realize that this might seem quite low, but my wife will not be working in order to stay home with our 9 month old son and we do have some student loans to still pay off. We have been able to find similarly priced housing in Pittsburgh (where we currently live) and from research I have done, this budget doesn't go far in Atlanta (particularly in the nicer areas) but there are some options
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Single Family Home is preferred, but Townhome is not off limits. Prefer to stay away from apartment buildings or multi story condo buildings
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) Would be commuting downtown
4. Children(public school vs. private) No school age children currently...and who knows what life will look like 5 years from now when that time comes. School is not a major concern other than that it can serve as an indicator of the rest of the neighborhood
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two like to have some space, particularly in terms of yard, but also like to be close to activities, particularly as wife will be staying home
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? If possible yes, but not the primary factor in decision making
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. We are young (Mid/Late 20s) with a young son and are likely to have another child at some point in the next few years. We don't know anyone in the area but would prefer to live in the vicinity of others at a similar stage in life

From what I can tell, north of the city is preferred, so I have been sticking primarily to that. Any help would be much appreciated

[Born 2 Roll]

In Atlanta, $130,000 will not necessarily get you a home anywhere near remotely close to where you will be working unless either the home is likely a junker in need of many repairs, or the home is a older home in an area where the safety is questionable and the schools may not necessarily be of the highest quality, or both needs repairs and is in an area where the safety may be questionable and the schools may not necessarily be of the highest quality.

You can find nicer newer homes for $130,000 and under in Metro Atlanta, but the areas in which you will find those newer homes for $130k and under will most-likely be in outlying outer-suburban areas that will likely mean a lengthy peak-hour commute (in terms of both time and distance) through very-heavy traffic to and from your job near the Peachtree Center MARTA station in Downtown Atlanta.

If you are willing to accept that the homes in your preferred price range of $130k and under are located in outlying areas that will likely mean a long commute to and from work, particularly if the commute to and from work is made during rush hours, then a possible move to Atlanta is worth closer consideration.

However, if you are NOT willing to accept the distinct and highly-likely possibility of long peak-hour commutes between home and work, then you should NOT consider moving to Atlanta.

With that said, a budget of $130k and under most-likely places your family in outlying suburban areas with good schools like:

> The Alexander High School cluster in Douglas County out the severely rush hour-congested I-20 West corridor;

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Hiram, East Paulding, South Paulding, Paulding County and North Paulding high schools in Paulding County out the severely rush hour-congested US 278/GA 6 West corridor;

> In the cluster/feeder zone for North Cobb High School in Cobb County out the severely rush hour-congested I-75 Northwest corridor;

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Woodstock, River Ridge, Cherokee and Sequoyah high schools in Cherokee County out the severely rush hour-congested I-575 North/GA 140 corridor;

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Forsyth Central and North Forsyth high schools in Forsyth County out the severely rush hour-congested GA 400 North corridor;

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Lanier, Mountain View, Collins Hill, Mill Creek, Archer and Grayson high schools in Gwinnett County...

(...If you are willing to consider living in a newer townhome, look to see if you can find anything in the cluster/feeder zone for Norcross High School in the Peachtree Corners/Norcross area of Western Gwinnett County where there are many newer townhomes at affordable prices);

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Loganville and Walnut Grove high schools in Walton County;

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Flowery Branch and North Hall high schools in Hall County out the I-985 North corridor;

> In the cluster/feeder zone for Apalachee High School in Barrow County out the severely rush hour-congested GA 316 corridor.


I know that you said that you prefer to search in the Northern suburbs, but some areas with good schools with homes in your price range of $130k and under in the Southern suburbs that you could also consider are:

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Fayette County, Sandy Creek, Whitewater and Starr's Mill high schools in Fayette County;

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Northgate, East Coweta and Newnan high schools in Coweta County out the I-85 Southwest corridor (a corridor which is likely the least-congested of all of the major highway routes that radiate out from Atlanta);

> In the clusters/feeder zones for Union Grove, Ola, Dutchtown, Locust Grove and Woodland high schools in Henry County out the often severely-congested I-75 South corridor;

> In the cluster/feeder zone for Eastside High School in Newton County out the severely-congested I-20 East corridor.