Vinings vs Smyrna (Atlanta, Woodland, Martin: apartments, rent, insurance)

[LM0121]

I'm looking at homes in the Vinings / East Smyrna area, in the $1-$1.5mm range, to be close to Lovett (within a 10 min drive). I get the impression that Smyrna isn't considered a great area, but these Smyrna homes I see online (and hope to see in the next few days) seem to be in great, new or new-ish construction neighborhoods. I'm looking specifically in Smyra along Atlanta Rd, between Paces Ferry and Cumberland. Some of these homes are huge, though, and honestly I don't need 5,000-6,000 sq ft+. I'm moving from NYC and am used to a much smaller footprint.

I've found something in Vinings that I really like around $1.25mm area but comparable homes just a couple miles west in Smyra are $200-$400k less. They both benefit from Cobb County taxes.

What are people's thoughts on (East) Smyrna vs Vinings? How should I think about resale down the road?

[Citykid3785]

Smyrna has lesser schools, is more for young families wanting starter homes.

Vinings is moreso considered an exclusive sleepy enclave of buckhead overflow. If I could afford Vinings, I would

[David1502]

Originally Posted by LM0121

I'm looking at homes in the Vinings / East Smyrna area, in the $1-$1.5mm range, to be close to Lovett (within a 10 min drive). I get the impression that Smyrna isn't considered a great area, but these Smyrna homes I see online (and hope to see in the next few days) seem to be in great, new or new-ish construction neighborhoods. I'm looking specifically in Smyra along Atlanta Rd, between Paces Ferry and Cumberland. Some of these homes are huge, though, and honestly I don't need 5,000-6,000 sq ft+. I'm moving from NYC and am used to a much smaller footprint.

I've found something in Vinings that I really like around $1.25mm area but comparable homes just a couple miles west in Smyra are $200-$400k less. They both benefit from Cobb County taxes.

What are people's thoughts on (East) Smyrna vs Vinings? How should I think about resale down the road?

There is a prestige factor of being in "Real Vinings" inside of I-285 in zip code 30339 versus outside of 285 in the area with a 30080 (Smyrna) zip code. The City of Smyrna was originally a working class small town where a lot of the residents worked at the Lockheed Martin Bell Bomber plant in nearby Dobbins AFB. Vinings was developed later as an overflow from the most expensive part of Buckhead and so all of the homes were of a higher price point. However, in the late 1980's developers began building higher priced neighborhoods with "Vinings" in their names in Smyrna. Vinings Glen subdivision on Ridge Rd. was the first neighborhood where this naming took place in 1988. So, the big difference is that the City of Smyrna has a lot more diversity of incomes than Vinings (inside 285). In Smyrna, there are neighborhoods of $700K + homes which are right around the corner from low rent 1960's era apartments.

Also, not all of the areas with a Smyrna mailing address are actually within the City of Smyrna - there are a lot of neighborhoods in unincorporated Cobb County with a Smyrna 30080 address. However, the City of Smyrna has an excellent Police Department with a great response time, but the property taxes for such service are higher. In the end, you will get more house for your money outside of I-285, but many are willing to pay more for being in the more prestigious Vinings neighborhood inside I-285.

[Born 2 Roll]

Smyrna & Vinings = Smynings

[Born 2 Roll]

Smyrna is an area that continues to rise in popularity, including with young professionals and young professionals with families.

... So one should have little to no problem reselling a home in Smyrna as long as the economy stays even remotely viable.

One particularly should have very little to no problem reselling a home along the Atlanta Road corridor, which is the part of Smyrna that is experiencing the most growth.

The choice between Vinings and Smyrna basically comes down to whether one wants to pay $200-400k more to live in an area with a Vinings address, or whether one wants to pay $200-400k less to live in the same house in Smyrna.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

The choice between Vinings and Smyrna basically comes down to whether one wants to pay $200-400k more to live in an area with a Vinings address, or whether one wants to pay $200-400k less to live in the same house in Smyrna.

And how often really does a mailing address come up in life. You can say you live in Atlanta and tell people you live in Atlanta (or Vinings), and even put on your Facebook profile that you live in Atlanta, and all that's free. And most people wouldn't know or care.

And if it's just a matter of the status symbol of being technically inside or outside of I-285, you can say you live right on the perimeter, which is basically true for Smyrna. It's a mile outside the perimeter.

Smyrna is right next to Vinings, and close enough in to the city that it's an inner ring suburb area, with easy access to Midtown and Downtown and the Westside area of the city. (Access to most of Buckhead is kind of awkward/indirect, though.)

The Atlanta Rd corridor on the Vinings side of things is really nice. Some of the other areas of Smyrna are not as nice. Some are bad looking. It's really a mixed and middle of the road suburb, all in all. Not high end or low end.

[evannole]

You're looking in the right area, on Atlanta Road between Paces Ferry and Cumberland. I lived in that corridor for 15 years and enjoyed it. You practically are in true Vinings - closer to Vinings, as the crow flies, than to the Smyrna city limits. Indeed, while David makes excellent points above, I will note that my old neighborhood has used "Vinings" in its name for even longer than Vinings Glen, since 1985.

Vinings proper is charming, especially around the central village, which is somewhat walkable, with shops and restaurants at Vinings Jubilee. Outside of the village, however, while it is very beautiful - lots of trees and large lots - walking for anything but exercise is challenging - it's very hilly, and sidewalks are hit-or-miss. Also, do bear in mind that areas of Vinings near the river are somewhat prone to flooding, particularly east of Woodland Brook, which is a fantastic street. I wouldn't let that deter you if you have your heart set on a Vinings house - it's just something to keep in mind, and if in a low-lying area you'd want to be sure to carry appropriate insurance. (The terrain does rise quite rapidly once you move away from the river, so the flood risk does drop quite quickly as well.)

In some ways, it is easier to get around if you live in the Atlanta Road corridor between Paces Ferry and Cumberland than if you live in Vinings proper, simply because Paces Ferry and Paces Mill east of the RR tracks are both two-lane roads with no dedicated left turn lanes, which means they can get really congested at peak hours. If you're trying to get to Lovett at peak times, you could even go down Atlanta Road, onto Log Cabin and then around the back side of Vinings on Woodland Brook, avoiding the Vinings Village congestion and enjoying a beautiful, twisty route, to boot. Woodland Brook spits out at Paces Ferry just west of the river and, hence, just west of Lovett as well.

Vinings and Smyrna both feed into Campbell Middle and Campbell High Schools - only the elementary schools are different, with Vinings largely feeding into Teasley, while the Paces Ferry-Cumberland corridor that you're looking at along Atlanta Road feeds into Nickajack, or at least it did the last time I looked. Both schools are well-regarded and I doubt you'd see any difference in appreciation potential between the two areas because of the schools.

Having lived in Cobb County for nearly 25 years, the first 15 of which were in this area, I wouldn't pay a premium for Vinings proper if you have found something you like between Paces Ferry and Cumberland along Atlanta Road, unless the Vinings property were actually right in the village itself, and even then I would probably still opt for "Smynings."

[LM0121]

Thanks all, this is very helpful advice! The very detailed information on streets, Woodland Brook, flood info, is all super helpful.

[Atlanta-Native]

My favorite neighborhood in Vinings would have to be Bakers Farm. It's a true neighborhood and not a cut through. Cochise is a good option, especially will the pool/tennis availability.