Mid June move to Atlanta. Is Norcross ok? (Sandy Springs, Dunwoody: rentals, HOA)

[Dimcorner]

1. Budget: $1800 or so to rent for now
2. House/Condo/Townhome: House or Townhome
3. Employment Status: 80% St. Joseph Hospital, 10% Emory U., 5% in Cummings
4. Children: 6 month old
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two: Not in the sticks.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?: Would be nice but not necessary
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: I'm Chinese but speak fluent Spanish and wife is Czech so as long as neighborhood is safe I'm ok.

Wife will be working for Emory in St. Joseph hospital most of the time with possibly a 1 or 2 day ride into Emory per week. Maybe 1 per week or other week to go to Cummings. We want to stay max of 45 min drive from St. Joseph, averaging 35 minutes would be ideal with 45 min on heavy traffic days. We are looking at Peachtree corners but doesn't seem to be much available around there and I'm not sure if Norcross is ok. We are originally from Miami if it helps. I know I have asked before but budget has changed a bit. Is Sandy Springs a good neighborhood? What about south side of John's Creek? How is commute?

Thanks!

[az25]

The part of Peachtree Corners north of Peachtree Parkway and east of Holcomb Bridge is great in terms of access to services, shopping and safety. I am surprised you are not finding rentals. Your budget is definitely right for the area, the only thing is it's a stable population (families with kids in school and older) so maybe not many people move around.

Traffic wise it depends when your wife needs to go to St Josephs or Emory. During morning rush (7:15-8:30) it regularly takes 20-25 minutes to make it to 285. Conversely, in the afternoon rush 285 East can be slow from Peachtree Dunwoody to Peachtree Industrial. But definitely doable in 45 mins. At odd hours it would be less than 30 mins. Going to Emory University would be 40-50 mins mainly because of the surface roads around Emory.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by Dimcorner

1. Budget: $1800 or so to rent for now
2. House/Condo/Townhome: House or Townhome
3. Employment Status: 80% St. Joseph Hospital, 10% Emory U., 5% in Cummings
4. Children: 6 month old
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two: Not in the sticks.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?: Would be nice but not necessary
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: I'm Chinese but speak fluent Spanish and wife is Czech so as long as neighborhood is safe I'm ok.

Wife will be working for Emory in St. Joseph hospital most of the time with possibly a 1 or 2 day ride into Emory per week. Maybe 1 per week or other week to go to Cummings. We want to stay max of 45 min drive from St. Joseph, averaging 35 minutes would be ideal with 45 min on heavy traffic days. We are looking at Peachtree corners but doesn't seem to be much available around there and I'm not sure if Norcross is ok. We are originally from Miami if it helps. I know I have asked before but budget has changed a bit. Is Sandy Springs a good neighborhood? What about south side of John's Creek? How is commute?

Thanks!

I live on the western border of Norcross. There is not what I would call 'easy' access to public transit in Norcross. It exists, but I am not sure how convenient it is to use.

The commute you describe is the same one my wife used to make. Norcross puts you in the 35-45 window, but this can spike up on days with heavy traffic into the parts of Norcross that are far away from the highways. I-285 is a fickle beast.

There are not a ton of rentals (comparitively) in Norcross proper because much of it (comparitively) is zoned for commercial office space. If you can stand living within half a mile of train tracks then you might consider a house in & around historic Norcross.

Peachtree Corners was considered 'Norcross' by the post office until they incorporated a few years ago. There is a larger amount of housing within its city limits, but I too noticed that there was not an abundant amount of rental inventory in the area. I am not sure whether HOA covenants or tight housing inventory are to blame.

If you only have to do 5% of your trip to Cumming, then I would extend your search inside the perimeter to Brookhaven, North Druid Hills area, Clairmont area, Cheshire Br, Lindbergh, etc... basically any locales that will give you relatively fast access to GA400, I-85 or I-285 since you will have a reverse commute to those hospitals. (I should note that many parts of Norcross and Peachtree corners do not have easy access to any of those highways).

I think Johns Creek would put you a little bit farther away than you'd rather be (and you would fight a lot of traffic everyday)

[ATLTJL]

I think your budget would allow renting in Sandy Springs or maybe even Brookhaven.

Both are probably better options for commuting to St. Joes.