Desperate for help!!! (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Roswell: apartment, to rent, condo)

[Msnique]

Hello all I'm a wife and mother of 4 school age children ranging from elementary, middle and high school and we're relocating to GA. However we're totally unaware which areas to look. We've blindly been looking in Marietta and surrounding cities. I've also looked into Alpharetta but not sure if we can afford that area. Schools are important, we prefer suburban areas but wouldn't mind a mixture. We're looking for a home to rent but wouldn't mind a 4 bedroom apartment/ townhouse what have you as long as it has a basement or something like that. My husband and I drive however coming from a big city having public transportation somewhere near would be a bonus but not a necessity. Due to me being a writer/author/motivational speaker we would like to live within a 20 mile radius of Atlanta... PLEASE HELP, Thanks.
P.S. I have read a few request like mine however I'm only looking for information in which I could use I'm sure you may know this is already a nerve wrecking ordeal and we already feel like we're getting mixed messages.

[midtown mile girl]

Traffic is quite the bear here in Atlanta. Sounds like you work mostly from home, so it would be wise to find something close to where your husband will be working. Atlanta is pretty spread out, so which area of town will your husband be working?

[netdragon]

We could suggest things, but we have no idea what your limits are. Btw, 20 miles is a long way from a commute perspective.

Please look at the sticky and answer the questions:

1. Budget <- need this
2. House/Condo/Townhome? Rent/own?
You already answered home to rent
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)
You said writer. What about your husband? How often do you need to get into Atlanta, Cumberland, Perimeter Center, etc? What do you need to do start making money? Do you need to go into Atlanta more in the beginning?
4. Children(public school vs. private)
You already answered 4
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two
You already answered suburban
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?
You said preferred. Do you want a denser suburb?
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.

Alpharetta is not really that expensive. E.g. both Smyrna and Marietta are more expensive for a house the same size on the same lot size. Alpharetta just has more gigantic new homes. The problem with Alpharetta is it is a bad commute compared to, say, Smyrna and Sandy Springs. It also is very suburban which bugs some people like me.

Tier 1 in price: Atlanta
Tier 2 in price: Smyrna, Marietta, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs
Tier 3 in price: East Cobb, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek

This is considering the same home/land.

[MattCW]

You should definitely look near Decatur (close to central Decatur), Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and Roswell. Those all have access to good public transit if you're near a train station, and are reasonably suburban.

[netdragon]

You mentioned you blindly looked at areas "around" Marietta. Have you looked at Smyrna yet? e.g. Market Village..

ps please answer the questions above so we can provide additional assistance.

[MattCW]

One more point I neglected to include, if you're employed in the Marietta area, then you can look in Cobb county, but if you're employed in Atlanta or Perimeter Center area, you really really REALLY do not want to get caught in the Cobb traffic mess. There is no real public transit alternative to the traffic, especially going from Cobb over to the Perimeter area.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by MattCW

but if you're employed in Atlanta or Perimeter Center area, you really really REALLY do not want to get caught in the Cobb traffic mess.

Nonsense. I live in Smyrna and have a 20min commute downtown when I decide to take surface roads (usually I'm too lazy). I-20 is about 25 min and I-75 is about 27 min.

Don't forget that Smyrna (at the border) is about as close to midtown as Decatur is, and traffic is better in the NW of Atlanta, for now. :-)

I agree with the newly announced I-400 project in Perimeter Center that commuting to Perimeter Center from Cobb could be painful. I tend to think surface roads ITP between Cobb and Perimeter Center will still be ok because people are stupid and stay on the highways when backed up, but maybe the roads will be more crowded too. We'll have to see.

[KingJohn]

Oh dear God don't move to Atlanta unless you have a decent income. What income are we working with here? Anything below 100,000K won't get you or your kids a safe place to live.