Moving from Orlando: Sandy Springs area w/ an Acworth commute? (Atlanta: condo, townhome)

[Lindz_Jay]

My husband & I are moving from central Florida to the Atlanta metropolitan area because of his new job. His job is located in the Sandy Springs area & we are already realizing how insane the commute is just after 2-weeks. We are currently staying in Marietta before finding a place to live. We are in our early 30's & we went house hunting earlier this month & fell in love with a place in Acworth. We loved the Marietta/Kennesaw/Acworth area the best & it seemed to be the only areas around or in location that had what we were looking for.

By looking at a map, we assumed the drive & distance was very doable for his job, but now we are a bit concerned. On a good day, the fastest my husband can get to our place in Marietta is 45-mins, but he doesn't seem to have as many issues with the morning commute. We are use to heavy traffic, so this is nothing new. I use to commute 45-mins & my husband use to commute around 60-mins to downtown Orlando. Of course, add rain or an accident & it would always be longer.

We were hoping to get rid of a crazy long commute, but realize moving to Atlanta would not accomplish that, but we are trying to figure out the best option for us. A commute at max in the afternoon of an hour would at least be somewhat ideal.

We are looking for a home in the $175,000 range, which is also a concern when trying to find a nice & safe location. I am from Charlotte originally & have lived in Orlando for 8-years, so I am very familiar with Atlanta & traveled there my entire life for different concerts & events. But, I don't know all the areas or hidden gems. I've stayed in many locations I love Highland Ave. downtown & Buckhead, but being able to actually afford a home there is a different story or knowing if it's truly a good place to live.

We do plan to possibly start a family in the somewhat near future, so we would like to have a decent school district. Being from North Carolina & living in Florida, I am use to the low quality of the public school systems, so I know it's hard to find a decent location. We do love the city-life, but we would rather live in the suburbs & drive into the city. We thought we found the perfect spot with Acworth, but not so sure now. The home we are looking at is right on the Acworth/Kennesaw border.

Any insight or suggests would be greatly appreciated!
Plus, any tips to make the drive any better or faster? Any shortcuts!?

[afdinatl]

Ask if you can be at work by 7am and out the door by 3:30pm and your commute will be fine. Generally speaking

[OneTrickNet]

75 south to 285 east would be miserable. You'd probably be looking at an hour plus commute.

[lem1985]

that would be a brutal commute. even if you took the back roads or took 75 south to roswell rd exit(the 120 loop) and took roswell rd(hwy120) to sandy springs it would be brutal cause of traffic lights

[sedimenjerry]

Look into Forsyth County. It's cheaper and would be a straight shot down 400. 400 can be very rough but it if you can get in early and leave early it's not too bad.

[Born 2 Roll]

With your housing budget of $175,000, which is somewhat very limited even for the Atlanta area housing market, the Acworth/Kennesaw area is a good option for you purely in terms of affordability.

But, as the other posters have stated, the Acworth/Kennesaw area is not necessarily be the greatest option if one will be commuting to and from work in Sandy Springs every weekday.

That's because the roadways that your husband would be most likely to use to commute between Acworth/Kennesaw and Sandy Springs each weekday (Interstates 285 and 75) are prone to frequent and lengthy traffic delays.

Another issue with an Acworth/Kennesaw-Sandy Springs daily commute is that transit is a non-existent option.

That's because there are no direct or even remotely near-direct transit links between the Acworth/Kennesaw and Sandy Springs areas.

Another issue with an Acworth/Kennesaw-Sandy Springs daily commute is that traffic is expected to worsen significantly on I-285 westbound between GA 400 and I-75 when the new Braves stadium and its surrounding opens starting in 2017.

Yet another issue with an Acworth/Kennesaw-Sandy Springs daily commute is that the I-285/GA 400 interchange is slated to be and upgraded and reconstructed in coming years (roughly sometime within the next 5-10 years or so, depending on when the funding becomes available)....An event that will likely make traffic on eastbound I-285 traffic even worse than it is already prone to be during morning rush hours during the multiple years while the I-285/GA 400 reconstruction project is in progress.

There are at least a couple of alternative surface routes that your husband could use to attempt to avoid having to use the Interstates (with Abernathy Rd/Johnson Ferry Rd/GA 120 Roswell Rd/East Piedmont Rd/Piedmont Rd, etc, being the most notable)....But those alternative routes have some of their own traffic and/or logistical challenges during peak traffic hours.

If you and your husband like the Acworth/Kennesaw area, then you should likely live there. But you and your husband should be prepared for some challenging rush hour and peak hour commutes to and from Sandy Springs every weekday.

Some things that your husband could do to attempt to lessen the impact of the commute would be to experiment with different surface routes (like the aforementioned Johnson Ferry Rd/GA 120 Roswell Road route or the back roads/Powers Ferry Rd route, etc), think and inquire about staggered commute and work times where you to and from work either before and/or after the worst of the morning and afternoon rush hours, inquire to see if work-from-home and telecommuting might be options if possible, etc.

If your husband does not want to endure what will often be a challenging commute between Acworth/Kennesaw and Sandy Springs every weekday, you could look for housing in some areas with good schools that are closer to where your husband will be working in Sandy Springs....Areas like Sandy Springs itself, neighboring Dunwoody or nearby areas like Chamblee, Peachtree Corners or in the Wheeler High School cluster in the 30067 zip code of Marietta and Southeast Cobb County.

But with your modest housing budget of $175k, you will likely have to settle for either an older and/or smaller townhome or condo or a smaller older house.

That's because the improving economy has home prices on the rise in the Atlanta metro area and newer and/or larger homes cost substantially more than your $175k budget, particularly in areas that are regarded as having the best schools.

[AtlJan]

Yes, I was going to say, Norcross, Doraville, Chamblee, Tucker, etc. Sounds like you are a few years from schools being the number one criterion (not that the schools are uniformly terrible in these areas--they're not. The house will be older/not as nice, but you won't be spending all night in the car. . .

[WanderingImport]

Chamblee is a decent area to look and isn't as expensive as nearby Buckhead (or probably Brookhaven either for that matter).

Off subject.. I never understood why people relocating felt obligated to put where they were coming from. What difference does it make? (Just my minute rant for the day)

[JMatl]

Lindz_Jay, check out Chamblee - in particular the Sexton Woods neighborhood. Nice brick ranches and some mid-century moderns on roomy lots with mature trees. The commute to Sandy Springs would be on congested but pretty much stress-free back roads, about 15 -20 minutes.

[Clayton white guy]

Please listen to these helpful people here. I promise nothing in Acworth is worth the horrific traffic to get to Sandy Springs. Overall in Doraville/ Chamblee just try to make sure you stay in the Dunwoody or Chamblee High districts/ feeder patterns. Try to avoid Cross Keys High School feeder pattern/district.