Good place to live close(ish) to the airport? (Atlanta: middle-class, apartments)

[kittykat14311]

Hi everyone,

My husband is active duty air force and is getting out in a year and 4 days. He wants to see about getting a job at the airport, but we are having trouble figuring out where would be a decent place to live.
I do not want to live in a super busy city, as traffic gives me panic attacks. So a busy town or a small city is fine.
Somewhere that will not cause us to become homeless due to extreme cost of living.
I was looking into Douglasville, Riverdale, Morrow, Fairburn, etc. But I have absolutely NO clue how those places are. I'm only slightly familiar with Douglasville as a friend of mine lives there.

I heard Union City was a crap place to live and to avoid it. My husband keeps suggesting places in North Georgia like Alpharetta, Marietta, Kennesaw, etc but I think those are entirely too far away if he wanted to work at the airport... so I'm asking all of you to help me figure out better places that will not cost us an arm and a leg to live in, nor cost an arm and a leg for commuting.

We do not have children, but we do have a lot of pets so we probably would not be able to live in an apartment or anything like that. I'm not too worried about my commute, as I can probably get a job anywhere considering I'm in HR/office/admin stuff as well as dog grooming (to fall back on if I cannot get into HR when we move)

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by kittykat14311

Hi everyone,

My husband is active duty air force and is getting out in a year and 4 days. He wants to see about getting a job at the airport, but we are having trouble figuring out where would be a decent place to live.
I do not want to live in a super busy city, as traffic gives me panic attacks. So a busy town or a small city is fine.
Somewhere that will not cause us to become homeless due to extreme cost of living.
I was looking into Douglasville, Riverdale, Morrow, Fairburn, etc. But I have absolutely NO clue how those places are. I'm only slightly familiar with Douglasville as a friend of mine lives there.

I heard Union City was a crap place to live and to avoid it. My husband keeps suggesting places in North Georgia like Alpharetta, Marietta, Kennesaw, etc but I think those are entirely too far away if he wanted to work at the airport... so I'm asking all of you to help me figure out better places that will not cost us an arm and a leg to live in, nor cost an arm and a leg for commuting.

You should absolutely not look at Alpharetta, Marietta, Kennesaw.

Atlanta has grown north. Those are the hotspots, but the drive is atrocious, not just because of the distance, but because you will have to pass through multiple congested job centers (mini-downtowns) just to get to the airport.

The furthest north I would consider is the southern parts of Smyrna, but only where you can access I-285 directly.

I think you have the right idea.

I'm not sure what your budget it is. The premiere (but expensive) place to live is in Fayette County, in particular Peachtree City. A more traditional middle income suburb would be next door in Newnan. It is a distance from the airport, but traffic on I-85 south of town is fairly tame compared to most other areas.

There are also some nice and middle of the road areas in Henry County to the east. That side of the southside gets a bit more congested, though. There are some large industrial districts off of I-75 and that brings jobs, more people, and traffic.

[JMatl]

^Great post & advice, cwkimbro!

[kittykat14311]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

You should absolutely not look at Alpharetta, Marietta, Kennesaw.

Atlanta has grown north. Those are the hotspots, but the drive is atrocious, not just because of the distance, but because you will have to pass through multiple congested job centers (mini-downtowns) just to get to the airport.

The furthest north I would consider is the southern parts of Smyrna, but only where you can access I-285 directly.

I think you have the right idea.

I'm not sure what your budget it is. The premiere (but expensive) place to live is in Fayette County, in particular Peachtree City. A more traditional middle income suburb would be next door in Newnan. It is a distance from the airport, but traffic on I-85 south of town is fairly tame compared to most other areas.

There are also some nice and middle of the road areas in Henry County to the east. That side of the southside gets a bit more congested, though. There are some large industrial districts off of I-75 and that brings jobs, more people, and traffic.

I guess it would depend on our income once we start our new jobs, but as of now we are lower middle-class.

[sedimenjerry]

I think you'd could find a decent place in Newnan. Easy drive up 85, not as excellent as Peachtree City or elsewhere in Fayette, but that still makes a darn good place to live.

[cwkimbro]

It seems like you will need to find a private home for rent.

I would look towards Newnan. You will be priced out of some of the newer neighborhoods down there, but you might find something in the town center itself (older homes) and in the more ruralish areas.

Alternatively, if you want to be closer to the city in a more small town setting. There is one area people often overlook, but it is actually fairly nice thanks to Delta's headquarters. Look in Happeville. Some of the areas around it are rough around the edges, but Happeville itself it decent. (it is also a good place to save on commuting and housing expenses while you don't have kids and put more money into a future house budget)

[go falcons]

Peachtree City would be a good place to look at . The city does have moderately priced homes and apartments for rent .You just have to sometimes work to find them .It is an airline town and the majority of the pilots that live there are ex- military pilots be it air force, navy or the occasional former marine .

[lorilove]

Austell and Mableton are still affordable and an easy commute to the airport

[Clayton white guy]

Hapeville (spelling error in earlier post) is a nice place, particularly for single family homes, particularly off of Old Jonesboro Road behind St John's Catholic Church; very nice, forested, and quiet with lovely mid-century homes. You mentioned Morrow. Inside the City limits of Morrow is a gold mine of quiet well kept mid-century ranches and split levels on quiet tree shaded streets. The City of Morrow (particularly the west side of the tracks) has an incredible pathway system that connects Clayton State College, Walmart, Kroger, and numerous neighborhoods on paved paths through the woods with their numerous neighborhood parks. I will caution that once you leave the City Limits of Morrow and enter unincorporated Clayton County with a Morrow address, many parts (not all) of unincorporated Morrow is noticeably less well kept. Morrow is really one of the most convenient and friendly locations I have ever lived in. I lived there until three years ago when I moved further south to the Lake Spivey area. In addition to the pathway system, which I still use with my children and their bikes, Morrow has a VERY responsive government and stellar police and fire departments that show up to your home within the city limits at a moments notice. I even miss my wonderful City of Morrow garbage service now that I live in unincorporated Clayton County! The neighborhoods are diverse and full of all types of people. The street where I lived (Skylark Drive) was VERY friendly and was about half older Whites, and had a large Asian (mostly southeast Asia Vietnam/ Laos/ ) and several nice Black couples (many of them older, too). In Morrow you do have Southlake Mall (its not Lenox Square, but neither is ANY other suburban mall in metro Atlanta) that has a decent Macy's and Sear's and is hit or miss (okay mostly miss) with its boutiques, but it is plenty good for basic shopping and there is the aforementioned Walmart, Kroger, and a very nice Publix on Mount Zion Road. I will also say that the south side of Forest Park and tiny Lake City (between Forest Park and Morrow) offer much of the same type of life style and are a tad (less than a mile) closer to Hartsfield-Jackson, but lack some of the other amenities that I described. You may also like the City of Jonesboro, a few miles south of Morrow where they they have an entire district full charming historical homes at reasonable prices. (Caution, over half of Clayton County has a "Jonesboro address" the actual city is quite small (3000 plus residents) and is centered on their downtown (Main Street) that is Ga 54, a continuation of Jonesboro Road out of southeast Atlanta through Forest Park, Lake City, and Morrow. Friendly, affordable, convenient to work at the air port, give some of Clayton's nice small municipalities such as Morrow or Jonesboro a look over; you will probably like what you see. Welcome to south metro Atlanta!

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

I think you'd could find a decent place in Newnan. Easy drive up 85, not as excellent as Peachtree City or elsewhere in Fayette, but that still makes a darn good place to live.

Originally Posted by go falcons

Peachtree City would be a good place to look at . The city does have moderately priced homes and apartments for rent .You just have to sometimes work to find them .It is an airline town and the majority of the pilots that live there are ex- military pilots be it air force, navy or the occasional former marine .

Like they said above, I think you should consider Peachtree City. You could even consider Newnan, but it would not be my first choice. The upside of living on the south side is less traffic and ease of access to the airport. If I could not live near the train and needed to commute to the airport daily, I would not consider living any place on the north side although it's my preference.