Relocating to Atlanta are from North Jersey (Marietta, North Atlanta: apartments, for rent)

[jenne223]

Hello all,

We are a family of five moving to Atlanta area from North Jersey. I will have a job covering the state of GA (as a home infusion RN) so I can really go anywhere in the metro (so my future manager stated). The office is in Norcross, but I rarely ever have to go into the office. My husband will search heavily for a job once we are decided on an area. I have a friend who actually moved to Hampton and at first I was looking on the southside in areas like Hampton, Stockbridge (in Dutchtown SD, also considered Eagle's Landing) I also looked at areas in McDonough. (Ola) Now my husband found some things in Fayetteville & PTC, which seem to be excellent areas also.

I talked to another friend of mine who used to reside in Atlanta for years, and he stated to stay above I-20. So then my husband & I started researching towns up North, like Norcross/Peachtree Corners, Duluth, Lawrenceville, John's Creek, Marietta etc. All seem really expensive. Some parts on the NE side of metro are less expensive (Gwinnett) with good/great school systems. I feel we may be too far out in areas like Suwanee & Buford. We even looked at areas close to the perimeter & inside (Decatur, North Atlanta, Brookhaven, which are a hit & miss with some school systems in areas that we can afford right now) I saw some apt complexes which seemed nice enough, but get so so reviews. Also, the area of Embry Hills/Tucker/Doraville seem to hit budget, but again, school systems are concerning.

So, now we are both confused as to where to focus our search since we can only come down for 4 days next week. We want to be in a good school district, nice active, safe neighborhood (family friendly), diversity is important because the suburbs we live in now (Maplewood/South Orange, NJ) is definitely diverse. I don't want too slow, I guess what is considered country, so a mix of the two would be preferable. Some have said anything on the South will be a shock to our system. I would not want to pay more than $1500 for rent, but I know in the North that is kind of impossible, so I really want to max at $1650/month. I am not against apt/TH, but my husband prefers single family housing. Public school is what we are looking into at this time. (BTW, if there are any good science/technology high schools in the area that would be a plus for my son)

I hope I don't sound too scatterbrained, but after looking on a computer and listening to soo many opinions (in real life/threads) I guess I'm asking for a little direction. Thank you in advance. Please let me know if there is any other information I need to give.

[Atlwarrior]

I think you will be fine in Peachtree City and Fayette County which have great schools and great communities. A lot of airline pilots live in those areas. You should go with what feels comfortable to you and according to your original post Peachtree City seems like that area. Eagles Landing is a excellent choice with homes and communities that look better than some of those on the Northside.

[jenne223]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

I think you will be find in Peachtree City and Fayette County which have great schools and great communities. A lot of airline pilots live in those areas. You should go with what feel comfortable to you and Peachtree City seems like that area. Eagles Landing is a excellent choice with homes and communities that look better than some of those on the Northside.

Thank you for the insight.

[cwkimbro]

Just curious... this might be something to consider... what -type- of job will your husband be searching for?

A quick run down of the metro area is Atlanta has grown northwards. Over half of the people live to the north -outside- of the Perimeter. It is much more heavily populated and there are many more jobs to go with it -and- much more traffic congestion.

Atlanta's business districts All go northward from Downtown... then Midtown, Buckhead, Perimeter Center, Cumberland, Peachtree Corners(Norcross), Alpharetta, Kennesaw, and Duluth/Suwannee. The main exception being the Airport and a sizable industrial district next to it in Clayton County.

This is why it costs so much to live in some areas of North Atlanta. It is suburban living with tons of office space with white collar jobs.

The southside is the cheaper side of town. It is a bit more working class and is less populated. There are exceptions to this. Eagle Landing is nice. Newnan is nice.

Peachtree City is really nice. It is often called "the bubble." It is a more affluent community and a bit separated from the development of Atlanta. It is well known for its Golf Cart/Multiuse paths that connect -every- neighborhood within the city. It isn't uncommon to find golf cart parking spaces throughout town.


Gwinnett has its expensive parts, cheap parts, and middle of the road parts. It has just under 900,000 people. It has the state's largest school system and it is known to be really good. A hand full of the schools are at the top, some are middle of the road, and some are full of apartments and transient residents. It won the national Broad Prize twice. Even the worse schools in the Gwinnett have out-performed for the demographics that reside there. They won the prize for closing the achievement gap with minorities and low-income students.

(BTW, word to the wise... in most places in the Atlanta area you need to search for homes by the high school district or "school cluster." Schools are frequently operated by the county and city names are often split between a great school and a weaker school. This is partly why some home prices seem cheap in some counties that are not Fayette, Forsyth, or North Fulton.

Btw, The Gwinnett County School for Math and Science and Technology is the top rated school in the state and one of the top in the country. The caveat is it isn't traditional high school, so no football team. It is not a magnet school, rather you apply and it is a lottery based system. You're not guaranteed to get a spot, but typically only top students apply. Because it is so demanding, it deters many from doing so.

Cobb is similar to Gwinnett, but slightly older, slightly smaller, and slightly more affluent. The northern parts of Fulton County are very affluent (and expensive). Mostly great schools. Forsyth County is sought after, but it is far from town unless you work in Alpharetta.


The north side will widen your husbands job search area by a wide margin when it comes to number of potential jobs. The southside is less congested and might be more preferable if it is easily reachable to your husbands next job (which is mostly limited to the Airport area and downtown). With this in mind, I recommend doing a quick search of targeted job listings for your husband and look at where the jobs generally are. Ask yourself....Is it a job easily found in many places or is it something like IT, which is far more common on the northside? It sounds like you might like the Southside better otherwise.

Generally speaking you will be priced out of Peachtree City (but not the rest of Fayette County, which has the same great schools), North Fulton, and Forsyth.

[jenne223]

Hi cwkimbro,

Thank you for your information. I've been learning how Atlanta "works" school systems etc over the past couple months. And my husband works in manufacturing/warehouse/hospitals etc. Basically blue collar work. I definitely appreciate your input.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by jenne223

Hi cwkimbro,

Thank you for your information. I've been learning how Atlanta "works" school systems etc over the past couple months. And my husband works in manufacturing/warehouse/hospitals etc. Basically blue collar work. I definitely appreciate your input.

There are some distribution centers and hospitals that dot the landscape all over town, but I would search more heavily in Gwinnett or on the southside with a commute to I-75&285.

The two largest distribution/industrial markets are in Clayton Co near the airport and along I-85 North in Dekalb and Gwinnett.

There is also one smaller district called Fulton Industrial Boulevard that is easily accessible to Douglasville and South Cobb County and there are several smaller ones throughout town.

[jenne223]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

There are some distribution centers and hospitals that dot the landscape all over town, but I would search more heavily in Gwinnett or on the southside with a commute to I-75&285.

The two largest distribution/industrial markets are in Clayton Co near the airport and along I-85 North in Dekalb and Gwinnett.

There is also one Hismaller district called Fulton Industrial Boulevard that is easily accessible to Douglasville and South Cobb County and there are several smaller ones throughout town.

Thx again! We will be in Atlanta today! Will definitely check out Gwinnett county.

[ElleKaye]

I have not taken the time to think about why, but a lost of folks from Jersey seem to like Gwinnett County. I don't mean just an area closer to the city like Norcross but more like Duluth. If you get a minute, maybe you can figure it out, but I think you can find like minds there.

[Plokivos]

Don't.