Moving to Atlanta -- would welcome your opinion on places to live (Sandy Springs: condo, townhome)

[Lusitan]

Hi All - We're moving to Atlanta later this year. We like where we live now, but we're moving for work reasons.

About us . . .
Our current home: New Providence, NJ (07974)
Children: 3 (all elementary school age)
Cultural background: mix of European / White American / Asian
Work situation: one parent stay-at-home; one parent working working


About our search in Atlanta . . .
1. Budget -------> 800K

2. House/Condo/Townhome? ---------> house; preferably 4 bedroom

3. Employment Status --------> commuting to Peachtree NE (between 12th/13th); would like to keep the commute at 30 minutes each way (or less)

4. Children (public school vs. private) ---------> 3 kids, elementary school age; prefer public

5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two ----------> prefer somewhat of a mix, but lean toward suburban

6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? ----------> easy access to public transportation is not important, *unless* required for commute

7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. ----------> majority White (some European and/or Asian culture is a plus too, e.g. other expats etc.); prefer a neighborhood with other stay-at-home parents involved in town/school etc.; Catholic church in town would be nice; some other bilingual families would be nice

8. Airport access, important or not? ---------------> airport access not important

9. Other -------> preference for neighborhoods with sidewalks (think Trick-or-Treating) and towns with some "town center" / downtown area with a library, a few stores/cafes etc.; kids enjoy soccer, ballet, swimming glasses

10. Politics -------> We have friends of all political viewpoints, but we are on the libertarian / conservative end of the spectrum.



So far, we've identified the following towns that we plan to visit on our first scouting trip to Atlanta:
1. Decatur (30030 zip code only)
2. Norcross
3. Duluth
4. Alpharetta
5. Rosewell
6. Sandy Springs

There seem to be a lot of nice towns outside of Atlanta, but the biggest issue seems to be finding one with a commute of <30 minutes and with good schools (some of these on my list might not even work, I realize).

If you think I'm overlooking any other towns, I'd love to know.

Thanks!

[jeoff]

How about Morningside neigborhood in the city?

[sedimenjerry]

Decatur. I'm pretty sure your budget allows for it and it has the best combination of short commute and high ranking public schools.

[Davos Seaworth]

Decatur 30030 would have been my first choice for you based upon your criteria. Dunwoody is another option. You are working in the heart of Midtown. To keep it to 30 min or less you are going to want to be inside the perimeter or very near to it. I think options 2-4 are too far away for your requirement. Also, as the poster above stated, you can get somewhat "suburban leaning" feel within the City of Atlanta. The Morningside neighborhood is a good recommendation. Both Buckhead and Brookhaven feel more suburban than urban a lot of the time, and you can afford a really nice house in a nice section of both neighborhoods. You have a lot of good options inside the perimeter at your price point.

[jeoff]

To me Cty of Atlanta's intown neighborhoods feel very small-town in their friendliness. There are some that I would recommend in the Grady School zone that are very family oriented. The Grady school zone has 3 elementary schools that compare very favorably with the best suburban elementary schools (Morningside, Springdale Park, and Mary-Lin), a middle school which is considered good (Inman Middle), and a high school that is considered closer to average (Grady) --the middle school and high school are arguably the best in the City of Atlanta, but the high school, and, to a lesser extent, the middle school are not what a lot of folks in the suburbs are used to--I think that a majority of folks that have the means to send their kids to exclusive middle and high schools choose to send their kids to exclusive private schools choose the public schools in the Grady School Zone K-12.
If you think that those schools would work for you, here are some options close to your work.":

As I mentioned, Morningside has an excellent elementary school and is very close to your workplace. It is probably one of the more traditional of the Intown Atlanta City neighborhoods and most of it is very Trick or Treatable.

Candler Park-Lake Claire is very family oriented and has a very good elementary school (Mary-Lin). The streets vary a lot more as far as the types of homes and residents--from hippie-ish to fairly traditional (for example, Folks in Candler Park Lake Claire might turn their front yard into a vegetable garden, while the yards in Morningside are generally more manicured--but the neigborhoods are cross-shopped, so most folks that would be comfortable in one, would probably be comfortable in the other).


Candler Park-Lake Claire is a bit further from your work than Morningside, but still closer than the City of Decatur. Btw, I would check commute times to and from your work from a home in City of Decatur, it may take longer than 30 minutes. City of Decatur is more of a sure-thing for folks used to top tier suburban schools.

There are quite a few other desirable neighborhoods that feed into the Grady school zone, but I think they may be a little less Trick or Treaty--and have less kids (folks from those neighborhoods can make their case, and I probably won't disagree). I would say the northern part of Virginia Highland is similar to Morningside.
Also, there are probably good options in the North Atlanta school zone (which is similar to Grady), but I am less familiar with the neighborhoods.
Homes in these neigborhoods are not cheap, but you should be ok with your budget.

[Lusitan]

Thanks, everyone!

I will add Dunwoody and the Atlanta neighborhood of Morningside to our list of places to visit when we go there on a scouting trip soon.

I see that Decatur is roughly 6 miles from where my job will be. That's not too far for a bicycle commute -- does anyone have any experience commuting from Decatur to midtown via bicycle? Or is that just not possible given the way the roads are setup?

[AnsleyPark]

Also take a look in Brookwood Hills. Terrific intown neighborhood with lots of families.

[testa50]

I wouldn't want to bike commute between Decatur and Midtown. Once you hit the Beltline you're home free, but getting there is no fun.

[Dkeating]

Would the proposed Complete Streets renovation of DeKalb Ave (which will include bike lanes) make it easier to commute to Midtown via bike? Someone wrote something about Beltline access in a previous thread.

Besides that I think Decatur would be right up your alley. Tons of kids, town center, central library, lots of restaurants and shops. You could definitely get 4 bedrooms with that budget.

Do make sure any place you're looking at is not only 30030 but also in the city limits. There are some neighborhoods outside the city limits with that zip code.

[OneTrickNet]

Originally Posted by Lusitan

So far, we've identified the following towns that we plan to visit on our first scouting trip to Atlanta:
1. Decatur (30030 zip code only)
2. Norcross
3. Duluth
4. Alpharetta
5. Rosewell
6. Sandy Springs

2-5 are not going to give you a 30 minute commute. Sandy Springs is pushing it depending where. Your best bet is to probably give up a little suburbia to be in town and closer. Decatur would be good or Morningside. Perhaps some sections of Buckhead.