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We are moving to Atlanta Metro mid-July from Chicago proper. We live in a very diverse area currently and require similar diversity. We would like a slower life, but not SLOW. Our lives will take us to friend's homes for private gatherings, poetry sets, theater and festivals. We are a married AA lesbian couple with a bi-racial son (entering 9th grade). Our son is not into sports but he is an avid cyclist and we suspect he will throw himself into school activities. My work is in Midtown (3 days a week and 2 days telecommute) and my partner freelances.
We have a budget of $275k for a 3-4 bd SFH no more than 30 years old, with a decent yard. We are looking for a good and diverse school setting for our son (doesn't have to be a great school). We are considering MacEachern H.S. in Powder Springs or Wheeler H.S. in Marietta.
We seem to like MacEachern H.S. better but we are not sure if the area will be a culture shock for us coming from an urban area. Or if the commute will be worth bypassing other schools/areas closer to Midtown.
Balancing budget, schools, demographics has been a real challenge when looking at the Atlanta Metro area. We have considered Lakeside H.S. in Doraville (homes are older and can't afford to buy the type of housing we desire after we rent for a year). Considered North Atlanta and purchasing a SFH is definitely out of our budget. Norcross, Tucker...ehhhh. And, so we have made it clear to the other side of the Perimeter.
Will the commute from Powder Springs to Midtown have me looking for sharp objects to end it all?
Will the Powder Springs area be too slow or rural for us?
Is the commute down 75 to Midtown versus the back roads commute from Powder Springs better?
We are moving to Atlanta Metro mid-July from Chicago proper. We live in a very diverse area currently and require similar diversity. We would like a slower life, but not SLOW. Our lives will take us to friend's homes for private gatherings, poetry sets, theater and festivals. We are a married AA lesbian couple with a bi-racial son (entering 9th grade). Our son is not into sports but he is an avid cyclist and we suspect he will throw himself into school activities. My work is in Midtown (3 days a week and 2 days telecommute) and my partner freelances.
We have a budget of $275k for a 3-4 bd SFH no more than 30 years old, with a decent yard. We are looking for a good and diverse school setting for our son (doesn't have to be a great school). We are considering MacEachern H.S. in Powder Springs or Wheeler H.S. in Marietta.
We seem to like MacEachern H.S. better but we are not sure if the area will be a culture shock for us coming from an urban area. Or if the commute will be worth bypassing other schools/areas closer to Midtown.
Balancing budget, schools, demographics has been a real challenge when looking at the Atlanta Metro area. We have considered Lakeside H.S. in Doraville (homes are older and can't afford to buy the type of housing we desire after we rent for a year). Considered North Atlanta and purchasing a SFH is definitely out of our budget. Norcross, Tucker...ehhhh. And, so we have made it clear to the other side of the Perimeter.
Will the commute from Powder Springs to Midtown have me looking for sharp objects to end it all?
Will the Powder Springs area be too slow or rural for us?
Is the commute down 75 to Midtown versus the back roads commute from Powder Springs better?
Any information is greatly appreciated.
Both the McEachern and Wheeler clusters in Cobb County are good places to look with your budget and your desire for diversity.
But the commutes between the Powder Springs area and Midtown will be challenging (sometimes very challenging) on many days.....That's because there is a large amount of new traffic-generating development (a new Major-League Baseball stadium attached to a large mixed-use development) slated to open along I-75 Northwest at/near the I-285 junction (an already-congested area known locally as the "Cobb Cloverleaf" interchange/Cumberland area) in 2017.
Just with regards to rush hour commutes alone, Wheeler would most likely be the much better choice of the two because it is much closer to Midtown Atlanta than McEachern.....Though compared to a transit-intensive metro area like Chicagoland, you will find the transit options between both the Wheeler and McEachern areas and Midtown Atlanta to be extremely inadequate and severely lacking.
To spare yourself from much rush hour commuting pain, a much better option might be to settle for living in an apartment, townhome or condo in an ultra-diverse area with good post-suburban urban schools and MARTA Heavy Rail Transit access like Sandy Springs (North Springs High School) or Chamblee (Chamblee High School) and use MARTA trains to and from work in Midtown everyday.
A $275k budget for the purchase of a 3-4 bedroom detached single-family home does not (and probably will not) necessarily stretch very far in a metro Atlanta real estate market that currently is extremely competitive in many spots, especially when it comes to seeking detached single-family homes in areas with high-quality schools.
With your budget of $275k for the purchase of a 3-4 bedroom detached single-family home in what is currently a very competitive metro Atlanta real estate market, rent-to-own detached single-family homes, apartments, smaller townhomes and condominiums most likely very seriously need to be part of your search for housing along with detached single-family homes for purchase.
Otherwise, the McEachern/Powder Springs area (along with the Atlanta metro area and Georgia in general) will likely be a culture shock for you coming from such a distinctly urban Upper Midwestern city in Chicago.
The McEachern/Powder Springs area (like most of the Atlanta metro area) is (and will seem like) a very suburban area where non-automobile commuting options will seem to be extremely limited and totally lacking for very large major metro area of Atlanta's size and traffic challenges.
Heck, on many days, automobile commuting options will seem very limited because of the very poor road and transportation network (...NO grid system of surface multi-lane roads supplemented extremely heavily by transit like in Chicagoland).
Atlanta is a very suburban city/metro when compared to Chicago where the politics will be completely different compared to Chicagoland and Illinois' left-of-center politics and culture.
(...Closer-in Atlanta metro politics lean center/center-right while outer-suburban metro Atlanta/Georgia politics often tilt very hard-right/far-right....The total opposite of Illinois's left-of-center political environment, so be prepared for that "culture shock" of sorts after moving to Georgia from Illinois.)
Born to Roll thank you for such a detailed response! I have to say is made me pause thinking about the commutes. I am curious about your statement here...But the commutes between the Powder Springs area and Midtown will be challenging (sometimes very challenging) on many days.....That's because there is a large amount of new traffic-generating development (a new Major-League Baseball stadium attached to a large mixed-use development) slated to open along I-75 Northwest at/near the I-285 junction (an already-congested area known locally as the "Cobb Cloverleaf" interchange/Cumberland area) in 2017.
Did you mean Smyrna speaking of this area? And I see that Powder Springs is not as close to highways so that adds travel time. I know we have to compromise on some things so the most important things for us is a good learning environment and nurturing area to raise our son. I should mention that we are in our early and late 40's so our social scene is limited.
I'm now going to take a look at Campbell HS (Smyrna) and Dunwoody HS (housing stock and budget will be the concern here).
Any more opinions on Powder Springs or on Dunwoody (housing) or Campbell (area and school)?
Born to Roll thank you for such a detailed response! I have to say is made me pause thinking about the commutes. I am curious about your statement here...But the commutes between the Powder Springs area and Midtown will be challenging (sometimes very challenging) on many days.....That's because there is a large amount of new traffic-generating development (a new Major-League Baseball stadium attached to a large mixed-use development) slated to open along I-75 Northwest at/near the I-285 junction (an already-congested area known locally as the "Cobb Cloverleaf" interchange/Cumberland area) in 2017.
Did you mean Smyrna speaking of this area? And I see that Powder Springs is not as close to highways so that adds travel time. I know we have to compromise on some things so the most important things for us is a good learning environment and nurturing area to raise our son. I should mention that we are in our early and late 40's so our social scene is limited.
I'm now going to take a look at Campbell HS (Smyrna) and Dunwoody HS (housing stock and budget will be the concern here).
Any more opinions on Powder Springs or on Dunwoody (housing) or Campbell (area and school)?
The new MLB (Major League Baseball) Atlanta Braves stadium (SunTrust Park) and adjoining high-density mixed-use development (The Battery) will be located just outside of the Smyrna city limits and is expected to generate additional traffic on major routes like US 41, I-75 and I-285 on home dates when games are held on weeknights just after evening rush hour in an area that already experiences some rush hour congestion.
Powder Springs (south of Georgia Highway 360/Macland Road in the McEachern High School attendance zone) is an area where you possibly could have more luck finding the type of house you are looking for (a 3-4 bedroom, 2 bathroom detached single-family home) within your budget of $275k than you might have in other areas on the Northside.
One major drawback to living in Powder Springs could be that the commutes to and from work in Midtown Atlanta will be challenging on many days on major commuter routes like Georgia 6/I-20/the I-75/85 Downtown Connector and Georgia 360 Macland Road/Windy Hill Road/I-75 Northwest (...though one potentially could try and use US 78/278 Veterans Memorial Highway as a less-challenging alternate route to the much more congested GA 6/I-20/I-75/85 and GA 360/Macland Road/Windy Hill Road/I-75 NW routes for rush hour commutes to and from Midtown Atlanta).
Smyrna is a good place to look with much upside potential over the long-term. The only challenge is that Campbell High School does not yet have the reputation for having the high-quality academic environment that many of the elementary and middle schools that feed into Campbell already have.
Dunwoody is a good place to look with a high school (Dunwoody High School) that has a reputation of having a high-quality academic environment. The biggest challenge here is that Dunwoody is an area with many pockets of affluence where a $275k housing budget likely may not be enough for a 3-4 bedroom detached single-family home in many instances.
If you consider Dunwoody (and Smyrna/Vinings for that matter), you will most assuredly have to include apartments, condos and townhomes (Northeastern-style row houses) as part of your housing search.
Despite the weakness of the high school there, Smyrna is a very hot area where bidding wars frequently break out between real estate buyers and investors over houses (particularly detached houses that are 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom and larger) as soon as they come on the market.
Dunwoody is not as hot as Smyrna, but (because of the abundant retail amenities, good schools, MARTA access and build-out of the area) Dunwoody is still a very highly desirable close-in suburb where there is a limited amount of housing inventory in the current highly-competitive metro Atlanta real estate market.
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