Trying to Figure Out Where to Move in ATL (Atlanta: real estate, apartments)

[freebird1022]

My daughters (10 and 12) and I will be moving to Georgia this summer. We have family in Rome, Calhoun and Commerce. We really love Rome, but the real estate is too expensive. Calhoun is cute, but not really for us and Commerce is well... Commerce.

I am looking for a great school district, low crime, good jobs within a 45 minute commute and a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home at or under $150k. I currently own my own business and work from home, but should something happen and I have to go back to working for the man, I would be looking for a job in property management. So, living in an area with a good amount of apartments is ideal.

I've been looking at Duluth, Decatur, Kennesaw, and Marietta. I've read and heard great things about all of these places, but then I've also read horrible things. I don't know what to believe anymore. Would you avoid any of these areas? Any suggestions of new areas to consider?

Thanks in advance!

[cwkimbro]

I'm not sure where you have lived in the country, but let me alter your mindset a small bit if you're coming from the Northeast, midwest, or the West Coast.

Most people here live in unincorporated areas (inside the county, but not in a city). However, all people are still given a zip code by the postal service for the nearby city, so 6 times as many people live in the Lilburn Zip code 30047 than actually live in the city of Lilburn.

Take Duluth.... The city is actually quite nice and away from the freeway, but at the freeway is the Gwinnett Place Mall area (Duluth zipcode, but not in the city). That area is full of aging apartments, an old mall that has mostly bee replaced by the newer, better Mall of Georgia. The old 90's era mall area has seen better days. However, it is very interesting to visit in that it is the de factor Korea town of Atlanta. The area also had one of the largest country club golf course neighborhoods in the county and many high end homes built along the Chattahoochee River.

This drives the biggest confusion for many people who come down here and just want to search through town names easily and quickly.

My best recommendation is start by looking at the high school districts within these area. They fit the size of smaller towns, are completely inclusive of all the areas, and you start to get a better picture of better areas and worse areas. You will see really quickly that many of our suburban cities often have a preferred district and a not so nice district. This is largely from the presence of apartments close to freeways and mostly single-family homes away from freeways.

Now luckily for you, the apartments are often spread out and strung up and down the freeway. This should open you up to more opportunities and more abilities to live in different areas.

There are many apartments near Marietta and many near Duluth near I-75 and I-85, respectively.

[freebird1022]

This makes sense. I did a search on Zillow earlier for Decatur and only 20 houses popped up in my price range, BUT then I did a search where I circled a particular area (part of which was Decatur) and about 50 more homes popped up "in" Decatur. It's so tough relocating to a new area... even with family who have lived in that area their entire lives and "know" the area. I am planning a visit before the move, but visiting a place and living in a place are two totally different things. I just don't want to make a mistake.

[lastminutemom]

where is your job? And are you closer to some of the family than others -- because Rome is West and Commerce is East...

[Ant131531]

City of Decatur(in the city limits) is very nice, but expensive because of the desirable downtown area with rail access. The schools are great. The real estate is VERY expensive though so that's probably out of the picture so you'll definitely want to look towards Marietta, Kennesaw, and Duluth. Duluth has the best schools, but real estate is somewhere expensive because of the high demand because of the schools. Kennesaw has slightly above average schools...nothing to write home about, but they're not bad or anything...it's just not at an elite level. Home prices are reasonable and an easy trip to Rome.
Marietta is a mixed bad when it comes to schools. There's some areas that have meh schools and some areas that have above average schools. Real estate is reasonable. Nice downtown area with quirky shops and restaurants.