Advice for a youngish couple moving to ATL (Sandy Springs, Roswell: to rent, condo)

[concealed]

1. $450-650k
2. House preferred but would consider condo/townhouse
3. I will be working in Alpharetta, she will working in Buckhead, near Lenox area
4. not planning to have any children for 5 years+
5. As far as neighborhood, virginia highland would be our preference, but given work locations, it doesn't make sense, but another neighborhood like that!
6. not interested in public transport

my wife and i are moving both to ATL soon. We are planning to rent in Buckhead for a year and explore the city before buying a house. we are moving from boston, so property prices feel much cheaper to us! we could barely buy a 1 bedroom condo near the city for this budget!

[primaltech]

Buckhead or Brookhaven to Alpharetta is not a bad commute. But anything south of about Lindbergh starts to get difficult to get up to Alpharetta, can easily be 40+ minutes in the AM, a little too long for my tastes. But your preference may vary.

Yeah, I'd say rent in Buckhead first and explore the city for a year and think about it all, is a good plan. And then research and test drive the morning and evening rush hour commutes before buying a place.

[Need4Camaro]

I would personally look into moving into Alpharetta or Roswell. You should beable to get a house without too much trouble within that price range. Commute to Buckhead won't be nightmarish. Roswell is between Buckhead and Alpharetta but closer to Alpharetta.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Commute to Buckhead won't be nightmarish.

Um, yes, it will be. Seriously.

[Tarzanman]

It depends on where in Alpharetta you work, your appetite for a commute and what working hours you can get away with.

You could conceivably do Virginia Highland but you'll want to leave no later than 6:30AM for your job and you'll have to settle with regularly having 60+ minute commutes home (though not all the time).

Anywhere along GA 400 will work. If it were me then I would look at Lindbergh, Brookhaven, Sandy Springs or Dunwoody.

The main issue is that as far as commuter traffic is concerned, Alpharetta is a far flung exurb.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I would personally look into moving into Alpharetta or Roswell. You should beable to get a house without too much trouble within that price range. Commute to Buckhead won't be nightmarish. Roswell is between Buckhead and Alpharetta but closer to Alpharetta.

Originally Posted by primaltech

Um, yes, it will be. Seriously.

primaltech makes an excellent point about a probable commute to Buckhead from Roswell or Alpharetta during peak traffic hours.

That's especially with the State of Georgia slated to begin a massive multi-year reconstruction project of the troubled I-285/GA 400 interchange probably later this year....A massive construction project that will last about three-and-a-half years or so.

If one can avoid traveling through that I-285/GA 400 interchange (particularly during that three-and-a-half year period that construction is in progress), they would be really wise to do so.

Need4Camaro's suggestion of Alpharetta or Roswell is not a bad suggestion if one can get to work in Buckhead by riding an express/commuter bus to the North Springs MARTA Station and board a MARTA Heavy Rail Transit (subway) train to Buckhead during morning (and vice-versa during afternoon/evening rush hour) as a means of attempting to avoid "the worst-of-the-worst" of Georgia 400 North rush hour traffic during the 3.5 years or so that the gridlock-inducing reconstruction project will be in progress at the I-285/GA 400 interchange.

[Born 2 Roll]

"GDOT: 285/400 interchange work likely to start in October" (Reporter Newspapers, 15 June 2016)
GDOT: 285/400 interchange work likely to start in October - Reporter Newspapers

From the article in the link:

Construction on the massive I-285/Ga. 400 interchange project likely will begin just four months from now in mid-October, state Department of Transportation project manager Butch Welch said at the June 14 meeting of the Buckhead 50 Club.

Welch and GDOT communications manager Jill Goldberg gave an update on the 285/400 project, slated to wrap up in mid-2020, at American Legion Post 140 in Chastain Park. The project remains the same, but there were some new details and explanations of such lingering mysteries as traffic impacts and the contractor team’s surprisingly low bid.

The 285/400 project and other GDOT plans got a skeptical response from members of the civic and social club. “In general, you build more roads, you get more traffic,” one audience member said.

Goldberg said GDOT is no longer adding regular lanes to highways. Instead, it will add “managed lanes”—express lanes where drivers pay a toll that changes based on traffic volume. Managed lanes on I-75 in Cobb County are under construction now, and more are coming, eventually including 285. “Someday, the whole Perimeter will be connected by managed lanes,” Goldberg said.

Welch noted safety is another reason for the project, as the interchange currently forces drivers to change lanes rapidly to enter or exit. He said he’s surprised there aren’t more accidents, adding, “I was involved in one [accident] two months ago.”

[sedimenjerry]

In the afternoon I've seen 400SB worse than NB on occasion. It really is not a reverse commute at this point. Especially if you're driving home south of buckhead

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

In the afternoon I've seen 400SB worse than NB on occasion. It really is not a reverse commute at this point. Especially if you're driving home south of buckhead

400 SB is usually worse than NB both in the mornings and evenings, for some strange reason. I think because of how traffic flows out everywhere going NB, and it crunches up at 285 and 85 going SB. Also I guess some portion of people who drive into the city in the evenings for work, or dinner or shopping.

[arjay57]

Sounds like Brookhaven would be perfect for you guys. There are tons of ultra nice townhouses and single family homes in your price range. It's only a few minutes from Buckhead and it's also easy to access GA400 north and MARTA. The neighborhood itself is very cool -- great shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc.