DC to Atlanta move? Smart Idea? Where to live? Help! (Marietta: rental, condo)

[uniquestar06]

Hello everyone!

My husband and I are looking to move to Atlanta. At first we would be looking to rent and probably buy a year later. What areas are most suitable for us? We will be visiting the city in 2 weeks I would like to check out some areas you guys recommend to get a feel for the city! I have visited the city before but only for a weekend here and there. My husband went to Morehouse but I'm sure the city has changed a lot since he graduated. While we love DC Atlanta cost of living seems to good to pass up and seems like the best compromise coming from the DC area to still give us culture, food, and entertainment.

1. Budget - Rental budget would be 2k a month max and buying budget would be 400k.

2. House/Condo/Townhome? Only a single family home. We need to rent and eventually buy a home with a fenced back yard. We have a dog and a house with fenced back yard is a must for us. 3 bedrooms 2 bath for rental, for buying we would like 4 bedrooms. When we buy its ok if the house doesn't have a fence because we can have it installed but the rental should have a fence. We need an area safe enough to walk my dog when it gets dark early in the winter. I would love to live in a gated community but they may be out of the 400k price range.

3. Employment Status(commute/work from home). I would be working downtown Atlanta off Marietta St. and my husband would be working close to the CNN center. I've heard living in SW atlanta allows people to take 20 and avoid the major traffic but is this a good area to live? I've also heard you should only stay in North Atlanta. Clearly I'm getting mixed singles so hopefully someone can set me straight!

4. Children(public school vs. private) - we don't have children yet but definitely want to buy in an area with good schools because we do want children in the near future. We are open to private school if need be. Diversity is important to us. We are African American and refuse to put our kids in schools where no one looks like them.

5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - a mix of the two would be great. We love DC and know it won't be the same but a mix would be great!
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? - We will be driving to work so not to concerned with public transit.

7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. - We are both african american in late 20s early 30s.

[Atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by uniquestar06

Hello everyone!

My husband and I are looking to move to Atlanta. At first we would be looking to rent and probably buy a year later. What areas are most suitable for us? We will be visiting the city in 2 weeks I would like to check out some areas you guys recommend to get a feel for the city! I have visited the city before but only for a weekend here and there. My husband went to Morehouse but I'm sure the city has changed a lot since he graduated. While we love DC Atlanta cost of living seems to good to pass up and seems like the best compromise coming from the DC area to still give us culture, food, and entertainment.

1. Budget - Rental budget would be 2k a month max and buying budget would be 400k.

2. House/Condo/Townhome? Only a single family home. We need to rent and eventually buy a home with a fenced back yard. We have a dog and a house with fenced back yard is a must for us. 3 bedrooms 2 bath for rental, for buying we would like 4 bedrooms. When we buy its ok if the house doesn't have a fence because we can have it installed but the rental should have a fence. We need an area safe enough to walk my dog when it gets dark early in the winter. I would love to live in a gated community but they may be out of the 400k price range.

3. Employment Status(commute/work from home). I would be working downtown Atlanta off Marietta St. and my husband would be working close to the CNN center. I've heard living in SW atlanta allows people to take 20 and avoid the major traffic but is this a good area to live? I've also heard you should only stay in North Atlanta. Clearly I'm getting mixed singles so hopefully someone can set me straight!

4. Children(public school vs. private) - we don't have children yet but definitely want to buy in an area with good schools because we do want children in the near future. We are open to private school if need be. Diversity is important to us. We are African American and refuse to put our kids in schools where no one looks like them.

5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - a mix of the two would be great. We love DC and know it won't be the same but a mix would be great!
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? - We will be driving to work so not to concerned with public transit.

7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. - We are both african american in late 20s early 30s.

I would try Chapel Hill Road area in Douglas County. It has very nice big homes in your price range and also near Interstate 20.

[fieldm]

What type of suburb are you looking for? A PG County, Montgomery County or a VA type suburb?

[Born 2 Roll]

In addition to Atlwarrior's excellent suggestion of the Chapel Hill Road area in Douglas County (the area that feeds into Chapel Hill High School in Douglas County), also checkout areas like:

>The areas around Westlake and Langston Hughes high schools in Southwest Fulton County outside of the Atlanta city limits...

AND

> The areas around Alexander and Douglas County high schools in Douglas County.

[fieldm]

I would recommend taking a tour of the city to get a feel for the ATL while you are here

Atlanta Tours and Sightseeing Atlanta Sightseeing Bus Tours

[Forhall]

Some very important advice for you, PLEASE listen because it's super helpful:

1. Atlanta traffic is a nightmare during rush hours (7am to 9am and 4:30pm to 7pm). Do NOT live in the suburbs. Proximity to work is number 1 for your quality of life here. Don't even look at Alpharetta (which people will be pushing shortly) unless you're happy with 2 hours or more per day driving for work.

2. People think cost of living here is low but it's not really. Everything costs the same as anywhere else, and housing isn't cheap. It looks cheap because you're seeing averages and there are some really horrible areas in SW Atlanta where homes go for $10k that brings down the average. The desirable areas with safety and good schools can be very expensive, and 400k won't get you much home anywhere you'd want to live, especially if looking for good public schools.

3. Whoever told you to stay only in North Atlanta is partially right. The east side is very safe and expensive well. In general, you want to be above i20 and east of i75/i85.

4. I would highly recommend for you to check out the neighborhoods in eastern Atlanta that are along DeKalb avenue. These are Inman park, grant park, lake Claire, candler park, Kirkwood. All of these are very safe neighborhoods with great hones and walkable streets and generally have good school districts (Mary Lin elementary in candler park is considered one of the best in atlanta). In addition, you can hop on DeKalb (a very streamlined road that rarely has traffic) and be in downtown for both of your jobs in 15 mins or less without ever getting on the highway. These areas also have tons of great shops and restaurants, especially Inman. Your rental budget would be healthy for these areas, your buying budget would put a lot of homes out of your range though.

Welcome

[ZeroiaSD]

Oh, useful thread! I'm from the same area and also glancing towards Atlanta.

Originally Posted by Forhall

1. Atlanta traffic is a nightmare during rush hours (7am to 9am and 4:30pm to 7pm). Do NOT live in the suburbs. Proximity to work is number 1 for your quality of life here. Don't even look at Alpharetta (which people will be pushing shortly) unless you're happy with 2 hours or more per day driving for work.

That's very familiar to us in the DC area.

[K_Chardae08]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

In addition to Atlwarrior's excellent suggestion of the Chapel Hill Road area in Douglas County (the area that feeds into Chapel Hill High School in Douglas County), also checkout areas like:

>The areas around Westlake and Langston Hughes high schools in Southwest Fulton County outside of the Atlanta city limits...

AND

> The areas around Alexander and Douglas County high schools in Douglas County.

If the OP is seeking diversity, is the westlake area really a good fit? Don't get me wrong, I was just in the area and there are some very nice and affordable houses, but the area in general is definitely not diverse unless I'm missing something. A couple of friends have urged me to look in the area, but I'm seeking diversity as well. It's very tempting though

[fieldm]

Originally Posted by ZeroiaSD

Oh, useful thread! I'm from the same area and also glancing towards Atlanta.



That's very familiar to us in the DC area.

Traffic isnt bad if you plan it right. If you can be at work by 7:30am it will help tremendously, if you happen to live near MARTA or an express bus which goes directly into the city, or if you happen to live in an area where you can take side roads into Atlanta such as Atlanta rd, etc.

[fieldm]

Originally Posted by K_Chardae08

If the OP is seeking diversity, is the westlake area really a good fit? Don't get me wrong, I was just in the area and there are some very nice and affordable houses, but the area in general is definitely not diverse unless I'm missing something. A couple of friends have urged me to look in the area, but I'm seeking diversity as well. It's very tempting though

If you want diversity look in Gwinnett or Cobb County (up 75)