Atlanta burbs vs. Armonk, NY (Roswell, Alpharetta: real estate market, crime rates, how much)

[bonobo]

Hi
I am currently in Bellevue, WA and looking at 2 specific opportunities. One in Armonk, NY and other in Roswell, GA. I am moving out of WA due to promotion/salary increase. Married, no kids.

Seattle/Bellevue is great but ridiculously expensive. A decent 3BR/3BA is well above $1M.

Nice weather, cost of living, great food options (indian, italian esp), hiking, biking are some important personal factors

I'd appreciate any suggestions/thoughts.

[AtlantaIsHot]

Roswell's perfect considering your criteria. It's probably way cheaper than Armonk (but not 100% certain) and has some good restaurants plus a nearby river with trails and hiking options. Roswell is only 15 miles from Atlanta city limits.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by AtlantaIsHot

Roswell's perfect considering your criteria. It's probably way cheaper than Armonk (but not 100% certain) and has some good restaurants plus a nearby river with trails and hiking options. Roswell is only 15 miles from Atlanta city limits.

I'd say that was a safe bet. Westchester County is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country, and the taxes are astronomical. This was even true 30 years ago when my husband and I were house shopping there.

[bigup]

As long as you can adapt to the hot, humid summers (and most people seem to be able to do so), the weather in North Georgia is much milder than in NY. If you like to hike, you can access many of the best areas of the mountains (Cohutta/Rich Mountain Wilderness) in about 1.5-2 hrs from Roswell.

[Forhall]

Armonk hands down if you can afford it.

I used to live very close to there (Scarsdale) and you will not find anything like that in Atlanta metro. First, it takes about as long to commute to Atlanta from the burbs as it does to Manhattan from Armonk. Manhattan is superior to Atlanta for the most part, though Atlanta is a great city too. It's just hard to compete with one of the world's premiere cities.

Second, the school system is on a whole different level. Many of the public schools on that area of Westchester are better than even the most elite Atlanta private schools.

Finally, safety. There's almost no crime at all. It's an extremely affluent area with high police presence and crime is basically non existent.

That said, you pay for it. Atlanta and the region is cheaper mainly due to lower taxes, and lower taxes means fewer services. Many people don't get that, and always chase the lowest taxes and brag about how low their income and property taxes are....But those cities with higher taxes are providing a much higher level of service generally. So you get lower crime rates thanks to more money for police and public safety and better schools thanks to more money for programs and teacher recruitment.

Decide which is better for you. You'll definitely get much more house in Atlanta.

[bigup]

I really don't think that crime is much of a problem in the Roswell area. And considering that the OP has no kids, school district doesn't seem to be a factor (although this may be something you'll need to consider later). I guess it really comes down to how much you want to pay for housing/cost-of-living and whether or not you want/need to have access to Manhattan. Of course it's the best of the best when it comes to urban amenities in the US. But I'm more than happy with my access to NYC via Hartsfield-Jackson!

[bonobo]

Thanks everyone! I should know more in march.

[roxyrn]

We moved to Roswell from Westchester Cty (Katonha-Lewisboro schools) six years ago and it has been fantastic.
North Fulton schools are on par with New York ones, if not better. We were able to buy a much nicer home in a swim-tennis community for a great price and save $18,000 year property taxes. (not a typo)

There is hiking in the Roswell area, and Kennesaw Mountain is a quick drive, but the north Georgia mountains are not too far with access to the Appalachian Trail.

And, we aren't shoveling snow right now or paying a ridiculous amount of money (was $95 per snow) to do it for us.

Yes, Atlanta is not Manhattan, and I do miss taking the train into NYC. But, we would never consider a move back to the northeast.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Armonk hands down if you can afford it.

I used to live very close to there (Scarsdale) and you will not find anything like that in Atlanta metro. First, it takes about as long to commute to Atlanta from the burbs as it does to Manhattan from Armonk. Manhattan is superior to Atlanta for the most part, though Atlanta is a great city too. It's just hard to compete with one of the world's premiere cities.

Second, the school system is on a whole different level. Many of the public schools on that area of Westchester are better than even the most elite Atlanta private schools.

Finally, safety. There's almost no crime at all. It's an extremely affluent area with high police presence and crime is basically non existent.

That said, you pay for it. Atlanta and the region is cheaper mainly due to lower taxes, and lower taxes means fewer services. Many people don't get that, and always chase the lowest taxes and brag about how low their income and property taxes are....But those cities with higher taxes are providing a much higher level of service generally. So you get lower crime rates thanks to more money for police and public safety and better schools thanks to more money for programs and teacher recruitment.

Decide which is better for you. You'll definitely get much more house in Atlanta.

Originally Posted by bigup

I really don't think that crime is much of a problem in the Roswell area. And considering that the OP has no kids, school district doesn't seem to be a factor (although this may be something you'll need to consider later). I guess it really comes down to how much you want to pay for housing/cost-of-living and whether or not you want/need to have access to Manhattan. Of course it's the best of the best when it comes to urban amenities in the US. But I'm more than happy with my access to NYC via Hartsfield-Jackson!

Roswell has excellent schools.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Roswell has excellent schools.

As do neighboring Alpharetta, East Cobb, Cumming and Johns Creek.
If Westchester County offered so much greater value than north Fulton, wouldn't transplant traffic be flowing in the opposite direction of what it is? Don't get me wrong, Westchester is as good as it gets in suburban NYC (we were all set to pounce on Pound Ridge before my husband heard south Florida's siren call), but much of the OP's decision will pivot on the salary differential between the two offers.