Moving to Atlanta from D.C. (Sandtown 285 side) need help (Alpharetta: employment, pre-schools)

[Kari38]

Hello,

My husband and I and our two boys (2,7) will be moving to Atlanta. I want to get some insight into how long would the commute be from the sandtown to the civi center during traditional rush hour traffic. Arriving by 8am. And leaving around 4:30-5:00pm. We are open to ridding the metro. Anything under 1 hour is acceptable. However, 30-40 mins is ideal. I like the area because of the community feel. I haven't secured a job. I figure I will look once we secure housing. My work is flexible.

Also, it looks like there are good parent reviews on Stonewall elementary but the great school reviews are average to poor ratings. Does anyone have insight into this? My son is currently in the gifted program. I also heard there is a new school that is doing well. Are there any good charter schools in the local area. I would prefer not to pay for private. Are there any good pre-schools in the area? We have a 250k budget and would prefer a 4 bedroom home. Are there any subdivisions that are particularly nice. Are there any other other areas we should consider? Areas that would allow us to stay on budget. Anything more would negate our reason for moving down south. We are cutting our cost in half.

Thanks for your help!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Kari38

Hello,

My husband and I and our two boys (2,7) will be moving to Atlanta. I want to get some insight into how long would the commute be from the sandtown to the civi center during traditional rush hour traffic. Arriving by 8am. And leaving around 4:30-5:00pm. We are open to ridding the metro. Anything under 1 hour is acceptable. However, 30-40 mins is ideal. I like the area because of the community feel. I haven't secured a job. I figure I will look once we secure housing. My work is flexible.

Also, it looks like there are good parent reviews on Stonewall elementary but the great school reviews are average to poor ratings. Does anyone have insight into this? My son is currently in the gifted program. I also heard there is a new school that is doing well. Are there any good charter schools in the local area. I would prefer not to pay for private. Are there any good pre-schools in the area? We have a 250k budget and would prefer a 4 bedroom home. Are there any subdivisions that are particularly nice. Are there any other other areas we should consider? Areas that would allow us to stay on budget. Anything more would negate our reason for moving down south. We are cutting our cost in half.

Thanks for your help!

Because much of the employment in the Atlanta metropolitan region is not centralized in Downtown Atlanta but is decentralized throughout much of the Atlanta region (particularly throughout the often severely-congested northern half of the Atlanta region), I would VERY STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you first secure employment BEFORE securing housing so that...

1) You will know that you will have employment waiting for you after moving to an Atlanta region where the employment market can be highly-competitive, even during a decent economy, AND...

2) You will know where you should focus your search for housing so that you can attempt to minimize your exposure to Atlanta's sometimes unpredictable, but often congestion-packed rush hour commuting patterns.

An area like Sandtown may be good for commuting to areas like the Atlanta Airport (a massive facility that is the busiest airport on the planet and the largest employment center in the state of Georgia and the Southeastern U.S.) and business districts like Downtown Atlanta, Cumberland and even Midtown Atlanta and maybe even Buckhead.

But an area like Sandtown may not necessarily be as good for commuting to major business/commercial districts and regional employment like Perimeter Center, Town Center/Kennesaw, Alpharetta, Peachtree Corners/Norcross, Northlake/Tucker, Johns Creek, Gwinnett Place/Duluth, Suwanee, Southern Forsyth County, Peachtree City, McDonough, etc.

Before getting hung up on any one particular area like Sandtown (an area for which you currently have no idea if it may or may not be convenient to your future employment prospects), it is best to wait and see where you will be working so that you can look for housing and schools that will be relatively close and convenient to where you will be working in an Atlanta metro region with severe traffic congestion issues and far fewer transit options than a Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic city/metro like Washington D.C.

[Kari38]

Thanks for the feedback. We are a one income family and it won't be necessary that I secure employment quickly. However, the detail that you gave about which areas would be good for commuting was valuable. Thanks!!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Kari38

Thanks for the feedback. We are a one income family and it won't be necessary that I secure employment quickly. However, the detail that you gave about which areas would be good for commuting was valuable. Thanks!!

Did you say that your husband would be commuting to the Atlanta Civic Center area?

If that indeed is where he will be commuting to and from for work each day, a one-way commute between the Sandtown community of Southwest Fulton County and the Atlanta Civic Center on the north side of Downtown will take about between 30-45 minutes each way, each weekday (...about 30-35 minutes each way when road and traffic conditions are good and about 35-45 minutes each way or longer when road and traffic conditions are not so good...commutes times that are relatively very reasonable for the Atlanta metropolitan area/region).

If neither your husband and/or yourself has secured employment, then the previous advice of waiting until you have secured employment still applies.

[Kari38]

My husband has secured employment. It will be near the Atlanta civic center. I may or may not decide to work. It's not a necessity. Does anyone have any insight around the schools?

Thank you for you the commute information.

[Shin Dynamo X]

Originally Posted by Kari38

My husband has secured employment. It will be near the Atlanta civic center. I may or may not decide to work. It's not a necessity. Does anyone have any insight around the schools?

Thank you for you the commute information.

Is your husband's new job paying for the move and relocation to another place?

[Kari38]

Yes, relocation is provided

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Kari38

My husband has secured employment. It will be near the Atlanta civic center. I may or may not decide to work. It's not a necessity. Does anyone have any insight around the schools?

Thank you for you the commute information.

The schools in the Sandtown area, which are part of the cluster of schools anchored by Westlake High School in the Fulton County school system, range from average to slightly above average in many cases.

Westlake High School itself is a school that has a lot of school pride that is particularly reflected in the support and fervor surrounding the school's highly-competitive football and basketball teams (...the boys' basketball team won the state title in the highest classification last season).