Relocating from Indianapolis (Sandy Springs, Marietta, Alpharetta: apartment, rental, condo)

[mamitami]

Hello. This is my first post but I've been on this site many times. I have a couple questions. My cousin and I, and her two children are relocating to Georgia from Indianapolis the first week of June. Although her brother resides in Atlantic Station and my uncle lives in Stockbridge, we really don't know much about certain areas. My uncle said that Henry County (Stockbridge) has one of the best school systems in Georgia which would be a concern for her because she has two kids. She works for Job Core and can transfer her job, but my company has no location other than the one here. We are looking for either a house or apartment (something with a roomate plan) that's under $1200/month. We have heard that Alpharetta, Marietta, Decatur, Stone Mountain, Sandy Springs, and Stockbridge are decent areas to live in. We don't want to be more than 20 minutes away from downtown/Atlantic Station because we know traffice will be hideous. I also want to live close enough to ride the MARTA, or park and ride it. If anyone knows of any areas that are decent with decent schools please let me know. Thanks for any input or help you can recommend.

[wxjay]

Well if being 20 minutes to downtown is important and riding MARTA as well, then Henry County is out. The traffic there is horrendous and MARTA doesn't run out there.

The city of Decatur sounds like where you need to be. The City of Decatur has a great school system and a wonderful downtown area which is well connected via MARTA to Midtown and beyond. Be careful though - outside of the city limits, the school system is quite a few steps down and the area gets less nice. So plan on an apartment or condo rental within the city of Decatur if possible.