Which would you choose? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: to rent, condo, buying a home)

[cle618]

Hello!

We have been planning this move from Ohio for a year now and previously sought general advice here. I've spent a lot of time on this board getting really great insight to Atlanta, and I'm hoping you can all give some final feedback based on our options. The move is about to happen in a few weeks and we have filtered down to our last couple of options.

We are a married couple in our upper 20's. We want to live in the suburbs, but will frequently visit the city on the weekends for fun. We are focused more on finding the perfect house in a good quiet area than we are on finding a smaller/expensive home in a "hip" area- everyone has their own preference . Based on our budget and what we are looking for, we have narrowed down to these couple areas. We will plan to stay here at least 5 years. Obviously we would love to live in Sandy Springs, Decatur, or Smyrna, but cannot get what we want on our budget at this point in life. We love a place like Woodstock/Kennesaw, but the work location has ruled them out.

Options: Fairburn, Snellville, Lawrenceville, Conyers, Douglasville

Budget: $200,000 to 250,000

Jobs: One will be working in Druid Hills while the other is a teacher and will likely seek to work in APS

Commute: 30-45 min by car (Not the biggest priority for us) - Both attend Crossfit classes after work, so would commute home around 630/7pm

House: 2,000+ sq feet, 10 years old or less, good back yard space, big kitchens
Examples: Example 1 - Example 2 - Example 3

Area: A safe area that is peaceful. Being near weekly necessities such as Publix, Coffee (Starbucks/Dunkin/etc.), Target, nearby stores, and some decent quality food options. Potential for the area to keep growing.

Any honest feedback you can give me on these areas and what you would choose, would be greatly appreciated! We want more house for our money, but also want to ensure it's a safe and growing area that we can enjoy living in. We plan to rent for a couple months in the area that we choose before buying a home- just to make sure we are making the right choice... but please help us decide where that is! Thank you!!

[whodean]

Live closer to where you work.

[cle618]

Originally Posted by whodean

Live closer to where you work.

Thank you, incredibly helpful! All five options are approximately 20-27 miles from where I will work.

I cannot afford a $400,000 townhome in Decatur, unfortunately.

[evannole]

Unfortunately, a 30-45 minute commute to Druid Hills is probably going to be somewhat challenging from all of those locations. The traffic in that part of town is really difficult - both the highways and the surface streets. Of the cities you listed, Lawrenceville and Snellville probably would offer the best commute. I don't know much about actually living in either place but know that Lawrenceville does have a small downtown that they're trying to build up. But as whodean said, you might want to look a bit closer to Druid Hills and, I might add, be open to the idea of a townhouse or condo.

[MattCW]

Tucker is starting to be a good area to live and it's closer and has the advantage of some backroads into Druid Hills. There's also plenty of houses north and west of Nothlake to I-85 as well as Brookhaven, though I don't know if the prices are in your range.

[cle618]

Originally Posted by evannole

Unfortunately, a 30-45 minute commute to Druid Hills is probably going to be somewhat challenging from all of those locations. The traffic in that part of town is really difficult - both the highways and the surface streets. Of the cities you listed, Lawrenceville and Snellville probably would offer the best commute. I don't know much about actually living in either place but know that Lawrenceville does have a small downtown that they're trying to build up. But as whodean said, you might want to look a bit closer to Druid Hills and, I might add, be open to the idea of a townhouse or condo.

Thanks, evannole!

I understand the commute will definitely fluctuate with traffic and that area is definitely congested with so many winding roads and such. I am hoping my late departure home may help that a bit.

Unfortunately the housing style is the non-negotiable for my other half. We can't seem to find anything ITP on our budget, so we've accepted that traffic will be a part of our daily lives- which has landed us these options. Townhomes are unfortunately not an option for us because we have two dogs that cannot handle the slightest noise from a neighbor, and also need a yard to go out in.

Thanks, again!

[jhtrico1850]

I'm in a newly built townhouse, and I can't hear a thing from the neighbors.

I don't know how old this building code rule is, but I believe code requires a really thick wall between units in case of fires over 2 hours.

Dwelling Unit Separation Wall at Duplexes and Townhomes (2 Hour Fire Wall)

Maybe you should try renting houses so you're not committed to a place.

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by evannole

Unfortunately, a 30-45 minute commute to Druid Hills is probably going to be somewhat challenging from all of those locations. The traffic in that part of town is really difficult - both the highways and the surface streets. Of the cities you listed, Lawrenceville and Snellville probably would offer the best commute. I don't know much about actually living in either place but know that Lawrenceville does have a small downtown that they're trying to build up. But as whodean said, you might want to look a bit closer to Druid Hills and, I might add, be open to the idea of a townhouse or condo.

Yeah 30-45 min is not going to happen, especially when you throw in less than 10 years single family home with nice yard in an area that is nice. You probably should rank your priorities and scale back your expectations. You might be able to get something older in Tucker or Lilburn, and depending where in Druid Hills you are looking —get close to your commute time. If you need something newer, maybe shoot for 1 hour commutes (or more if CDC-Emory)—from Snellville.—assuming you can find a house you want just off 78.

[LAB6120]

Op, I can speak on Snellville and Lawrenceville. I use to live in Snellville (30039) and recently moved due to wanting a better school district for our child. There are two Snellville's, zip 30039 and zip 30078, try to be in the 30078 area due to better schools and more ammenities. The Lawrenceville area is pretty large also and feeds into different schools, try to find the areas that feed into Brookwood HS. I know you don't have kids but if you plan to, schools will be important. Even if you don't have/want kids, homes in good school districts will hold/go up in value compared to not so good. I'm not sure why everyone complains about a 45min-1 hr commute, I've been doing it since I moved here in 06 and it's not a big deal, many people do it. I also couldn't afford 500k+ homes near my job and actually prefer the suburbs. You may also want to look in the Lilburn area (30047), where I currently live but may have a hard time finding a newer home in your price range.

[cle618]

Originally Posted by LAB6120

Op, I can speak on Snellville and Lawrenceville. I use to live in Snellville (30039) and recently moved due to wanting a better school district for our child. There are two Snellville's, zip 30039 and zip 30078, try to be in the 30078 area due to better schools and more ammenities. The Lawrenceville area is pretty large also and feeds into different schools, try to find the areas that feed into Brookwood HS. I know you don't have kids but if you plan to, schools will be important. Even if you don't have/want kids, homes in good school districts will hold/go up in value compared to not so good. I'm not sure why everyone complains about a 45min-1 hr commute, I've been doing it since I moved here in 06 and it's not a big deal, many people do it. I also couldn't afford 500k+ homes near my job and actually prefer the suburbs. You may also want to look in the Lilburn area (30047), where I currently live but may have a hard time finding a newer home in your price range.

Thanks, LAB6120! This was the type of response I was looking for. The commute is not the biggest priority to us, as I have mentioned, so I was hoping others could give me advice *between those 5 cities* rather than suggesting looking closer to work or changing our expectations. Personally, we are not interested in dropping $2,000+ a month on a house just to have a shorter drive and that's our preference.

I really enjoyed the Snellville/Grayson area when we visited last, and liked that it had everything we would need, daily, in one main area. I know the commute would not be "fun," but we would prefer to live in this type of community in a newer-build home and have necessities nearby, with some privacy and peacefulness.

Thanks!