Best place to live for a family of 3 near the airport? (Atlanta: apartment complexes, rentals)

[Du Ma]

Family of 3 (husband, wife, and 1 year old child) from CA wanting to move to ATL. My wife will be a stay at home mom until our child in pre-school. Household income is about 90k-100k/year (gross). I will be working near Hartsfield-Jackson intl airport.


Where is a safe place to live near the airport? I will rent first and buy later.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Du Ma

Family of 3 (husband, wife, and 1 year old child) from CA wanting to move to ATL. My wife will be a stay at home mom until our child in pre-school. Household income is about 90k-100k/year (gross). I will be working near Hartsfield-Jackson intl airport.


Where is a safe place to live near the airport? I will rent first and buy later.

For rentals in a more outer-suburban area, look in an like Newnan around the I-85/GA 34 interchange (I-85 Exit 47) where there multiple high-quality apartment rentals in an area with loads of retail and dining amenities along Georgia Highway 34 on both sides of the I-85 interchange.

You can also look at some of the very few apartment complexes in Fayette County (Peachtree City and Fayetteville) where the schools are some of the absolute best in the entire Southeastern U.S. and where the quality-of-life is extremely high.

You can also look west in Douglasville around the I-20/GA 5 interchange (I-20 Exit 34) in another area that is loaded with retail and dining amenities.

I've got friends and family who live out in the Douglasville area and they love the schools and the quality-of-life of the area, which for many is a more affordable alternative for the outer-suburban lifestyle than the much more expensive areas on the Northside.

For rentals in a more inner-suburban/post-suburban area, look to Vinings and Smyrna in near-suburban Northwest metro Atlanta in an area that would provide a pretty decent commute to and from your job near the airport by way of the 'West Wall' of the I-285 Perimeter.

When it comes time to buy, look in areas like:

> Almost anywhere in Fayette County (which is one of the most highly-regarded school systems in the entire Southeastern U.S.)…

> Coweta County (close to Newnan) in the clusters of schools anchored by Northgate, East Coweta and Newnan high schools...

> Douglas County (in the Douglasville area) in the clusters of schools anchored by Alexander and Douglas County high schools.

[jsvh]

Also, if you want some leafy intown neighborhood options where you can walk to a lot of things check out areas around Grant Park and Ormewood Park. I know a lot of airport people commute from there.

Or if you want urban you can take the MARTA train from downtown or midtown straight into the airport terminal quicker than many people can get a shuttle to their car.

Both those areas have good rental and buying options if you want to get to know the city some.

[mom2twinboyz]

Peachtree City, Newnan, Fayetteville, Senoia. I sent a PM too.

[PTC Dad]

Peachtree City (McIntosh High), Sharpsburg/Newnan (Northgate), Fayetteville(Starr's Mill/Whitewater), Senoia (East Coweta). Should also consider McDonough (Union Grove/Ola).

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by PTC Dad

Should also consider McDonough (Union Grove/Ola).

I really like the clusters of schools anchored by Union Grove and Ola high schools in the McDonough area of Henry County as well because of the quality of the schools in those areas.

But I sometimes will shy away from recommending them as an option because of concerns about the ability to traverse parts of I-75 South during peak hours (morning and afternoon/evening rush hours, and roughly during daylight hours and beyond around holiday and vacation periods when the I-75 South roadway gets very heavy with traffic traveling to and from the vacation and resort areas of Florida).

There are two stretches of roadway along I-75 South OTP that can lock up with traffic congestion and gridlock during the aforementioned peak hours, I-75 through Henry County (through the Stockbridge and McDonough areas) between the I-675 and Locust Grove interchanges, and I-75 from just south of the I-285 Perimeter south to the US 19-41/Old Dixie Highway interchange in north Clayton County.

These two delay-prone stretches of roadway can make commuting along I-75 South OTP during peak traffic hours unpredictable at times.

Though, the highly-regarded Union Grove and Ola school clusters of McDonough and Henry County should be okay for those who will be commuting towards (and away from) Atlanta (including an area like the airport) during off-peak hours (roughly between the hours of 8pm and 6am).

[ldl5112]

Having lived in Atlanta previously and hopefully moving back soon (and also working at the airport), I personally wouldn't commute to the airport from Newnan/PtC. I had to stay in Newnan for 10 weeks of training recently, too. It's a decent suburb, but it's just a suburb. To me, that's wasting a good 45 minutes to an hour of your day each way, when there are perfectly good neighborhoods close to the airport, inside the perimeter, and close to the amenities of the city. When I lived in Atlanta, I lived in an apartment in Grant Park. It was 15 minutes, max, to the airport, and close to all the fun stuff in the city, and I was able to avoid all the hassle of commuting. I couldn't imagine having to deal with the hassle of living close to a city, but not close enough to really enjoy the great amenities of the city.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by ldl5112

Having lived in Atlanta previously and hopefully moving back soon (and also working at the airport), I personally wouldn't commute to the airport from Newnan/PtC. I had to stay in Newnan for 10 weeks of training recently, too. It's a decent suburb, but it's just a suburb. To me, that's wasting a good 45 minutes to an hour of your day each way, when there are perfectly good neighborhoods close to the airport, inside the perimeter, and close to the amenities of the city. When I lived in Atlanta, I lived in an apartment in Grant Park. It was 15 minutes, max, to the airport, and close to all the fun stuff in the city, and I was able to avoid all the hassle of commuting. I couldn't imagine having to deal with the hassle of living close to a city, but not close enough to really enjoy the great amenities of the city.

What amenities could you find in the city of Atlanta (especially parts of the city close to the airport) that you couldn't find in Newnan/PTC?

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by citidata18

What amenities could you find in the city of Atlanta (especially parts of the city close to the airport) that you couldn't find in Newnan/PTC?

Especially amenities for a family with kids.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

Especially amenities for a family with kids.

Exactly.

I can kind of understand the appeal of SW Atlanta communities for individuals who are young, working class, childless and single, but with a higher than normal crime rate and less than stellar schools, I wouldn't recommend it to someone with a family who's relatively affluent and wants to purchase a home.