Early 30's couple looking to buy (Atlanta, Roswell: houses, neighborhoods, theater)

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by ATLUTD

I mean I don't disagree lol. I am lucky to be born to a pretty upper-middle class family whose household income was well into the 6 figures, so I didn't have to take out any loans an they grabbed all my out-of-state public school tuition and fees (I paid housing and every day costs with a job I got in college). If I wasn't afforded that luxury, I 110% would have gone to my in-state flagship. Of course my OOS tuition & fees was marginally more than our state flagship tuition and fees, but that's a-whole-nother issue with my home state which is easily one of the worst states to live in right now and statistics on population growth (errr decline) back that up

I'll tell ya this much - the education lobby has done a GREAT job convincing everyone that you can't put a price on education over the past 20-30 years.

I finished a 4 year degree around 15 years ago doing 120 credit hours in a little over a year while working full-time and for around $6000 total. And that's not by doing military service nor doing 2 years of community college first which are other valid options.

If you know how and where to look, there are ways to really cut costs.

Too many kids these days want the "experience" without thinking about the follow-on expense. I will fight tooth and nail against any candidate that promises things like loan forgiveness via taxing someone else. Unless of course they also offer mortgage forgiveness, car loan forgiveness, etc. etc.

[ATLUTD]

I mean God forbid you try to make life any easier for the people who are paying your social security and medicare. Why is everything such a competition to you? How does forgiving student debt hurt your quality of life in any way (assuming we make people way above both of our income brackets pay for it)?

This country will die out if millennials aren't starting families and we don't increase immigration (and continue rescinding American citizenship status from children of undocumented immigrants) similarly to how Japan is headed right down the toilet over the next few decades.

[3rdbass]

Originally Posted by lambdaepsilon

So I went to Marietta and Smyrna last weekend, not my scene.
Downtown Marietta is nice but I think I prefer Roswell's Canton street more. Didn't like the battery.

We really like the houses you can get in our budget in Chosewood Park, Peoplestown, Adair Park, Capitol View, West End and Westview. However I don't know much about those areas any insight into those places would be appreciated!

Why not look at the east side OP? You can still get houses in the 400K range for that size that fit your bill. Look at Edgewood, Kirkwood and East Atlanta.


https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...14467324_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...02107709_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...14464884_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...14470173_zpid/

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by ATLUTD

I mean God forbid you try to make life any easier for the people who are paying your social security and medicare. Why is everything such a competition to you? How does forgiving student debt hurt your quality of life in any way (assuming we make people way above both of our income brackets pay for it)?

This country will die out if millennials aren't starting families and we don't increase immigration (and continue rescinding American citizenship status from children of undocumented immigrants) similarly to how Japan is headed right down the toilet over the next few decades.

What happened to individual responsibility?

Forgiving student debt means that balance needs to be paid elsewhere. One of the plans says “take it out of shares traded” but that means everyone with a 401K gets dinged. One says “make the billionaires pay” but is it just restricted to them? Neither of these plans also addresses the root cause - high tuition and easy loan money. I’m sorry but I have ZERO sympathy for someone going to a private school for a Liberal Arts degree and taking out $100K in loans.

What I do believe - student loans should be able to be discharged in bankruptcy just like medical or personal debt. That would eliminate the lifetime obligation for someone who had a plan to pay it off but ran into trouble. That’s sensible and as far as I would go. It would also make the private lenders think twice.

And don’t bother with the “easier for the people who are paying for your social security and Medicare” line. I’m still paying into mine, thank you very much, and I have paid in as much as anyone knowing that someone who pays in less will get proportionally more than I do.

I do agree with the need for additional immigration. As an immigrant myself, how could I be against it? But when I came in there was a process, a long and expensive process. I also believe in the need for guest workers who can do jobs in agriculture that nobody else wants to do. But the majority should be via skilled migration.

[AtlJan]

Originally Posted by ATLUTD

I mean God forbid you try to make life any easier for the people who are paying your social security and medicare. Why is everything such a competition to you? How does forgiving student debt hurt your quality of life in any way (assuming we make people way above both of our income brackets pay for it)?

This country will die out if millennials aren't starting families and we don't increase immigration (and continue rescinding American citizenship status from children of undocumented immigrants) similarly to how Japan is headed right down the toilet over the next few decades.

If believing that people should be rewarded for good decisions means "everything is such a competition to you," then I'm guilty as charged as well. Putting student loan debt onto the average tax payer--who may have 1) served his country to go to college for free, 2) worked a trade to avoid the debt, 3) sacrificed greatly to pay his loan back 4) had successful parents who paid for him 5) put off college in order to save for it 6) got a degree in something lucrative so he could pay it off and so many other reasons--means you are penalizing those people who made GOOD decisions and rewarding those people who made BAD decisions.

The system may be broken, but nobody forced these people into these loans. 18 is old enough to know better or at least seek advice from someone who does. Life is hard. Many people make financial mistakes. It is not the government's (i.e. taxpayers') job to bail you out. Grow up. The economy has handled much, much worse. A downturn is a buying opportunity for those who played their cards right.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by AtlJan

If believing that people should be rewarded for good decisions means "everything is such a competition to you," then I'm guilty as charged as well. Putting student loan debt onto the average tax payer--who may have 1) served his country to go to college for free, 2) worked a trade to avoid the debt, 3) sacrificed greatly to pay his loan back 4) had successful parents who paid for him 5) put off college in order to save for it 6) got a degree in something lucrative so he could pay it off and so many other reasons--means you are penalizing those people who made GOOD decisions and rewarding those people who made BAD decisions.

The system may be broken, but nobody forced these people into these loans. 18 is old enough to know better or at least seek advice from someone who does. Life is hard. Many people make financial mistakes. It is not the government's (i.e. taxpayers') job to bail you out. Grow up. The economy has handled much, much worse. A downturn is a buying opportunity for those who played their cards right.

Apparently there is loan counseling and documents outlining the monthly payment obligation, etc. it is all laid out.

There are also a ton of resources that show salaries for roles that I never had years ago.

With such a low unemployment rate for college grads - around 2% - there is zero excuse unless someone takes on too much debt.

[lambdaepsilon]

Originally Posted by 3rdbass

Why not look at the east side OP? You can still get houses in the 400K range for that size that fit your bill. Look at Edgewood, Kirkwood and East Atlanta.


https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...14467324_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...02107709_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...14464884_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...14470173_zpid/

Going to go to East Atlanta, Westend and Grant park to look at houses and neighborhoods.

[lambdaepsilon]

Originally Posted by ATLUTD

Those are all great neighborhoods and in budget. In terms of safety/niceness, I'd rank it:

West End, Adair Park, Chosewood Park, Peoplestown, Westview, Capitol View

Every neighborhood you listed is cleaning up the crime and the extent of most crime is house/car break-ins. You won't have people being shot on your block in any of those neighborhoods. They are all working class neighborhoods where many young people are buying starter houses to begin families alongside longtime residents. Many of these neighborhoods went years where you'd move in and be guaranteed to have boarded up houses as a couple of your next door neighbors. The Beltline already goes through West End, Adair Park, and Westview. Capitol View has decent Beltline access and Chosewood Park and Peoplestown should be getting their section of the Beltline paved within 5 years I would imagine.

West End and Adair Park offer the most instant amenities - fleshed out parks, a decent number of thriving local businesses (Lee + White development worth a visit next time you're in the area). Ryan Gravel (the Beltline college thesis guy) has something coming at the West End mall I believe as well. Westview has some nice businesses where RDA meets Lucille Ave, including Slutty Vegan which might be one of the hottest restaurants in Atlanta right now. Peoplestown has great access to the Beacon, Grant Park, and the Georgia Ave redevelopment (streetview in to Georgia Ave & Reed St any date prior to 2017 and you can see the boatload of potential that local tenants have just started taking advantage of...take a drive next time you're in town and you'll see what it's growing into now that Georgia State University is beginning to build out their South campus with the land acquisition of Turner Field and the lots. Chosewood Park is pretty similar to Peoplestown being right next door - great Beacon access, unbelievable views of the downtown skyline too.

If equity is important to you, I think any of these are great options (with West End and Adair Park currently being the most expensive). Bankhead and Grove Park are a couple places maybe to add to your search. The biggest park in Atlanta is coming to those right now, they are getting Beltline access (date TBD), and a PATH Trail Beltline connector is already scheduled through English Ave. The area is just littered with kudzu and abandoned warehouses so I see shades of Old 4th Ward a decade ago in those areas.

Thanks for the detailed reply! The last time I went by Bankhead it looked like a really shady area? Have things changed? I'll be going around the area tomorrow to see whats up.

[whodean]

OP, I offer but a word of warning from a person who has been in a very similar position.

You need to consider schools more than your posts here seem to be.

We moved to a place we LOVED in our 30's, shortly after started having kids and realized what had been our paradise was hades for raising kids.

SCHOOLS SCHOOLS SCHOOLS. Have a plan. Even now.

[ATLUTD]

Originally Posted by lambdaepsilon

Thanks for the detailed reply! The last time I went by Bankhead it looked like a really shady area? Have things changed? I'll be going around the area tomorrow to see whats up.

I would definitely say it's not for the feint of heart. A lot of the houses have been bought by developers at this point who are just sitting on vacancy so they can renovate in a couple years once construction on the Beltline begins, Quarry Yards gets more established, and the Westside Reservoir Park fills out. More than likely the biggest issue you would personally come in contact with is a broken car window, but it's definitely still a little seedy. You'd get great return on investment 10 years down the line but amenities will be lacking for the next couple years.

I personally wouldn't be too concerned about schools and the deals are to be had where people perceive schools as bad. No, they are not bad schools. They score lower on standardized test scores which has direct correlation with median household income, and yes, median household income in Bankhead is far lower than East Cobb. It doesn't mean your child is going to become a heroin addict and drop out at age 14. Heck, median income in the school district cqholt linked is rising extremely fast right now (my property taxes, which are sitting in front of me right now, went up 15% this year) so I would presume those schools will be "perceived as good schools" by the time your future children are entering school age. They have all the AP classes that Cobb schools offer and practically pipeline kids to Georgia Tech and UGA on full tuition scholarships every year. Personally, based on your 4 neighborhood asks - I think Summerhill is a slam dunk for a decent price.