Moving to Atlanta Area (Alpharetta: for rent, how much, house)

[Cynthiahcosta]

Hi All,

We may be moving to the Atlanta Area from the suburbs of NJ. My husband is a dog trainer in NJ and has made a good living here but the franchise has an opening in the Atlanta area and I have some family there. Would also be nice to have warmer weather. Will be coming down over the summer to pick out a neighborhood - we are currently looking into Alpharetta and Milton (We hear East Cobb is also nice) but hope to rent first to make sure we like the area. I like the small-town feel of the suburbs with at least a half acre of land but it would also be nice to have somewhere local to walk/bike to, even a coffee shop! Hoping to meet other families before school starts - the schools are so much bigger than NJ so I'm nervous about kids adapting but if they meet some nice friends in advance, I think they'll be fine. Any advice from others who have been in our shoes would be great. Thank you!

[markjames68]

I moved to the Atlanta area from Long Island a bit more than 2 years ago (with a stop in FL in-between). My family loves it here and we live in Milton. We rented for close to a year in Crabapple first before we bought. My kids haven't had many issues in adapting to elementary and middle school.

Milton isn't a "walk to a coffee shop" area but you generally get 1 acre+. Depending on how much house you want and where you're looking at $3K+ a month in rent. You didn't mention a budget for rent/buy but FYI.

[Cynthiahcosta]

Great, thank you for posting!

[Mattie]

We are NJ natives, now in Milton. Like MarkJames, we spent time(3 yrs) in FL first. My kids hated FL, they loved GA. yes, the schools are much, much bigger than those in NJ, but we never felt like the boys were nameless faces here. It's been 8 years since the last one graduated Milton HS, and their teachers are still in touch. The schools are big, but the class sizes are on par with NJ. And the facilities are amazing.

We really appreciate the space we have here, but I don't consider Milton bike friendly, outside of the actual neighborhoods. Not too many sidewalks, lots of curves and hills to navigate. Fortunately, the Greenway is close by, and you can ride safely for miles.

We were invited to many gatherings in our neighborhood right after the moving vans left, and made friends quickly. Your kids will be fine, hopefully the schools will reopen in the fall which will ease the transition for them. It honestly wasn't an issue for our own. Good luck!

[markjames68]

Another consideration if your kids are tech focused - a new public STEM high school will be opening Fall 2021 in downtown Alpharetta. Acceptance will be based upon lottery I believe.

[Cynthiahcosta]

Thank you both so much! So helpful to know!