L.A. to Atlanta suburbs (commute feedback) (Sandy Springs, Roswell: best neighborhoods, hair salon)

[ShenardL]

Originally Posted by BobbyJayATL

Definitely; I lived closer to Suwanee until very recently - though I feel like for an outsider (whether OP or someone else) who is interested in seeing either the change in the area or just an indication of the Korean presence, a drive down Pleasant Hill has the most impact (especially if you were familiar with the area 20 years ago).

For whatever reason (probably the cheap real estate opportunities after Gwinnett Place tanked), you've got an 80's-90's era suburban strip mall utopia where damn near every single sign along a 2 mile stretch is in Korean.

I think it's pretty cool - an area that suburban white folks had written off that has seen new life (and is still just as middle/upper-middle class as it ever was, just patronized by people with a different background).

I complain when I hear anyone talk about the Gwinnett Place area being "economically depressed" or whatever; just because you and I can't read the signs doesn't mean that's the case. It's doing better than it ever was for the most part (the mall itself notwithstanding, though Mega Mart is propping that up I think).

Yes, I think a Korean developer like Lotte or Shinsegae should purchase Gwinnett Place and redevelop it into a Korean mall (with an ice skating rink, bowling, indoor mini-golf) as you see in LA's Koreatown. Make the area a lot more walkable and add some condos and office buildings.

[ShenardL]

Originally Posted by walker1962

No, ATL traffic will have you thinking you never left L.A. I have a friend right now visiting Atlanta from Dallas. I used to live in Atlanta myself. She was AGOG at how bad the traffic is compared to D/FW, a metro area at least 1 million larger in population.

I think LA is a lot worse. I used to visit LA every summer for 10+ years and each time I would always be stuck in traffic no matter what time of day.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300793672.html

Atlanta's not even in the top 10.

[architect77]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

I think LA is a lot worse. I used to visit LA every summer for 10+ years and each time I would always be stuck in traffic no matter what time of day.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...300793672.html

Atlanta's not even in the top 10.

LA freeways only move at high speeds for a few hours in the middle of the night like 2am-4am.

That's how I experienced living there in the late 90s.

At all other times it's a slow crawl on ALL of the freeways in greatr LA, except the carpool lane can move a little faster, or the toll lane system in Orange County (San Juaquin ?) which is a completely separate set of roads. Although some toll lanes are on regular freeways too.

But what's worse about Atlanta is not having options or alternate routes to go somewhere,

Dallas has so many concentric highways that parallel each other that it can move more traffic efficiently, a reality that people in Georgia don't think is possible because they cannot grasp 'road redundant-cy .''

LA has the grid which allows for many options, it's just that 18 million people are spread out so far that they must drive long distances and the freeways are the only routes without waiting at dozens of intersections.

That more that cancels out the advantages of roads on a grid.

[ShenardL]

Originally Posted by architect77

LA freeways only move at high speeds for a few hours in the middle of the night like 2am-4am.

That's how I experienced living there in the late 90s.

At all other times it's a slow crawl on ALL of the freeways in greatr LA, except the carpool lane can move a little faster, or the toll lane system in Orange County (San Juaquin ?) which is a completely separate set of roads. Although some toll lanes are on regular freeways too.

But what's worse about Atlanta is not having options or alternate routes to go somewhere,

Dallas has so many concentric highways that parallel each other that it can move more traffic efficiently, a reality that people in Georgia don't think is possible because they cannot grasp 'road redundant-cy .''

LA has the grid which allows for many options, it's just that 18 million people are spread out so far that they must drive long distances and the freeways are the only routes without waiting at dozens of intersections.

That more that cancels out the advantages of roads on a grid.

There are alternative just not as good. For example, if I see traffic on Waze coming from downtown on I-85 north up to spaghetti junction, I'll find a way to get on Buford Highway (which parallels I-85) as an alternative or take local roads until GA-400 N get on I-285 E and get off Peachtree Industrial or Buford Highway. Not quite like the other sunbelt cities with options but if you live here long enough you'll find ways around it.

[bethereds82]

Good afternoon everyone.

I wanted to first thank everyone who replied to my previous post, "L.A. to Atlanta suburbs." The quality of the responses were extremely helpful.

Please see below my post/question. Thanks!

[bethereds82]

Sorry folks, I accidentally posted my post without realizing I did so (above)

Thanks again to everyone for their input in my last post, "L.A. to Atlanta suburbs."

To recap, we're a young family looking to relocate to Atlanta. We were dead locked on the Suwanee/JC/Duluth area, as my mother and father in law will be retiring to that area from Chicago in 2021. We have a 1.5 year old, and would like him to be around his grandparents.

However, after the commute feedback we received from that area to Midtown, I think that we should at least consider some neighborhoods in the ITP. It's my understanding that there is an H-Mart and some Korean/Asian dining options around 285 near King Buford Highway (Doraville.)

Would greatly appreciate feedback on some of the questions I had below. Please keep in mind that although we can stretch our budget, we'd like to keep the max price of our home under $650k.

1) Sandy Springs, (ITP) south of 285 in the boundary of High Point elementary school. Is this a good area for families?
2) Sandy Springs public schools--from my research the Heards Ferry Elementary school is regarded as the top public elementary school in Sandy Springs, how are the other elementary schools (High Point, etc.)
3) What are the best private schools in SS?
4) Are there other areas we should be considering like Dunwoody, Roswell, Brookhaven? Please kindly keep in mind that we would like to be close to Doraville (H-mart) and within a reasonable commute to Midtown. (45 min or less).

Ideally, we'd like to send our son to public schools, but will consider Private. Also, if anyone is familiar with LA, would love to hear a comparison of a city similar to SS here in the LA area. SS sounds like a premier ITP suburb, but I'm a bit confused by the public school ratings for an expensive city in what appears to be a great location.

Thank you all in advance!

[primaltech]

Definitely assume the traffic will be twice as bad as you figure it will be. Because it often will be twice as bad. So if you need to commute to Midtown, definitely don't look far outside the perimeter.

Tucker has some nice areas, and the areas between Tucker and Doraville, there are some pretty nice areas hidden in there.

High Point area, ITP Sandy Springs is nice yeah. I lived right there off Glenridge for a couple years, liked everything about the area. Brookhaven is nice one of the more family oriented and suburban feeling places ITP. Dunwoody is definitely nice.

[Stormhammer]

Chamblee is an up and coming neighborhood as well.


In regards to public schools however, East Cobb, North Fulton, South Forsyth and west Gwinnett are basically the top tier areas. Marietta, Roswell, Alpharetta, Cumming, Johns Creek, Suwanee

[ATLTJL]

This may make a difference...

When you say you want to be around H-Mart, do you mean you just like a place like H-Mart to occasionally buy some international foods, or are you Korean and plan to make H-Mart your primary shopping destination, meaning you will go there once a week or more?

Also consider Buford Highway Farmers Market, which is bigger than an H-Mart, but isn't strictly Asian.

It may come into play how much difficulty you are willing to endure getting to and from these places.

[bethereds82]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

This may make a difference...

When you say you want to be around H-Mart, do you mean you just like a place like H-Mart to occasionally buy some international foods, or are you Korean and plan to make H-Mart your primary shopping destination, meaning you will go there once a week or more?

Also consider Buford Highway Farmers Market, which is bigger than an H-Mart, but isn't strictly Asian.

It may come into play how much difficulty you are willing to endure getting to and from these places.

Hi ATLJTL,

We are Korean American, so we would most likely visit the H-Mart at least 2x month. I think what's more appealing to us would be the Korean/Asian restaurants that usually congregate around H-Marts in general. We love to eat out would be hopefully visiting these restaurants at least once a week.

We'd love to have a good commute in to Midtown, but also not have to drive 30+minutes on a weekday to eat Korean or do some grocery shopping in the Doraville or Duluth areas. I hope that helps!