Mableton vs. Powder Springs

[ddm2k]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

The OP probably would move to spend $500k on a house in D.C. instead of Atlanta because there are many people who do believe that a Northeastern city like D.C. is a more established, more cosmopolitan urban commodity with much more to offer from a cultural standpoint (arts, theaters, museums, restaurants, shops, etc.).

The fact that D.C. is part of the multi-cored Northeast Corridor/Northeast Megalopolis region and is located less than 230 miles from New York City, the cultural and financial capital of the world also makes a city/metro like D.C. an attractive destination for many.

Add in the fact that D.C. is the site of the seat of the U.S. federal government and all of the large government institutions and facilities that come with that and D.C. seems to have much more prestige for a lot of people.

Now a large major Southeastern metro like Atlanta clearly has very much to offer from a cultural standpoint.

But all of the numerous cultural amenities that a city/metro like Atlanta has to offer often may not always jump off the page or publicly standout like they often do in more established large major Northeastern metros like D.C., Philly, New York and Boston.

A lot of people (including many who might have been living in Atlanta for an extended period of time) might often seem to (mistakenly) think of Atlanta as nothing more than a suburban Sun Belt metro with little depth of cultural offerings.

They often may not necessarily be aware of all of the numerous cultural amenities that a city/metro like Atlanta has to offer because Atlanta’s cultural offerings often may not standout in the way that cultural offerings often may publicly standout in more established Northeastern metros like D.C., Philly, N.Y.C. and Boston.

Heck, I thought the I-85 corridor had everything I needed. I was glad to be away from such high population density as the northeast, property taxes, and nanny state regulations. In my industry, there isn't much of a bump in pay going to larger (more expensive) cities so those of us who are better off do so in the lower CoL areas without any loss of opportunity.

I don't like the idea of pulling right out from my driveway into a traffic jam just trying to go run an errand. Cube living and public transport are what we were raised to aspire to ESCAPE, not as an end goal of living in some metropolis. On public transit you can't pick your neighbors, air temp, speed, last minute side trips, talk on the phone without getting dirty looks.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

Move to an Atlanta suburb just to live in a condo or townhome?

That doesn't sound like a deal at all.

If the OP wants to be able to live immediately close and/or very near their job in Roswell in an extremely competitive real estate market in the North Atlanta suburbs where detached single-family homes appear to be in very short supply at the OP’s preferred price range, then the OP likely may have little choice but to consider condos and townhomes as part of their housing search.

The OP could expand their search out into further outlying areas like Forsyth and Cherokee counties to attempt to increase their chances of finding a high-quality detached single-family home within their preferred price range.

Though, intending to commute between a job location in Roswell and a home in West metro Atlanta (in areas as far west as Powder Springs) more than likely should be completely out of the question unless absolutely necessary for some critically important personal reason.

The OP likely also needs to be aware that much of the North metro Atlanta real estate market appears to continue to be very competitive currently, and (while still significantly affordable when compared to the Northeast) may not necessarily be as affordable as they might have thought it would be.

The status of the Roswell/Alpharetta area as one one metro Atlanta’s most robust job markets in an area North Fulton and Forsyth counties) with highly regarded schools and loads of outer-suburban/exurban amenities has made that area’s real estate market very competitive in recent years.

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

Public transit/better infrastucture
Walkability,
Higher Salaries
Much more cultural offerings,
Less Crime,
More diversity.

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

Can you really get that for 500k in DC though? It was my impression that DC had a higher col than Atlanta. Like significantly higher.

While D.C. obviously offers higher salaries, great cultural offerings and robust levels of diversity, I don’t know about necessarily getting increased walkability in an urban environment with less crime for $500k.

That’s particularly with D.C.’s significantly higher cost-of-living that sedimenjerry notes, and with D.C.’s notable crime issues of its own.

Though, maybe it might be probable for one to get a good-quality detached single-family home in an outlying outer-suburban and/or exurban area of greater metro D.C. (outer-suburban/exurban Virginia or outer-suburban/exurban Maryland) with access to regional commuter rail service for $500k?

[hilltop180]

I live in Mableton. It gets a bad rap sometimes but I would say I see and hear about less crime here than I did when I lived in Vinings. Mableton has great access to Midtown, downtown, the Cumberland area, and the airport. If we go out for entertainment those are the areas we usually hit. It's also really nice to have the Silver comet trail nearby. Powder Springs is nice but it's quite far from any of the interstates. Powder Springs does also have access to the SCT. In Mableton, I would say the best neighborhoods are off Oakdale, Brookwood, and Nickajack road. There were some good deals in Mableton about a year ago but the home values in my neighborhood have gone about around 40% this year. I think mostly because it's so close to Smyrna and the prices there are really going through the roof. I would say in short it depends on what your priority is. If you want to be closer to interstates and the city Mableton is the better option. If you want better schools and having proximity to the city is not important - Powder springs.

[cranberrysaus]

Originally Posted by hilltop180

I live in Mableton. It gets a bad rap sometimes but I would say I see and hear about less crime here than I did when I lived in Vinings. Mableton has great access to Midtown, downtown, the Cumberland area, and the airport. If we go out for entertainment those are the areas we usually hit. It's also really nice to have the Silver comet trail nearby. Powder Springs is nice but it's quite far from any of the interstates. Powder Springs does also have access to the SCT. In Mableton, I would say the best neighborhoods are off Oakdale, Brookwood, and Nickajack road. There were some good deals in Mableton about a year ago but the home values in my neighborhood have gone about around 40% this year. I think mostly because it's so close to Smyrna and the prices there are really going through the roof. I would say in short it depends on what your priority is. If you want to be closer to interstates and the city Mableton is the better option. If you want better schools and having proximity to the city is not important - Powder springs.

I live in Powder Springs and while it feels far away from the interstate, it's still only 25 minutes to downtown Atlanta - 35 if there's traffic on I-20.


I think Mableton does benefit a lot from proximity to Smyrna which seems to be booming lately. Powder Springs is a little quieter but there's quite a bit of homes going up lately, and the city has big plans for transforming downtown. Don't think you could go wrong living in either place (unless of course you're commuting to Roswell like OP seems to be).

[hilltop180]

Originally Posted by cranberrysaus

I live in Powder Springs and while it feels far away from the interstate, it's still only 25 minutes to downtown Atlanta - 35 if there's traffic on I-20.


I think Mableton does benefit a lot from proximity to Smyrna which seems to be booming lately. Powder Springs is a little quieter but there's quite a bit of homes going up lately, and the city has big plans for transforming downtown. Don't think you could go wrong living in either place (unless of course you're commuting to Roswell like OP seems to be).

That's a good take on Powder Springs. I think it is a bit more quite than Mableton. There is a lot of new development in Powder Springs and Mableton. I know the new development is pushing home prices higher in Mableton as a lot of the proposed developments are townhomes. Smyrna doesn't have much available land to develop on which is pushing development to PS and Mableton.