Moving near ATL from France in July (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: real estate, rentals)

[FrenchFamilyGa]

Hello,

We are a family of 4 (kids are 10 and 14 yo), moving to Ga from France in July.

As I'm not a native English speaker, please excuse my grammar in advance

Mr comes to boost its activity in NA and as he's working in the tech industry his offices and team are based in Atlanta Startup Village in Buckhead. Most of the team is living in the north of ATL.

We are now looking where we start our search. We already have found a real estate agent (she's French, it helps ) but of course we need to tell her where we want to go.

At the beginning we were looking for neighbourhoods like Buckhead or Virginia Highland (charming from a European point of view) but it's hard to find something to rent in our rent criteria : 4 beds and furnished, less than US$ 5000 / month.

We've seen that the best public schools are around Decatur and Alpharetta / John's Creek etc. and as Mr is working from home 2/3 days / week, we wonder if it's not a better solution to move further, as we also love outdoor sports and activities.

So ... here we are, with no idea about the best solution. It could be very helpful for us to get your opinion! Here's what we're ideally looking for:

- safe place
- good public schools
- nice place to live, if possible with shops and restaurants we can access by walk (European habits)
- not so far from Atl Tech Village (Buckhead) or if possible to find another interesting place with tech cies, we can also move the offices
- easy to move far from the city on week ends (sea & mountains)

Decatur seems interesting but we don't know about the trafic? Alpharetta etc. are looking great too but traffic doesn't!

Any idea or pont of view?

Thank you!

[Mattie]

I'm a fan of both Decatur and Alpharetta. Honestly, the traffic in Decatur may be more daunting than anything you experience in Alpharetta, I just got back from there about an hour ago, and Alpharetta seems tame in comparison. Schools in North Fulton have the edge, just stay west of 400. Both cities have large walkable areas, as long as you choose wisely, because both cities cover wide areas.

Fully furnished rentals are not common. And neither city is exactly convenient to a weekend trip to the beach, figure 5-6 hours each way. Mountains are much closer.

[sedimenjerry]

Both are good options with some slight differences. Coming from Europe one of the things you'll notice is that metro Atlanta as a whole is not walkable and public transportation is lacking. This is especially true in Alpharetta. Decatur is a little older (well, a lot older actually) and was one of the first suburbs of the city of Atlanta. It's more walkable and has MARTA train access. Alpharetta is much newer. There is MARTA bus access but no rail line directly serving the city (yet).
Alpharetta's walkable options are centered around Avalon and downtown Alpharetta. They're nice areas but once you leave that little core, the rest of Alpharetta quickly becomes non-walkable.

In terms of schools for Decatur, you'll want to be sure a home is in city limits and is assigned to Decatur City Schools but your real estate agent should be able to ensure you end up in the right school system.

Can't speak for Decatur but I live in Alpharetta and there's plenty to do outdoors. Here in Alpharetta/Roswell but also nearby. 400 gives you great access to the mountains. You also have the Chattahoochee River right there between Alpharetta and Buckhead. Plus Lake Lanier is not far at all if you want a day on the lake.

[markjames68]

Bienvenue! Je pense aussi que vous devriez envisager Alpharetta...une maison meublée sera difficile à trouver.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

Decatur is a little older (well, a lot older actually) and was one of the first suburbs of the city of Atlanta.

Sorry, I had to chime in on this.

Decatur is technically pre-dates Atlanta. The turned down the original railroad terminus that created Atlanta. While I know we consider it a suburb now, I wouldn't say it developed as one. Prior to the the late 1940's, I don't think it functioned as a suburb of Atlanta at all when alot of other streetcar neighborhoods in Atlanta did. The original suburbs are going to be your Inman Parks, Adair Parks, Grant Park, Ormewood, Capital View, West End, etc...

The same could be said for Marietta. It was its own separate functioning city, that was later engulfed by the region's land-consuming growth.

[FrenchFamilyGa]

Hi everyone!

Thanks a lot for your feedbacks!!

We've been told that it can be complicated to reach Buckhead and Atlanta Tech village from Alpharetta with 400, do you agree?

[bryantm3]

Not complicated, it's a straight shot. The issue is time. It's easily 75 minutes during rush hour. For America, that's normal for a lot of people. For France, that's probably a very long commute.

[Mattie]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Not complicated, it's a straight shot. The issue is time. It's easily 75 minutes during rush hour. For America, that's normal for a lot of people. For France, that's probably a very long commute.

This makes it sounds like a 75 minute commute is an everyday thing, and it isn't, it's more like a worst case scenario that doesn't happen all that often. Traffic may never return to pre-Covid days.

https://www.distance-cities.com/dist...to-buckhead-ga

[Citykid3785]

Welcome to the US!!!! you picked a great city, hope you love it here.

Most white collar jobs are in the north metro, hence the good schools and popularity.

The below are loosely considered to have Tier 1 great schools. You can assume they are all generally safe and good places for a family to live.

Milton
Alpharetta
Johns Creek
East Cobb
Cumming
West Cobb
Decatur (only city of, other parts have a decatur address and are less than desireable so look out for that)

Tier 2 really good schools can be found in:

Woodstock
Roswell
Kennesaw
Duluth
Suwanee
Acworth


Tier 3

Sandy Springs
Dunwoody

Of these, it then comes down to commute time, which is much improved with COVID. Generally speaking, buckhead is best accessed from hwy 400, so be mindful of how close you are to the highway, as it's fairly smooth sailing once on the highway in COVID times.

I might recommend:

East Cobb
Sandy Springs ( avoid highway 9, from Abernathy to the Chattahoochee river)
Dunwoody (although this area is built up and congested with F500 traffic)
Alpharetta
Johns Creek
Milton (if near 400)

Best of luck to you.

[sedimenjerry]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

Sorry, I had to chime in on this.

Decatur is technically pre-dates Atlanta. The turned down the original railroad terminus that created Atlanta. While I know we consider it a suburb now, I wouldn't say it developed as one. Prior to the the late 1940's, I don't think it functioned as a suburb of Atlanta at all when alot of other streetcar neighborhoods in Atlanta did. The original suburbs are going to be your Inman Parks, Adair Parks, Grant Park, Ormewood, Capital View, West End, etc...

The same could be said for Marietta. It was its own separate functioning city, that was later engulfed by the region's land-consuming growth.

Oh shoot you're right. I just double checked and sheesh I didn't realize Decatur was that old. I've heard it described as Atlanta's first suburb but I guess not. At any rate I was just thinking more along the lines of early 20th century style with an extensive road grid, walkable neighborhoods, etc compared to the much newer late 20th century style that comprises most of Alpharetta.