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Old 12-14-2021, 08:55 AM
 
7 posts, read 7,276 times
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I originally posted a version of the below in the Nashville forum, but circumstances have changed a bit and we're now putting out some feelers in other cities to see if something else is a better fit.

So, knowledgeable citizens of Atlanta - in reading the below, what say you? Is Atlanta a good fit for us, and if so, where?


My husband and I are originally from Memphis, but have lived in the Midwest for the last decade.

The pandemic has changed our jobs to full-time remote, so we are strongly considering moving closer to family (mostly all still in Memphis).

For a lot of reasons, we don't particularly want to move all the way back to Memphis - we just want to be closer.

About Us:

Late 30s, childfree - meaning we don't have any children and never will. We both work full-time in traditional M-F 8-5 office-style jobs, though at home these days. We're both registered Democrats who consider ourselves fairly liberal. Neither of us are particularly religious.

Our idea of a good time on the weekend is going out exploring - trying new restaurants, museums, whatever sounds interesting to do. We're not generally the type to be out late at the bar - early dinner and drinks then home for the evening to hang out is more our speed. We do love stand-up comedy quite a lot, and in our current city, love that we have a mix of smaller comedy clubs and the big-name comedians coming to the larger venues.

I'm not particularly outdoorsy, but my husband is, and I think would appreciate access to good running trails, recreational sports leagues, and just nature in general.

When there's not a global pandemic going on, we do love to travel, so Atlanta seems ideal from this perspective as Delta is usually our airline of choice anyway.

What We Want in a House/Neighborhood:

We don't necessarily need to be close to all of the action. We'd like to live close to some restaurants and shops (maybe a town square of some sort), but our downtown partying days are long behind us. That said, if we decided to go into the city during the day or to see a show, we don't want it to be an hour+ drive to get there, either.

Budget is about $750k, could go up to around $900k for the right house. Around 4 bedrooms and 3-4 bathrooms, probably, both to allow for both of us full-time WFH and also to comfortably host family that visits.

This is already painfully long, so I'll stop here, but if there's anything else I can answer, just let me know.

Thanks!
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Old 12-14-2021, 09:34 AM
 
Location: Sandy Springs, GA
2,278 posts, read 3,009,509 times
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Atlanta will work for you. Truth be told 750K will buy you a 3 bedroom in the vast majority of metros in the USA. If I were in your shoes I would probably choose a 2nd tier metro instead of a top 10 one.

Traffic is a thing here in Atlanta as it is in Chicago, NYC, Boston, etc. Consider an area that has its own geographical amenities. If you're willing to deal with traffic, then the DC metro (either VA side or MD side) has everything you could ever ask for and then some. Museums, sports, parks, lots of educated people, proximity to the Chesapeake bay... but its crowded and expensive.

Cities I would consider at are: Tampa, Savannah, maybe Charlotte
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Old 12-14-2021, 10:12 AM
 
3,710 posts, read 3,623,110 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarzanman View Post
Atlanta will work for you. Truth be told 750K will buy you a 3 bedroom in the vast majority of metros in the USA. If I were in your shoes I would probably choose a 2nd tier metro instead of a top 10 one.

Traffic is a thing here in Atlanta as it is in Chicago, NYC, Boston, etc. Consider an area that has its own geographical amenities. If you're willing to deal with traffic, then the DC metro (either VA side or MD side) has everything you could ever ask for and then some. Museums, sports, parks, lots of educated people, proximity to the Chesapeake bay... but its crowded and expensive.

Cities I would consider at are: Tampa, Savannah, maybe Charlotte
I actually agree with all of the above. Atlanta will work for you, but I don't know that it means its a best fit. I do think a liberal tier 2/3 metro, or even a college town sounds like a better match and your budget will go farther, although your budget most certainly works here.

Not unlike many big cities, the city is liberal and many of the suburbs conservative. We have good trails (for the south), the chattahoochee river, and the mountains nearby. Great airport as you mentioned.

So for me, its less about whether Atlanta will work for you, and more about if it's the best choice....
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Old 12-14-2021, 10:47 AM
 
254 posts, read 129,406 times
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I have to travel a lot for work. You will appreciate the plethora of direct domestic and international flights. That alone is a huge plus to Atlanta. Most of the time it cuts travel time in half.

Also, there is enough in the city and around, from the mountains down to the beaches to keep you very busy exploring. The city offers everything you would expect from a CSA of 7 million people. Business wise, even the smallest degree of ambition can lead to success here. The options are endless in every direction.

Good luck.
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Old 12-14-2021, 10:52 AM
 
7 posts, read 7,276 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarzanman View Post
Atlanta will work for you. Truth be told 750K will buy you a 3 bedroom in the vast majority of metros in the USA. If I were in your shoes I would probably choose a 2nd tier metro instead of a top 10 one.

Traffic is a thing here in Atlanta as it is in Chicago, NYC, Boston, etc. Consider an area that has its own geographical amenities. If you're willing to deal with traffic, then the DC metro (either VA side or MD side) has everything you could ever ask for and then some. Museums, sports, parks, lots of educated people, proximity to the Chesapeake bay... but its crowded and expensive.

Cities I would consider at are: Tampa, Savannah, maybe Charlotte
Thank you - this and what Citykid3785 mentioned is one of the thought processes I've had about Atlanta, that it'd work for us but might not be the best choice.

I actually started to look into Tampa after randomly stumbling across a few things about it a month or so ago. We do prefer a place with four(ish) seasons, generally speaking, but Tampa does intrigue me. I'll look into Savannah and Charlotte too.

Thank you!
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Old 12-14-2021, 12:46 PM
 
3,710 posts, read 3,623,110 times
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I'll second Savannah as a great place, and could be great for you. Small, artistic, liberal, inexpensive, near the ocean. A poor corporate climate and a small airport however.

Places like Athens, Knoxville could also be good college towns.

Last edited by Citykid3785; 12-14-2021 at 01:21 PM..
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Old 12-14-2021, 01:02 PM
 
675 posts, read 421,734 times
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I'm not sure Savannah is a great fit like others are suggesting. It's an old south city that certainly feels that way, it's much smaller than Atlanta, Tampa, Charlotte and even Memphis for that matter. Charlotte is a much slower paced, smaller version of Atlanta probably from the 80s or early 90s. It can be appealing to a lot of people who found the traffic and other issues of Atlanta to be too much. There's plenty of suburban areas of Atlanta that aren't near the action though if that's a major deterrent.
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Old 12-14-2021, 01:03 PM
 
1,150 posts, read 599,082 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Citykid3785 View Post
I'll second Savannah as a great place, and could be great for you. Small, artistic, liberal, inexpensive, near the ocean. I poor corporate climate and a small airport however.

Places like Athens, Knoxville could also be good college towns.
Agree with all of the above.
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Old 12-14-2021, 01:19 PM
 
1,335 posts, read 877,434 times
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If you work remote, a northern Atlanta suburb like Suwanee, Alpharetta, Johns Creek will work. You won't be in the car much and if you are get yourself an EV with an EV tag. You can ride all the peach pass lanes (for free) and HOV lanes (with just one person). This cuts down on traffic for me tremendously.
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Old 12-14-2021, 01:28 PM
 
10,331 posts, read 11,311,733 times
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If you do decide to go in the direction of wanting a more cosmopolitan living experience and decide take a closer look at Atlanta, checkout very active areas of shops, restaurants and community events and gatherings like:

> The City of Marietta proper near the Marietta town square (or just simply the “Marietta Square”).

Marietta also provides great access to some excellent outdoor recreational amenities at Kennesaw Mountain (Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park), Red Top Mountain/Lake Allatoona and the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee (via Interstate 575/Georgia 515 North)

> The City of Decatur proper, a decidedly left-leaning and progressive inner-suburban/urban Intown enclave of eclectic shops and restaurants built around the Decatur Square and the historic DeKalb County Courthouse.

Decatur provides great access to excellent outdoor amenities like Candler Lake/Lullwater Preserve (Emory University campus), Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain, and Panola Mountain.

> Little Five Points/Inman Park, an even more decidedly left-leaning urban Intown Atlanta neighborhood of even more eclectic shops and restaurants

> East Atlanta Village

> Historic Downtown Roswell

> Alpharetta, which is currently a really hot and very trendy North metro Atlanta outer-suburb because of its increasing stature as a growing hub of tech industry activity. Alpharetta is loaded with retail and dining amenities and has two popular community gathering spots in the popular Avalon open-air/mixed-use development and the Alpharetta City Center/Downtown Alpharetta area

> Lawrenceville (Lawrenceville Lawn/Downtown Lawrenceville)

> Duluth (Duluth Town Green)

> Suwanee (Suwanee Town Center)

> Norcross (historic Downtown Norcross)/Peachtree Corners

> Buford (historic Downtown Buford)

> Woodstock (historic Downtown Woodstock)
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