North Atlanta Home for $550-$700K Range

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by LeavingDenver

Thanks for all of the responses. I actually grew up in Tucker (but haven't lived there in 20 years) so am pretty familiar with the neighborhoods listed. Both my husband and I work from home so commute is not an issue. My folks live in Nashville, though, so I'd like to have easy access to I-75. We also like the idea of a newer home (we're living in a 1930's one right now and there are some things we'd like to leave behind!). We also like to walk/run at night so safety is a big factor, too. We live in Buckhead equivalent in Denver and our cars have gotten broken into regularly. I was afraid most of North Atlanta was super conservative but hoping there might be a few pockets of lefties. We also are about to have our first babies. Am I asking for the moon?

If you're considering North Atlanta, do take a look at River Falls in Roswell. It's a wonderful newer ( roughly 1993-2004 ) very upscale, gated community with architecturally-distinctive homes. The architecture is defiintely quite unique and beautiful.

I think the price points are generally in the $400,000 to $650,000 range--post-housing meltdown. I just looked one house up on the Internet. It's currently listed for $419,000 and the price has dropped about $100,000.

The community is extremely quiet with very easy access to Georgia 400. We're talking just a few minutes. There's a community pool in the subdivision and a brand new elementary school is just down the street--three blocks or so. The electronic gates do provide a measure of safety.

The only somewhat northern Atlanta cities that would have pockets of liberalism are Sandy Springs and Dunwoody due to a Jewish presence.

From a financial/housing meltdown standpoint, I really don't know how prudent it is to possibly invest $700,000 in a house. I think you can spend a lot less and still have a very nice upscale house. Even the affluent seem to be trimming their spending habits a bit these days. Resale should be a concern, and many peoples' financial portfolios are a little slimmer. Many things have changed in the country.

[lastminutemom]

I think Buckhead actually has a number of liberal areas -- most young families are using public schools now and it seems to be a new breed of families moving in. These families are interested in intown living and shorter commutes much more than the status of living in Buckhead (though I am sure there are still plenty of those types as well.)

Plenty of Obama signs in Buckhead.

[SmyrnaVinings]

I think you'll find Atlanta to be pretty diverse. Smyrna Vinings will give you great access to 75 for the trip up to Nashville. It's a popular area and growing quickly. Lots of new development going on. Smyrna just pumped over $20 million into expanding and improving parks and the Silver Comet Trail starts in Smyrna, which is great for running, walking, riding, blading, etc., and runs all the way to Alabama now. You'll also find a great selection of new homes in this price range and can definitely get more for your money than in Sandy Springs or Buckhead. The Smyrna Vinings community is pretty close knit with lots of family-friendly events throughout the year. If you want to learn more about Smyrna Vinings, visit SmyrnaVinings.com. It has all the latest community info.

[netdragon]

Smyrna/Vinings also means you could have a little left over. It's more city-like than a lot of the suburbs and I would consider it less conservative than most of the North metro. It also is pretty multiracial, with wealthy people of non-white ethnicity, which is a good influence for children in my opinion. It's also a great commute and if commuting in, you can bypass a lot of the traffic in the North Central metro, since Smyrna is NW :-)

If you have cash, keep an eye out for foreclosures. There aren't a lot of foreclosures in Smyrna compared to other places, however if you are looking in that range I imagine you have some cash. If you find a foreclosure, you may be able to get a 2500-4000 sq foot home in Smyrna outright if you have $250k-$450k sitting around. The Concord Rd covered bridge district of Smyrna is "hot" right now, so that makes the Southern part closer to Vinings a pretty good deal, since it used to be hot but has cooled off a bit (still holding steady and probably will go up again in the future).

Your choices in Smyrna are either older urban style neighborhoods (lots of teardowns, usually near parks) or newer association swim/tennis neighborhoods with many being near the silver comet trail.More children are in the association neighborhoods (they are crawling with kids for your kids to play with). I live in an association neighborhood about a 1/4 mile from the trail myself.

Still more conservative than Connecticut/NY where I come from, but definitely less conservative than Alpharetta, Roswell and East Cobb.

[LeavingDenver]

I am really appreciating all of this great feedback! Thank you all so much. I am checking everything out. Will likely visit the area late February.

[LeavingDenver]

Any thoughts on Marietta? The Manget neighborhood looks attractive via the Internet. Thanks.

[Jodi Suguitan]

Sandy Springs is a good all around choice. You can't beat Decatur's schools. One I haven't heard suggested yet would be East Cobb. It's a very nice area with decent schools and good access to I75.