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I am seriously thinking of accepting a job offer in Atlanta. (Near Paces Ferry Road, zip code 30339) I'm from the Northeast, just moved from Arizona (Scottsdale) and have a few job offers in different states. One happens to be in Atlanta.
The last time I was in Atlanta I was around 12! Obviously it has changed in a big way. (Like Phoenix did. I moved there 20 years after visiting it and it was a completely different city!) I've read about Atlanta, researched it and have followed this forum (amongst others) for a few weeks.
I would like to find a starting place to begin looking for a place to live when I come down to visit. If I list a few of the things I would like to find in a neighborhood, could someone please assist in helping me find a good jumping off point?
I would like a home in a suburb with SIDEWALKS.
I would prefer a newer home (less than 25 years old).
It would nice if the grocery shopping were nearby and preferably with more than one choice.
It would be very convenient to be near a major highway entrance.
It would be wonderful to have an upscale mall nearby.
My ideal price range would be around 750K.
Again, the zip code I'd be working in is 30339 and the location is on Paces Ferry Road. I would prefer less than a 45 minute commute.
Thank you in advance for all suggestions!
PS- A couple of other questions. Since Atlanta is landlocked, is there any place (besides the coast) to hang near water or fish?
If a house has a pool in the backyard, is it typically kept open year round? If not, what is the typical swimming season?
I read about water rationing for yards, how severe is the water problem if it still exists?
Last edited by Hotlanta2; 06-05-2009 at 10:20 AM..
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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Some parts of central and southern Smyrna might fit your requirements. Many areas have functional sidewalks (not just decorative ones which lead to nowhere), there are a number of different grocery stores (Kroger and Publix are two major chains), it's located just across I-285 from the 30339 ZIP code (Vinings/Cumberland), and the price range shouldn't be an issue.
Not sure about the upscale mall part. I don't do malls.
Watering is still restricted in Cobb County to hand-held hoses at certain parts of the day (typically midnight-10am) on even/odd days, but keep in mind that Atlanta generally gets 50 inches of rain a year, and this year has been a tad wetter than normal. The "drought" at this point is really largely limited to Lake Lanier, and it's only around five feet or so below normal at this point in time.
Welcome (potentially) soon to Atlanta! We recently moved here from northern Peoria, AZ so I can relate to your questions. The water rationing here in GA is nothing compared to the restrictions in AZ. Even so, try choose drought tolerant plant varieties if/when you decide to re-landscape your yard so you won't have to worry about the rain or replacing potential future dead plants.
We're not very familiar with the NW quadrant of Atlanta, so I'm unable to recommend specific neighborhoods. However, due to your price point the areas of Marietta, Cobb county, and Cherokee county would be nice for you. Since you like water, you might also want to consider buying on or near Lake Allatoona. It is a beautiful lake that we have went boating on several times.
Backyard pools are typically not used year round, unless they are heated which is rare. Most subdivisions with your price point have very nice amenities with a clubhouse, pool, and tennis courts, so you don't necessarily need or want a home pool. The normal subdivision swim season is Memorial Day thru Labor Day, sometimes beyond that by a few weeks.
I am seriously thinking of accepting a job offer in Atlanta. (Near Paces Ferry Road, zip code 30339) I'm from the Northeast, just moved from Arizona (Scottsdale) and have a few job offers in different states. One happens to be in Atlanta.
...
I would like a home in a suburb with SIDEWALKS.
I would prefer a newer home (less than 25 years old).
It would nice if the grocery shopping were nearby and preferably with more than one choice.
It would be very convenient to be near a major highway entrance.
It would be wonderful to have an upscale mall nearby.
My ideal price range would be around 750K.
Again, the zip code I'd be working in is 30339 and the location is on Paces Ferry Road. I would prefer less than a 45 minute commute.
Thank you in advance for all suggestions!
PS- A couple of other questions. Since Atlanta is landlocked, is there any place (besides the coast) to hang near water or fish?
If a house has a pool in the backyard, is it typically kept open year round? If not, what is the typical swimming season?
I read about water rationing for yards, how severe is the water problem if it still exists?
You'd be insane to commute more than five or ten minutes. Vinings would be perfect for you and fill every single requirement.
Not much fishing in the area, but Vinings is also very convenient to the Chattahoochee River. There's good trout fishing a couple of hours north and great bass fishing a couple of hours south.
I don't have a pool but Atlanta is cold enough to require closing them in winter. We always get some days in the 20's and often in the teens, with an ice or snow storm every few years. I'd say five months of use or so. With a heater and cover that could be extended quite a bit to eight or nine months.
The drought occurred in the entire southeast. It's gone. Generally this is a well-supplied area, as Atlanta gets more rain than Seattle.
Buckhead up through Sandy Springs and over to Smyrna/Vinings. The "best" suburban area is inside the peremiter (I-285) in the pie shaped wedge that starts at Buckhead and goes from 400 over towards Vinings (I-75). Phipps mall and Lenox mall are very close to each other in Buckhead. Phipps is by far nicer. Then you have Perimeter mall up north of Sandy Springs. All the other malls are several steps below those three.
People go to lake Lanier, I don't even know where that is and I refuse to go since I'm from Florida and don't consider a lake to be a fun place to hang out. But that's what the people from here do!
As far as watering, we have clay here so the watering situation isn't so bad. I don't water my lawn and it's always green.
As far as pools... it gets f-ing cold here for a good portion of the year. If you want to swim year round get an indoor heated pool.
Buckhead, Vinings, and Sandy Springs are definitely your best bets.
I've mostly lived close to water, but Atlanta feels like it's close for some reason. It's also amazingly close to the mountains where there's a lot of great hiking, fishing, and rafting. The Chattahoochee (which runs through Atlanta) also has some pretty good fishing (stocked).
Buckhead up through Sandy Springs and over to Smyrna/Vinings. The "best" suburban area is inside the peremiter (I-285) in the pie shaped wedge that starts at Buckhead and goes from 400 over towards Vinings (I-75). Phipps mall and Lenox mall are very close to each other in Buckhead. Phipps is by far nicer. Then you have Perimeter mall up north of Sandy Springs. All the other malls are several steps below those three.
People go to lake Lanier, I don't even know where that is and I refuse to go since I'm from Florida and don't consider a lake to be a fun place to hang out. But that's what the people from here do!
As far as watering, we have clay here so the watering situation isn't so bad. I don't water my lawn and it's always green.
As far as pools... it gets f-ing cold here for a good portion of the year. If you want to swim year round get an indoor heated pool.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I cannot wait until I get the opportunity to come down and visit (I'm on my way to China first) and see for myself how nice I've heard everything is!
If anyone has anymore suggestions or advice, please shoot them my way.
you can get a newer home for 750k in the lenox area with sidewalks, but if you want suburbia you won't find that anywhere ITP.
I second Smyrna, they are going to build some higher end malls there in the next few years... It's a great place it's suburbs but also close enough to city to be considered still hip (not as many fat "conservative" people in SUV's as further out suburbs)
For that kind of price range, you can get a nice subdivision home in Dunwoody or sandy springs and be relatively close to Phipps Plaza... **The** shopping destination in atlanta. And the reportedly coming soon Streets of Buckhead.
The nice grocery chains in Atlanta are Publix and whole foods. There are stores in the dunwoody area.
Many, if not most subdivisions have sidewalks. Some even have nature trails. Finding a newer home shouldn't be a problem.
As for the fishing situation, I believe the nearest place to fish is in the Chatahoochee river up close to the Buford dam. Angling is popular and it's stocked with trout. Lake Lanier is another popular destination for boating. You can buy a newer large estate home on the lake itself for your price range and while it's fairly close to interstates, it's too far to commute daily to atlanta. But people do it.
As for pools, they are NOT kept open year round unless it's an indoor pool. Not out of the question in your price range, I have to throw that in there.
Most homes do not have pools here even the real high end homes although if you are in a subdivision, in that price range, they will have a community pool. Pools are typically opened in mid May until late sept. It is not a long swimming season.
As for the water rationing, we haven't really come to rationing per se. We were under a total outdoor watering ban up until this past fall when that was relaxed a little so that you can water your garden manually with a hose on an odd/even schedule in the am or late night. You still can't wash your car or use lawn sprinklers and I believe pressure washing is also off limits unless you hire a professional. The area has become not so great for people that like to garden. The drought is a real pain and a lot of the nurseries we had are gone or aren't the same. It's very frustrating because in the summer we can go a month without rain. It's hard to keep anything alive. Being from phoenix you probably know all about that though.
For that kind of price range, you can get a nice subdivision home in Dunwoody or sandy springs and be relatively close to Phipps Plaza... **The** shopping destination in atlanta. And the reportedly coming soon Streets of Buckhead.
The nice grocery chains in Atlanta are Publix and whole foods. There are stores in the dunwoody area.
Many, if not most subdivisions have sidewalks. Some even have nature trails. Finding a newer home shouldn't be a problem.
As for the fishing situation, I believe the nearest place to fish is in the Chatahoochee river up close to the Buford dam. Angling is popular and it's stocked with trout. Lake Lanier is another popular destination for boating. You can buy a newer large estate home on the lake itself for your price range and while it's fairly close to interstates, it's too far to commute daily to atlanta. But people do it.
As for pools, they are NOT kept open year round unless it's an indoor pool. Not out of the question in your price range, I have to throw that in there.
Most homes do not have pools here even the real high end homes although if you are in a subdivision, in that price range, they will have a community pool. Pools are typically opened in mid May until late sept. It is not a long swimming season.
As for the water rationing, we haven't really come to rationing per se. We were under a total outdoor watering ban up until this past fall when that was relaxed a little so that you can water your garden manually with a hose on an odd/even schedule in the am or late night. You still can't wash your car or use lawn sprinklers and I believe pressure washing is also off limits unless you hire a professional. The area has become not so great for people that like to garden. The drought is a real pain and a lot of the nurseries we had are gone or aren't the same. It's very frustrating because in the summer we can go a month without rain. It's hard to keep anything alive. Being from phoenix you probably know all about that though.
Well, the mall sounds just like the Fashion Square in Scottsdale, AZ where I used to live a few short months ago! I love Nordstrom so much, it's my favorite store. It's not as expensive as Neiman's or Saks, but carries some very nice brands. Plus, my daughter is a big shopper being that she is only 18. I knew Atlanta had some very nice shopping areas. Lots and lots I've been told. Good to know.
I like Whole Foods (my daughter is a bigger fan - beginning to see a pattern?) and Publix are fine. As someone has already remarked in another thread, the better the neighborhood, the better the store. I shop at Publix when I'm in Miami (my daughter is a student at the U of M) and I like the stores. I have a feeling that Atlanta is going to be very much like Phoenix, AZ as opposed to Pittsburgh, where I live now. I liked Phoenix very much, I just couldn't take the constant heat. So it appears I'll be fine for neighborhood and shopping. I'll start combing the MLS today now that I have a better idea for areas. Atlanta is a BIG city!
Nice to hear that I can get in a little fishing too. I don't go often, but I do feel a pull to water, so knowing that the option is still there however landlocked GA is, is comforting to me.
Thank GOD that the weather doesn't require the pool to remain open all year. Our pool in Scottsdale had to be open all year, however the weather would drop so low at night it was too cold to swim unless you took a couple of hours to heat the pool. Plus caring for the pool on a daily basis year round was a PITA.
One more question: Landscapers. Who and how much? In AZ we paid our landscaper to manicure our bushes, cut our lawns and trim the trees. I think it cost around 150 dollars a month and they came by every week. What's the going rate in ATL?
Thanks again!
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) and Publix are fine. As someone has already remarked in another thread, the better the neighborhood, the better the store. I shop at Publix when I'm in Miami (my daughter is a student at the U of M) and I like the stores. I have a feeling that Atlanta is going to be very much like Phoenix, AZ as opposed to Pittsburgh, where I live now. I liked Phoenix very much, I just couldn't take the constant heat. So it appears I'll be fine for neighborhood and shopping. I'll start combing the MLS today now that I have a better idea for areas. Atlanta is a BIG city! 
