Planning on moving to Atlanta --WHere to buy new home ? (Sandy Springs: job market, buying)

[techieguy]

Hello,
I'm planning on moving to Atlanta in the near future, I'm sick of the cold weather in the Northeast, i'm a family of 4 (2 kids ) , I'll appreciate your valuable inputs. My questions:
- Which area to focus in on for buying new home from a family perspective ?. Need safe , good schools etc..
- I'm a computer engineer , which areas are the IT jobs in Atlanta area ? How's the job situation nowadays ?
- How's commute situation in Atlanta area ?

THanks in advance.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by techieguy

Hello,
I'm planning on moving to Atlanta in the near future, I'm sick of the cold weather in the Northeast, i'm a family of 4 (2 kids ) , I'll appreciate your valuable inputs. My questions:
- Which area to focus in on for buying new home from a family perspective ?. Need safe , good schools etc..
- I'm a computer engineer , which areas are the IT jobs in Atlanta area ? How's the job situation nowadays ?
- How's commute situation in Atlanta area ?

THanks in advance.

The job situation will vary tremendously depending on the specific skillsets and experience you have, but know that Atlanta is a networking town ... it often isn't what you know, but who you know that gets a position. Of course, some skillsets are in such demand that it won't matter.

I will let others address the question of schools. Given the perceived (and perhaps actual) variability of public schools in this metro, schools are a big topic of conversation. Since you can usually only send your kids to the school they are zoned for (no open enrollment in GA), the location you choose will lock you into certain options.

Unemployment is over 10% in both the Atlanta metro and the state, and Georgia unemployment has been higher than the national average for roughly 40 consecutive months. I would recommend obtaining work before moving if at all possible ... otherwise, I would recommend a year's worth of savings.

Commutes vary ... the road system here is largely designed to funnel people to the interstates, and there aren't many alternative routes to those major arteries, so your home's location relative to work might be quite important. We rented first, and drew a 10-mile circle around our places of employment to determine where to live. The result: my wife and I have easy commutes with multiple route options and no major roads involved.

Good luck!

[techieguy]

Thanks rcsteiner.. I'm a software engineer , I'll be looking for jobs in IT...
Which counties/areas in Atlanta have top notch schools and are safe and better commute to major job markets ?

[BeyondInfinity]

Originally Posted by techieguy

Hello,
I'm planning on moving to Atlanta in the near future, I'm sick of the cold weather in the Northeast, i'm a family of 4 (2 kids ) , I'll appreciate your valuable inputs. My questions:
- Which area to focus in on for buying new home from a family perspective ?. Need safe , good schools etc..
- I'm a computer engineer , which areas are the IT jobs in Atlanta area ? How's the job situation nowadays ?
- How's commute situation in Atlanta area ?

THanks in advance.

Focus your search for a home in ----->

(Northside of Atlanta): Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Alpharetta and Roswell
OR
(Southside of Atlanta close to Airport): Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Stockbridge.

Areas for IT work ------>

Sandy Springs area - Fulton County (Some large corporations in area - i.e. Cox Communications HQ, Arby's/Wendy's HQ, Newell Rubbermaid, AT&T Mobility HQ and UPS HQ);
Downtown ATL - Fulton County (Coca Cola HQ, CNN HQ, SunTrust Bank HQ, Home Depot HQ, Delta Airlines HQ, MARTA HQ, etc);
Gwinnett County -Norcross and Duluth areas (i.e. NCR HQ, Macy's Systems and Technology (brother-in-law just hired there), Careerbuilder, Intuit and much more in the Technology Parkway area of Norcross);
Alpharetta area - N. Fulton County (Radiant Systems HQ and much more in terms of technology companies).
Also, check out the different Universities and Hospitals in the area for employment (i.e. Grady Memorial Hospital, Northside Hospital, Children's Hospital, Emory Health, Emory University, Georgia Tech and so on).

Our unemployment in the area is not the best but getting better. I know of three people that have been hired within the last month.

WARNING: If you live near work, commute issues will not be a problem; however, do not live too far from your job. The commute will suck. Take MARTA to work (if you can), airport and sporting venues. You will thank me later.

Here is a map of Atlanta Metro Counties..... Click the link for each county to learn more about it and see the location of the county: http://www.atlanta.com/county-profiles.php