Suggestions on Northern Atlanta Suburbs? Cherokee County, Bartow, etc. (Roswell: house, neighborhoods)

[debernan]

Because this has never been asked before

My husband and I are relocating for work to Georgia (promotion with the same job). We have jobs where we telework every day of the week except 1 - that 1 day we will have to work in downtown Atlanta. Right now we live in southeastern PA, Chester County right by the Delaware and Maryland border. We are an hour from Philadelphia without traffic, and during rush hour can make it home in an hour and 15 or an hour and 20 minutes. I absolutely love where we live here - we have two acres, everyone has land so its not super developed, its quiet, there are horse farms everywhere. Yet at the same time, in 15 minutes we can be downtown Newark, DE (home to the University of Delaware) with all its restaurants and bars, just 30 minutes to Wilmington for more restaurants and small concert venues, and of course its nice to still have access to Philadelphia on the weekends for things to do. Basically, I love living where I feel like I live in the middle of no where, but at the same time we never get bored because we aren't far from nightlife and activities.

We don't have kids/don't plan to so schools and family friendly stuff doesn't matter. We do, however, have 5 dogs that are hunting dogs that we train and compete with, so we can't live in an area that will restrict the number of pets we can have. Would still love to have two acres or more (that are useable - not woods) and to be no more than an hour to Atlanta on the weekend. We are limiting our search to north of Atlanta because we have friends and family in Tennessee and like the idea of being closer to that direction.

After reading through a million other posts on here, my original thought was Woodstock/Acworth areas. Right now there doesn't seem to be a lot on the market that meets the land needs, and I am worried those areas might be too crowded. So then I was thinking Canton or Cartersville, but are those areas too remote, or are they a close enough drive to nicer restaurants, breweries, etc? Are there towns I haven't thought of that you think might fit the bill? Also, places to avoid? I had originally saw some homes in Powder Springs that I thought seemed fitting, but read some posts on here to avoid that area.

We will likely be making the trek down to check out neighborhoods soon, but seeing as how we are tight on time and there are so many potential areas we could move to, I am trying to get a list put together and factor in people's suggestions. Any help would be appreciated!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by debernan

Because this has never been asked before

My husband and I are relocating for work to Georgia (promotion with the same job). We have jobs where we telework every day of the week except 1 - that 1 day we will have to work in downtown Atlanta. Right now we live in southeastern PA, Chester County right by the Delaware and Maryland border. We are an hour from Philadelphia without traffic, and during rush hour can make it home in an hour and 15 or an hour and 20 minutes. I absolutely love where we live here - we have two acres, everyone has land so its not super developed, its quiet, there are horse farms everywhere. Yet at the same time, in 15 minutes we can be downtown Newark, DE (home to the University of Delaware) with all its restaurants and bars, just 30 minutes to Wilmington for more restaurants and small concert venues, and of course its nice to still have access to Philadelphia on the weekends for things to do. Basically, I love living where I feel like I live in the middle of no where, but at the same time we never get bored because we aren't far from nightlife and activities.

We don't have kids/don't plan to so schools and family friendly stuff doesn't matter. We do, however, have 5 dogs that are hunting dogs that we train and compete with, so we can't live in an area that will restrict the number of pets we can have. Would still love to have two acres or more (that are useable - not woods) and to be no more than an hour to Atlanta on the weekend. We are limiting our search to north of Atlanta because we have friends and family in Tennessee and like the idea of being closer to that direction.

After reading through a million other posts on here, my original thought was Woodstock/Acworth areas. Right now there doesn't seem to be a lot on the market that meets the land needs, and I am worried those areas might be too crowded. So then I was thinking Canton or Cartersville, but are those areas too remote, or are they a close enough drive to nicer restaurants, breweries, etc? Are there towns I haven't thought of that you think might fit the bill? Also, places to avoid? I had originally saw some homes in Powder Springs that I thought seemed fitting, but read some posts on here to avoid that area.

We will likely be making the trek down to check out neighborhoods soon, but seeing as how we are tight on time and there are so many potential areas we could move to, I am trying to get a list put together and factor in people's suggestions. Any help would be appreciated!

If you are looking for two acres or more of land and want to have good access to visit family and friends in Tennessee, Canton and (especially) Cartersville are excellent places in which to start your search for housing and land.

In those areas in outer-suburban and inner-exurban Northwest metro Atlanta, you will be within about an hour of the city (when traffic conditions are good/perfect/near-perfect) and you will have good access to popular downtown village areas in Marietta, Woodstock and Roswell. You will also have access to up-and-coming suburbs like Smyrna and Alpharetta.

[markjames68]

I agree that Canton, Cartersville (or Woodstock) are good options. The latter is getting more developed which is why acreage is getting harder to find.

The issue will be the trade off of that 1 day a week commute.

Without major issues Canton should be similar to what you have now, but add in an accident or two and suddenly it’s 1:30 to 2 hours. But it’s only one day a week

If that’s ok then no worries.

You could also look a bit further up (not as far as Ellijay) but then you lose proximity to dining and entertainment options.

You didn’t mention a budget either, which makes a difference.

[debernan]

Thank you both! In terms of budget, we wouldn't want to spend more than we did for our current house (400,000), but I realize that doesn't go as far in a big metropolitan area. I'm hoping the fact that the house can be a fixer-upper and land is more important helps!

[markjames68]

Here are a few that may pique your interest. All show 4 acres or more and are < $400K.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...ect/10_zm/5_p/

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...28_rect/10_zm/

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...28_rect/10_zm/

(property taxes on that last one were $720 last year!)

The other consideration for you as teleworkers is to make sure you have a reliable internet provider with acceptable speed. You don't want to have to rely on satellite internet. The more rural you get the less options you'll find.

[debernan]

Oh, yes! Trust me - we know that we can't work with satellite internet. Finding a place where cable or fios is an option is a must.

Between Cartersville and Canton - and big pros or cons? Reasons to pick one over the other? Benefits or disadvantages of Bartow vs Cherokee counties?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by debernan

Oh, yes! Trust me - we know that we can't work with satellite internet. Finding a place where cable or fios is an option is a must.

Between Cartersville and Canton - and big pros or cons? Reasons to pick one over the other? Benefits or disadvantages of Bartow vs Cherokee counties?

No real disadvantages between the two counties. The only real difference is that Bartow County has much more of an exurban feel while much of Cherokee County has much more of an outer-suburban feel.

Cherokee County appears to have been overtaken by Atlanta's sprawling metropolitan development patterns more so than Bartow County, probably because of the direct access that Cherokee County offers to the very popular and much beloved Blue Ridge/Southern Appalachian foothills and mountain ranges of North Georgia, eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina by way of Interstate 575/Georgia Highway 515.

Also, Cherokee County appears to be a noticeably more affluent county than Bartow County.

According to the latest U.S. Census data that is available from 2017, residents who were 25 years of age and older with a Bachelor's Degree or higher made up about 18.5% of the population of Bartow County, which also had a poverty rate of 15.1%.

Meanwhile, residents who were 25 years of age and older with a Bachelor's Degree or higher made up about 35.5% of the population of Cherokee County, which only had a poverty rate of 7.5%.