Mcdonough vs Newnan (Atlanta, Savannah, Marietta: apartments, townhouse, purchase)

[MoonHoney888]

Hello everyone, my husband and I are looking to purchase our first home. I’m an Atlanta native and currently reside in Atlanta but we’re looking to move. We’ve pretty much narrowed it down to these two cities because we want to purchase a single family house and not a townhouse and they seem pretty affordable in Mcdonough and Newnan.

Our budget is $350k and all we’re seeing is mostly townhomes or very old homes (Cobb country, etc). We both work near the airport (which is why we choose south versus north like Kennesaw/Acworth) no children (but planning on that soon), in our early 30s.

I’m used to living in Cobb and Fulton county so I know nothing of Coweta and Henry.

Any advice, in your opinion, on which two would be better in terms of crime, growth, schools, home appreciation, shopping, etc. would be appreciated.

OR even another city south that would be better than these two!! Thanks

[citidata18]

I lived in Newnan, and I definitely prefer it between all of the south Atlanta suburbs.

I prefer Newnan because it feels more urban and like a satellite city than McDonough. It has a higher population density, its own water/sewerage/lighting system, a relatively good street grid in the city for traffic control, and is more ethnically diverse. It also has a huge and vibrant town square (IMO, the nicest in Metro Atlanta aside from Marietta and Decatur) and a much more sophisicated health care ecosystem with the Cancer Hospital.

Another thing that I don't care for with McDonough is that they have ton of semi-trucks from all of the warehouses/distribution centers they're throwing up like crazy. Newnan's not nearly as bad, though I fear it's headed the same direction 10 years from now based on all of the rezoning requests and land purchases I saw when I was still living there.

That said, both cities more similar than not. This is how I would compare them:

Shopping


Overall, McDonough and Newnan have a similar selection of retail. I'd give the slight edge to Newnan though.

Newnan has all 3 Warehouse Clubs nearby (Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale) while McDonough only has Sam's Club, and it shares a Trade Area with Peachtree City which has specialty grocers such as Fresh Market and Sprouts Farmers Market.

Otherwise, Newnan does have an outdoor mall called Ashley Park. But again, it has much of the same stores you can find in McDonough via. a strip mall setting. Neither city has a traditional mall or upscale shopping. McDonough also shares a Trade Area with Morrow which has Southlake Mal for those who desire a traditional mall setting on that side of town.

Restaurants / Entertainment

I'd give the edge to McDonough here. It has places like Dave & Buster's, Miller's Ale Steakhouse and seems to always be the first suburb south of Atlanta to get new restaurants. Newnan's always the last place in Metro Atlanta to be considered for franchise expansions.

Growth

Henry County (2nd or 3rd fastest growing county in Metro Atlanta) has been growing at over double the rate as Coweta County the last decade. This is in part because Henry County is perceived to be closer to Atlanta and has greater visibility from I-75. But also Coweta County has actively been restricting growth by forcing developers to only build homes on huge lots. This does mean less overall crowding in Coweta County though, as I-85 rarely backs up with traffic while I-75 is frequently congested through Henry County.

Home Appreciation

Both cities have seen ok appreciation in home values, just for being commuter towns near Atlanta. But they lack a strong corporate presence and the schools aren't the greatest, which keeps home values down compared to the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

I should also note, prior to the COVID pandemic, there were active plans underway to bring a minor league baseball team and food hall to Newnan. That should also help with home values if the project isn't dead and moves forward. There are also plans for the Piedment Hospital in Newnan to become the first Trauma Center south of Atlanta.

Schools

I'd give the slight edge to Coweta County right now. The elementary and middle schools are somewhat more highly rated (I.E. Madras Middle and Arbor Springs Elementary), but Henry County has the somewhat more highly rated grade 9-12 school (Ola High School). One thing that concerns me about Coweta County is that they seem to be going the Gwinnett County route of having mega high schools with huge class sizes, versus building new/smaller high schools.

[citidata18]

Oh, one other thing I will mention is that Newnan was seeing an explosion of new apartments in various stages of planning / construction. It's been rezoning land orignially pre-destined for commercial development or single-family homes to accommodates these multi-family complexes.

Make of this what you will, if you're concerned about home value appreciation.

Not sure about McDonough and apartments.

[MoonHoney888]

@citidata18 WHOA this was phenomenal! I've been seeing the same as far as 85 not being as congested as 75, which is important commuting towards the airport (even though we're not worried about the commute as much now since we work a partial remote schedule). Thank you very much for this!!!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by MoonHoney888

@citidata18 WHOA this was phenomenal! I've been seeing the same as far as 85 not being as congested as 75, which is important commuting towards the airport (even though we're not worried about the commute as much now since we work a partial remote schedule). Thank you very much for this!!!

Yeah, Interstate 85 generally often offers one of the lightest freeway commutes in all of metro Atlanta towards the city during morning rush hour and away from the city during afternoon/evening rush hour.

While Interstate 75 generally all too often can provide one of the tougher peak-hour drives in metro Atlanta (including on many weekends) because of all of the longer-distance traffic (including freight truck traffic, and vacation and getaway traffic) that uses the roadway between major points north (including much of greater Atlanta, Tennessee, the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes) and major points south (including Savannah/Hilton Head, the extremely busy Atlantic Ocean seaports at Savannah and Brunswick, and the very popular Florida Peninsula).

I-75 through Henry County typically can experience severe congestion particularly around many weekends and around many holiday periods as massive numbers of motorists combine with massive amounts of freight truck traffic to crowd onto an overwhelmed and undersized I-75 roadway to travel to and from popular getaway and vacation spots along the Georgia/South Carolina Atlantic Coast and in Florida.

If you are needing to be in an area where you need to commute to and from the Airport on a frequent basis, I would strongly recommend that you stay away from I-75 south of Atlanta, which can be notoriously prone to frequently experience long traffic delays during normal times because of all of the long-distance traffic.

The I-85 South corridor is the much better bet for Airport commuting than is the I-75 South corridor.

[Born 2 Roll]

And since you are looking to live in an area that will provide you and your husband with relatively easy commutes to and from your jobs at the Atlanta Airport, I might suggest that you drop McDonough and add Douglasville to your list of areas to consider.

I worked at the Atlanta Airport for many years and had many co-workers that used to commute to work from homes in the Douglasville area (including Douglas County and South Paulding County closest to the Paulding-Douglas county line). The Douglasville area is a relatively easy commute to and from the Airport via roads like South Fulton Parkway and GA-92.

I also still have many family and friends that live in the Douglasville area and they love it because, in addition to providing a relatively very easy commute to and from the Airport area, the schools are of good-to-decent quality throughout the area and the homes seem to be noticeably more affordable than in other parts of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

There also appear to be many more quality homes within your price range listed on the MLS in the Douglasville area than might be listed in other parts of metro Atlanta (like North Atlanta).

[MoonHoney888]

[quote=Born 2 Roll;60793739]And since you are looking to live in an area that will provide you and your husband with relatively easy commutes to and from your jobs at the Atlanta Airport, I might suggest that you drop McDonough and add Douglasville to your list of areas to consider.



We never even considered going West towards Douglasville. I will definitely mention that to my husband today! Ultimately we would prefer a commute thats not too insane so it's def worth checking out. Thanks so much for your input and advice!!

[letmeno]

Originally Posted by MoonHoney888

Hello everyone, my husband and I are looking to purchase our first home. I’m an Atlanta native and currently reside in Atlanta but we’re looking to move. We’ve pretty much narrowed it down to these two cities because we want to purchase a single family house and not a townhouse and they seem pretty affordable in Mcdonough and Newnan.

Our budget is $350k and all we’re seeing is mostly townhomes or very old homes (Cobb country, etc). We both work near the airport (which is why we choose south versus north like Kennesaw/Acworth) no children (but planning on that soon), in our early 30s.

I’m used to living in Cobb and Fulton county so I know nothing of Coweta and Henry.

Any advice, in your opinion, on which two would be better in terms of crime, growth, schools, home appreciation, shopping, etc. would be appreciated.

OR even another city south that would be better than these two!! Thanks

A better choice would be Fayetteville (30215) or Brooks (30205) hands down (Whitewater Cluster). Meets everything you're in search of. Not as many homes available but you could get what you want for $350 if you're patient and diligent in your search.

Thank me later

[_burrito]

Originally Posted by letmeno

A better choice would be Fayetteville (30215) or Brooks (30205) hands down (Whitewater Cluster). Meets everything you're in search of. Not as many homes available but you could get what you want for $350 if you're patient and diligent in your search.

Thank me later

Fayetteville??!! May as well say Riverdale!

Newnan, hands down, is the winner.

[Yoski]

Originally Posted by _burrito

Fayetteville??!! May as well say Riverdale!

Newnan, hands down, is the winner.

You have no idea what you are talking about if you think Fayetteville or even North Fayette county is anything like Riverdale. Personally I suggest the Palmetto-Tyrone road area in Coweta County or just expand that to the area zoned for Northgate High. Your price range will provide some options. I suggest that area because access to 85 is easy making for quick travel to the airport. Coming up through Fayette county provides no access to the interstate until you are out of the county and basically at the airport even though the Fayette County schools will be better on average, especially in the portion of Fayetteville mentioned earlier.