Atlanta BBers, can you tell me about the suburbs?

[sugarsnappea]

Hi,
We are researching some job possibilities in Atlanta. I have only visited twice, and both times I was deep in the city. Could anyone give some info on areas around Atlanta? Areas that are not a super long commute to the city. DH is used to a 45min ride now. Any information is helpful. TIA! :)

[alkagift]

Where will your husband work? I know about Roswell, Alpharetta and Sandy Springs, where we are now--my husband has a 30 min commute (desk to door) if he drives or 45 minutes on the train. A lot of the commute time is determined by not only where you live (the same linear distance in one direction does not take as long as another direction, for example) but the hours you work. My DH leaves the house by 6:45 to work deep downtown and leaves at 4:00 or so. Please just email me and I'll tell you everything I know! We love Atlanta!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[Bethann31]

I live 45 minutes northeast of Georgia on Lake Lanier. Of course, that 45 minutes is with little traffic. It can be MUCH longer, but it is nice to live up here. Let us know what areas and I'm sure we can help you out. There are moms from all areas on the board.


Beth

Josh 3/90
Mollie 4/92
Jeffrey 12/94
and Katherine 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030604/3/4/1/-5/.png

[sbjf]

I recommend checking out Fayette County (Peachtree City and Tyrone) and Coweta County (Newnan and Sharpsburg). These towns are South of Atlanta and a lot less congested than the cities North of Atlanta. My dh commutes to Atlanta each day and it takes him 35 minutes or so. This is short for Atlanta.

Peachtree City is a planned golf community. The city has golf cart paths running throughout it. So you'll see golfcarts parked at the local grocery stores, etc. Tyrone is near P'tree City and is a really cute little town, with a nice little town hall, parks, etc. Coweta County is lovely and has less taxes than Fayette County. I highly recommend all of these areas. They are really beautiful counties. Lots of land, horses, cows, big lots, etc.

Email me if you want any more info.!

[pritchettzoo]

That will totally depend on where he works and how much you want to spend. We live about 20-25 miles from Atlanta in Gwinnett County (east of Atlanta) and it can take anywhere from 25 minutes (in the middle of the night) to 2 hours to get downtown.

Atlanta is huge and the commute will depend on what side of the city he's working on too...

To really have a decent commute, you'll need to live inside the Perimeter which means houses of at least $300K pretty much. If you give budget and lifestyle ballparks, we'll be able to give you a better idea.

Anna

[houseof3boys]

The gals have said it all! It totally depends on what part of town you work in and live in. We live inside the perimeter so downtown isn't bad at all even during rush hour sometimes. My DH works in the suburbs so he goes against the hours of traffic that some people suffer in on a daily basis. There is also a limited public transportation system that some people use (MARTA) if they live very far north in the suburbs. Atlanta is quite spread out so "Atlanta" spans like 5 or 6 counties believe it or not!

Atlanta is awesome though! We love living here. :)

[lmariana]

Hi! We've lived in the Atlanta area for almost all of our lives. I grew up in Marietta (NE Cobb County) and we now live in Alpharetta (N Fulton, SW Cherokee, or S Forsyth Counties).

I liked Marietta because it felt very homey and had wonderful schools. The home prices have sky-rocketed though, and you can't find a new development for less then 500's. Re-sales are very reasonable though. Marietta has good access to I-75, which gets you to Atlanta or the Perimeter (I-285).

I love, love, love Alpharetta! It pretty much has all the commerce of the city, but in a pretty, well-manicured setting. It's upper-class, has excellent schools, lots of shopping, very family-friendly, and is well-planned. I find Alpharetta to have a lots of "young marrieds" and "young parents". You have access to GA-400, which takes you straight into the city or Perimeter.

Alpharetta home prices vary greatly. You can get a good re-sale home for under $200k (3 br, .25 acre, 10+ yrs), lots of new town homes ($190-$300k), and new homes ranging from the $300's - $1 mil+. (Seriously, the neighborhood down the street from me is starting at $1 Mil.) We sold our first home in Alpharetta for about $160k (3 br, 2.5 bath, full basement, bad lot), and our current home in Alpharetta was a super bargain...5 br, 3.5 bath, full basement, 1.28 acres...for under $300k. Right now we're in the "sticks" of Alpharetta, but we love the peace and quiet.

From Alpharetta, we can get to Atlanta in 30 min. with no traffic, but usually closer to 45-60 minutes, depending on the time of day. (That takes into account the 15+ minutes it takes us to get to GA-400 from our house though, we're at exit 11.) Hubby works one exit north, so he doesn't have a bad commute at all, about 20 minutes on average.

From where are you moving?

Mariana
www.heinzandmariana.com
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030814/1/5/0/-5/.png[/img] ([img)

[sugarsnappea]

Thank you ladies! I can't tell you what part of the city yet, because there are a few different job possibilities. We need to come visit and check things out before making any decisions. We are in MI right now, and live in a Pulte house. Thinking we may want to go the new route again, I went to Pultes' Atlanta website. The areas of Suwanee and Cumming caught my eye. But, it sounds like we may want to be within the perimeter. What towns should I be looking at in this area?
Thanks again. This may not happen until next Spring, so it is a little premature.

[lmariana]

The Pulte homes being built in Cumming are very close to where I live now, like a 5 minute drive. It's going to be a massive development with tons of homes and a really nice amenities center. The price range is from the Upper 100's - 800's. They've barely started construction, and the neighborhood's name is Fieldstone. (If you're interested, I could mail you their info from the sales center.)

The commute into Atlanta (depending on what part of Atlanta) would be about 40 - 80 minutes depending on traffic and time of day. :)

Mariana
www.heinzandmariana.com
Mother of Gabriel, 08/14/2003

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030814/1/5/0/-5/.png[/img] ([img)

[Bethann31]

Suwanee and Cumming are also my neck of the woods. I live in Gainesville. I work for Gainesville Theatre Alliance, which is the top ranked theatre in the state. Suwanee is just down the highway a bit. Cumming is beautiful and a really fast growing area. All have great access to Lake Lanier, which is one of the top Corp of Engineer lakes in the country. All are close to the mountains (an hour or so). I know you would love either area, and it would be great to have another mama in the area.


Beth

Josh 3/90
Mollie 4/92
Jeffrey 12/94
and Katherine 6/03

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030604/3/4/1/-5/.png

[supersparkee]

I would definitely wait until you know where your DH will work before settling on a neighborhood. As PP's have mentioned, Metro Atlanta is HUGE so it's good to be somewhat close to work! We actually live in the city so I can't tell you much about the 'burbs. But my DH works in Duluth so he has a reverse commute, which is not too bad (35 minutes each way, but not too much traffic). I work in the city so my commute is just under 20 minutes.

Also, if you are interested in researching schools in Georgia, this is a pretty good web site: http://reportcard.gppf.org/DesktopDefault.aspx.

[kitmama]

I'm in Suwanee, dh's parents are outside of Cumming. Both areas are great- Cumming a BIT more rural. Both would be a relatively long commute into downtown- PARTICULARLY if you'd have to go during traffic. (Each location has a highway that's a straight shot into downtown Atlanta, but the highways get quite backed up in peak traffic time). If there's not much traffic, though, I can get to downtown in about 45 - 50 minutes.

I like Suwanee a lot. The neighborhoods are nice, the school clusters are pretty good (Gwinnett County), and the city of Suwanee actually has some neat things going on. (www.suwanee.com). There are a few nice parks, and Gwinnett County has a GREAT public library system. This spot also offers easy access to the North GA mountains, to Athens GA (a cool college town), and not too long a drive to get to the coast. (Not to mention Atlanta proper). We moved here from Norcross (another Atlanta suburb in Gwinnett county) and have been really happy with it so far.

[Mommy_Again]

I lived in Buckhead (inside the perimeter) and also in Dunwoody (just outside the perimeter). Buckhead has some beautiful areas but can get pricey, and you have to watch for crime in certain areas. Dunwoody is an older neighborhood and I loved it - lots of mature landscaping and beautiful traditional homes.