General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Relocating to Atlanta Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply
2013-12-27 9:54 AM

User image

Master
1402
1000100100100100
Cumming, Georgia
Subject: Relocating to Atlanta

My wife and I are looking at relocating from Augusta to Atlanta and hoping some of you can provide us with insights into what areas we should avoid looking at for housing.  I do computer programming and the job market in Augusta is terrible so I'm going to look for some contract positions after the New Year and will live in Atlanta during the week until school is out then my wife and step-daughter will make the move.  Since I won't be taking on a permanent position at first I have no idea where I will be working so I don't have a particular area we are looking at for housing.  We are hoping we can find a nice 3 - 4 bedroom single family home in an established neighborhood for around $250k but I don't know if that will be realistic or not since we are just starting to research housing and don't plan to buy until the summer anyways.

With that said are there any areas in particular that we should avoid due to crime, traffic, etc.?



2013-12-27 10:53 AM
in reply to: csharp1171

Member
142
10025
, Georgia
Subject: RE: Relocating to Atlanta
Crime: Mostly inside the 285 perimeter, south and west of Atlanta.

Traffic: All I can say to this is good luck. Metro Atlanta is horrible when it comes to traffic. Someone wasn't thinking when planning the highway infrastructure and we're reaping the "benefits" of it.

I'm biased towards this recommendation because I live in this area when I'm not at school, but Gwinnett County (everything north of Norcross and Lawrenceville) and Hall County would be worth a serious look.
2013-12-27 12:29 PM
in reply to: 0

User image

Master
2479
2000100100100100252525
Atlanta, Georgia
Gold member
Subject: RE: Relocating to Atlanta
Good luck with your move...

I have a little different take on the crime issue because we've lived ITP for 30 years without incident(and if anything, Atlanta's safer than ever) but can easily understand the rationale of those drawn to the suburbs OTP. I think that the biggest bang for the buck will be in Gwinnett or Cobb counties, esp. if schools are part of the equation. Having said that, Decatur/Avondale Estates/Kirkwood/Grant Park are in-town communities that I would encourage anyone to look at - schools in these areas have high levels of parental involvement and the architecture of houses you might find for sale is pretty diverse.

Here's a pretty handy search tool:

http://www.gahomeguide.com/search.cfm

Just to state the obvious, but one way to deal preemptively with traffic is to look for a house that's close to MARTA. I ride the train almost every day and it's a total game changer, QOL-wise. Doesn't work for everyone, but if it's doable...

Good luck again..

Edited by alltom1 2013-12-27 12:30 PM
2013-12-28 11:19 PM
in reply to: csharp1171

User image

Veteran
555
5002525
Subject: RE: Relocating to Atlanta
Sounds like the location of your initial housing may be somewhat arbitrary. You might consider locations with easy access to training. LA Fitness has nice indoor pools in several locations. Dynamo (dynamomultisport.com) has great masters swimming programs in two locations. Stone Mountain Park and Silver Comet Trail are great running and cycling locations, especially if you do not like cycling the roads with traffic. Columns Drive (off Johnson Ferry) is popular for running and cycling and one of the few long flat places. There are many, many other great places to train, but if I was looking for temporary housing, I'd pick a place were I could start training from the end of the driveway.

Atlanta Public Schools and Dekalb County Schools administrations have both been a disaster for years (scandals, corruption, etc), but are beginning to get cleaned up. There are many new charter schools with good records. North Dekalb county (Dunwoody, Chamblee, Brookhaven) public schools parents are working on forming a charter school group, or perhaps even a distinct school district, for more independent control and accountability.

Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, John's Creek, and Brookhaven are all new cities, with more responsive police and lower crime.
2013-12-30 8:28 AM
in reply to: AtlantaBill

User image

Expert
769
5001001002525
Alpharetta (until we find a home)
Subject: RE: Relocating to Atlanta
it is a small sample size but all the people that I know in the area (after a whole year of living here) that do programming work in either Alpharetta or Norcross. I think you could find lots of housing in Johns Creek/Cumming/Dunwoody. They are between both Alpharetta and Norcross so it would give you a wide area to search for positions in those two tech centric areas without impacting commute times much.

I currently live in Cumming and work in Norcross. Personally I think this whole area is terrifying for biking on the road compared to rural Ohio where I came from. There are nice greenways in johns creek,alpharetta,roswell,and cumming that are great for running. Plenty of options for pools.
2014-01-07 8:10 PM
in reply to: 0

Member
129
10025
Subject: RE: Relocating to Atlanta
We live in the north part of Johns Creek and are happy here. Schools are great, family friendly, etc. Northview HS battles every year to be the top HS in the state - all the schools that feed into it are great, as well. JC High School opened a few years ago and is a great school as well (as are the feeder schools) So, no worries in this area that if they rezone schools you will be in an awful school - that is not the case in all areas of ATL. You get more bang for your buck here than closer in areas like Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Buckhead, etc. I agree that Alpharetta and Norcross likely offer the most opportunity for your area of work, Johns Creek sits between Alpharetta and Norcross, making it convenient to either for work options. My two cents though is come into ATL and drive around areas you may be interested in and you will know what feels right. When we moved here if we listened to the feedback we got from everyone initially, we would have ended up in East Cobb - once we drove around, Johns Creek just felt "right" for us - everyone is different. There are a number of options in terms of gyms, etc in the Johns Creek area as well. YMCA, Lifetime Fitness, LA Fitness who all have pools. Many other gyms without pools with options to pay to swim laps during open swims or masters programs at Swim Atlanta or Dynamo. You will get more bang for your buck in housing if you go just north into Forsyth County (drivable to Alpharetta and the tech part of Norcross/Peachtree Corners), not only is the price per square foot usually a little less than in the northern part of Fulton County, so are taxes. The most southern parts of Cumming and Suwanee (actually sits in both Gwinnett and Forsyth) are just over the line from Johns Creek/Alpharetta into Forsyth County. Good schools in that area as well.

Good luck!

Edited by vettegirlhw 2014-01-07 8:15 PM


New Thread
General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Relocating to Atlanta Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Best Wishes to Relocating Ga-BT'ers

Started by alltom1
Views: 1890 Posts: 9

2013-08-13 5:24 PM thecaptin

Atlanta: This Weekend (Oct. 29th)

Started by DJP1812
Views: 795 Posts: 8

2004-10-27 1:51 PM Motivated

Atlanta: Stone Mountain Ride and Ironman Pages: 1 2 3

Started by Browe79
Views: 3132 Posts: 61

2004-11-22 4:36 PM tplauche

Atlanta endurance ride Pages: 1 2

Started by Browe79
Views: 1950 Posts: 36

2004-11-09 6:43 PM tribesman

Atlanta BT mock Triathlon

Started by tplauche
Views: 2046 Posts: 20

2004-10-20 10:15 PM brilliantjoy