Places to live in Atlanta?

[adamred]

Hi all, I appreciate any help.

Very good friend of mine and long time client may need to relocate to Atlanta. Can the folks here from the region help out with some suggestions for good suburban cities to live in? He has a wife and kid so I need places with good schools, single family housing, etc.

He makes a good living so price isn't really an issue.

Also may need to commute to Smyrna, so anything <30-45 minute commute would be great.

Thanks for any help.
Adam

[jackb911]

There are a lot of very nice new homes available in the Smyrna/Vinings area.

Also, Cobb County taxes tend to be lower than most of the surrounding counties, unless you live further out, and don't mind driving a long way to/from work in super heavy Atlanta area morning/afternoon rush hour traffic.

[rattlsnak]

east cobb has the best schools in ga. the further you go west (from smyrna) the more country you get, the further south/east is urban, and northeast is YUPPIEville or DINKville.

[gassy]

I had lunch at Canoe in Vinings yesterday. The houses around there are quite nice--cool woodsy area there around the Chattahoochee River.

[adamred]

Thanks guys. In doing some research came across an article that listed Dunwoody and Roswell as "best places to live."

Thoughts on these two towns?

Adam

[jackb911]

I'll defer to those that live in Fulton County, but I believe both the places you mentioned have significantly higher property taxes than Cobb, plus a 1% additional MARTA (transit system) sales tax - Atlanta is in Fulton County as well - and the traffic is pretty darn bad over there.

I'd suggest that your friend and his family spend a few days in the Atlanta area to see which part of town is a good fit, especially during the week to check out the traffic patterns. I've driven in Los Angeles, and Atlanta isn't much different during rush hour.

Having lived in the ATL area for nearly 30 years, if my job was in Smyrna my choice would be in or near Vinings. But different strokes for different folks, right?

[TerryH]

Originally posted by adamred
Hi all, I appreciate any help.

Very good friend of mine and long time client may need to relocate to Atlanta. Can the folks here from the region help out with some suggestions for good suburban cities to live in? He has a wife and kid so I need places with good schools, single family housing, etc.

He makes a good living so price isn't really an issue.

Also may need to commute to Smyrna, so anything <30-45 minute commute would be great.

Thanks for any help.
Adam

A friend of mine in Atlanta has his house up for sale. I believe he lives in Decab(?) county. I can get an online listing if you'd like it.

[rattlsnak]

Roswell is just over the county line from east cobb. Good choice. Dunwoody is a little closer towards the city, but upscale. It depends on what price/style he wants.

[artplumber]

Originally posted by TerryH
A friend of mine in Atlanta has his house up for sale. I believe he lives in Decab(?) county. I can get an online listing if you'd like it.

Prob Dekalb co.

The whole northwest side of town is supposed to be pretty nice ('burbs) which includes Smyrna. Have a friend that lives on a lake there in Marietta.

[adamred]

THanks again, will forward the information to him. Terry, if you have that listing would be great.
Adam

[jdm61]

Ihaven't spent a lot of time in Atlanta for 20= years, but I go thereoccasionally and know a number of people who still live their. If you are going to be working in Smyrna, I would recommended living in that part of Cobb or VERY close by. A 30-45 minute commute in Atlantqa on a bad day may only be 3 miles of so...lol

[ben parrish]

Atlanta traffic SUCKS! Live as close to work as possible. The 3 mile- 30 minute commute is no joke. Try being around and interstate interchange or major traffic intersections around 4-6pm or 7-9 am and you will quickly decide the best neighborhood is the one close by work. Stay away from 400 and 285 during rush hour. 85 north is getting bad also.
If you can keep on surface streets, you can pick your way around pretty good.
Ben

[Jandrews]

I lived in Dunwoody on Roswell Road at Northridge. It is a great location and not a bad shot over to Smyrna. Given north Fulton traffic, I would go with the advice to get close to work. You can't go wrong with Vinings.


JA

[Doug E]

I just made the move from Northern Virginia a few months ago and I would say his decision comes down to one thing: schools for the kid(s).

We landed in a newer section of Alpharetta (house is 6 years old) in North Fulton County because of 1) schools, 2) community/neighborhood and 3) proximity to work (w/in 15 miles). We have 2 young children so we spent a lot of time looking at the schools and it is critical it find a great elementary, middle and then high school system.

The traffic isn't really much different then what I was used in NoVa but everyone around here says it has gotten steadily worse over the last 5 years.

Depending on where he is in NJ he could really come out ahead on housing because I found the market to be very affordable.

He definately needs to spend a few days just driving around and getting a feel for the different areas.

[TerryH]

Originally posted by adamred
THanks again, will forward the information to him. Terry, if you have that listing would be great.
Adam

Hope this very long link works.

http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing.asp?snum=14&mlsttl=&frm=byzip&pgnum=2&mls=xmls&js=on&target=&ct=&st=&sbint=1&sbls=&sblo=0&stype=&zp=30306&areaid=30306&mnsqft=&fid=so&mnprice=600000&mxprice=650000&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&typ=1&poe=realtor&x=9&y=11&sid=0762CA5B48BCC&snumxlid=1066525126&lnksrc=00002