Learn me suburban Atlanta...not that there are any locals on this board...

I moved here 4 years ago. Live in Roswell, just south of Alpharetta. For 3.5 yrs I lived in unincorporated Roswell (Cobb county). Best public schools in the state in this area but it's a densely populated area. I just moved 2 miles east to City of Roswell, across the border into Fulton County. Still great public schools. I work downtown but ride the train from the end of the North Line, so mixed mode commute but I avoid the mess that is 285. Mornings are 5:45 departure and home by 5:15. Commute is too long, but would be much worse by car at more traditional business hours. Where I'm at is nice and hilly, has the Hooch (river) and all the usual suburban amenities - but it is NOT the "country" .

Having said that and honestly (prior) having never imagined a move to Atlanta, I ended up moving here for work.. And I really like it. I'm from OH originally and most of Atlanta is imported from elsewhere. Weather is good due to change of seasons. Mountains are close. Florida and Carolinas are close. It's hilly. All good.

I don't drive up 400 North of home much, but I hear that Cumming is getting a ton of new construction and thus the sprawl marches on.

I'd love to move to the GA mountains but won't until my kids are in college at least. Lots of lakes and it is still lots of wide open spaces.

Good luck.

It goes without saying that having Road Atlanta, Atlanta Motorsports Park, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Barber Motorsports Park, and Talladega Gran Prix Raceway within easy driving distance is a compelling perk.

Yes...that was one of the first questions my wife looked into. She's a big race fan too.

In reply to Klayfish:

http://www.racingin.com/track/map.aspx?s=GA

I live in Acworth about 25 miles NW of Atlanta. I love it here and I have been here about 10 years now after moving from Oakwood, GA (the sticks by Road Atlanta). If you live on the north side of Atlanta you will have less traffic taking 92, 141, 120 and some other back road to work in Alpharetta/ Duluth BUT you have to time it right and even then you'll end up with traffic. I work in Kennesaw about 10 minutes from my house and I go in after the rush and leave after the rush, makes my life much easier.

Come on down!

When I was a kid growing up in Berwick Pa, pretty much my entire extended family made a mass exodus. Some went to Jersey, some went to Marrietta and Jasper Ga, some went to South Bend Indiana, and the rest of us moved up to RI and Mass. None of us ever moved back, so that in itself tells you something. I love visiting the relatives in Tenn, and Georgia. Road Atlanta is my favorite track. I can see myself living there some day, but never back in Pa.

I lived in smyrna and alpharetta and worked in vinnings at paces ferry. About a 29 mile commute that typically took 60-90 minutes each way. And I spent my weekends in Braselton. I absolutely love the greater Braselton area and would move there in a heart beat if I had the means.
In atlanta it is absolutely essential that you know where you are gonna work BEFORE you buy/rent a house. The traffic is probably the worst in the country.

Lemme bump this back up. We've been doing research and talking about this non-stop. My wife made a 3 day tour to Atlanta last week, and had a number of interviews. She got several job offers.

In the end, she has accepted a job in Dallas, GA. So we're going to be settling in Paulding County. What can you locals tell me about Paulding? Where can we live that's a small, peaceful, quiet, home town "Main Street USA" type place? Our plan is to find a nice single family home development with lots of kids. I'd prefer a place with more land, but we need to do what's right for the kids, so we'll probably find a development. Even still, I want it to be in a small country town.

Start with schools. Public schools here can be a very mixed bag, so find the top elem / middle / high schools in Dallas/Paulding and see where their zones overlap. Doing you homework first, then shopping in the top districts will not only give you piece of mind once your kids are enrolled, but the good school zones tend to have the highest rates of appreciation and homes there are easier to sell if you ever want to move again.

• http://www.homefacts.com/schools/Georgia/Paulding-County/Dallas.html
• http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ga/dallas/
• http://www.gaosa.org/FindASchool.aspx?TabRequested=District&FromSection=report&PageReq=106&CountyId=710&SY=2011
• http://www.paulding.k12.ga.us/

Schools are certainly part of the equation...we're very familiar with that stuff...my wife is now an employee of Paulding County schools. We're still trying to get a lay of the land as far as towns go.

My wife's first job out of college was at Nebo Elementary in Paulding. She liked it, said it was a well equipped, well run school. Now this was 15 years ago, so who knows if that is still the case, but FWIW...

In reply to Klayfish:

I have lived outside Philly.

I have also lived outside ATL.

You do not know sprawl.

ATL is a unique place, because there are pretty much NO natural limitations to growth and sprawl. Most cities are limited by proximity to a mountain, river, State boundary line, ocean, etc. Not ATL.

With no natural limitations, it has encouraged excessive sprawl, which in turn encourages rapid growth, and more vehicles to cover the distances. Which of course leads to more traffic. Rinse, repeat.

I've definitely accepted that there is going to be sprawl, and if I want to live outside the sprawl, I'm going to have to deal with a commute. I don't need to be in total farm land like I am now, but I don't want to live in a metropolis either. One of the reasons we're moving is for our kids. Currently, we live on a rural road. There's no sidewalk and very few neighbors. Only one has kids the same age as one of mine, and they aren't friends. As much as I want to live in a setting like this, it's best for our kids to be in a nice neighborhood where there will be kids playing outside. So we're looking to find that suburban/rural setting and find a new construction neighborhood...cul de sacs are great, we've lived on several before.

The sprawl in Philly is going north and west, pretty quickly. 15 years ago my cousin moved into Collegeville. It was completely the middle of nowhere. Now, it's still a nice town but is overflowing.

Finding a nice snobdivision with swim, tennis, kids, and culdesacs should be no problem. Sidewalks OTOH, good luck. They must be illegal here or something.

i cant believe nobody has mentioned this yet.

if you're the type that likes to 'get in on the ground', you MUST look at Marietta and Kennesaw.

The Braves are building a brand new stadium on the interstate right as Atlanta turns into Marietta.

There is about to be so much development thrown that way, many contracts, revitalising, baby kissing projects, etc.

The first thing they're going to do is Rebuild the first exit after Atlanta, Windy Hill to accommodate the local traffic, and the venue traffic before they can break ground on the stadium.

Atlanta is one of my favorite cities.

I prefer living in the country.

Marietta is full. Suggesting a move near the new stadium sounds like a trick you play on an ememy.

I've have only been over to Dallas GA once for a soccer tournament, I remember it being fairly rural. It is also reasonably close to lakes and mountains, connected by country highways that are NOT on the main path into Atlanta. Bonus. Knowing nothing more, it looks like a great spot. You will be surprised at how similar it is to rural PA. Great people and shiny happy people.

I wouldn't be surprised if you encounter less racism, but you may find it presents itself differently when you do come across it. In some ways more subtle (running a rebel flag up the pole when a neighbors house goes up for sale) and other ways more direct (think Daniel Carver from Howard Stern show)?

Good luck with the move.

OHSCrifle wrote: Marietta is full. Suggesting a move near the new stadium sounds like a trick you play on an ememy.

Yes.

if they manage to keep on schedule, they wont even lay the first piece until next year.

""Site clearing is to begin July 15 and be completed Oct. 13; grading is to begin Sept. 23 and be completed Dec. 23; and stadium construction is to begin Feb. 18, 2015, with substantial completion by Jan. 24, 2017, and final completion by Feb. 21, 2017, which is referred to in the document as the 'soft opening.' ""

I see an opportunity for those interested.

and someone saying Marietta is full sounds like they live on the east side of 41. ;p

NW 'burbs. My uncle is obviously biased, but claims they're some of the best schools in ATL area.

yamaha wrote: NW 'burbs. My uncle is obviously biased, but claims they're some of the best schools in ATL area.

Did your uncle work in the schools there?

I'd agree the construction around Marietta could possibly be good for an investment, but we're not looking for that. We're actually looking to stay away from that stuff to what extent we can. I know there's sprawl and that's OK. But we want to do the white picket fence cul de sac where kids play outside thing. Just hope I don't get shinny happy neighbors only concerned with braging about the synthetic blinker fluid in their hybrid Mercedes.

madmallard wrote: and someone saying Marietta is full sounds like they live on the east side of 41. ;p

All over. Off of 120 next to Southern Tech, off of Franklin road (cue "in the ghetto"), off of windy hill out past south cobb, further out macland, etc. Yes, heading west gets less populous (until you're at some point talking about Powder Springs and Dallas), but anywhere that can be considered "Marietta" is pretty damn packed.