Mid 30s Professionals, Downtown Commute - Relocation Help (Atlanta, Marietta: real estate, apartment complexes)

[Datdudebrah]

Originally Posted by themepark

Picked up my niece on the west side (much too “up and coming” for my tastes haha) and went to the zoo. I had remembered that area being nice from a visit a long while ago, and it absolutely was. It’s basically what I picture when I think of a nice city neighborhood. I’m sure the reality is a little less rosy than a daytime drive around the park itself, but I don’t think I’d be worried about my wife there.

As for the taxes, my wife and I would like to pay off our mortgage quickly but knowing you’ve still got $1500+ a month for tax and insurance after the mortgage is gone is hard to wrap my head around. Of course some of that would be solved if we didn’t try and buy more house than we need, but much to my chagrin it seems like my wife wants stuff that only exists in the bigger homes. The space utilization in the 1500sq ft range is no good, which makes sense because that stock is obviously from a different time and even with a flip you’re limited by the structure/plumbing/electrical unless you start spending crazy which none of these get rich quick investors are going for.

The commute times are still terrifying me up to Cobb though. Just compared to my check yesterday it is so much worse today. I’m having a hard time seeing how anyone gets home from downtown to OTP under 30mins in regular lanes if things are this bad at 430 on a Tuesday.

We’re moving from the Orlando area.

A 30 minute commute OTP regularly at rush hour probably isn't going to happen. Most people here will offset their work times to make up for the commute, either show up a little earlier or later to avoid traffic.

On the taxes, where are you getting $1500 a month in taxes from? I'm at about 400K fair market value by the tax assessor in City of ATL and paid around $3500 total last year in property tax. I checked a random property in Grant Park just now that sold for over 900K a few years ago, has an FMV of 620K and tax was around 7K. $1500 a month would be $18K a year, you may want to check your source on that if you're interested in living in the city. Unless I'm just completely misunderstanding what you mean by that.

You can look at the Fulton tax assessor website and see what people are actually paying as well just keep in mind the homestead exemption for places that aren't owner occupied. Go to address search, click on the property you're looking for and click on tax information on the bottom left.

https://iaspublicaccess.fultoncounty...spx?mode=parid

[evannole]

Originally Posted by equinox63

But I can say that my wife and I may spend less than $200/month on gas for our two regular, non-hybrid, non-electric sedans -- combined.

I have been driving electric for nearly five years. I have spent $290 total in electricity for the car in the last year - probably about 7,500 miles.

We like it so well that we just bought my wife an electric car as well. No more gas in our house!

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by evannole

I have been driving electric for nearly five years. I have spent $290 total in electricity for the car in the last year - probably about 7,500 miles.

We like it so well that we just bought my wife an electric car as well. No more gas in our house!

Great! And points taken. First about the merits of the electric car and second about the fact that with an electric car in Cobb County, you can still pay little to nothing on gas and still have lower taxes than the City of Atlanta.

Just to clarify, I wasn’t bragging about gas cars or dissing hybrid or electric cars. Even with our regular cars and a short intown commute or an electric car with a longer commute from Marietta (for example), I think we both are exceptions to the general status quo to some extent.

If it’s any consolation, I try to walk, bike, or take the Edison ebike most places. And when I do drive, I’m rarely stuck in traffic, so most trips are relatively brief/efficient. I may consider an electric car in the future, but since they are so expensive, I’m not quite 100% sold just yet. After all, my current car has long been paid for and has super-low miles. So I’m not sure if the gas savings are with the investment.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by equinox63

Great! And points taken. First about the merits of the electric car and second about the fact that with an electric car in Cobb County, you can still pay little to nothing on gas and still have lower taxes than the City of Atlanta.

Just to clarify, I wasn’t bragging about gas cars or dissing hybrid or electric cars. Even with our regular cars and a short intown commute or an electric car with a longer commute from Marietta (for example), I think we both are exceptions to the general status quo to some extent.

If it’s any consolation, I try to walk, bike, or take the Edison ebike most places. And when I do drive, I’m rarely stuck in traffic, so most trips are relatively brief/efficient. I may consider an electric car in the future, but since they are so expensive, I’m not quite 100% sold just yet. After all, my current car has long been paid for and has super-low miles. So I’m not sure if the gas savings are with the investment.

All good! I didn't think you were bragging about gas cars or anything else. Of course this is not a contest!

I was merely pointing out that electric cars really can lead to significant savings. And evidently like you, we don't drive much on the weekends. Living just off the Square, we walk a fair bit as well. I'd like to try an electric bike - I imagine it could be pretty useful in our very hilly neighborhood!

[themepark]

What’s living around Cumberland like? Now that we’ve thrown the dog under the bus by eliminating the yard requirement, I’m feeling like I need to take a look at the shorter commute possibility with the townhomes around Truist that are 500-650K. Plus it obviously has great access to different trails and ITP for the fun activities too.

The Marietta search went better, but since nothing is going to check all the boxes it’s leading us to more indecision. Also, near the square the train crossings are definitely a concern. I spent a few months in an apartment near a crossing in my younger days and it was absolutely miserable. Smyrna at least has quiet crossings, although again I’m not sure I want to spend at the top end of the budget to essentially be sitting on tracks.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by themepark

What’s living around Cumberland like? Now that we’ve thrown the dog under the bus by eliminating the yard requirement, I’m feeling like I need to take a look at the shorter commute possibility with the townhomes around Truist that are 500-650K. Plus it obviously has great access to different trails and ITP for the fun activities too.

Cumberland provides direct access to loads and loads of metropolitan amenities, including top-notch restaurants, bars, shopping, theaters, recreational trails, etc.

Cumberland is also a fairly very short commute to Downtown Atlanta (by metro Atlanta standards) by way of a straight shot to and from Downtown Atlanta on I-75.

But, unfortunately, Cumberland will also often have much traffic at times, particularly on the roughly 81 dates when the Atlanta play their home games at Truist Park stadium during the spring, summer and early fall seasons (during the months of April, May, June, July, August, and September).

Originally Posted by themepark

The Marietta search went better, but since nothing is going to check all the boxes it’s leading us to more indecision. Also, near the square the train crossings are definitely a concern. I spent a few months in an apartment near a crossing in my younger days and it was absolutely miserable. Smyrna at least has quiet crossings, although again I’m not sure I want to spend at the top end of the budget to essentially be sitting on tracks.

Unless one is living immediately on or immediately by the railroad tracks, train crossings should not really be much of a problem.

You can (and likely should) take a trip to the area by the train crossings at night and see for yourselves if train noise will be a problem for you personally. But there’s an entire thriving Downtown Marietta community that lives near those train tracks.

Within about a half-mile of the tracks the noise from the trains will be more noticeable, but outside of that half-mile zone, the trains may not be as noticeable for many.

[themepark]

The two games, both weekend days, I’ve attended I’ve gotten there at least 2-3 hours prior to game time and had no real issue navigating the areas but I’m wondering how much worse that is on a Thurs/Fri when rolling through at 6-7pm after a long day at work. Unfortunately all my spreadsheets with realtime Waze estimates I’ve been tracking this week can’t account for that.

As for the trains, obviously people can handle them. I just know my one experience prior living at a crossing near a very busy rail yard was unbearable. Plenty of people happily lived over there too, so it might be something I was/am particularly sensitive to. Unfortunately we’ve yet to be over there during a train passing. Spent 90 minutes in the square last night specifically trying to see/hear one with no luck. There’s really only one option that’s a huge concern with that, the new Pulte 521 Atlanta community that basically sits directly on the Dixie crossing. Unless I am able to witness it myself, I’m going to have to assume it’s awful and write that off. The ones .5-1.0 mile away from a crossing I’m less worried about as I’m hoping they were built to higher standards than the student apartment complex I lived in 15 years ago next to the train.

The one in Smyrna was absolutely beautiful, but I figured if I’m spending 750-800K on a house I don’t necessarily want to be able to hit a freight train with a paper airplane tossed off my front porch. There were a few other things that didn’t get checked on our wish list too, so it’s not like that was the only problem but it just helped push things over the top into the no column.

[equinox63]

themepark, have you considered renting first just to get your bearings about you and a better understanding of the lay of the land? Then after a year or two, you would be able to make a more informed decision about where you really want to live. After all, $500k to $800k is a lot of money to invest when you're not really 100% sure or satisfied with what you are getting into.

Is there a certain period in which you have to move?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by themepark

The two games, both weekend days, I’ve attended I’ve gotten there at least 2-3 hours prior to game time and had no real issue navigating the areas but I’m wondering how much worse that is on a Thurs/Fri when rolling through at 6-7pm after a long day at work. Unfortunately all my spreadsheets with realtime Waze estimates I’ve been tracking this week can’t account for that.

Though you got to Truist Park stadium about 2-3 hours before the first pitch (most baseball fans, and the increased automobile traffic they generate, typically will get to the stadium within the hour or even the half-hour before the first pitch), if the traffic in the area does not bother you, then Cumberland definitely could be an option for you, because of the numerous metropolitan and regional amenities that the area provides good access to.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by equinox63

themepark, have you considered renting first just to get your bearings about you and a better understanding of the lay of the land? Then after a year or two, you would be able to make a more informed decision about where you really want to live. After all, $500k to $800k is a lot of money to invest when you're not really 100% sure or satisfied with what you are getting into.

Is there a certain period in which you have to move?

I second this.

The OP definitely should seriously consider renting first for a period of time (at least about six months) so that they may get to know the Atlanta metropolitan area better and be able to make an informed decision about where to make such an important long-term investment in housing.