Moving to Atlanta Georgia from Inland Empire CA

[hereticiam]

Originally Posted by seafood12

Thanks everyone for the great advice. You rock!!! If my budget seems too low for ATL has anyone moved to ATL from Houston which from my research is fairly cheaper than ATL currently for home prices. How did the areas compare? I will say I sort of prefer ATL because I love all the greenery, but Houston could be an option if I'm priced out of ATL.

I have visited Houston and we considered Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta when we want to move from MN.
In Houston, we looked in suburbs. I found Houston to be less expensive for housing than North Atlanta.
It had good schools in Katy, Sugarland, Cypress, and many other suburbs. The food scene is excellent. I read that people in Houston eat out more than in any other large city. Houston is also very green like Atlanta. It is not far from Ocean but the beach will disappoint you. Traffic is as bad or worse than Atlanta. Before looking into Houston I had concerns about flooding. However, some of the new communities(Bridgeland, Townelake) have done a good job so flooding was not a concern for me. We rule out Houston and focussed on Dallas and Atlanta.

Ultimately we chose Atlanta over Houston due to weather. Houston gets hot in mid May and stays hot until Halloween. I felt that I was exchanging 5 months of extreme winters in MN with 5 months of extreme heat in Houston.

Alpharetta area has a huge concentration of Tech jobs. Once you are here it may be easier to find a job with a better salary.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by seafood12

Great question. Sorry I should have mentioned that in the post. It is in Alpharetta.

Originally Posted by seafood12

I know Atlanta isn't LCOL anymore, but I want to purchase a home in the next year or two when interest rates hopefully come down. My ex and I saved about 80k combined and split it in half which means I have 40k for a down payment. I know that doesn't go far in ATL, but it is impossible out here in the Inland Empire which isn't even the best area in Southern California. Also I don't require much just some decent hiking trails,goodvegan food options, farmers market would be nice and of course a body of water. I love the outdoors.

Originally Posted by seafood12

Thanks everyone for the great advice. You rock!!! If my budget seems too low for ATL has anyone moved to ATL from Houston which from my research is fairly cheaper than ATL currently for home prices. How did the areas compare? I will say I sort of prefer ATL because I love all the greenery, but Houston could be an option if I'm priced out of ATL.

Alpharetta itself would be the best place to start your search for housing because of the exceedingly high quality of the schools there and because of the presence of so many high-quality metropolitan and regional amenities in the city of Alpharetta and its greater surrounding area.

(High-quality metropolitan amenities in the Alpharetta area include popular community developments like Alpharetta City Center/Downtown Alpharetta and Avalon that feature numerous high-quality upscale restaurants, upscale retail shops and frequent community events and festivals along with numerous high-quality upscale restaurants and retail throughout the greater Alpharetta area. High-quality regional amenities in the area include a great local park system in North Fulton and Forsyth counties, Lake Lanier (the largest lake/reservoir in the landlocked Atlanta metro region) and the very much-beloved tourist and outdoor recreational amenities of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.)

Though, because of the city’s status as a hotbed of suburban tech and white-collar industry activity, Alpharetta has been one of the hottest and most in high demand suburbs in the entire country over much of the past decade, resulting in an increasingly competitive housing market in the city and surrounding area during that time frame.

Unfortunately, with an income of $76k/year, you seem very likely to experience challenges finding anything more than a quality high-density dwelling (apartment) in which to live in that highly competitive Alpharetta part of what has been a noticeably increasingly competitive North metro Atlanta housing market over much of the past decade.

A growing influx of affluent newcomers into the Alpharetta area from other parts of the U.S. (including from Florida, California, the Northeast and the Midwest) and other parts of the world (particularly from India and even from Latin America) have driven housing prices through the roof, particularly during the time since the start of the pandemic in spring 2020.

Because of the extremely challenging peak-hour traffic conditions and limited roadway infrastructure in North metro Atlanta (including in Alpharetta, which has stunningly emerged as one of the largest and most important hubs of well-paying jobs in the greater Atlanta metro region and the Southeastern U.S. over the past decade), you’ll very likely not want to look for housing too terribly far (probably not more than 5-10 miles) away from the location of your job in Alpharetta.

[ShenardL]

If you can find a 350K townhome in Peachtree Corners https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7...80154683_zpid/

or 380K townhome in Johns Creek https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2...55010565_zpid/

You would probably spend around 25k - 30k a year on the mortgage (including property tax, insurance, HOA. It would lower if interest rates go down). If you already have a car it would be tight but doable (don't eat out a lot) on a 76k/year salary. You would have to find mortgages that allow a 10% down payment instead of 20%. Atlanta isn't cheap anymore, these townhouses were going for 120K - 150K ten years ago.

[jetgraphics]

Of course, the opposite end of the spectrum is where the Entertainment media stars live... Buckhead, etc.
https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehac...lebrity-homes/
You can extrapolate the increased cost factor by proximity to those neighborhoods.

https://atlantafi.com/celebrity-mansions-atlanta/

[Gilah G.]

Check out zip code 30075.i live where Roswell and Alpharetta blend

[seafood12]

Thanks so much. I see that my budget definately will need to stretch much further to purchase a home as ATL is much higher now.

[seafood12]

Alpharetta looks lovely so I can see why it has gotten so expensive. Unfortunately if its a job hub too I can't see prices going down anytime soon

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by seafood12

Thanks everyone for the great advice. You rock!!! If my budget seems too low for ATL has anyone moved to ATL from Houston which from my research is fairly cheaper than ATL currently for home prices. How did the areas compare? I will say I sort of prefer ATL because I love all the greenery, but Houston could be an option if I'm priced out of ATL.

Don't let anyone scare you. Both Houston and Atlanta are great options. Lived in Texas for 10 years and Atlanta is definitely a luscious green city and I can't get over it. Nobody understands. There are affordable options for home buying, but you'll have to look outside of Alpharetta and it'll take some faith because it is pricey but miracles happen all the time. I think this would be a great move and an upgrade. Trust yourself.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by seafood12

Recently divorced African American Mom of one teenager currently living in Inland Empire CA. Currently make $110,000k. I have an offer to move to Atlanta for $76,000 (same field) which I am seriously considering due to Atlanta's lower cost of living, four seasons and of course vibrant AA community. Is 76k enough considering Atlanta seems to have gone up in price as well? I have been applying for jobs for quite some time now and this is the only solid offer I've received after months of applying. I think once I am a local I could potentially command a higher salary. I am also wanting to purchase a home within the next year or two so that is also a factor as CA home prices are very inflated for what you get even in the Inland Empire which used to be closer in price to metro Atlanta. Any thoughts, advice would be greatly appreciated.

What makes you think that you can command a alary higher than your offer once you relocated?

76k and a family of two adults is not likely to allow you a home purchase in a somewhat desirable area particullarly in a hub such as Alpharetta. Please do not underestimate traffic when you look at maps! A friend of mine moved out of Alpharetta to Cummings 1/1 plus charger hook up and it took her nine month to find a place. She gave up on home purchases after loosing a solid earnest money. Inflated is a popular term. Prices are what buyers support. Please figure in taxes, insurance, upkeep and utilities, yard.

Teenagers cost more than adults:>) If you are receiving support payments -
there is always the danger of an interruption and they age out. You cannot rely on public transit so your son will need a vehicle once he can legally drive or at least be on your vehicle as insured driver.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by seafood12

I know Atlanta isn't LCOL anymore, but I want to purchase a home in the next year or two when interest rates hopefully come down. My ex and I saved about 80k combined and split it in half which means I have 40k for a down payment. I know that doesn't go far in ATL, but it is impossible out here in the Inland Empire which isn't even the best area in Southern California. Also I don't require much just some decent hiking trails,goodvegan food options, farmers market would be nice and of course a body of water. I love the outdoors.

You may see your requirements as not much but most newcomers want them an then some such as safe neighborhoods, good schools, ... .




































you may not see your requirements as much but most