Alpharetta or Atlanta (Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Lenox: apartments, rent, how much) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

antigravity33 · 08-17-2010, 02:00 AM

I am 25 and single and I am going to be moving to GA within a month for a 6 month stint. The offices I will work at are in Alpharetta.

I was wondering how viable the idea is to live within the loop, closer to the midtown area of Atlanta and commute out to Alpharetta each day to work. How long of a commute would that be?

Oppositely, are there parts of Alpharetta, or nearby, that are less suburb-hell and more mid 20's focused and populated? (probably a bit of a stretch, but worth a shot)

Trying to avoid a boring situation I was in recently when living in houston...

Thanks in advance

flyonpa · 08-17-2010, 06:50 AM

from I285 to exit 11 in alpharetta is about 25 mins, you are gonig somewhat againts the flow of traffic, But no much, The car count going north in the morning is high, But its moving at 40-55mph most of the time. You might want to look around sandy springs, sort of 1/2 way inbeween midtown/buckhead, and Alpharetta, there are more single in that area. Not to bad to get into town, and get to work.

srnyong · 08-17-2010, 07:16 AM

I live in Midtown now. I have a friend who tried to do the commute from Midtown to Alpharetta. He lasted exactly 3 months before he realized that LIFE IS TOO SHORT to spend it in his car. He quit his job and found a job in Midtown. He said that the "reverse commute" to Alpharetta is about the same as going into the city.

DeaconVI · 08-17-2010, 07:43 AM

When I graduated college about 5 years ago I was faced with the same decision. I moved to GA and found an apartment in Alpharetta. I lived there (single) for 2.5 years and while Alpharetta is very nice and convenient, trust me on this, you will meet very few people to hang out with. I joined a flag football team and a young professionals networking group thinking that those would be great places to meet people (and they were for the most part) but even those had a higher proportion of people in their 30's than I expected. I finally gave up and moved to the Lenox Park area and love it. The commute to/from exit 10 or 11 on GA-400 is typically 30 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes coming home. The demographics in Lenox Park are the opposite -- whereas in Alpharetta it became surprising to meet someone in their 20's, in Lenox Park it is almost surprising to meet people outside of their 20's.

For a frame of reference, Lenox Park is kind of between Buckhead and Brookhaven and has easy access to midtown via I-85 (or GA-13) as well as easy access to the VA Highlands, Buckhead, and newly developing areas of Brookhaven like Dresden Road. It's also a short drive to GA-400 for your commute to Alpharetta and is near some great shopping (Lenox mall, Phipps mall) as well as the Lenox MARTA rail station and the Brookhaven MARTA rail station. It's also right on a park (Lenox Park) and a short drive to the (superior) Chastain park. Another plus is that rent in Lenox Park is bound to be about 30%-50% cheaper than living in Midtown.

In my opinion, commuting from Midtown to Alpharetta might be a little much, but it depends on your appetite for traffic and how much you value living in Midtown. Midtown is great and I wouldn't mind living down there if it wasn't for the commute.

I would also disuade you from living in Sandy Springs. Dunwoody would be better if you want to live OTP (which is just south of Sandy Springs) but I think Lenox Park beats Dunwoody in terms of nightlife and convenience to restaurants/shopping/etc. Lenox Park will also cost less. However, Dunwoody would be less of a commute for you. You could take a look at the AMLI apartments near the Target in Dunwoody.

Good luck in your search, OP, but my strong strong reccomendation is for people in their 20's looking to meet people their age: Live A.B.A. (Anywhere But Alpharetta!)

DeaconVI · 08-17-2010, 07:45 AM

I forgot to mention in my last post -- for apts in Lenox Park, look at complexes like The Grove, The Reserve, Post Gardens (and there are many more)

srnyong · 08-17-2010, 08:09 PM

DeaconVI makes an excellent point about having a hard time to find people to hang out with in Alpharetta.
Lenox may be a good compromise between Alpharetta and Midtown.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeaconVI

I moved to GA and found an apartment in Alpharetta. I lived there (single) for 2.5 years and while Alpharetta is very nice and convenient, trust me on this, you will meet very few people to hang out with.