Please help!!! New to atlanta buying home..... (Smyrna, Decatur: best neighborhoods, new home)

[TGFamily]

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I have both migrated to Atlanta, and we don't have enough knowledge about the city to make a confident decision on where to buy our first home. We have two boys both under the age of 3 so school is not an immediate concern. I think we both would prefer newer construction and an area that is diverse with other young families. Based on my searching, Southwest Atlanta, Fayetteville, and areas surrounding these seem to have the best constructed homes for the money. Are these areas safe and ideal for raising a family? I'd like an active neighborhood association, something close to shops and within range of the Airport because we travel back home often. I would consider looking north of the city but it appears that places like Decatur, Smyrna, and the Vinnings area only have older homes available in our price range (we just left a 'fixer upper' so this is not an option). Please help! Give me any ideas you have on the best neighborhoods in Atlanta with well built homes (no cheap construction) in an overall safe community. Thank you

[stvincent]

What is your price range??

And southwest Atlanta is not ideal for raising a family. You will need schools in only two years and seeing as how that is not the most desirable part of town resale would not be garunteed right when you need it. Schools in southwest Atlanta are some of the worst in the whole Metro region.

You said you would like to find a new home community in a diverse area close to the airport...basing off that Tyrone and Fayetteville would be my top two suggestions. Tyrone is more rural but your money can go so far down there and from what I've seen it is a very close knit community. Also very diverse with good schools.

And southwest Atlanta and Fayetteville are like night and day... What made you hone in on these two areas??

[TGFamily]

Thank you so much for your response. I guess we narrowed it down to southwest Atlanta and Fayetteville based on the construction of the homes available in these areas in our price range. We looked at four-sided brick 4+ bedroom homes with open kitchens and huge master suites, compared to areas north of the city where $280K could barely give us 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and very few homes built in this decade. I suppose we looked over Tyrone because it seemed a bit too distant. As I said, we don't have much to go on other than the neighborhood profiles offered on redfin and zillow.... Your advice on resale brought up some very important questions that we will be sure to consider in our search. Thanks Again!