Need Hellp on Housing..Moving to Atlanta in May 2013 (Sandy Springs: apartments, rent)

[newtoatlanta2013]

Hi everyone. I will be moving to Atlanta from NC in May 2013. My office will be at 75 Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30330 and my wife will be working Downtown (near Peachtree Street). I-75 is the connecting highway to our offices. We want 2 BR apartment in a good neighborhood with security and close proximity to grocery stores and other shopping stores. Security is our main concern. Could you please suggest some good areas where we can start looking for the apartment/Condos?

Here are the details in the suggested format:


1. Budget
about $1000 per month

2. House/Condo/Townhome?
- 2x2 Apartment/Condo. Size >= 1150 sft

3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)
- Both, I and my wife will be working. My office will be at 75 Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30330 and my wife will be working Downtown (near Peachtree Street). I-75 is the connecting highway to our offices.

4. Children(public school vs. private)
- No

5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two
- Mix of both

6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?
- Not Required. However would prefer to have options.

7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.
- Ideally a good mix. Would not want an area were an ethnicity/race is overwhelmingly predominant.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!

[lorilove]

You should have several options available. This puts you in the Cumberland Mall area which is basically Vinings, Smyrna East/South or Marietta South.

I am not current on best apartments or rates but you might want to check Promove which gets generally good recommendations for apartment hunting.

There is a Promove office in this area.

Contact PROMOVE The Apartment Experts | PROMOVE.com

[cqholt]

Smyrna or Vinings, but Cobb County has little transit. If you want to live closer to transit, so your wife could commute via MARTA, look into Perimeter Center area in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody. Its a straight shot on MARTA Red Line to Downtown and its a safe ride.

[newtoatlanta2013]

Thanks lorilove and cqholt for your replies!!

I am little worried about how much time my wife would have to give for daily commute to her office at Peachtree street (downtown). So additionally, I would like to know:

1. How much time it would take by car from Cumberland Mall area to Peachtree street (downtown) during the office rush hours?
2. How much time it would take by car from Sandy Springs and Dunwoody areas to Peachtree street (downtown) during the office rush hours?
3. How much time it would take by MARTA Red Line from Sandy Springs and Dunwoody areas to Peachtree street (downtown)?


Thanks

[lorilove]

On average it should take about 30 minutes from Cumberland to Downtown - you are only talking about 10-12 miles. I would probably still give myself 45 minutes since you have to deal with parking etc.

The advantage of the Cumberland Mall area is that there are several surface roads if necessary,

That being said when traffic breaks down in Atlanta it becomes one big parking lot and unfortunately that 1/2 hour commute can become 1 1/2 hours!

[cqholt]

3. How much time it would take by MARTA Red Line from Sandy Springs and Dunwoody areas to Peachtree street (downtown)?

20 Minutes of stress-free commuting. Traffic is unpredictable, but MARTA is 98% on time.

[newtoatlanta2013]

Hi,

Thanks again for your quick replies. My wife wants to reduce her commute as much as possible. Is there any good neighborhood closer to midtown or 5-7 miles from downtown towards North/NW Atlanta?

Thanks

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by newtoatlanta2013

Hi,

Thanks again for your quick replies. My wife wants to reduce her commute as much as possible. Is there any good neighborhood closer to midtown or 5-7 miles from downtown towards North/NW Atlanta?

Thanks

Not with your budget.

[newtoatlanta2013]

What if I stretch my monthly rent budget to $1200 per month?

[netsirk]

I don't think you'll get a two-bedroom, two-bath for that. For real-life comparison's sake, I live in Inman Park and commute up 75 to the Sandy Springs area every day. The drive takes me about 20 minutes without fail--the biggest pain point is getting on the 75/85 connector and watching people seemingly forget they have to take one or the other and try to cut across six lanes of traffic in 3.2 seconds. After that, it's smooth sailing. And from here, it would take your wife minutes to get to work.

That said, I pay $1410/month for a one-bedroom apartment. I pay another $25/month for valet trash (I have no option on this, it's required, which is dumb, but it's true). And then utilities--water, heat, cable, internet. The place does include a gym and a pool and has gated garage parking, so, there's that, and I love it here, and I love the location, I have zero complaints.

But it's not cheap. I'm sure there are apartments for less in this area, but I can't imagine they're going to be two-bed, two-bath; they'd more likely be in a smaller complex or a house, and you'd have to do some searching.