Commute from East Cobb/Walton area to Dunwoody - need help fast!! (Atlanta: apartment complexes)

[NB9540]

Hey everyone

I am moving VERY soon to Atlanta for a job, but looking for great schools. My office will be in Dunwoody (Hammond Exchange building) right next to a MARTA exit. I was wondering if anyone here commutes from East Cobb/Walton schools area to Dunwoody? If so, do you just drive, or take a park and ride somewhere..? Please note I am trying to keep my commute down as much as possible since I'm a single mother and need to be home at a relatively decent hour. I will have to put my kiddo on the bus so I can't leave for work too early like some people in ATL try to do. I was previously considering Alpharetta since I hear nothing but great things, but the commute may be too long.

The city I am coming from is NOT a big city at all so this is all really new and somewhat terrifying to me.

If I did rent in East Cobb, can you approximate my morning commute time in rush hour??

I am hoping to get down there within a week or two to scope things out but I may only have a few days to do that so I need to narrow it down before I go.

Thanks so much !!!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by NB9540

Hey everyone

I am moving VERY soon to Atlanta for a job, but looking for great schools. My office will be in Dunwoody (Hammond Exchange building) right next to a MARTA exit. I was wondering if anyone here commutes from East Cobb/Walton schools area to Dunwoody? If so, do you just drive, or take a park and ride somewhere..? Please note I am trying to keep my commute down as much as possible since I'm a single mother and need to be home at a relatively decent hour. I will have to put my kiddo on the bus so I can't leave for work too early like some people in ATL try to do. I was previously considering Alpharetta since I hear nothing but great things, but the commute may be too long.

The city I am coming from is NOT a big city at all so this is all really new and somewhat terrifying to me.

If I did rent in East Cobb, can you approximate my morning commute time in rush hour??

I am hoping to get down there within a week or two to scope things out but I may only have a few days to do that so I need to narrow it down before I go.

Thanks so much !!!

A commute between East Cobb County (the area of the county in the feeder zones for Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler and Sprayberry high schools) and the Hammond Exchange Building is a fairly relatively very-short rush hour commute by Atlanta standards.

Depending on where you will be living in East Cobb, a rush hour commute between should be somewhere from between 20 minutes (if you live in or near the Johnson Ferry Road corridor very-close to the Chattahoochee River near the Cobb-Fulton county line and things are going REALLY well during rush hour) to an hour (if you live in or near the I-75 North/Northwest corridor and things are going REALLY BAD during rush hour).

If you can actually find a house in East Cobb where the schools are so highly-regarded that you like with rents that you can afford in an area that you really like then you should definitely go for it as a 20-30-40 minute or so commute during rush hour is extremely-desirable in a region where many rush hour commutes can often be measured in HOURS each way.

Needless to say, an East Cobb-Dunwoody commute is a rush hour commute that tens-of-thousands of Metro Atlantans would kill for, particularly when in a region where many commuters have to sometimes leave home at 6am, 5:30am, 5am, 4:30am, or even 4am to beat the worst of the rush hour traffic on rush hour commutes that can be up to 100 miles in distance each way.

When put in perspective and contrasted against some of the longest and more painful commutes in the Atlanta region, an East Cobb-Dunwoody rush hour commute is almost about as good as it gets in these parts.

[westau]

As long as you can get in the portion where the backroads commute makes sense instead of having to deal with I-75 and I-285 traffic the commute is completely reasonable.

[NB9540]

Can someone help me with the middle and high schools in that area? Is there one or two I should focus on more than others? I am looking for the best schools possible without having to transfer him when he gets to high school. Private school is not an option for me financially. Are there any high schools in East Cobb that I should entirely avoid?

I may be going down there quickly so I need to narrow it down further - I am waiting for my company's relocation folks to get in contact with me..

Thanks..!!!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by NB9540

Can someone help me with the middle and high schools in that area? Is there one or two I should focus on more than others? I am looking for the best schools possible without having to transfer him when he gets to high school. Private school is not an option for me financially. Are there any high schools in East Cobb that I should entirely avoid?

I may be going down there quickly so I need to narrow it down further - I am waiting for my company's relocation folks to get in contact with me..

Thanks..!!!

If you are looking for the best schools possible without having to transfer your son when he gets to high school, you should likely focus your search in the feeder zone for Dodgen Middle School and Walton High School, which many view as being one of the most highly-regarded and absolute most-competitive public high schools in the state of Georgia (maybe even too-competitive for some from a social standpoint, but most-certainly not all).

The feeder zones for Pope, Lassiter, Sprayberry and Wheeler high schools also offer a college-preparatory curriculum that is of an exceptionally high-quality (exceptionally high-quality as in Ivy League-caliber college preparatory education) in social environments that are regarded by many to be less-competitive socially (but not academically) to varying degrees than Walton High School which is regarded by many (but not all) to be the top public high school in the state of Georgia.

Wheeler High School (which has an EXCELLENT magnet program, and a regular non-magnet curriculum that is also pretty highly-regarded as well) has a very-high transient population because of the very-large cluster of aging multi-family housing (large apartment complexes, condos and townhomes) in the south half of its feeder zone, but Wheeler High School still manages to perform extremely-well despite the very-high population of transient students and families.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by NB9540

The city I am coming from is NOT a big city at all so this is all really new and somewhat terrifying to me.

If I did rent in East Cobb, can you approximate my morning commute time in rush hour??

If you do rent in East Cobb I suggest doing a trial commute at rush hour to see what you are getting into. Note that Johnson Ferry Rd is the only way to commute from some places in East Cobb to Dunwoody. Make sure you are ok with the daily traffic jam on Johnson Ferry before signing a lease.

Some alternative suggestions:

Pickneyville Middle School in Norcross in the Gwinnett school system. They have an excellent curriculum without the intense academic pressure of the "10" rated schools of East Cobb. Gwinnett Middle schools have an unusual schedule where they begin at 9:20 am and get out at 4 pm. This may or may not work out for you.

Roswell also has good schools, the challenge is the immense traffic just getting to the 400 freeway.

Since your work is next to Marta, you have options most people in Atlanta do not have. At some point you could even consider living in the City of Decatur and making the 36 minute commute entirely via Marta.