Moving to Atlanta area, need some advice (Sandy Springs, Roswell: apartment, renting)

[Turrash]

First off, thanks for clicking on the post I'm going to be entirely new to the area (Currently reside in Connecticut), but my job is moving me to Alpharetta, GA starting 4/14. I have a wife and 2 dogs moving down with me and wondering about living situations that would work out for us. If all goes as planned, my wife will be working North of the inner loop of Atlanta ... at least I think that's what it is called.

Requirements:

1) Renting a house over an apartment or condo. My dogs are puggles and while I love them to death, a car door slamming miles away seems like a good reason to start barking. I don't want to be that guy with the barking dogs.

2) Due to the dogs I'd like a decent size yard that is fenced in. Getting kind of specific with this one but it would be nice to have so I don't have to fence it in myself. Our current house has 1/3 acre, I'd like to get a little more if possible

3) Looking to spend under $1,500 a month.

4) Like to have 3 BR as well. I can deal with 2 but 3 is optimal.

5) 1200+ sq ft.

Is something like this possible? I'd like to live close to Alpharetta and Atlanta but far enough out that it's a little quieter of a neighborhood and a place where you can wave to your neighbors, sit in your backyard, etc ... We aren't opposed to buying but not sure it's in the cards quite yet. We might spend a year in the area checking it out before making a final decision. I've been told Roswell is nice, that's about all I know so far.

Thanks!

[lastminutemom]

Where exactly will your wife's job be... north of the inner loop covers a lot of territory.

[Turrash]

It's on Abernathy Rd NE near 400.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Turrash

If all goes as planned, my wife will be working North of the inner loop of Atlanta ... at least I think that's what it is called.

If you're talking about the I-285 Bypass/Loop road around Central Atlanta (which that most definitely sounds like what you are talking about), that road is called the I-285 Perimeter or just is simply called "The Perimeter".

Think of the I-285 Perimeter as Atlanta's version of Washington D.C.'s more famous (or more infamous) I-495 Capital Beltway loop road.

Just as the terms "Inside-the-Beltway" and "Outside-the-Beltway" are used to differentiate between the ivory tower federal government-centered liberal urban political, social and cultural environment inside of the Capital Beltway and the more conservative suburban environment of it in the Washington D.C. area, the terms "Inside-the-Perimeter" (ITP) and "Outside-the-Perimeter" (OTP) are used to differentiate between the much more liberal political, social, and cultural urban environment inside of the I-285 Perimeter and the much more conservative political, social and cultural suburban environment outside of it in the Atlanta metro region and in the state of Georgia.

Since you are looking for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom detached single-family home on more than 0.33 acres for no more than $1500/monthly, and since you will be working in Alpharetta and your wife will be working in Sandy Springs (at 400 & Abernathy Road), some good places for you to look where you might be in:

...East Cobb County (if you don't mind living in an older home...finding a newer home with that type of acreage for no more than $1500/monthly will likely be a challenge in the East Cobb area because of the exceptionally-high quality of the schools in that area);

..In the areas of Woodstock, Holly Springs and Canton in Cherokee County, and in the area with a Cumming mailing address in West Forsyth County (if you are looking for a newer home)...

...You could also check around in the areas with a Cumming mailing address in North Forsyth County and in the areas with a Dawsonville mailing address in Dawson County if you are looking for something that is a little more semi-rural and farther removed urban and inner-suburban living...

...These are the areas where you probably will be most likely to find a 3-bed, 2-bath detached single-family home on more than 0.3 acres for no more than $1500/monthly within a reasonable commuting distance of you and your wife's jobs in Alpharetta and Sandy Springs.

You should also check around in the areas of Sandy Springs, Alpharetta, Roswell and Johns Creek in North Fulton County, and in the areas with Alpharetta, Cumming, and Suwanee mailing addresses in South Forsyth County to see if you might be able to find something that you might like in your price range in areas that are closer within the Northside commuting shed of where you and your wife jobs will be located in Alpharetta and Sandy Springs...

...Though your chances of finding what you are looking for may not necessarily be as high in those areas as they might likely be in the more sparsely-developed outlying areas of Cherokee, West Forsyth, North Forsyth and Dawson counties.