Mid 30s Professionals, Downtown Commute - Relocation Help (Atlanta, Roswell: best neighborhood, real estate market)
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I've recently accepted a job that will have me working Downtown, true Downtown not Midtown, and was hoping you all might be able to assist in narrowing down areas in which to conduct our home search. I have family in the area, but they only know their little pockets and I don't want to rely on them for a real pulse of the metro area and real estate market.
It's just my remote-working wife and I, along with a large dog. No plans for children, and not enough time on the bio clock left for us to have to worry about a change of heart later on.
Top Concerns -30 minute commute to Downtown during an average day. I'm not worried about the possibility of the worst case scenario days, just the average commute. Using google maps as a shaky reference, my current commute at home is shown as Average 28min with a range of 20-44min. That 28min is probably a slight undercount based on more recent history, but close enough that I'm comfortable looking at a similar google suggested range elsewhere unless you all make me aware of an Atlanta specific issue with their algo/data. I am not 100% sure on working hours, so I have to guess that I will be traveling somewhere in the busier periods of 7-9am & 5-7pm. Also, was looking at an EV purchase in the next 12 months and can move that timeline up if it's going to create signficant time savings with the use of toll/HOV lanes.
-Safe, walkable area accessible from home. Can either be good sidewalks protected from street traffic or quick access to parks/trails, but I don't want me or my wife worrying about traffic concerns or security when walking the dog early morning or later at night.
-Not concerned with schools personally, just need them to not be an albatross if we need to relocate again within the next 5 years. Anything beyond that is a crapshoot so I'm not going to spend too much time thinking about our home's retained value past that point.
-Good retail/dining amenities within 15ish minute drive. Several grocery options, retail spots, unique F&B offerings. This might be a difficult balance, but most important is hopefully having more than just a Kroger/Publix nearby. We currently have to drive 30-40 minutes to get these types offerings from our home.(Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco, or similar)
-Parents' home is in East Cobb, so most family gatherings are likely to be that direction. That has me thinking my search needs to shade West and North, but don't want to close anything off out of hand based on their location.
Housing Needs
-Budget is $500-750K, would obviously love to keep it at the lower end of the range if possible. We will have a large downpayment going in to this purchase, and I see how quickly that monthly payment snowballs as you add on at the top.
-3/2 1500sq ft would be the baseline requirement, and we certainly do not feel like bigger is better. We basically live in the Kitchen/Living Room/Main Bedroom/Office-Guestroom at our current home and everything else is just extra cleaning/maintenance and more space to fill with furnishings.
-Fenced yard with some space would be great for the dog, don't need a ton of land but enough where he could run around a bit. We can always take him to my parents' and their huge lot if we really needs to go wild in a private space.
-Open to townhome living and losing the yard if it offers walkable areas/trails immediately nearby and fits our other amenity needs better.
-No interest in renovating and don't really want to buy someone's quick flip either
Based on all the above, my gut instinct was to zero in on Smryna. A little more boring suburbia than I would personally want, but that's a tradeoff I think I might have to make to balance my wife's feelings. Is that commute time really feasible from their "downtown" area or would I need to shade farther towards 75/285 to keep it at the 30 minute average.
What other areas ITP or OTP should I be looking at that I'm maybe not thinking of? My wife is a little nervous about city living, particularly safety since she's at home by herself all day, but I personally would probably rather be ITP since I'm concerned about dealing with rush hour traffic every day. Plus with our current house in Florida we ended up on the wrong side of town for the amenities we really ended up utilizing, so I want to be more aware of how we generally gravitate more towards "city" things like cool new food/drink hotspots and independant cafes/retail. Traffic patterns don't seem as challenging on weekends in Atlanta as they are here with tourists/snowbirds, please correct me if wrong here, so I'm hoping even if we are OTP it won't feel like a total chore heading into the city on a weekend.
Thanks in advance for any assistance and let me know if you feel like there is a gap in my information that would help with providing better suggestions.
I've recently accepted a job that will have me working Downtown, true Downtown not Midtown, and was hoping you all might be able to assist in narrowing down areas in which to conduct our home search. I have family in the area, but they only know their little pockets and I don't want to rely on them for a real pulse of the metro area and real estate market.
It's just my remote-working wife and I, along with a large dog. No plans for children, and not enough time on the bio clock left for us to have to worry about a change of heart later on.
Top Concerns -30 minute commute to Downtown during an average day. I'm not worried about the possibility of the worst case scenario days, just the average commute. Using google maps as a shaky reference, my current commute at home is shown as Average 28min with a range of 20-44min. That 28min is probably a slight undercount based on more recent history, but close enough that I'm comfortable looking at a similar google suggested range elsewhere unless you all make me aware of an Atlanta specific issue with their algo/data. I am not 100% sure on working hours, so I have to guess that I will be traveling somewhere in the busier periods of 7-9am & 5-7pm. Also, was looking at an EV purchase in the next 12 months and can move that timeline up if it's going to create signficant time savings with the use of toll/HOV lanes.
-Safe, walkable area accessible from home. Can either be good sidewalks protected from street traffic or quick access to parks/trails, but I don't want me or my wife worrying about traffic concerns or security when walking the dog early morning or later at night.
-Not concerned with schools personally, just need them to not be an albatross if we need to relocate again within the next 5 years. Anything beyond that is a crapshoot so I'm not going to spend too much time thinking about our home's retained value past that point.
-Good retail/dining amenities within 15ish minute drive. Several grocery options, retail spots, unique F&B offerings. This might be a difficult balance, but most important is hopefully having more than just a Kroger/Publix nearby. We currently have to drive 30-40 minutes to get these types offerings from our home.(Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco, or similar)
-Parents' home is in East Cobb, so most family gatherings are likely to be that direction. That has me thinking my search needs to shade West and North, but don't want to close anything off out of hand based on their location.
Housing Needs
-Budget is $500-750K, would obviously love to keep it at the lower end of the range if possible. We will have a large downpayment going in to this purchase, and I see how quickly that monthly payment snowballs as you add on at the top.
-3/2 1500sq ft would be the baseline requirement, and we certainly do not feel like bigger is better. We basically live in the Kitchen/Living Room/Main Bedroom/Office-Guestroom at our current home and everything else is just extra cleaning/maintenance and more space to fill with furnishings.
-Fenced yard with some space would be great for the dog, don't need a ton of land but enough where he could run around a bit. We can always take him to my parents' and their huge lot if we really needs to go wild in a private space.
-Open to townhome living and losing the yard if it offers walkable areas/trails immediately nearby and fits our other amenity needs better.
-No interest in renovating and don't really want to buy someone's quick flip either
Based on all the above, my gut instinct was to zero in on Smryna. A little more boring suburbia than I would personally want, but that's a tradeoff I think I might have to make to balance my wife's feelings. Is that commute time really feasible from their "downtown" area or would I need to shade farther towards 75/285 to keep it at the 30 minute average.
What other areas ITP or OTP should I be looking at that I'm maybe not thinking of? My wife is a little nervous about city living, particularly safety since she's at home by herself all day, but I personally would probably rather be ITP since I'm concerned about dealing with rush hour traffic every day. Plus with our current house in Florida we ended up on the wrong side of town for the amenities we really ended up utilizing, so I want to be more aware of how we generally gravitate more towards "city" things like cool new food/drink hotspots and independant cafes/retail. Traffic patterns don't seem as challenging on weekends in Atlanta as they are here with tourists/snowbirds, please correct me if wrong here, so I'm hoping even if we are OTP it won't feel like a total chore heading into the city on a weekend.
Thanks in advance for any assistance and let me know if you feel like there is a gap in my information that would help with providing better suggestions.
Thank you for such a detailed description of your wants and needs; that is very helpful. It's so much better than the all-too-common "I'm moving to Atlanta, what's the best neighborhood?" description many offer. Also, welcome to Atlanta!
By the time I got through the "housing needs" section of your post, my initial reaction was "Smyrna could work". Sure enough, you mentioned Smyrna immediately afterward. I do think that Smyrna would be a solid choice/compromise for you and your wife -- in fact, Smyrna may be your best choice. You can get to Downtown Atlanta from Smyrna in as little as 20 minutes without traffic, but that commute will be closer to 30 minutes -- occasionally 40 minutes -- during rush hour. The commute should never be more than 45 minutes one way unless something is terribly wrong, like a crash on I-75 blocking all lanes.
If you're looking for something a bit closer to the city, and if you and your wife can settle for a townhouse, an alternative you could look into is a new townhome community called Parkside at Mason Mill in the North Decatur/North Druid Hills area. You could consider this community because:
- The commute time would be similar to Smyrna (about 30 minutes, usually between 20 and 40 minutes) despite being physically closer to Downtown Atlanta. It's much closer to the city amenities you seem to appreciate (particularly in Downtown Decatur).
- The community is very pedestrian/dog friendly. Yes -- you would not have a real yard -- but there is a good-sized dog park on site (Mason Mill Dog Park); this could also be a good place to meet some of your future neighbors. There are plenty of sidewalks in the community. Finally, this community is super close to the South Peachtree Creek Trail system, which connects Mason Mill Park, Medlock Park, and Lullwater Preserve/Emory University; this trail system is nice for tranquil walks in nature. The South Peachtree Creek Trail can be accessed from the community via a shallow ford across Burnt Fork Creek near the dog park; if you/your wife/your dog don't want to ford the creek, there's a trail entrance at Mason Mill Park, which is a 3-minute drive away.
- This is a safe area... one of the safest areas near the city, in fact. That particular area is usually free from violent crime. Property crime is rare, but occurs on occasion (the nearby Medlock Park neighborhood was targeted by a car break-in crew recently). It's a fairly quiet neighborhood.
- The public schools are passable... definitely not an albatross. It's similar to Smyrna in that regard.
- There are lots of retail/dining amenities in the area... certainly more than Smyrna. For groceries, you've got Kroger and Publix in the Toco Hills shopping center, which is 3 minutes away by car (you could even walk if you really wanted to, but it's not a pleasant walk). As you want more than just just those two though, you'll be pleased to know that you've also got Whole Foods, Sprouts, Walmart, Target, Sam's, Lidl, Aldi, and the massive Your DeKalb Farmers Market within a 15-minute drive (also Patel Brothers and Cherians if you want Indian groceries). There are two Trader Joe's stores within 20 minutes (Midtown and Buckhead) as well as a Costco (Brookhaven), Buford Highway Farmer's Market (Doraville), and H-Mart for Korean/Asian goods (Doraville) about 25 minutes away. For restaurants: there are many good ones in the area -- particularly near Decatur Square, which is about 10 to 15 minutes away.
- There are some new 3-bedroom townhomes available in your price range (around $650k). However, it looks like they may not be ready until the summer; it's possible that a resale will come on the market before then as it's a rather large community, but of course that's not guaranteed or even likely.
Another place I would consider is the Brookhaven/Chamblee area. There are some nicely renovated older and smaller homes on the market... something like this or this or this might work. This is why you could consider Brookhaven/Chamblee:
- The commute time would be similar to Smyrna and North Druid Hills/North Decatur (about 30 minutes, usually between 20 and 40 minutes). However, one benefit of this area is that it's along the MARTA Gold Line: You can park for free at the Chamblee MARTA station, hop on a MARTA train (departing once every 15 minutes), and enjoy a traffic-free 20-minute ride into Downtown Atlanta (I assume that your office in Downtown will be near the Peachtree Center MARTA station). Even if you prefer to drive, it's nice to have options and/or a backup plan to get to work.
- You should be able to find a house with a yard, but when it comes to parks, there are a few in the area: Keswick Park, Blackburn Park, Murphey Candler Park, Brookhaven Park, Dresden Park, Ashford Park, and Skyland Park (which has a dog park). Brook Run Park is also nearby and is very large.
- This is generally a very safe area. Your wife should have no issues walking the dog around the neighborhood (aside from a lack of sidewalks in some places, but these neighborhoods are usually low-traffic/quiet.
- The public schools in the Chamblee cluster are pretty well-rated... definitely not an albatross.
- There are lots of retail/dining amenities in the area... more than Smyrna. For groceries, you've got Whole Foods, Walmart, Publix, Costco, Kroger, Aldi, Sprouts, Fresh Market, Buford Highway Farmers Market, Target, Sam's, Savi Provisions, Trader Joe's, and more within 15 minutes or so. For "ethnic" groceries, you've got H-Mart, Dinho Market, Plaza Fiesta, Supermercado Chicago, and more in the area as well. For restaurants: there are many good restaurants in the Brookhaven/Chamblee area, and even more in nearby Buckhead. Most importantly, though, is the presence of Buford Highway, which has some of the best "ethnic" cuisine (namely Southeast Asian and Latin American) in the southeastern United States; it would be very nice to live 5 to 10 minutes away from all of these restaurants.
- There are a few renovated 3-bedroom houses available in your price range (around $650k).
Last edited by DoubleZ OTP; 02-07-2023 at 01:17 PM..
Glad Smyrna made sense to a 3rd party looking at my outline. I sometimes worry that I get a little too focused on my first thought, which is why I came here to get additional opinions. I've spent enough time around the area to know it's limits, but given it offers lower cost housing, a reasonable commute, and proximity to my parents (who are going to be the dogsitter) it's probably going to stay #1 on the list when we get up there in a few weeks to do our search. My wife and I went to the Jonquil Festival several years ago and their "downtown" area seems nice enough for an otherwise milquetoast suburb. Not quite as "hip" as Marietta square or downtwon Roswell/Alpharetta, if you can really even call those hip, but better than just miles of faceless strip malls/chain restaurants like our current living situation. Also, I realized I failed to mention in my initial post that while I'm working Downtown and want to plan on being at this job long term, things can change quickly in my work and I want to be able to jump on future opportunities as well. The flexibility of being within reasonable commute of other major business areas seemed like a plus here if things changed a few years down the line. I'd like to avoid having to move within the metro area if I take new role in market.
I personally would probably feel more personally fulfilled in Decatur or Brookhaven/Chamblee, but I also wonder if that's a bit of me picturing the people I think we are vs the people we actually are. I picture spending weekends shopping at Buford Farmer's Market and deciding to hit up the "ethnic" restaurants over there or the "cool" spots at Ponce or elswhere. I also would much rather live in a townhome given that I hate the maintenance, but we've seen how much better our dog does at my parents' when he has a yard to run in so it seems cruel not to try and rectify that in our next home purchase.
We'll spend the next few weeks looking at listings and getting ready to drive through the areas to get a better feel once up there. Is the market still blistering? Should I even be bothering to look at listings if we aren't going to be up for 3 weeks? Not sure if any/all these neighborhoods are still at the point where there are multiple offers within days of listing.
Glad Smyrna made sense to a 3rd party looking at my outline. I sometimes worry that I get a little too focused on my first thought, which is why I came here to get additional opinions. I've spent enough time around the area to know it's limits, but given it offers lower cost housing, a reasonable commute, and proximity to my parents (who are going to be the dogsitter) it's probably going to stay #1 on the list when we get up there in a few weeks to do our search. My wife and I went to the Jonquil Festival several years ago and their "downtown" area seems nice enough for an otherwise milquetoast suburb. Not quite as "hip" as Marietta square or downtwon Roswell/Alpharetta, if you can really even call those hip, but better than just miles of faceless strip malls/chain restaurants like our current living situation. Also, I realized I failed to mention in my initial post that while I'm working Downtown and want to plan on being at this job long term, things can change quickly in my work and I want to be able to jump on future opportunities as well. The flexibility of being within reasonable commute of other major business areas seemed like a plus here if things changed a few years down the line. I'd like to avoid having to move within the metro area if I take new role in market.
I personally would probably feel more personally fulfilled in Decatur or Brookhaven/Chamblee, but I also wonder if that's a bit of me picturing the people I think we are vs the people we actually are. I picture spending weekends shopping at Buford Farmer's Market and deciding to hit up the "ethnic" restaurants over there or the "cool" spots at Ponce or elswhere. I also would much rather live in a townhome given that I hate the maintenance, but we've seen how much better our dog does at my parents' when he has a yard to run in so it seems cruel not to try and rectify that in our next home purchase.
We'll spend the next few weeks looking at listings and getting ready to drive through the areas to get a better feel once up there. Is the market still blistering? Should I even be bothering to look at listings if we aren't going to be up for 3 weeks? Not sure if any/all these neighborhoods are still at the point where there are multiple offers within days of listing.
If you’re not all that big on Smyrna (which you definitely don’t seem to be all that big on Smyrna) then you most likely should look in areas that you are likely to be much happier about making a home purchase and living in.
And while activity in the Atlanta metropolitan real estate market seems to have cooled down from what was from about spring 2020 to about spring 2022, many elements of the Atlanta metropolitan real estate market remain noticeably competitive, especially in the most desirable areas which includes many amenity-rich and upscale areas north of Interstate 20.
So you definitely should start looking at real estate listings as soon as possible because desirable properties in desirable areas can still get bought up pretty fast, even in market that is cooling down/leveling off.
If you like areas like Decatur, Brookhaven and Chamblee, then you most likely should start your search for housing in those areas that interest you and appeal to you the most.
And while Roswell/Alpharetta are areas that most likely would be too far beyond your preferred commuting range of 30 minutes each way on most days, the Marietta Square and the City of Marietta proper are not located much farther beyond Smyrna and could be an option because of all of the urban amenities (including numerous high-quality restaurants, theaters and museums) available in and around the bustling Marietta Square area.
The Marietta Square area is a popular destination for visitors, tourists and relocating young professional families because of all of the urban amenities there and because of all of the community events and gatherings held there.
That includes a popular farmers market that takes place on the Marietta Square every Saturday from 9am to Noon.
Marietta Square and the City of Marietta proper can be a very good alternative for those who may not be able to buy into (often because of inadequate supply and extremely high demand in a relatively very small land area) a perennially hot market like the City of Decatur proper.
Other closer-in metro Atlanta areas within a reasonably short commute of Downtown Atlanta that you probably could also consider are Vinings (which is a historic village area located slightly closer to Downtown Atlanta than Smyrna and often gets grouped together with Smyrna and called the name “Smynings” by some locals) and Avondale Estates (which is a historic village area that is located only one town east of Decatur proper, gets much spillover growth from Decatur proper, and has MARTA Heavy Rail Transit access to Downtown Atlanta).
You also shouldn’t be too down on Smyrna, which is an area that has been popular with many young professional families over the last decade because it provides short commutes to major job centers like Cumberland/Vinings, Buckhead, Midtown Atlanta, Downtown Atlanta, North Cobb County and the Atlanta Airport.
Smyrna also provides good access to metropolitan amenities in areas like Cumberland/Vinings (including Truist Park/The Battery), Marietta Square, Perimeter Center, Buckhead, Midtown Atlanta and Downtown Atlanta.
I immediately thought Smyrna before you mentioned it but I am also biased. One advantage of living in Smyrna is its ease of access to other areas in Atlanta. I find my friends in Smyrna bebop around the metro area far more than our friends in areas like Decatur or Virginia Highlands. So living in Smyrna you really don't feel locked into just one area.
A lot of suburb options given so far so Ill throw out some neighborhoods in the city to consider
Definitely could consider the ”upper westside” in the city: Underwood Hills, Loring Heights, Riverside, Ridgewood Heights, pretty much anything between the rail yards and I-75.
Summerhill / Grant Park / Edgewood maybe East Atlanta also if you don't need to be close to Cobb.
Maybe places like Adair Park, Westview, Mozely Park depending on how you weigh what you're looking for.
A lot of these places have changed pretty dramatically recently so check some out in person if interested. Good luck!
Thank you for the detailed response.
I personally would probably feel more personally fulfilled in Decatur or Brookhaven/Chamblee, but I also wonder if that's a bit of me picturing the people I think we are vs the people we actually are. I picture spending weekends shopping at Buford Farmer's Market and deciding to hit up the "ethnic" restaurants over there or the "cool" spots at Ponce or elswhere. I also would much rather live in a townhome given that I hate the maintenance, but we've seen how much better our dog does at my parents' when he has a yard to run in so it seems cruel not to try and rectify that in our next home purchase.
We'll spend the next few weeks looking at listings and getting ready to drive through the areas to get a better feel once up there. Is the market still blistering? Should I even be bothering to look at listings if we aren't going to be up for 3 weeks? Not sure if any/all these neighborhoods are still at the point where there are multiple offers within days of listing.
Housing market is a mixed bag right now. From what I've seen, updated homes in desirable areas priced correctly are still moving very quickly. As in they go pending within a few days.
If a property is less desirable or priced too high, those properties can sit on the market for up to 2-5 weeks before having a price reduction. You may want to consider some new construction, as if you're looking for townhomes there are some available in the Smyrna area. A quick google search pulled up a few communities that are currently building/selling. Hopefully you can get some rate buy downs or concessions as the builders try to move inventory.
As far as "ethnic" restaurants, Chamblee/Brookhaven etc. is really a great spot to be in. Buford Highway is right up the street.
I believe others have mentioned Vinings. I personally love Vinings and their little downtown area. It's right next to Smyrna. If you haven't checked it out, i highly recommend!
Chamblee (as others have said) is just a really good combo of not super expensive, ridiculous number/quality of suburban amenities, and semi-trendy (but very small) downtown. My snobby opinion of what’s cool and not is that Chamblee is a step above Vinings, the Battery, and Smyrna, which cater to a much more suburban/traditional crowd than the intown districts. Chamblee is sort of in the middle; it’s not a place intowners will seek out specifically but it’s got a cool mix of restaurants/businesses that’s almost intown-ish.
Proximity to Buford Highway is also a plus—I lived there with my fiancé for about a year before convincing her to move to midtown, and the biggest decrease in our QOL has been the restaurant selection, for sure. Such good Asian restaurants in particular: Bobo Garden, Man Chun Hong, Good Harvest, Tum Pok Pok, Dish, Food Terminal, Lee’s, etc. Definitely the second best Asian restaurant scene in the city outside of Duluth.
I like Smyrna well enough, it checks the boxes and offers easy access to all the more ”suburban” amenties I know we will need to live our day to day. It certainly has more character/color than East Cobb, so it's not like I'm going full Stepford. It's also a chance to possible get in a house at a lower cost, which helps my stress levels. My wife and I have only been in our true professional roles for the last 5 years, and while we can easily cover our budgeted range and a good bit more at our current compensation levels, it still gives me heartburn committing to such a large purchase knowing how easily things could change. Unfortunately we were too cautious with our last home purchase and ended up in a house we didn't like in an area that didn't end up working for us as a result of being too cheap. On the flip side though, that choice allowed us to save tremendously which gave us so much security and is helping facilitate this move.
It's also the clash between the image of who I think we are as a couple vs the reality of what our lives are. Moving gives you a chance to be more aspirational, but I want to temper that with the reality of what are busy lives are more likely to look like. We will are working 50-60 hours a week, so is it better to focus on home value for money and commute (which seems pretty strongly tipped towards Smyrna and surroundings) or the amenities we want but might not get to use as much as hoped (which would be probably be better in the other areas suggested).
I think if the physical closeness of the stuff on the eastside actually offered a smoother commute I'd be more inclined to have those at the top of the search list. Is the 85 corridor just that much worse than 75? Also, is the ability to use HOV going to offer any sort of signficant advantage during prime traffic on either corridor? Is either side more future proof from a traffic perspective? Obviously that might be where the MARTA option shows its value as a steady state commute time. My current commute was 15-20 minutes when we first moved here 7 year ago, and has doubled since as development exploded with no increase in transportation options or road improvements to assist flow.
Thanks again for all the advice. I should have a pretty clear hit list of stuff to check out the first few days in town neighborhood-wise before we start the home search in earnest. Good to know things have settled a bit and houses we are looking at now as references might still be available by the time we get up there later this month.
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