Moving to Atlanta / Alpharetta??

[JamesDay]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

Hi again, I see you added some info to your first post.

"Budget" on the sticky actually refers to purchase price of a home, or monthly budget for renting, I believe. However, since you provided salary instead, I think unless there's a second family income or substantial capital resources, you likely could not afford to put even one child in private school. Sorry to be blunt, but right here on City-Data you can read that median household income for Alpharetta in 2008 was $96K, and around $90K or above for all the "nicer" zip codes in Cobb.

On the other hand, housing costs here are vastly less than in the Lower Mainland. If you are selling a home up there, that may yield a relatively large downpayment for a home in the Atlanta suburbs. Also, if you really do intend to put your child(ren) into private school, then locations of suitable schools would be a factor as well. Would you be looking at any particular kinds of private school (e.g. Roman Catholic, non-religious, etc.)?

We have a 1.5 year old, although we're already looking for what schools are in the area, we won't have to worry about the costs quite yet.
We'd be looking for a Christian school, of any denomination including Catholic.

How would you compare Marietta to Alpharetta?
What are the main differences between those two cities?
Is it like the difference between North Van and Surrey?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JamesDay

Sounds like Alpharetta is a bad idea.

Are any of you familiar with Mableton?
It's just north of where I'd be working.

North? I live in Mableton, but it's more east of Austell than north.

For example, if you do a google maps search for this address:
5631 VININGS PLACE TRL
Which is a house for sale, that would be a nice location in terms of commuting (6 miles from work), and the house is nice and affordable.

Wow. We have friends who live on Rosie Lane which is right on the other side of Buckner Road. There weren't any floods in the area you're looking at, that I know of, though I think there was a subdivision off Oakdale Road just to the east that might've had some.

Crimewise it should be fine.

[JamesDay]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

North? I live in Mableton, but it's more east of Austell than north.


Wow. We have friends who live on Rosie Lane which is right on the other side of Buckner Road. There weren't any floods in the area you're looking at, that I know of, though I think there was a subdivision off Oakdale Road just to the east that might've had some.

Crimewise it should be fine.

Thanks rcsteiner.
Is all Mableton the same, or are some areas safer than others?
In other words, which areas in Mableton would you recommend as a safe place to raise children, or is it the same standard of living throughout that city?

We've also looked at Smyrna, what differences are there between Smyrna and Mableton, besides the longer commute?

rcsteiner, did you formerly live in British Columbia?
If so, what area of the Lower Mainland would be similar to Mableton?

Thanks again to everyone for your responses.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JamesDay

Thanks rcsteiner.
Is all Mableton the same, or are some areas safer than others?
In other words, which areas in Mableton would you recommend as a safe place to raise children, or is it the same standard of living throughout that city?

My own personal opinion is that the northern half of Mableton (roughly defined as those parts north of Veterans Memorial Highway) are nicer than most parts south of that highway, but there are also a few nice developments on the south side (Cobblestone Creek, etc.).

Smyrna is a incorporated city. Mableton is not ... it's an unincorporated area which receives its "city" services from Cobb County. This isn't an unusual situation in the Atlanta metro ... more than 80% of Cobb County is suburban but not incorporated, and the same is true for most of the suburban metro area.

Living in Smyrna will result in slightly higher property taxes as discussed in the past here:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/3887493-post2.html

I think the southern half of Smyrna might be slightly nicer than most of Mableton, but if you buy a house close to the Smyrna border you can find areas in Mableton that are zoned for the same schools ... not top of the line schools, but certainly good enough to provide a quality education (according to my neighbors, anyway ... we don't have kids).

I'm a native of Minnetonka, MN. I've never been to British Columbia, though I would love to visit someday. It's near the top of my very long list.