Learn me suburban Atlanta...not that there are any locals on this board...

My wife and I are considering relocating our family. Having 3 kids makes it a very, very difficult decision, so right now it's still just talk and research. But we're open to the idea and if the circumstances pan out, we may well go.

One of the areas that we're considering is outside of Atlanta. We're doing a lot of research, but I'd love to hear from some of you folks who live there. Right now, we live in BumbleBerkeley...i.e. the very rural countryside. Our town has about 1200 people in it. Very much the "small town, Main Street USA" feel. Lots of farm land, open parks, etc... No crime, two traffic lights and one police officer (OK, we actually don't even have a PD, we're patroled by state police). If we relocate, we don't need a town quite this rural, but something at least very close to it. We're looking for peaceful, quiet, family friendly, rural.

For the sake of employment, we'd be looking for jobs in the Alpharetta or Duluth area. I know those are larger suburbs, with significant traffic issues. If we got jobs there, where would you suggest living? I've heard places like Dawson County or Cobb County would fit what we're looking for? In doing searches on Realtors' website, I've seen houses in towns like Dahlonega and Dawsonville. Besides being Bill Elliots' home town, I don't know much about Dawsonville or similar towns. Are they peaceful and quiet countryside towns? I've seen "mountain homes" in the area. What are they like? Is it colder where they are then in non-mountain areas? Part of the reason we want to relocate is for the weather, so if the mountain houses are cold, they're out.

So Atlanta area folks, school me. Tell me about the world famous ATL traffic...can we work in Alpharetta or Duluth and live somewhere within 20 miles where we won't hit major traffic? What towns would you recommend for that very rural, small town feel?

I live about 5-10 miles south of Dawsonville in Cumming. Everything from hwy 20 and north gets pretty rural off of 400. I work in Johns Creek/Alpharetta and it takes me about 30 minutes to get to work 16 miles away on average.

As far as working in Gwinnett, living off of 85 or 985 you would probably prefer Buford or further north. Bonus, the further north on either of those the closer you are to Road Atlanta.

I used to say you could not pay me enough money to live in ATL. That's still true, but I would live in the area that you are looking. It fact I almost applied for a job that was at a school in Dahlonega a while back. Lawrenceville used to be an up and coming area. It may now already be there. My aunt lived in Kennesaw when it was a sleepy little town. HA People in ATL made fun of Cobb county.

I lived in Marietta for a while, I wouldn't move back.

I live over in Smyrna which is North West of Atlanta. Traffic in Atlanta can get very bad. How long of a daily commute are you willing to tolerate?

My current commute is 25 miles each way, which takes me about 50 minutes...all country roads. No traffic to speak of. I'm not afraid of it, I've lived and worked around Philly for many years, so I can deal. But we want to live in the small rural farm town, so I don't mind a bit of a commute.

Anti-stance, what's the infrastructure of the Dawsonville area? Are things like a decent grocery store, Wal-Mart, etc...within a reasonable drive? What's the town of Cumming like? I've seen lots of listings there. Also seen a lot in Lawrenceville. What about those "mountain homes"? How high are the mountains? Where I live, the Pocono mountains are about 50 miles north. If you live up in the mountains, it's always 10-15 degrees colder than where I am. Same there or are they not high enough for that?

I've lived in a bunch of places and have moved back to Atlanta twice (I'd never move to Philly, for example). It's a pretty city with rolling hills and lots of trees. We don't get much snow but we still have seasons. Cost of living is average, or low compared to other large cities. Nice areas with good schools aren't that expensive. Traffic is bad, but transit alternatives are available. Considering you're background, I'd definitely encourage living in the suburbs or outer-burbs, not in-town. I live in (and recommend) East Cobb, a nice unincorporated area between Marietta and Roswell.

You have to go way, way outside the city to find an area without Wal-Mart and big chain grocery stores. Dawsonville has a huge outlet mall and a Home Depot, and Cumming is even bigger. Our mountains are great for easy hikes and fun driving roads, but are small and wooded - in the 2,000 and 3,000 ft range.

I live in Covington, which is probably a bit too far for the commute to where you're looking for work, but has much the same small town feel. Dahlonega does too - I wouldn't commute from there to Duluth, but maybe to Alpharetta. It is a bit larger than where you're from, but still very much a small town. There are a lot of places in Hall County that would be a good fit for commuting to Duluth.

I go there for work occasionally (Sandy Springs and Lawrenceville), and for me personally, I would never live there. Don't get me wrong, Atlanta and the surrounding areas are very nice and there is a lot to do, but the traffic alone would make me want to live almost anywhere else.

The last time I was there I was stuck on 285 for about 2 hours. I went 8 miles in that time span and never did know why the delay. Oh yeah, this was early afternoon before rush hour. Side streets to me are just as bad. During lunch one day it took me 20 minutes to go a few miles. Others may have differing opinions and more experience with the traffic concerns, but every time I go there the traffic alone is enough for me not to want to go back.

In reply to racerdave600:

285 is another beast. I commuted for 4 years from Marietta to Duluth on 285. Worst commute of my life. The areas he is talking about working/living aren't bad.

To OP,

Cumming is pretty good as far as infrastructure. Hwy 20 is just a few miles south of downtown Cumming and has all the big box stores you can think of.

Its been my favorite place to live in the greater Atlanta area.

Another bonus, I live about 3 or 4 miles from a boat ramp at lake Lanier. There are houses in the neighborhood with litoral rights.

So why is traffic so bad in Atlanta? Philly is one of the largest cities in the country and we definitely have our share of traffic problems. It can take an hour to go 10-12 miles. But Atlanta seems to be legendary. Any idea why?

Is the traffic that bad in and around Alpharetta or Duluth, or is it closer to downtown Atlanta? How far away do you need to get before traffic is a non-factor?

Klayfish wrote: So why is traffic so bad in Atlanta? Philly is one of the largest cities in the country and we definitely have our share of traffic problems. It can take an hour to go 10-12 miles. But Atlanta seems to be legendary. Any idea why? Is the traffic that bad in and around Alpharetta or Duluth, or is it closer to downtown Atlanta? How far away do you need to get before traffic is a non-factor?

Atlanta's streets are not laid out in a grid system. The city relies upon a network of main road arteries that funnel people in and out of the city and across town. During peak traffic times accidents and the sheer number of cars on the road can cause a large backup in traffic since everyone is funneled onto the same roads. Add on top of this Atlanta's love for sprawl and millions of people living in the area and you end up with major traffic issues.

I've passed through Atlanta a few times now. Visited a few times and really enjoyed it. Definitely had the big city feel compared to Charlotte, Austin, and Pittsburgh. (At least to me).

What's your extended family situation? Can you leave parents/grandparents behind? I always tell people to look closely at these situations before considering a move. A cross country move with a family is one of the hardest things I've done in my adult life. Just be sure it's the right thing before you leap. Good luck.

ScreaminE,
No doubt about it. Making the decision to move our family is extremely difficult. That's why we're going round and round and round and doing tons of research. One "good" thing about the family situation is that neither my wife or I really have much family. Both of our mothers are long deceased. I haven't spoken to anyone in my family in years, so they're out of the picture. My wife's father is retired and spends 7+ months per year in Florida. She has one sister, but we don't see her often. So we have no family strings holding us here. Still, I'm born and raised in PA and my wife is from nearby NJ. So this area is all I've ever known. My kids are still young, but starting to make friends here. So that's one of the reasons we're looking now...either we do it now before they're too rooted here, or we wait until we're empty nesters. Besides Georgia, we're looking at several areas of Florida...namely Tampa and Orlando.

In reply to Klayfish:

Have you considered Huntsville AL? We have a thriving technical economy. It isn't so big that traffic is bad. Crime is pretty low. Plenty of autosports in the area. Also good schools in Madison.

I honestly didn't mind Marietta while I was there. I lived right off 75 at Windy Hill, and it wasn't a terrible place to be.

In reply to Maroon92:

I was Delk @ 75. Didn't like the area at all. Wouldn't move back for E36 M3.

I would suggest Nashville as well. Not as big as Atlanta and lots to do. It's one of my favorite cities. Since I live in Huntsville like 93EXCivic, I'll recommend here as well. If you are an engineer or any type of technical person it's a good job market, inexpensive housing, good schools and a big autosports area.

If you're looking at work in Alpharetta, I'd go north on 400. If you're looking in Duluth, go north on 85/985. If you want access to both, somewhere off of GA20, McGinness Ferry, or one of the other streets that connects both. Be aware though that these surface streets that cross the river ALL have traffic. So IMO, it's better to pick which artery you want and stick to it. I live in Braselton, and work in Buford. It's a 12 mile commute by surface street and absent construction delays, it's a 20 minute commute. I like living in the sticks, though in the last year I've been playing in bands again and the fact that I'm 45-60 minutes from downtown can be a drag. For the 10 years prior, it didn't bother me since going into ATL was a once a year occurrence.

Also - Someone asked why traffic is so bad - It's because we have a metro area of 6M, with an infrastructure for 3M, run by a corrupt city government that is only actually accountable to 500k. There was a 1% sales tax regional traffic initiative on the ballot a couple of years ago, and while everyone agrees that traffic sucks, it lost because we also agree that the leadership is corrupt and ineffective. As an example, I mentioned that the streets that cross the river suck - that's because they are all two lane bridges that are 50 years old. But the traffic initiative was all about trains and bikes and E36 M3.

Yeah crossing the Chattahoochee river is a problem. My roommate has to go to Duluth so he has that problem everyday.

i lived there 45 years, i would not move back, maybe because i lived through the growth of gwinnett....birmingham is the place to be..lol

I live in Stone Mountain. It is funny how when we moved here 18 years ago it was way out. After a few years, Snellville was where our friends moved to get away. Then it was Grayson or further out Bethlehem, Ga. Now it is Monroe!

What ever you find and consider "Country" today, may not be tomorrow.

My advice; buy enough land to make your own little "Country". Atlanta may swallow you up, but if you have enough room on your property, it may be "home" many years from now.

My advice; buy enough land to make your own little "Country". Atlanta may swallow you up, but if you have enough room on your property, it may be "home" many years from now.

Here is a man that knows of what he speaks!

Gasoline wrote: I live in Stone Mountain. It is funny how when we moved here 18 years ago it was way out. After a few years, Snellville was where our friends moved to get away. Then it was Grayson or further out Bethlehem, Ga. Now it is Monroe! What ever you find and consider "Country" today, may not be tomorrow. My advice; buy enough land to make your own little "Country". Atlanta may swallow you up, but if you have enough room on your property, it may be "home" many years from now.

Yep, sprawl has taken over our area too. The town we live in now is still considered "the sticks" and we love it. But from 2001-2006 we lived in a town that had been considered way out from Philly. By time we left in '06 it was a crowded suburb with traffic issues. Don't get me wrong, we don't want to live by ourselves on the side of a mountain, but we just like the small country town feel.

We're really focusing on those three areas...far suburbs of Atlanta, Tampa or Orlando. I don't think my wife would want to live in other states like TN or MS or AL, and it's also partly based on our careers.

The Columbus/West Point LaGrange area of Georgia is a location I would consider moving to. Maybe even Auburn Al? Lots of cheaper "Country" land, Chattahoochee river, Ft. Benning, Lakes, and Korean Car/Support Company's pumping money into the area.

North Alabama is suprisingly beauitful to me. Not what I expected. I like Huntsville, Guntersville, Chattanooga, Zip City