**dvshaw**

Fotophreak4c

Hey my husband works for Publix and we are trying to get transferred out of Florida to be closer to my family. We put in a transfer to chattanooga, TN but were told that we needed more store options. I saw that u are in Atlanta.  There seems to be many Publix stores in the Atlanta area. Can you recommend the best part of town or best cities around Atlanta to live?

dvshaw

Hey! Yeah definitely. Atlanta is giant and has lots of great neighborhoods, but it all depends in what you're looking for. 

- Are you looking to buy or rent?

- House or condo/apartment?

- Do you want to be in the city, in a suburban-feeling city neighborhood, or in the suburbs?

 So, give me a better idea of what you're looking for specifically, and we can go from there.

Fotophreak4c

well I think I want to be on the Northern side of Atlanta because I have heard it is the nicer area. I need to be where there are lots of Publix stores because they like to transfer their managers around every couple of years, so if we buy a house I don't want him to have a big travel time because they switched his stores around. I looked on the Publix website and there are TONS of stores up there, esp. around the Roswell and Alpharetta area. We are probably going to rent an apartment for at least a year just to get used to the area and then we are going to start looking to buy a house. I want to be out of the city and in a good neighborhood where there are good schools (because I am trying to get a teaching job). Our budget will prob be no more than 170k for buying a house. Once we buy a house, we are planning on staying there for a VERY long time and possibly having kids in that house, so it has to be somewhere that will be good for us long term. 

Fotophreak4c

also I like any kind of art districts or cool kind of places like that, but I want to make sure it is a safe area esp. to have kids in. Usually those kindsa places are really cool to visit, but not a great place to actually live. So any kinda place like that would be awesome too. I love really old historic houses, but I also don't mind suburbs I guess

dvshaw

You're definitely right about the northern side being nice.  Roswell and Alpharetta are both very nice places to live, and you can get a lot of house for the money there (compared to inside the perimeter). I'm not out there much, since I live inside the city, so I don't know what's available as far as apartments. But you can always try to rent a house, especially in this housing market.

I would also try some places in Gwinnett County. It's relatively inexpensive to buy houses out there, but they have really good schools, and I think they have a couple of Publixes... places like Suwannee (sp?) or Norcross... or Duluth or John's Creek.

The public schools inside the city generally aren't as good as the ones outside, but there still are some good ones. Keep looking and let me know as you narrow down your search.

dvshaw

Fotophreak4c:

also I like any kind of art districts or cool kind of places like that, but I want to make sure it is a safe area esp. to have kids in. Usually those kindsa places are really cool to visit, but not a great place to actually live. So any kinda place like that would be awesome too. I love really old historic houses, but I also don't mind suburbs I guess

If you are looking for inside the perimeter places, like artsy-areas, there are a couple of cute neighborhoods, but they will most likely be more expensive. I would look for Poncey-Highland, Old Forth Ward, Inman Park, Candler Park, or Grant Park neighborhoods. I know people who live in each of those neighborhoods and love them. They're still pretty up-and-coming, so they're better priced than some others. There are definitely older houses in those neighborhoods... probably 1920s-1950s. So I'm sure you can find something that interests you. I would do an Atlanta craigslist search for those neighborhoods in both real estate for sale, and for rent by owner, and see if anything pops up that interests you. And I think all of those neighborhoods have their own wikipedia pages lol. 

Fotophreak4c

Thank you for all the information!! That will def. give me a place to start looking. I need to get familiar with the different counties. I know that John's Creek has many Publixes around. I am going to go check out all those cool neighborhoods you told me about. I am so excited!!!! I hope we get a transfer within the year. We were told that the 6 stores we put in TN were just not enough, so we added so many in Atlanta so maybe we will get outa here by the end of the year. I hate florida!!! 

dvshaw

You're welcome! As you start looking, feel free to ask and I can tell you what I think about the neighborhood. Atlanta is such a fun city. It's not like other cities where the fun stuff is obvious... you kind of have to go out and seek it. But once you find it, Atlanta has a TON to offer!

You might also want to try the Atlanta board for their advice. People are on there all the time asking what neighborhoods are good to live in, raise kids in, etc. 

Fotophreak4c

Oh good idea!! I always forget about the other city boards. I just love grant park, soooo cute! But kinda expensive...same with chandler park, cant afford it, but i love the houses there! 

dvshaw

I talked to DH about this too... and he also suggested Cabbagetown as a neighborhood to look into, it might be pricey, we haven't followed that neirghborhood specifically. And Decatur is SUPER cute. Lots of boutiques and galleries and shops... and there are suburbs of Decatur... like Avondale Estates or Scottdale. Decatur is kinda transitional though... some really great neighborhoods, and some pretty terrible ones. But downtown Decatur is soooo cute and fun. Just some other options!

Fotophreak4c

thanks i am going to look those up now! I was just talking outloud to myself about decatur as I was googling it and dh goes "why r u looking up catering companies, r u THAT bored?" LOL! im like uh NO decatur is a town!!!! crazy boy...