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More help on where to move in Atl
Previously I asked about places to move, but I was focusing more on in town and very close in areas. We decided to look further out and in a lower price range since we'll have two mortgages (we're stuck with a home that I bought in 2006).
I commute to downtown Atlanta and want absolutely no more than a 45 minute commute during rush hour, but less would be great. We also have a low budget - under $200,000, but we would really like to stay under $185,000. Small homes are ok (like 3 bed 2 bath ranches). There are some great deals out there right now, and so far we have looked at a handful of homes in Marietta in the Walton and Pope HS districts. We're seriously considering also looking in the East Valley Elementary and Wheeler school district because it's even closer to 75.
Schools are important. They don't have to be as good as Walton and Pope, but we're not willing to move to Smyrna or Mableton.
Are there any other areas we should consider? I've always lived in the city or in the NW suburbs, so I'm not familiar with the commutes from perhaps Alpharetta or the Gwinnett area (maybe Lilburn??)
Any recommendations? I'm so tired of my drive 
Re: More help on where to move in Atl
Make sure you're very careful when looking at "Marietta" because sometimes it will show you the Marietta City Schools area and if you're concerned about a good school district, I would not go there.
Your "list" is pretty good to me. I'd suggest getting a realtor to help you out in your search.
Call me Kat =^..^=
This. I'd just rent until you have the other house sold if you absolutely do not want to live in the house until it sells. Buying a second house and limiting yourself because of the first mortgage could put you in a lesser house that you'd regret later.
The commute from anywhere in Gwinnett Co. is kinda nuts. Going down I85 through Spagetti Junction is worse than I75. Maybe you can see if there is something in Tucker/Northlake Mall area. I'm not sure how the schools are over there though.
We're going to hold on to the other house long term as a rental property. We're honestly OK living in a small, inexpensive house. Also, I am familiar enough with Roswell and Alpharetta to know that we would be happy living there, but I'm not familiar with the rush hour commute since I've never done it.
Right now my H and I rent a house in the Wheeler district, and we love it (but we don't have kids). It's a quiet old neighborhood, so our house definitely has quirks...but they're kind of cute, and the house was pretty inexpensive.
By the way, I grew up in Cobb and graduated from Walton...and I wouldn't be so quick to put it on a pedestal. I went to college not knowing how to study (just spit back information) and, once I graduated and got a job teaching in south Cobb, experienced total culture shock....because I had never been around people of other races. I would rather send my hypothetical children to a more diverse school than Walton!
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Interesting - I also graduated from Walton and can say I would send my children there in a heartbeat. I went to an excellent private university, did very well, and have been successful. Walton may not be the most diverse school in the State but it is far and away the best public school in terms of education.
And I graduated with students from all different races, there just wasn't large groups of them. I highly doubt your graduating class was 100% caucasion. If you had truly never been around people from other races before you started teaching (so after college) then that is more an issue of your not being out in the real world and less about what high school you went to. You live in Atlanta. This is not an un-diverse city.
I lived in both Roswell and Alpharetta and commuted to midtown. It makes a huge difference to be above Holcomb Bridge - it would take me a very miserable 15 minutes just to get from Haynes Bridge to Holcomb Bridge in the mornings (without traffic it takes about 5 minutes).
Martin's Landing (in Roswell off Holcomb Bridge) has some inexpensive smaller homes and decent schools and is close to 400. I'd stay out of Alpharetta if you want a shorter commute...it was pretty awful when I lived there and commuted.