Moving to Atlanta area

[madsciencenow]

I'm tentatively considering a move to the Atlanta area (working in Midtown) and wondering if anyone has any experience with respect to where to live relative to 1. roads to ride that aren't inhabited by crazy drivers and 2. good schools for my kids?


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[fa63]

I live in ATL; I will send you a PM.

[madsciencenow]

Thx, look forward to hearing your advice!


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[DreaminJohn]

I'm currently in ATL on business and I'd say without reservation that you need to add a third criteria: traffic in relation to your job.

The native-folk can keep me honest but the issue to me seems to be that the traffic has no pattern. I live in central NJ and the traffic, while gruesome at times, is fairly straightforward to predict: heavy going north in the morning and heavy going south in the afternoon. Atlanta seems so spread out commercially that everyone seems to be going everywhere at the same time. MARTA seems to help somewhat but to me the lines seem about 5 miles too short in every direction.

Just my $.02

PS I know nothing about the riding in the area.

Good luck.

[jr59]

You might want to drop SamIam a pm.

[berserk87]

Atlanta sucks. Don't go.

Note: I am biased because my buddy Madsciencenow is considering leaving me to move to Hotlanta.

[FlashUNC]

I love Atlanta. Miss living there. Truly great city.

Check out the Dunwoody Cycle Club for weekend morning rides on the Northside of town.

I generally found traffic tolerable living inside the perimeter. If you live outside and have to commute inside, your life will be hell. But if you're inside it really isn't that terrible. And if work is close to MARTA, all the better.

[Ralph]

I imagine you will really like living on the N side.

[zap]

Curious myself. We are still thinking of moving out of D.C.

Not working corporate so rush hour not a concern. Looking to settle in an area with disposable income, great schools, cycling, Whole Foods, restaurants, etc. Plan on starting a small business or two.

[fa63]

zap - check out John's Creek.

[madsciencenow]

Berserk87: you know it kills me!


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[madsciencenow]

Thanks to all for the great advice so far! Really appreciate it!


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[PQJ]

Best schools are in East Cobb. Riding up there is pretty good, too. Alpharetta has good schools as well.
In my opinion, I would not recommend Dunwoody Cycling Club. Nice group of people. BUT - like many area clubs - very poor ambassadors for the sport and if you want to ride with the 'A' group, a testosterone filled and dangerous ride. The best group ride is the so-called "Sunday Ride" which runs April through October. There are other groups, of course, but I generally ride solo or in a smaller groups with trusted and seasoned cyclists.
If you want more info, feel free to PM me.

[Force]

I am in East Cobb near the Roswell line by the Chattahoochee River. I grew up in East Cobb and can talk to you about schools there. Feel free to PM me.

The riding is great in Roswell and in the Milton/Alpharetta area. Check out Bike Roswell! and Bike Alpharetta, two local nonprofits. The Roswell Cycling Festival is taking place May 7-15th. Check out http://www.bikeroswell.com/rides-maps/roswell-cycling-festival/

[MacMan]

I live in Atlanta and work in midtown. Been here 15 years. I cannot echo enough the comment about living inside 285 on the north side. Yes, there are lovely areas and great riding in Alpharetta/Roswell/East Cobb and the public schools are much better there too - but you will sit in your car for 2 hours a day getting in and out of midtown. There are pockets of very good public elementary schools intown, Morris Brandon, Jackson, Sarah Smith, Morningside, all in Buckhead or Virginia Highlands area. Past that public school is questionable.

Lots of very good riding. Check out Atlanta Cycling's website for group rides and maps. Also, Dahlonega is 60 miles north and home to the "gaps" which offer awesome mountain riding.

Feel free to PM me for more info.

[PQJ]

Here's another good resource for local rides: http://sadlebred.com

[madsciencenow]

Sounds to me like it's MARTA or bust from the N side unless I'm inside the loop. Is the commute similarly crappy from the S.?


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[fa63]

You don't want to be too far south of the city :) But yes, traffic backs up in both directions.

[malcolm]

No idea about living in Atlanta but I did a ride that is I think north of Atlanta that left from Cartersville if I recall correctly, "the beautiful back roads century". It wasn't the best century I've done but some of it was over some truly beautiful remote blacktop. I don't know if it still exists but I'm sure you could find some great riding along it's course

[fa63]

The BBC route is indeed very nice (the ride still exists by the way); we go up there about once a month.

[PQJ]

Sounds to me like it's MARTA or bust from the N side unless I'm inside the loop. Is the commute similarly crappy from the S.?


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Yes, possibly even worse.

No idea about living in Atlanta but I did a ride that is I think north of Atlanta that left from Cartersville if I recall correctly, "the beautiful back roads century". It wasn't the best century I've done but some of it was over some truly beautiful remote blacktop. I don't know if it still exists but I'm sure you could find some great riding along it's course

Cartersville has some nice roads. Unfortunately, it also has a high concentration of aggressive, beer-swilling rednecks who think nothing of rolling coal, buzzing right by you and possibly even throwing a beer can at you. I avoid riding in that area nowadays.

[Ralph]

http://www.silvercometga.com/

There seems to be some long trails around....like this one.

I would never consider living anywhere I wasn't close to a good trail. Use for all kinds of activities....gets you out into riding country etc. Ride during work week.

Have never ridden above trail.

[Elefantino]

Atlanta does suck, but mostly because of the Braves and Ted. ;)

On the other hand, you are one hour from Dahlonega, one of the truly great places to ride in these United States.

[malcolm]

silver comet goes all the way into Alabama. I think some 98 mi. I've not ridden it in a while but it was funny how the quality of the surface dropped on the Al side. I always found it pretty boring if I'm being honest. I used it to train for a couple double centuries.

[madsciencenow]

Beer-swilling rednecks?! Sounds like the hills of southern Indiana!


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[fa63]

I have never had an issue riding in Cartersville (other than the occasional dog chasing us). Doesn't mean there aren't issues, but I imagine they are rare.

Silver Comet is nice and terrible at the same time :D We refer to it as the Silver Vomit because it is nauseatingly boring but it is nice to have as well when you want to knock out some long miles without vehicular traffic.

[rab]

North side is a great place to live - Alpharetta/johns creek/Roswell and out into Forsyth co, but as mentioned, if you are commuting into downtown during the normal rush hours, you will spend a lot of time in the car. Marta could be good option if feasible? 400 can be unbelievable at times. And it's a toll (still, I think) inside the perimeter.

Riding is good, tons of little country roads as you get further out, although many have been swamped by developments and related traffic so have to explore to determine best ones.
As mentioned, dahlonega and north GA mtns an hour-ish north. Tons of riding, various groups of all types, should be able to find your niche.

Good luck!

[madsciencenow]

Here's another question related to traffic. I get up now to ride around 4-4:30 AM. Instead of riding I could go to work (assuming my new employer tolerates this) and then and be home 3-4 in afternoon. Would this help with traffic? If so how much would you estimate assuming I live on the North side outside the loop?


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[LegendRider]

Here's another question related to traffic. I get up now to ride around 4-4:30 AM. Instead of riding I could go to work (assuming my new employer tolerates this) and then and be home 3-4 in afternoon. Would this help with traffic? If so how much would you estimate assuming I live on the North side outside the loop?


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That would help immensely. At that hour - depending on where you live of course - you could probably be in midtown in 35 minutes.

[FlashUNC]

Here's another question related to traffic. I get up now to ride around 4-4:30 AM. Instead of riding I could go to work (assuming my new employer tolerates this) and then and be home 3-4 in afternoon. Would this help with traffic? If so how much would you estimate assuming I live on the North side outside the loop?


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Living outside the Perimeter and commuting to Midtown? You're a brave soul.

In that instance -- assuming no wacky schedule -- I'd strongly recommend MARTA if the office is near a station.

[fa63]

Here's another question related to traffic. I get up now to ride around 4-4:30 AM. Instead of riding I could go to work (assuming my new employer tolerates this) and then and be home 3-4 in afternoon. Would this help with traffic? If so how much would you estimate assuming I live on the North side outside the loop?


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From Dunwoody (we are just outside the perimeter with easy access to I-285), it takes me 15 minutes to get to Georgia Tech via GA-400 if I leave before 6:30 am. On the way back, it is not bad if I can leave by 3:30 pm or so. After that, things get ugly pretty quickly.

By the way, GA-400 is no longer a toll road; they did away with them last year.

[madsciencenow]

Thanks again to all for your insight. Really appreciate it!


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[peanutgallery]

Keep in mind that MARTA is purposefully limited, particularly outside the perimeter and especially on the south side. NIMBY

Lived there about 10 years, it sucked. People are worse than the traffic and the traffic is pretty bad