Where to build -- ATL north side
 

I currently live on the south side of ATL. I really like my neighborhood and with the addition of a few new restaurants and the Costco the south side is really improving. Unfortunately I want to have easier access to the north GA and NC mountains as well a view with at least a little bit of vertical development. We're still considering a move to SLC (love the mountains, hate winter so probably not) but can anybody recommend a neighborhood or town on the north side that fulfills these requirements:

1. Mountain views
2. 1.5 hours or less to the airport (not accounting for rush hour or accidents)
3. Enough acreage that I won't know my neighbors -- I'm thinking 3-5 acres and wooded.
4. Established high speed internet
5. Available lots, I want to build from scratch
6. No more than 30 minutes from a Costco and preferably 15 minutes from a major grocery store

Schools are not a factor, we're empty nesters next year. We're not scared of septic and a well. My own inept research has capped the northernmost boundary around Dahlonega, but even there it's tough to tell on Zillow if any of the available land is part of a neighborhood or has high speed internet access.

Thanks!

Forsyth County (Cumming, GA)

I would also look in Milton.

Canton or even Jasper (pushes the timing to Costco be a little). Express lanes down 575 and 75 work great. (good luck with your sanity if you drive 400 more than once a year).

Dahlonega easily exceeds your 1.5 hour limit unless you only bid Saturday trips with a 04:30 duty in. Dahlonega is a nice town. I-85/400 can be apocalyptic.

There is a new Costco in Canton, GA. Lots of land in that area. Milton is nicer. Forsyth has the most Klan activity, but also now holds the distinction for the "richest" per capita County in Georgia. I don't like the Forsyth vibe, but the schools are good and I'm sure all the immigrants that are moving to the area (improving the per-capita income stats) are changing the "vibe."

I am in Cobb. We're built out of land. Really good property is starting to go for over $1m an acre as developers are pushing density. Cherokee Co. is where I'd go. You've got the express lanes, highway 41 and an escape route around the west side of town (South Cobb, Camp Creek) if things are really bad.

How are the schools up in Canton. I don't know anyone up there. I can read ratings but I know those dont always tell the whole story. My wife was a teacher in a 8 that she hated and a 5 that she loved.

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Thanks for the replies so far. If anybody has specific neighborhoods that would be great. I'm not moving this year so I don't want to involve a realtor yet but I'm sure they'd be a wealth of information once I get closer to my bug out date.

When you guys are talking express lanes, do you mean Peach Pass or HOV? Copy stay the hell away from 400!!! Dahlonega is just the 30 minute Costco limit as well as the no-traffic 1:30 limit. I prefer to play the RES game and fly as little as possible but that means I need to adhere to the 2 hour policy. My current property in southern Fayetteville is a little over 3 acres with pine and hardwoods between me and my neighbors and I don't think I'd want to go any smaller. $1M/acre is WAY out of my price range!!! I'm hoping $40-60k for my 3-5 acres will get the job done but reality might make me break that price goal.

Have you looked at Big Canoe?

Godspeed. We lived in Roswell for a year and then caved to move to Base Housing due to traffic to the airport, schools, shopping....Ev. Ry. Where.

Just sayin.

My kids graduated from east Cobb schools (which were great) and then we moved up to Ellijay (Gilmer County). I suggested Canton based on my impression of available land as I drive through (and from visiting a friend that lives there). I apologize, but I don’t know much about the schools.

I plan 3 hours for the drive (leaving house until I need to be at the gate), and I pattern bid to limit my drives to work at 3 per month (until I can hold a fleet and schedule with longer trips and fewer drives to work), and accept the additional planned slop in my drive time as the cost of a large acreage, horses and livestock, shooting on my own land, and small town living. I grew up up rural and it has become an acquired taste for my wife and we enjoy it a lot.

I have have a friend that make the drive from Big Canoe (no kids and >50% 7ERA), and another that drives from Blue Ridge (also empty nest; 330A). I also know someone that is west of Lake Allatoona (Cartersville; 73A, bids reserve and is a bit of a GS ninja). Lots to consider and weigh in the balance, but it is pretty as you get into the hills.

Considering the the cost, upheaval in family life, and the importance of schools, I would suggest investigating any area in person before committing. I hate traffic enough that before we bought land I burned multiple days off driving to the airport from during my typical get to work time just to see what it was like (no thank you on Alpharetta, Cumming, Dahlonega, or anywhere that touches 85 or 400).

Good to know. Thanks. We've been looking around down there for like a year. Just trying to find the best value/school ratio. East Cobb and PTC prices just seem so inflated right now.

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You might scout land via the landandfarm.com listings - it will give you a feel for price per acre and availability in the different areas.

I live in Alpharetta, traffic is not bad to the airport. Takes me between 35-50 min depending time of day. 400 is not bad, where you see the most traffic is the surface roads east of 400 in Alpharetta and west of 400 in Roswell. Milton is And crab Apple the best areas that are still semi untouched.

Might want to consider reaching out to a realtor that could answer all of these for you. Along with helping negotiate with a builder.

I like the area, plus I've got a track car so AMP is right there. Unfortunately it's >40 minutes to the closest Costco and nearly 30 minutes to Kroger, it will be a tough (but not impossible) sell for the wife. As rural as it is up there, also not sure I'd be able to get decent internet. That's a 100% deal killer for both of us.

I have family there, no bones just trying to offer info. They use Windstream 100mbps. Cool place, lots of amenities. Nice golf course and hiking. There’s an IGA real close but ya, everything else is a drive.

I appreciate the tip, also good to know there’s an option for fast internet.

[QUOTE=Han Solo;2955909]I currently live on the south side of ATL. I really like my neighborhood and with the addition of a few new restaurants and the Costco the south side is really improving. Unfortunately I want to have easier access to the north GA and NC mountains as well a view with at least a little bit of vertical development. We're still considering a move to SLC (love the mountains, hate winter so probably not) but can anybody recommend a neighborhood or town on the north side that fulfills these requirements:

1. Mountain views
2. 1.5 hours or less to the airport (not accounting for rush hour or accidents)
3. Enough acreage that I won't know my neighbors -- I'm thinking 3-5 acres and wooded.
4. Established high speed internet
5. Available lots, I want to build from scratch
6. No more than 30 minutes from a Costco and preferably 15 minutes from a major grocery store

Schools are not a factor, we're empty nesters next year. We're not scared of septic and a well. My own inept research has capped the northernmost boundary around Dahlonega, but even there it's tough to tell on Zillow if any of the available land is part of a neighborhood or has high speed internet

I used to live up north. It has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. The new Express lane on I-85 has caused major traffic problems all times of the day, and it cost about $15 each way to drive to the airport. The crime has gotten out of control. Personally I moved back to Florida as I could not stand the crime, racism and traffic issues any longer.
FWIW. Lake Lanier is awesome and a Costco is at the mall of GA. Buford school system is awesome with unbelievable facilities if you have school age kids.
Best of luck!!

Dawsonville gives you the mountain views and gets you not as far from the airport. Plus it has civilization there while still allowing for some acerage (affordable).

Milton is really nice, as is John's Creek, but I'd be hard pressed to ever live in Fulton County. Property taxes are ridiculously high and most of it does not get returned to the north end of the county. I live in Cobb as well but, as Bar said, we're running out of land for new construction (at least in the parts of the county you would want to live in). Northern Cherokee county seems like what you're looking for.

If you can push out your drive time a little bit, Jasper, Ellijay, or Big Canoe would be worth looking at (price tag starts getting higher again around Big Canoe.

Maybe 10 years ago, but they just spent in the neighborhood of $150 million in revitalizing downtown Alpharetta. Still has a year or 2 in till complete. Now tons of restaurants, shopping, green space and will be connected Avalon. Also, they are expanding 400 and putting peachpass lanes. Wish they were expanding Marta but I digress.

If internet is that important to you:

Isn't "5g" going to be super fast and everywhere soon? (1-5 years) Plus E. Musk is launching satellites for global internet access.

Just a thought: if you're building a "forever home", the internet is about to be everywhere, and very fast.

(Probably)

5G is a gimmick for most users. If you already have even a modestly quick home internet you will never notice. Who cares if you can download the enire LOTR movies in a millionth of a second versus today's speeds that enable instant hi def watching? That won't effect your life not once not ever. At the mobile level the theoretical difference is slightly greater, but the practical difference is still effectively zero. From what I've seen WRT how the infrastructure works and will be rolled out, its very low power so it has to be literally everywhere. Small "towers" on every corner etc. For areas like the OP is considering, that will likely not happen for a long time if ever. There is simply no cost:benefit from it to justify the investment.

While one may desire and benefit from fewer "dead spots" up in the foothills for cell coverage, the benefits of 5G over 4G are miniscule. At home they are functionally irrelevant compared to existing speeds unless you are a professional, ultra high volume hi res video editor uploader/downloader. You're not so you won't even notice.

As of a few years ago Cobb Commissioners were standing in front of microphones and stating unequivocally that if we brought MARTA to Cobb that black people would steal our cars and drive them back to Atlanta. They don't say these things anymore and the Chairman is a pilot, good guy, married to a Delta FA. Still, we've had Commissioners poison the idea of using the existing rail that ties Vinings, Marietta and Woodstock to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson.

The airport is one of the largest employers in the State and aviation is the largest employer. If you tie your community to this economic engine it grows and gets wealthy. Just look at Northpoint. Shame that bigotry and subsidies from supposedly "conservative" folks have doomed Cobb, but now the so-called "conservatives" want to subdivide the county to avoid the mess they've created.

yeah Dawsonville cool but every time Bill wins a race the siren goes off. Distracting and ruins the peace and quiet. Oh wait....