I am thinking about moving to the ATL area for a job. Where are the best places to live in/around Atlanta?

Unfortunately, everyone in Metro Atlanta is looking for the same things you are. That is why the traffic is so bad. At the same time, with a 1 hour commute that you are looking for, you should be able to work with that. I have a few ideas that should work ok.

First of all, the north/west Atlanta areas are very nice. You can live in the Moores Mill area (I-75 north from the city, Moores Mill west) and Buckhead are very nice, upscale parts of the city. There would be very little commute for you. Prices will be high, and the schools are not as good. If you can afford private school, this would be a great bet for you.

Try the Vinings, Smyrna areas of Cobb County. They are very nice, and not as far out. Vinings is really part of Buckhead, but in Cobb County (literally, it is where W. Paces Ferry crosses the river from Fulton County to Cobb County). This area is where some of the best private schools in the city are. And the commute will be short.

Smyrna is a very reasonably priced area of town. There are some great back roads to get downtown. Very safe neighborhoods, great place to raise a family. Austell is very similar, but a bit further out.

The key to Atlanta traffic is two fold. First is obvious, time. If you can go in before the traffic gets going, you will be fine. If you can get into work around 7-7:30, you can live anywhere in Metro Atlanta and get there in less than an hour. Getting home may be bad, as the traffic is thick from 4:30 to about 6:30 (shift the times one hour earlier for Fridays). The second factor for traffic is the roads. Downtown is usually crowded due to all the lights. It is just a typical city. A lot of your commute depends on where in the city your job is located. If you are near in the Turner complex, you have some great access from Cobb County (back roads to Marrietta St, which carries you to Northside Drive, to Tenth St, and you are right there). Since most of Gwinnett is newer growth, there is less "secret" back roads to take, but it is possible.

If you can get away with commuting at off times, your possibilities are wide open. Alpharetta would be great, as would Sandy Springs and Dunwoody. These are straight up 400, which is about the worst road of all for traffic. Avoid these areas for normal rush hour commute, great for off hours. Consider downtown at Atlantic Station or Ansley Park. You will pay a lot, and need to consider private schools, but the location is perfect. And it is safe, there are a lot of police patrol in these areas and very upscale.

Lawrenceville, Dacula, Snellville, Norcross etc. are the Gwinnett County areas that are nice. The I-85/Peachtree Industrial sector are brutal for commuting. Avoid this area unless you can find a backroad (which I could not) or avoid the bad times. Hope I helped, and hope I did not ramble too much either. Good luck.

As someone who lives in the city and commutes to the suburbs, I can tell you that the traffic heading into the city is horrendous. The same when I am heading back into the city at the end of the day with all the outbound traffic. I would recommend that initially, you rent a place for the first year. That will give you an opportunity to get to know the city, its traffic patterns and which areas would best suit your needs. There are a lot of great, safe intown neighborhoods that would have plenty of families with school-aged children. I think in the long run, you would be happier living closer to your job so that you spend less time in a car and more time with your family taking advantage of the many things Atlanta has to offer. Good luck!

Stockbridge, suburb south of the city with the best school system in ATL metro area

Buckhead, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Marietta, all areas north of the city. Alpharetta is far north (read: wicked commute)

Why not get a place in the city since your child is not in school yet? Ride your bike to work and forget about traffic commutes!

As far as diverse neighborhood, from what I can tell, neighborhood's can change almost as quickly as you can change your underpants. Areas that were white might be on the way to becoming black and vice versa. The Atlanta area probably has the most rapidly changing populations in the country. Either your moving to here, from one area to another, or outta here!

Look into:

Marietta, Smryna, Vinnings- generally anything in Cobb County is good, the schools are great, there are shoppping areas, nature trails at kennesaw Mountian and Chattahochee Trail, twenty minutes to the airport, it's also very beautiful.

Anything off interstate 1-75 furthest north you should go in Marietta is exit 265, with heavy traffic that will take you about 40 minutes into the city sometimes less.

It depends a heck of alot on your nationality and race, sorry to say, but generally speaking, you can find a good, moderately priced home in the Austell / Mableton area, traffic is an issue, but chances are you can't even find a job downtown.

Atlanta is THE MOST Spread-Out city on the Eastern Seaboard. Officially, It's only 14 miles square, but people from 75 miles outside the city limit still call it home.

Depending on where the job is, would determine the best place to live. Traffic will be a factor, unless you find a job outside of 285. Douglasville is a great area, diverse and affordable. Henry County, which included McDonough and Stockbridge is a great place, again diverse and affordable.

-- By my sister

Well, traffic is going to be horrible. But I would steer clear of the South side..its the side I hear most about on the news, and I have heard bad things about the schools...I don't know how true it is. I hear Stockbridge is nice(even though its the south part) But so is Buckhead, Alpharetta, and some parts of Marietta, and Smyrna...I believe Marietta...and Stockbridge are off of 75. But it also depends on the price range of houses you are looking for..and if you are looking for shopping nearby, but you can't go wrong with Buckhead...its off of 400

Well i live in woodstock GA... it is like a 30-40 minute drive to atlanta it has all the requirements but there are a few parts that are not so good but if you move in to this subdivision called Brookshire your little boy will have A LOT of friends around his age i know this because i live in Brookshire they also have good schools.

Since Atlanta is close to woodstock you'll get a pretty good job. I've lived here ALL my life and i love it!

Smyrna, Ga 30082 zip, would be the best, for nice neighbors, schools, shopping, and Jobs!!!!