Hi there,
My husband and I are in the process of finding a home to rent in or around Atlanta. We have a 16 month old son. Some of the neighborhoods we've looked at have community playgrounds and pools--but some don't.
If you live in a neighborhood without a pool, where do you swim? I'm thinking that once summer rolls around, I'd like easy access to a pool but if we rule out some of the non-pool neighborhoods, it'll be slim-pickens.
Also, what public/community parks do you frequent? Do you think that as a (possible) SAHM, a non-pool/park neighborhood should be a deal-breaker. We're moving from an area that has a really good county park system and a neighborhood with a community pool. I'm not familiar with what's available in Atlanta in this area.
We're looking all over the map at this point but mostly: Marietta, Mableton, Smyrna.
Thanks for any help and hope to join you ladies soon!
Re: Where do you swim?
This was the first year where I really wished our neighborhood had a pool. When we bought in here pre-kids, it really never occurred to me. I'm a working mom and if I SAH, I KNOW I would want a neighborhood that had one. Atlanta is slowly gaining more splash parks/spraygrounds but not fast enough. I don't know if it would be a deal breaker but it would definitely be a major con for me.
I can't believe you can't find subdivisions in Marietta without pools. I grew up in Marietta and every neighborhood I lived in, or friends lived in, had the whole pool/tennis thing.
I live ITP now and we don't have one in our hood but there are lots of public ones around.
Sure! If you don't mind sending any details my way, that would be greatly appreciated. You can PM me or email me at lexduarte111 at aol dot com. Thanks!
IDK but our agent is trying to pull MLS on divisions with amenities. We'd like to be in east Marietta (b/c of DH's commute for work) but those seem to be older houses w/ no community pool so we're wondering if we should re-look at those.
I don't know what you mean by East Marietta but I grew up in East Cobb and literally every subdivision around me had those amenities.
My husband traveled there this week, not I- so I could very well not be explaining it correctly...I just mean on a map, the east part of Marietta seems to be more established neighborhoods that don't have a neighborhood pool. There were a few great places he saw that were more west in Marietta but the commute would be a little much.
If you can suggest any general areas since you grew up there, that would be appreciated. DH traveled there for 4 days hoping to secure something and now we've got nothing because our first choice was rented.
I just sent you an email, hope it helps!
If you can't buy in a neighborhood with swim/tennis, a lot of neighborhoods allow people to buy memberships to their swim/tennis. My friend, who lives in my neighborhood, buys into a subdivision down the street, for only about $300 for the season.
In past years, I've gone to my gym (the Y in Marietta only has an indoor pool, but Alpharetta and Buckhead have great outdoor pools, and Lifetime Fitness has the best pool, ever.) This past year, I spent a lot of time at Piedmont Park but its kind of a haul from Marietta. Definitely worth the drive though if you wanted to go just a few times in the summer.
Ask your realtor if he/she knows anything about buying membership to neighboring communities. Also, in Marietta is the East Cobb Swim Tennis club. I don't know how much it costs, but its an option.
I have always lived in the city so we use Piemonte park, but I have tons of friends that live that area. One really important thing you want to pay attention to in Cobb county is school districts. They have some very good schools and not only is it important for your child, but it also becomes important when you sell your house. Lots of people buy houses around here just to be in certain districts. I know you have a young child so maybe not something you would have thought of. Also if it was me I would rent in the neighborhood first. There are tons of good rentals in that area right now. It's just my opinion but all the neighborhoods around atlanta are very different. You don't want to be stuck somewhere you don't love.