Hellobee Boards

@Anagram: All depends on where you live and what you want for a house and day care for costs. Areas are all going to depend on how far your DH is willing to commute. Gwinnett county has the best schools but that is going to be a farther drive for your DH. Most area's aren't walkable.

Also DH might not be downtown. Plenty of big offices are in Midtown, Buckhead, Perimeter.

Traffic is a bitch, so I wouldn't even look at places till you know where he will be working.

@Anagram: Decatur, Virginia Highlands, Peachtree Hills, Brookhaven are all great areas. Smaller older more expensive homes though.

All the burbs have great areas but I don't know a lot about them since my DH is anti burbs.

@Smurfette: Morningside, Druid Hills, Inman Park, and a few others come to mind too . . . but again, it's a let your pocketbook be your guide!

@Anagram: Yep! I know it very well. There are a few bright spots for elementary schools, but after that it's a disaster. But it's an awesome area (for stuff to do). . . although you've got to know *exactly* where the house is because there are a few pockets you definitely want to avoid!

@Anagram: I don't know anything about their schools. The area is super cute but wouldn't work for us commute wise or price wise, so we never even looked into.

If you are open to the 'burbs Roswell, East Cobb, Alpharetta are all good options. The commute into town isn't the worst (though not great on certain days) but totally doable.
Roswell and Alpharetta both have cute downtown areas with a ton of great food options and are very family friendly. Tends to be the best of both worlds because you can escape the city if you want and if you want city life it's not too far.
Price depends a lot on size of house, land, etc but you will for sure get more house for the same price compared to the intown areas of the Highlands, etc. Schools are excellent in most areas. Daycare will run around $1,250 for very good centers.
Good luck!!

@ellewoods84..sounds like we have the same idea!
@anagram - happy to help more if needed. When we moved to ATL, we had trouble deciding where to live because it seems like everyone loves their neighborhood and dislikes everywhere else!

@Anagram: My bil/sil live in Candler Park and send their daughters to Mary Lin and Inman Park Cooperative preschool.
They love both! The houses are older and you get little house for $$$, but it's a cute area.

I agree with the Roswell, Alpharetta and East Cobb suggestions. I live in the Eastern part of Marietta and we chose that area because of the schools, cute downtown area and proximity to the city. Traffic/commute is really the most important part of deciding where to live in Atlanta as it directly relates to quality of life and how much time you get to see your family.