[wawap]

DH & I are thinking about relocating to the area, but we're wondering if it would be insane for one of us to have a job in Atlanta and the other in Athens? Would there be a spot in the middle, or is the traffic just so terrible that we should hold out until we can both find a job in one of the two cities?

Thanks!

Laura

 

[nfpmom]

That would be difficult, but not impossible. You could pick a spot in Gwinnett County, like Lawrenceville or something... and both would have a (technically) 45 minute commute (traffic may make the one commuting to Atlanta even worse)

take care

 

[BensMom]

I work in downtown Atlanta, at the Capital, so its even on the south side of Atlanta. And one of my coworkers commutes from Athens. I think he is nuts!

His drive is typically between 1:45 and 2:00 hours each way and sometimes can be longer than that with an accident. He leaves around 6 and gets in around 8am. (He is also a recent college grad, no family and likes the night life in Athens too much to leave. :LOL But after almost 2 years of this, he is finally thinking about moving closer.)

That said, Lawrenceville would probably be the best middle of the road bet, but depending on when you commute and where in Atlanta you are commuting to, it could be 1:30 by itself. There shouldn't be too much traffic going towards Athens from L'Ville during commuting hours.

 

[Korwynne]

I'm in Duluth, Athens is about an hour from me, downtown atlanta about 30 minutes or so.. add in traffic, and it goes up.

Really, it depends WHERE in Atlanta. If it's up here on the NE side, you could live in Dacula or winder, or somewhere like that, and be in the middle.

 

[EmmalinesMom]

Driving in Atlanta traffic (and suburban Atl traffic) gets old real fast.

Like Jodi said, it kind of depends on where in Atlanta the job is, or if it's on the outskirts/suburbs.

I did the 2 hr commute deal before I had kids and I SO SO SO don't miss it.

(And Hi Jody

I have a box of clothes for the new babe...many not even worn because Catie the wonder chub grew so fast.

)

 

[wawap]

Yeah - it looks like we'll wait for something to open up for both of us in either of the two places... We wouldn't last with long commutes. We're totally spoiled by Cleveland "traffic," and like our 20 minute commute.

He's looking for something with Bell South & I'm a librarian (prefer to stay in college/university libraries). There are a lot of schools down there, so it shouldn't be long.

Thanks so much for the advice. I suspected as much.

Laura

 

[maureenfh]

I actually commuted from near downtown Atlanta (where we live) to Athens for 2 years. It's much easier to drive out of Atlanta to Athens at rush hour than to drive into Atlanta from Lawrenceville, in my opinion. It took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes to drive 70 miles, and a friend of mine who lives in Buford spends the same amount of time driving 40 miles. I do have a friend who lives in Monroe, and her husband takes I-20 into Atlanta while she drives to Athens. I think that's a much easier commute, if you decide to do it. It seems like everyone I know who commutes into the city from Gwinnett County hates the drive.

ETA: Good luck finding jobs within close commute to your jobs. Atlanta is known for having some of the longest commutes in the country, but you can find places to live near where you work.

 

[BensMom]

Well, there are tons of colleges in the Atlanta area, so you are not limited to Univ of GA. My Sil works for BellSouth and I think their main operations centers are in the perimeter area (Dunwoody) and Alpharetta. But there may be more.

 

[qsmama]

My brother lives in Walton co. near Monroe and he commutes to the CDC in ATl. It takes him about 45 minutes earlly in the morning and it takes about 30 minutes to get to Athens. I think the walton co. area may be easier because of it being so rural.

Jill

 

[Yo Becca]

I had a co-worker in ATL who did this while his wife worked in Athens. I think they lived closer to athens than lawerenceville. IT lasted 1 year, he was miserable - coming in very early andleavinglate to avoid traffic. He quit and they both moved to athens!

There are several big and small colleges/univ. in Atlanta - I'd hold out for a position in town. ANd I am a BIG fan of living in town (if you can afford it) if you work in town. We just moved out of atlanta to Columbus, but I would rather gouge out my eyes than live in an Atlanta suburb. The souless existence, the traffic, the insanity...yeech. Intown is awesome. But I'm snotty like that :LOL

 

[nfpmom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yo Becca but I would rather gouge out my eyes than live in an Atlanta suburb. The souless existence, the traffic, the insanity...yeech. Intown is awesome. But I'm snotty like that :LOL

<ahem> unless you also work in the 'burbs, in which case it would make more sense to live out there IMHO... and its cheaper, housing-wise. One *can* form a sense of community living in the burbs, believe it or not.

But ITA about the commuting... it doesn't make sense to live way out in the suburbs if you work intown... half your life is going to be spent in the car in utter misery. And the restaurant choices will *never* be as good... *sigh*
But it *is* cool that we have hiking trails literally 3 miles from our house, but then I think we technically live in the exurbs... further out than the suburbs.

take care

 

[LizD]

The only people I knew who managed a situation like that spent half the week apart, ie the one who worked in Atlanta stayed there four nights a week and then went home to Athens. Atlanta traffic is something else again. I knew people who regularly took an hour to go ten miles in morning rush hour.