Compromise Location, Option 1

Our House Hunters tour continues. If you need to catch up, you can read part 1 here, part 2 here and part 3 here.

So far we have looked at an example of what we’re calling “Our Ideal House” and an example of a home in our ideal neighborhood. In both situations, there was a deal-breaker that means we will most likely be looking for another location when it comes time to buy a home.

One of the compromise areas we may look at is an area of Atlanta known as Sandy Springs. Mike’s commute would remain about the same if we lived here; mine would be cut in half. That is a big plus for us with a little one on the way!

Sandy Springs is a community (city, actually) that is fairly close-in to the city. Many of the neighborhoods were built in the 60’s and 70’s and are thus home to young families all the way up to empty nesters.

This is an example of a home in Sandy Springs. It is a two-story traditional with four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms. It features wood floors, an updated kitchen and a large screened-in porch. It has 2,500 square feet and is mostly renovated. The list price for this home is $75,000 more than “Our Ideal House.”

One of our concerns with Sandy Springs is safety. That may raise a few eyebrows because Sandy Springs is considered by many to be a very nice area to live in. It is well-established and there are a lot of beautiful, expensive neighborhoods and homes. However, outside of the many nice neighborhoods there are some areas that are not quite as nice and there have been some crime issues in these not-so-nice areas (mostly lower-income apartments). Even though most of the crime is isolated to those areas, it still concerns me a bit.

Another one of our concerns with Sandy Springs – and the biggest one – is the cost of housing. There are not many homes in the area that would be possibilities for us in terms of price. (It took me a while to find a good example house!) It’s an expensive area. Most likely, to afford Sandy Springs, we would have to pick a home zoned to a less-desirable school. This would, of course, mean private school tuition.

All things considered, Sandy Springs could be a good option for us. I think that we would be able to work with a realtor to find the right mix of home price/good neighborhood/safety.