topic Re: Moving To Georgia in Personal Finance

Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 20:44:48 GMT

Hi All! My company is relocating me down to Atlanta, Georgia from New York. Can anyone here offer some advice for move? I know Atlanta isn't as expensive as New York but I would like to get a good idea what my budget for the first few months down there might look like and how much I should be looking to save.

Re: Moving To Georgia

luxeprw9 — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 00:26:16 GMT

I lived in Atlanta for 4 years. It's a different city than when I lived there but I have friends who are still there and keep me updated.

There's alot factors that go into deciding what relocation costs:

Do you have a car? Do you need to be close to public transportation?

How much space do you need?

Will you live close to your job?

Do you want to live in the city or suburbs?

Not sure what your salary is, but based on the image below, it won't take much! LOL!

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 00:56:55 GMT

I think its terrible that companies relocate. It causes difficulty to the employees that have to relocate and it causes great difficulty to the cities in which the company relocate to. This is happening all too much in Denver. Traffic is awful and the cost of housing is downright criminal. I would love to be able to sue CA, NY, TX and IL for not keeping companies/residents in their own states. I'm not bitter...promise .

Anyway, back to your questions. Like Denver, Atlanta is growing fast...too fast, so expect a lot of traffic and increasing cost of housing. Try to buy as soon as you can (renting at first is smart because it gives you an opportunity to get a feel for your new surroundings and lets you decide where you want to invest in a house). I think your greatest expense will be the move itself (which hopefully your company is paying for) and as the other poster said, if you do not currently have a car you may want to consider one if you move away from the city centre. Otherwise, as you pointed out, Atlanta is not as expensive as New York so as long as you are keeping your NY salary in GA you will probably come out way on top.

Best of luck. It will be scary and exciting all at once.

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 03:07:19 GMT

Do you have a car? Do you need to be close to public transportation?

Yes, I have a car, a nice plug-in hybrid that helps out so much in traffic. I'm almost done with paying it off.

How much space do you need?

I don't need too much, it'll just be me for most likely at least a year until my GF and I get married then she'll move down from NY. My current apartment in NY is only about 350 Sq. Feet but its a basement apartment I found on craigslist and I'm only paying $850 including Utilities. Atlanta looks like I'll be paying more overall for more space/legal apartment.

Will you live close to your job?

Preferably, I have heard Traffic absolutely sucks even compared to NY. I suppose I wouldn't mind about a 30 minute commute but less is preferable.

Do you want to live in the city or suburbs?

North Suburbs. My job is going to be located in Sandy Springs by St. Joseph's Hospital

And finally my salary for the year is about 57k before taxes. Can you send me the link for that calculator?

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 03:39:01 GMT

The main reason for the relocation is that my building is closing down. I'm actually a bit happy I'll be getting out of New York. Taxes are way too high (Going Higher!), housing is literally going through the roof, and in Georgia I would definitely be able to buy a house if I figure I'll be staying there for several years. My girlfriend and I looked at apartments the other day just to get an idea what we like and the prices were over $2000 a month for a one bedroom... and prices are only going up because demand is way outpacing the supply.

I'm fairly set money-wise; My company is paying for the move, I'm keeping my current salary, and I'm getting a nice bonus to pay for miscellaneous expenses although it's not enough for a downpayment on a home. If I like the area and I can convince my girl that it'll be best for us to stay/invest in a property then I'll see about house hunting in January when I've saved a decent sized amount to put down.

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 12:21:21 GMT

I made a move from NH to SC about 16 months ago and found the message boards at citydata.com to be very helpful prior to the move. They have one for each state and the one for Georgia at http://www.city-data.com/forum/georgia/ has boards broken down by area. There's also a general moving forum with some good info. Good luck on the move.

Re: Moving To Georgia

luxeprw9 — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 16:21:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Do you have a car? Do you need to be close to public transportation?
Yes, I have a car, a nice plug-in hybrid that helps out so much in traffic. I'm almost done with paying it off.
How much space do you need?
I don't need too much, it'll just be me for most likely at least a year until my GF and I get married then she'll move down from NY. My current apartment in NY is only about 350 Sq. Feet but its a basement apartment I found on craigslist and I'm only paying $850 including Utilities. Atlanta looks like I'll be paying more overall for more space/legal apartment.
Will you live close to your job?
Preferably, I have heard Traffic absolutely sucks even compared to NY. I suppose I wouldn't mind about a 30 minute commute but less is preferable.
Do you want to live in the city or suburbs?
North Suburbs. My job is going to be located in Sandy Springs by St. Joseph's Hospital
And finally my salary for the year is about 57k before taxes. Can you send me the link for that calculator?

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

I like the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area. I think you should look at Cobb County for housing. I believe you will find reasonable housing in that area and still be close to your job.

When you mention the $2,000 are you referring to NYC or Atlanta? You can definitely find way cheaper housing in Atlanta for under $2k, especially if you are in the suburbs or in a older community. http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartments/Georgia/Marietta/1-beds-1z141xt/

For housing and development news, check out: http://atlanta.curbed.com/

Re: Moving To Georgia

luxeprw9 — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 16:31:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I think its terrible that companies relocate. It causes difficulty to the employees that have to relocate and it causes great difficulty to the cities in which the company relocate to. This is happening all too much in Denver. Traffic is awful and the cost of housing is downright criminal. I would love to be able to sue CA, NY, TX and IL for not keeping companies/residents in their own states. I'm not bitter...promise .

Anyway, back to your questions. Like Denver, Atlanta is growing fast...too fast, so expect a lot of traffic and increasing cost of housing. Try to buy as soon as you can (renting at first is smart because it gives you an opportunity to get a feel for your new surroundings and lets you decide where you want to invest in a house). I think your greatest expense will be the move itself (which hopefully your company is paying for) and as the other poster said, if you do not currently have a car you may want to consider one if you move away from the city centre. Otherwise, as you pointed out, Atlanta is not as expensive as New York so as long as you are keeping your NY salary in GA you will probably come out way on top.

Best of luck. It will be scary and exciting all at once.

If there are Texans moving to Colorado, trust me it's because Californians are moving here in droves and they are trying to get away from them!! LOL! I live in North Texas, and it's turning into LA/SF part 2!

I agree that it raises the cost of houses and traffic is out of control, but I do understand the benefits for the people moving and I think that's great! I think anytime a family has an opportunity to raise their standard of living it's a win for everyone. Things will eventually settle and it will all balance out is my belief.

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 17:48:53 GMT

Thanks and I'm talking about the average prices for new apartments on Long Island, NY in a good location.

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 04:06:54 GMT

Sandy Springs and Alphareatta (sp) were not cheap compared to most of metro Atlanta when I lived their 30 plus years ago. Bad part those are you better areas along with Dunwoody when i was there. Acworth or East Cobb is cheaper but long drive. I want a Hot Dog and onion rings from the Varsity my favorite grease stop. I miss them.

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 14:47:58 GMT

I haven't yet looked at any professional movers yet although there is one I would definitely advise against, Two Men and a Truck. I had a friend move from NY to Cali that had come and pack everything. By the time she got her items in Cali, every single dish, china, cup, glass was broken. Apparently the movers decided that a sheet of paper was enough protection for thousands of dollars worth of fine china. She's been fighting with them for them to take the blame and pay for it but most of the stuff is priceless since she gathered most of them from around the world. Luckily since she's a fairly renowned para athlete and she knows a lot of people to get to word out but it's still being a huge pain for her and hasn't gotten cleared up yet two months later.

On other news, I was talking with a coworker who is currently working in Atlanta and lives only 9 miles away... she told me it usually takes her almost an hour to get to work and home each day... Looks like I'll be looking for a place much closer to work then!

Re: Moving To Georgia

minimist — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 00:02:13 GMT

I make a few k less than you and live comfortably. I just wanted to chime in about the housing. Like another person said, the Sandy Springs/Perimeter is not cheap compared to other places in Atlanta, but it is VERY worth the price to not be in traffic. It is also a nice area compared to some others, but not AS nice as other areas like Lenox for example. I live near Perimeter mall and work in Alpharetta. If you are going to work in Sandy Springs and plan on renting I'd recommend apartments there.

You could also live in Gwinnett (I'm thinking Norcross, duluth) and have a little more of a commute to get cheaper housing. When I lived in Gwinnett my commute was anywhere from 40mins to an hour and a half depending on traffic, but that was going to Alpharetta. You can also find very nice places in Gwinnett but it also has spots that aren't as nice as the rest. If you can handle the rent though I'd highly recommend the Perimeter area, lots to do and not a far drive away from anywhere important.

Re: Moving To Georgia

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 00:15:17 GMT

Minimist, Does Post still own a ton of better apartments in Sandy Springs/Dunwoody/ Alpharetta? We rented in Apharetta for 2 years while we kept our house here in Small town. I think we paid $800 for a 2 bedroom a million years ago.