Skadi Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 (edited) We'll probably moving to Athens, Georgia (pop. 110k) soon because of DH's work. We've always lived in small towns, so this is going to be a big change for us. We're trying to decide between these two options. 1. A house outside the city. DH would have to commute 45 minutes or more. The houses are cheaper, but they're also a lot older, in need of updates, etc. Grocery shopping might be a pain. No trash pick-up. It's quiet and the wooded lots are big enough that you feel like you have privacy. 2. A gated community within the city. Asssociation fees are an added expense, but there's a community pool and playground. It's a ten minute drive to scenic downtown, and close to the museums, parks, etc. The houses here are much bigger and newer, pretty much move-in ready. Homes are $50k more expensive, but it's still within our budget. They have very small lots--this is something we're not used to at all. There's maybe...25 feet between the houses. We don't have dogs, so we don't have to worry about pets not having enough space. DH is partial to living in the country and commuting. He likes the privacy and being able to see trees instead of other houses outside his windows. I'm leaning toward the city, because I think it might be good for us to break out of our comfort zone and take advantage of the amenities the city has to offer. Which would you choose? Do you have any advice for us? Help us decide! Edited August 4, 2012 by Skadi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I would say outside the city because you would have a bigger yard for the kids to play and you would have more privacy and quiet. The city is nice too, but youre right next to your neighbor, which is nice but also has drawbacks. Walking distance and short drive is also a bonus, but not with traffic youll face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I wouldn't pay more only to get out of my comfort zone. If you were renting I'd say try the city for a year. Then you could pan your time to take advantage of the shorter commute and closeness to museums, ect. If you really must buy now, go outside the city. This is your comfort zone so it's more likely to be a good fit. I'd personally hate it. Dh and I highly value his short commute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golfcartmama Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 There are SO many nice places in and around Athens. Have you looked while you were there? Have you worked with a buyer's agent? I feel certain you can find a bigger lot inside the city limits or a more updated house outside. I have heard there are a lot of homeschool opportunities there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 One thing to seriously factor in is that Athens is a big college town. That may not impact the neighborhood, but it will impact traffic and crowds especially when they have home football games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 We'll probably moving to Athens, Georgia (pop. 110k) soon because of DH's work. We've always lived in small towns, so this is going to be a big change for us. We're trying to decide between these two options. 1. A house outside the city. DH would have to commute 45 minutes or more. The houses are cheaper, but they're also a lot older, in need of updates, etc. Grocery shopping might be a pain. No trash pick-up. It's quiet and the wooded lots are big enough that you feel like you have privacy. 2. A gated community within the city. Asssociation fees are an added expense, but there's a community pool and playground. It's a ten minute drive to scenic downtown, and close to the museums, parks, etc. The houses here are much bigger and newer, pretty much move-in ready. Homes are $50k more expensive, but it's still within our budget. They have very small lots--this is something we're not used to at all. There's maybe...25 feet between the houses. We don't have dogs, so we don't have to worry about pets not having enough space. DH is partial to living in the country and commuting. He likes the privacy and being able to see trees instead of other houses outside his windows. I'm leaning toward the city, because I think it might be good for us to break out of our comfort zone and take advantage of the amenities the city has to offer. Which would you choose? Do you have any advice for us? Help us decide! I'm with you. I'd want to be where I could meet new people and the kids could make friends. I'd also want to be close to dance lessons, etc. and I'd love to be near museums and parks. We live in the country now and it is nice, but it's a 40 minute round trip to ballet 3 times a week and the same for swim team. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 After living in an old house I would move into a newer one. :D Also a 45 minute plus commute takes a lot out of an evening. Okay, I'd love to live in a city again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Are you sure the commute will only be 45 minutes? I can drive to Atlanta from my house in 45 minutes unless it's rush hour. Then it takes at least 1.5 hours. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 We live in a city and I LOVE it. Dh has a Short Commute, and many social and cultural amenities are nearby. Honestly the commute thing alone is worth it for us. Having DH with us for at least an additional hour every day than if we lived suburban is great. We generally love our neighbors. My kids do activities I wouldn't consider if it were further. My only piece of advice if you decide to try living urban is choose your neighborhood carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Pluses and minuses-- Plus for country house-- Privacy Little neighorhood kids drama (you can choose whom they play with easier when you have to schedule playdates) More space for less $ More comfortable for your husband Minuses for country house-- Long commute means less time with Dad, Dad is more tired, later dinner which can impact evening activities, longer tme each day for you to have to handle kids on your own. You have to consciously schedule time with friends You have to provide activities where friends can be found You have to drive to find things to do; time/gas money/emotional energy Other things you mentioned--maybe have to fix up older home, no trash, more time spent on mowing grass Plus for city-- Close to things to do Less time driving to shop/errands Trash not a consideration Less home maintenance maybe--certainly less yard work Neighborhood amenities, including kids to play with Dad home quicker (opposite of above stuff) Minuses Noise Influence of neighbors harder to control traffic $$ I'd stop thinking of it as either/or and find middle ground, if you can. Also, even if you think you will NEVER put your kids in school, you will want to live in a good school area--not only may you change your mind, but also for resale value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 There are SO many nice places in and around Athens. Have you looked while you were there? Have you worked with a buyer's agent? I feel certain you can find a bigger lot inside the city limits or a more updated house outside. I have heard there are a lot of homeschool opportunities there! :iagree: there should be much more available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 How close is the city house to campus? Would you be highly inconvenienced by home football and basketball games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I don't think I'd like either option. Are there any places nearer to or inside the city in regular neighborhoods (not gated communities or managed by associations)? That's my vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I don't think I'd like either option. Are there any places nearer to or inside the city in regular neighborhoods (not gated communities or managed by associations)? That's my vote. :iagree: Dh and I had a similar discussion when we moved here. We are in small town, however, but I love the walking ability. I don't like the really close neighbors (see my noise thread from the middle of the night), but I like being around people. I got higher priority in my vote, in the city, because *I* was the one home all day. Our last house was in a subdivision where you couldn't walk anywhere and the neighbors were never home or were unfriendly. It felt lonely. Here I can see the town square, watch people walk, have 3 annual parades that queue right outside my house, and I can walk to the library. It's like small town urban, and aside from the 3 am noise, I do love it. Dh would still prefer to be in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I voted in the city or at least closer to the city. We live 70 miles from a city of about 500k and 8 miles from a town of 900. I have been dreaming of moving to where my dh works and living in town, now it's another small town (700) but they are part of a library system (unlike our library here that has one library that is probably 24x24). So I could walk to the store, library and LAKE. We love our little farm too much though.:D There is also gas cost to consider. My dh also commutes about 50 minutes. I told him I thought we were getting too old to waste 2 hours and day and $200 a month on a commute. All that to say why I voted city.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I vote for in the city. Or, outside the city if there is a great public transportation option. We moved from the country into the (very small, is hardly a city) city and love it. I love that I can walk to everything. I love that we have lived for the past almost 10 years with 1 car and it is not an issue. There are entire stretches of days I don't use the car. DH bikes or busses to work. I love how much we save on gas. I love that the ballet school is walking distance. So is the library. So is a movie theater and most restaurants. So are piano lessons and the family doctor. I feel badly for all the dance moms who have to drive 30 mins for class three times a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Would you rather spend your weekends at home taking care of property OR in the city doing things? Also, do your kids do/want to do activities? Or would your family rather do things at home most days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I'm going to echo others and say that it should be very easy to find something rural and affordable within a short drive of Athens. I mean, 45 minutes outside of Athens one way and you're pretty much in Atlanta. DH grew up in Athens--he lived inside the city limits (on the eastside) in a big, nice house on 4 acres of land, and last we checked the zestimate on that house (his parents sold it several years ago) was right around 200,000. So your money goes a long way in Athens. ETA: it's making me chuckle a bit to hear Athens referred to as a "big city." It's all relative, I guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 If you're moving to a new area, my vote would be renting for a year to figure out where you ultimately want to live. I don't think real estate prices are going to rise that much between now and next spring. Here's why: the last of the exotic mortgages written during the boom don't reset until this fall and it takes 12-18+ months for a house to go through the foreclosure process. There is already a huge "shadow" inventory of homes that already are bank-owned but haven't yet been put on the market because the banks don't want to dump them all at once and tank prices even further. These homes will be put on the market in batches over the next couple of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I don't think I'd like either option. Are there any places nearer to or inside the city in regular neighborhoods (not gated communities or managed by associations)? That's my vote. :iagree: I don't know Athens that well only having passed through a few times, but I like city life in general. It seems odd that the only option would be in a gated community. If you're moving to a new area, my vote would be renting for a year to figure out where you ultimately want to live. I don't think real estate prices are going to rise that much between now and next spring. :iagree: Though I wasn't sure that she was saying they were buying or renting - it wasn't clear. "Cheaper houses" could just mean cheaper to rent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabrizia Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I'm going to echo others and say that it should be very easy to find something rural and affordable within a short drive of Athens. I mean, 45 minutes outside of Athens one way and you're pretty much in Atlanta. DH grew up in Athens--he lived inside the city limits (on the eastside) in a big, nice house on 4 acres of land, and last we checked the zestimate on that house (his parents sold it several years ago) was right around 200,000. So your money goes a long way in Athens. ETA: it's making me chuckle a bit to hear Athens referred to as a "big city." It's all relative, I guess! :iagree:, and I was chuckling a bit as well at hearing Athens called a big city. I guess it is relative to where you start out. That being said, I would not deliberately chose to move somewhere 45 minutes from the office. Due to a job change DH commutes an hour each way to work, even though he doesn't drive it (there is a commuter train), it still makes things difficult sometimes, either if he has to stay late (the train only runs to certain times), if there is an emergency (again train only running certain hours makes it more complicated to get home), etc. Plus it takes up a lot of time. DH is gone for almost 11 hours a day due to the commute, which is a long day for anyone. It means even though he does get home at a reasonable time, he is tired from the long day and the commute and it just makes things harder. As mentioned before I am pretty sure you can find something a lot closer to Athens but not in the city if you want to go that route instead of either far away or right in the city. Oh and in the summer Athens is extremely quiet since all the college students are gone, it is very active during the school year (my sister and brother in law went to UGA). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I don't like long commutes. I don't want dh to have a long commute. I have too many dc with dr's appts and orthodontists and therapists and lessons and church activities. That would really be a deciding factor for me. Hope you can find something that suits your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I couldn't vote...as that gated community doesn't do anything for me....but would say to try to be "in the city." I don't consider Athens a city, lol. I consider it a college town. I live in Cincinnati and I consider this a small city, and it is at least 3X the size of Athens, likely more. The country sounds nice, but it has some serious drawbacks. Considering that your husband is leaning towards that commute...you should really look at it, though. He might not like it after a few months of driving it though! You kids might also want something more. Oh well. Seriously, that gated community sounds like a version of my personal nightmare, though. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 I agree with renting for a year. That way you'l get to know the area and have more of an idea of where you want to be. Right now you just don't know enough to buy and possibly be stuck somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 We've done it both ways and would do almost anything to avoid a commute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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