City, lake or mountains: choosing where to live north of Atlanta

Most people who call us already know their budget. Fewer know which of three quite different lives they are shopping for. North of Atlanta you can have a walkable intown address, a house on the water, or a ridge with a long view, and each asks something different of you.

The city and the GA-400 suburbs

Buckhead, Brookhaven and Sandy Springs put you close to work and dinner. Follow GA-400 north and the lots get larger: Roswell, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, and then Milton, where large-lot zoning protects horse farms and acreage. Britney leads here. The question she asks first is how you want a weekday to go, because the commute and the school run shape daily life more than the house does.

Lake Lanier

The lake is less than an hour from Atlanta and covers about 38,000 acres with nearly 700 miles of shoreline. No two coves are alike. Karen has lived on it for more than twelve years, and her first question is how you plan to use the water. That answer points to a side of the lake: the south end near Buford and Flowery Branch for the shortest drive, the Gainesville side for established communities and marinas, or the north end for deeper, quieter water. Read the Lake Lanier guide before you fall for a listing photo, because dock permits and water depth decide what a lake lot is worth.

The mountains

Dawsonville, Dahlonega and Blue Ridge are an hour or two from Atlanta. Some clients move up full time and others keep a weekend cabin. Mountain property needs its own checks: the slope, the road in, the well and the septic system.

You may not have to choose once

Plenty of our clients hold two of the three. Because we cover the whole corridor as one team, the same two people who sold your house in Alpharetta can find the cabin. Tell us what a good week looks like and we will say where we would start.