living cost in Atlanta, GA ?

[br0wn]

Hi,
I'd like to have your opinion.
I've just received a job offer from a company
in Atlanta. Since I have never lived in GA before,
I have some questions for you (I've been to Atlanta,
I like the city, its very beautiful in my opinion, but
I only stayed there for 2 days).

What I would like to know are :
1. How is the living cost in Atlanta ?
i.e how much is the cost to rent a nice apartment in
a nice neighborhood for a single person ?
how about the average shopping expense for food and others every month ?
(this is for single person btw)
2. Anyone know how much is the average cost of a nice
small house in Atlanta ?
3. What is the reasonable salary for a MS graduate in CS there ?
4. BTW, I heard that the crime rate for Atlanta is very high,
is this true ? how safe is the city ?

NB : Of course I can get the number from some websites, but I'd
like to know directly especially from ppls living in Atlanta.

Thanks in advance.

 

[darrenford]

What part of Atlanta?

 

[perry]

I live downtown.. 2 bedroom will run ya about $1000 in a nice complex, $700 in one with smaller apartments that aren't quite as nice. New, 4 side brick houses with 2 car garages are running low to mid 200,000s. (I just drove by a new addition on Friday with such a price) Depends ALOT on the neighborhood. My zip code has an average home sale of about $900,000 -- rich area in Buckhead.

Salary.. I have no idea. My roommate is graduating Ga Tech in May with a B.C.S. and won't accept anything under 60,000. Another friend got his M.C.S from Tech about a year and a half ago and is making around 80,000 - 90,000 (he's a real Java wiz).

Food...Uhh... I just go to the grocery and buy stuff. I can't really compare to anyplace else, but I'm guessing it's cheaper than DC, LA, or NY.

Safe, yes, I find it pretty safe. As with most big cities, the south side of the city (inside 285) really isn't the safest part to live, but otherwise you'll be just fine.

I like Atlanta overall. Nice place to live and work.

 

[br0wn]

darrenford : Northwest I guess.

perry : thanks for the comments, 200K for a nice house
is great, looks like the living cost is not very expensive.
How much do you spend every month for the groceries ?
Did your friend get $80K offer when he started the job ?
Are you sure about the safe part ? I heard Atlanta is the
second worst city for crime other than New York.
Well, if it is safe, that's really great.

edit :
I'd really appreciate if I can get more insight info on this as it would be
a great help for me to decide on the job offer, thanks

 

[Raspewtin]

My sister lives on the perimeter of the downtown area. She says gas is super cheap in Atlanta, and Atlanta has a good infrastructure. Certain days the smog is so bad, though, that you aren't allowed to pump gas and shouldn't go outside. Traffic is also a problem. It also gets colder than you would think, especially in Winter. She has a fairly nice house for less than 200G, which is cheaper than the same house would cost where I live, San Diego. Overall, Atlanta isn't bad.

 

[perry]

I'm pretty sure he got 80k when he started. He saves ALOT of money each month since he is doing long term house-sitting for his ex-gf's grandmother (only $500/month rent). Saved enough to pay cash for a $20,000 car after six months.

I go to the grocery two times a week and spend about $20-$30. I'm weird like that, never can figure out what I want to eat a week in advance, so I just buy a few things a week. I guess I spend around $200/month on groceries. Compared to where my mom lives in small town Indiana (read: cheap to live there), groceries here aren't any more expensive.

Northwest, huh? That's the area I was at when I saw that new addition. That area of Atlanta is just booming right now (really, the entire north side) with new places going up all the time, and land value rising.

I know there are a few others on the forums in Atlatna, hopefully they'll pop their heads in soon.

 

[br0wn]

thanks Raspewtin and perry for the info,
I'm really appreciate it. Sounds like Atlanta is a great city.

Anymore comments from other ppls living in Atlanta ?

 

[Bling Bling]

I dunno how bad the crime is, but i'm sure if you go driving around by yourself in an expensive car in buckhead or something, the chances you'll get jacked are pretty good.

As for the cost of living, 200K is a good estimate. If you choose to live in metro-atlanta, the cost is a little less. Neighborhoods there have houses prices from $150k up. But the value of homes is going up, so i'm not sure if that number is accurate anymore.

As for jobs, i'm pretty sure there are plenty of opportunities here. I'm not sure exactly how much you would make with your education, but you wouldn't have trouble finding a job.]

And yes, gas prices are some of the lowest in US. They used to be way lower, like $0.75-$0.85 a gallon. Now they're up to like $1.20, give or take a few.

Anyway, hope that helped.

 

[perry]

Not Buckhead, more like East Point or College Park... Buckhead is perfectly safe. I've never had troubles walking around in my inebriated state.

 

[Bling Bling]

Buford Highway is the sh|t!

 

[xchangx]

It depends where you wany to live. I live in Dunwoody, very close to perimeter mall. The older houses go for upper 200's or lower 300's. The newer houses are going for lower 500's to who knows what (ive seen lower 800's to 1.2 million).

 

[br0wn]

Thank you for all the responses.

Anyone else has anything more to say about Atlanta ?
bad or good ?

I'd also like to hear more about the average
salary for MS graduate in CS there, so far I have only 1 sample
from perry.
edit : More specifically, what would you consider an excellent offer,
a good offer and a bad salary offer ? (for fresh-graduate MS degree
with no industry experience but lots of research experience in the
academic environment).

 

[Ulfwald]

Ok, I live about 30 mins MAX northwest of Atl. My wife and I purchased our first home in acworth about a year ago, We got a 5 br 3 bath, 2500 sq.ft. home on .99999 acres of land for 149,000. There are some builders here called Colony Homes, they offer starter homes fo individuals for between 85-90K to begin with. Good builders, and good financing.

Salarys vary from CO to CO. I am currently employed at HP for 21 per hour. That is with NO Degree, and only 2 MS certs for MCSE. So I figure you can at least make that.

Northwest seems to be where all the growth is right now, buy low, then i 2 years, sell high. That is the trend. If you need more information, drop me an email. Email

I have lived here most of my life, and I can show you around, also, I know of some apartments where you can get in for about 4-500 per month.