Jeremy and Allyson Segal had heard “Hotlanta,” but they weren’t sure what to expect when moving here from the Chicago area. They were pleasantly surprised with metro Atlanta.
“We rented a car and kind of drove from town to town,” Jeremy said. “We really drove all across the metro area, just kind of exploring. It was absolutely beautiful, the winding roads, just absolutely beautiful. It was more than we could imagine.”
Why Atlanta?
A promotion brought the couple to Georgia, although they had to live apart for several months. Jeremy, 30, received a job promotion in the cable industry in September 2012. Allyson, 29, a teacher, remained in the Chicago area (living in her in-laws’ basement) until the end of the school year; she arrived in Atlanta in June 2013.
Putting down roots
A mutual friend from high school connected the Segals with Brendan Wright, a real estate agent with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. Jeremy was renting in the Vinings/Smyrna area, and the couple focused on finding homes with character in an area with acclaimed schools and neighborhoods with younger families.
“We’re ready to have a family, and we wanted to make sure that we were in a neighborhood with people similar in age. But that’s hard to determine when we’re not from around here,” Allyson said.
Other must-haves included: at least four bedrooms; an updated kitchen; and a backyard with privacy and space for their energetic dogs, Roxy, a Doberman, and Cooper, a beagle terrier mix. They searched for about a month and immediately liked the mountain views when driving into Marietta’s Windsor Oaks neighborhood (homes are listed in the $310,000s-$320,000s).
“The backyard is tremendous. It is full of trees and spacious for the dogs. It has a gorgeous deck for us for entertaining,” Allyson said.
They put in an offer within a couple of hours of viewing the home, after having seen other homes going under contract quickly. “As soon as we saw it and walked in, we said, ‘This is it,’ so we put an offer in,” Jeremy said. “I think we kind of beat everyone to the punch.”
In August, they closed on the four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home. The house was built in 1985 and had a renovated kitchen and bathrooms.
“It was move-in ready,” Jeremy said. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
Relocation tip
Scope out the different communities in Atlanta to determine which fits best with the location and setting you desire. The couple recommends identifying how long of a commute you can handle (Jeremy has a 35-40 minute commute to the Vinings/Smyrna area and Allyson has about 45 minutes to Norcross) and the neighborhood atmosphere, from one with the party life to family friendly. They sought a neighborhood with a pool, which would provide opportunities to meet other residents and for the Chicago transplants to enjoy the warmer weather.
