PM me if you want to talk more specifics. I'm always happy to share info on ATL(restaurants, entertainment, training, etc) . I've lived here all my life(40 years) and know it pretty well.

Which SEC football schools you're going to cheer for/hate.

Good luck with the move.

Thank you for this! Work will be outside the perimeter Dunwoody.

Besides tris, I want to experience some of the "big city" stuff I've never been able to. Live music, live sports, that kind of thing. But I'm also a homebody and don't necessarily need to live right in the middle of those things every day.

It sounds like you may want to look for a place in the Lenox/Brookhaven part of town. It's one of the pricey areas, but I was able to rent a house in Lenox during grad school; so affordable, high-quality housing does exist.

I rented in midtown, downtown, and Lenox. The latter was the best of all considered. It has good north/south access to Dunwoody, it has most of the in-town amenities that you'd look for on a day-to-day basis, and it has very good accessibility to midtown/downtown without the burdens of actually living there.

As far as your SBR concerns go... it's going to be what it is wherever you land. Even if you're out in the 'burbs, you're going to have to contend with city elements (i.e. traffic, crowds, etc.) when you're trying to get your activities done. That's life in and around the perimeter.

---

"The right to party is a battle we have fought, but we'll surrender and go Amish... NOT!" -Wayne Campbell

As burnman said above, I'd look at the Brookhaven/Lenox area. If your work is close to 400 you can go further towards the Lenox side. Going up 400 use to be easier(against the flow of traffic), but I haven't done that in 7 years so don't know if its changed. If your work is more in the Mt Vernon, Chamblee-Dunwoody, Ashford-Dunwoody I would look over near Oglethorpe University(Brookhaven area). From there you can drive north on Ashford Dunwoody to get towards work. Plenty of townhome/condo/apt options in those areas you can rent until you decide on a more permanent location.

Lenox/Brookhaven gives you easy access to Marta to head downtown for events, great restaurants/nightlife/shopping, safe area for running, and nearby pools(LA fitness near Oglethorpe and a YMCA off of Ashford Dunwoody) and a nice bike loop.

I'd only look at Alpharetta if you are on the north side of Dunwoody. Good restaurant options, nice amphitheatre, and the greenway, but getting into town is a pain.

I think ubdawg and burnman pretty much covered it. Based on what you've provided, and my own personal opinions about some neighborhoods, I would say look in the Brookhaven area to get a good compromise of city life and slightly less sucky commute (I've never been a big fan of the Buckhead/Lenox neighborhoods personally).

Riding: SCT and Stone Mountain would be the better options IMO
Swimming: LA Fitness and YMCA for just doing your own thing, plus there are couple Masters groups if that's what you're looking for
Racing: Tri the Parks (Tri Blue Sky) seems to be the local race series of choice (I typically do 1-2 of their events each year)

All3ports up an exit or so from dunwoody; check out column drive for brick sessions near the hooch. Also folks head up 400 for gap rides out of dahlonega. Concourse is nice club but pricey. Welcome.

I have a friend who lives in the Brookhaven area. She's single. Also SBR but no longer competes (who does?).

Is there still a lot of running and cycling around the Brookhaven Country Club?

The Capital City club(Brookhaven country club) is still one of the best running spots for that area and a good bike loop if you tie it into Silver Lake. There are usually a good number of people from Big Peach running store and numerous other box/crossfit gyms in the area. And plenty of others from around the area. I used to live a few miles away and would make a loop around the country club as my weekly long run. Really enjoyed that run. It's also part of a ~40 mile intown loop you can do that usually starts over in the VA highlands neighborhood.

I just moved out of Atlanta after 20 years there. I can not stress the importance of minimizing your commute. Atlanta has a lot of positives but you're going to have to drive to most of your activities. The silver comet is great, except for you. It's across town and you'll be using it on weekends, along with everyone else. M-F it's a great place to ride.

If I were you, I'd be super close to work, and then find out where you can ride and swim, or at least get a reverse commute to help deal with traffic.

There are a lot of great places to run in Atlanta. I've found great neighborhoods like Peachtree Battle, Sweet Auburn/Grant Park, Ansley Park/Piedmont Park, and the Georgia Tech/Atlantic Station areas to be pretty good for urban adventures. Not counting Kennesaw and Stone Mountains.

My next urban adventure in your city will be to explore Arabia Mountain and Panola Park.

Try Sope creek and Cochran Shoals.