Avoiding the Atlanta Commutes

Atlanta is a very large metropolitan city, home to just over six million people. Three major interstates converge in downtown Atlanta: Interstate 85, Interstate 75 and Interstate 20.

As a result, traffic can be a real pain! Unfortunately, year after year, metro Atlanta traffic is always ranked in the top 15 of worst traffic cities in the world! Ouch. Pretty dubious distinction.

You should really factor this in and avoid it or minimize it if at all possible.

Atlanta Metro is very large

One lap around the 285 loop surrounding Atlanta is 64 miles. Thats the wobbly red circle below. Think of it this way, the area inside the 285 Perimeter (called “ITP” by the locals, for Inside The Perimeter), is surrounded by a sixty-four mile loop.

Now consider that the vast majority of metro Atlanta’s six million people live outside of that loop and you start to get a feel for how large the metro Atlanta area is.

From where GA400 begins inside the perimeter, it’s 16 miles to Roswell, 21 miles to Alpharetta and 46 miles to Cumming. All very popular areas to live. These are some distances you probably would rather avoid during peak traffic hours on a daily basis.

Knowledge and Planning are KEY

Enough of the negativity!

The good news is that this is all manageable. When considering communities, make sure you spend a solid amount of time analyzing the commutes to and from work, schools, church, sports facilities and anything else that’s important to you.

One very effective, often overlooked method is to talk to people at your work. Each one will have their own commute story depending on where they live.

Lean hard on your Realtor for local knowledge of the traffic patterns and commute times. I once prepared an entire spreadsheet analysis for a Client making a corporate move from Connecticut with UPS. Check out his review: Fernwood Creek

I can’t stress enough, the key to beating this traffic issue, and not spending four hours a day in your car, is to give this topic the attention and time it deserves.

I’ll be happy to help you with that!