How often do you fly commercial? That would weigh how much you want to be near ATL.
Some of my commercial travel will be day trips to NY and DC - so somewhat easy commute to ATL is desirable. I can live with driving to a MARTA stop and getting to KATL that way. From what I am learning from this thread, living in the Alpharetta area is pretty much out if i have to travel to ATL 3 times a week. South side can very well be an option. While I like the idea of T-hangar, its not an absolute must, its the only thing i have known, but i can see the benefits of FBO hangar as well. In an interesting turn of events the lady other day said - hey why are you not considering airpark.. i am like.. huh? never in my wildest dream i thought you will be ok with airpark.
I dont know how much she knows about airparks (I myself dont know much), but i am not sure if she will enjoy hearing planes flying all day long and everyone around her talking airplanes all day long. but since she mentioned it.. i am going to explore that as well. saw a few, but none that I saw provides easy commute to ATL.
@BrianNC - both PTC and Fayetteville are in my list of areas to explore. Getting a hangar over that side might be a whole different story
@bflynn - We have come to the realization that all our boxes will not be checked, Sigh. Living in the South side is definitely a consideration , but right now we are leaning heavily on the Marietta, Mableton, Smyrna and Roswell side.
@kyleb brought up Stockmar
@wayne . I am not entirely sure if that will fit my needs based on the kind of flying i want to do and the distance to ATL is a major concern. the biggest challenge is whatever travel time i am seeing on google maps is influenced right now by Covid. I should probably double that time in post-covid era.
@wayne - how is FTY? someone mentioned its not very GA friendly, but there is a remote chance of getting a FBO hangar there. its on first come first serve basis, so might not happen, but i am on the list. Currently i am based out of a towered field, so naturally i am biased and more comfortable with Towered ops, now flying out of an airport that is so close to the ATL surface column is probably going to have its own set of challenges.
@GoDores - thanks, i will add Brookhaven to the list
@hindsight2020 - tie down is not an option. I have a feeling that because of that requirement i will be spending quite a lot of time commuting
@MarkH - Thanks. Both Alpharetta and Lawrenceville are out based on what i am learning from here. trips to ATL is my primary concern living out there. I will explore East Point and some airparks (not sure how that will work out though)
Thanks again everyone. If i didnt respond to someone, apologies. On a different note, this is such a weird winter. This was my 4rth winter trip to Yellowstone and for the first time I saw almost no snow out there. Upon return to Fargo, my driveway had more snow than the entire 650 miles i drove !! and we havent seen a single day below zero yet here in fargo!!