Moving to ATL soon but have some Q's

[DJlaysitup]

Personally, I think it depends on where you work and if you have kids in school.

 

When we first moved back to this area we moved to Cobb - primarily so the kids could attend Soap Creek Elementary/Dickerson Middle School/Walton High School.

 

Kids grew up and the ex and I parted ways and I moved to get close to work (I hate long commutes) - to DeKalb County (Chamblee/Tucker area).  There are actually some pretty decent and safe areas in DeKalb County.

 

Of course there are some pretty bad ones too

[taz]

Dunwoody is up and coming and is right by sandy springs roswell Alpharetta and buckhead. It has its rougher parts but even those areas are pretty safe to be in.

[taz]

I would suggest Cobb County if you are mostly focused on schools (went to Walton and it opens a lot of doors).

Woodstock is very nice as well, but that will bring you a little further north.

I am currently in Sandy Springs and REALLY love it. You are not too far from the city as well, and it kind of gives you the city vibe.

I had seasons for 4 years starting in 2008 and absolutely loved it. Sometimes it can get tiresome to go to the games, but it is what it is. I would do it all again-- but ended up moving away for a few years and recently got married, so I force the wifey to watch on TV :)

Sandy springs is a great town especially if youre jewish or into that culture(jewish delis are awesome).

[thecampster]

JTB,

 

I have lived all over the Atlanta area. Paulding, Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.  In my opinion, Suwanee is maybe the best place in town to live for the money and is on my short list of where I am looking for a job so I can move back that way.

 

It is cheaper than Roswell / Alpharetta but with a similar quality of people, low crime. It allows access to the City via 85. There is some MARTA access in the area, but not so close as to invite a criminal element. Mall of Georgia, Lake Lanier and outlet malls are due north, and 400 is a reasonable drive west from western Suwanee.  It is closer than areas like Alpharetta, Sugar Hill or Acworth, but is not too crowded like Norcross, Roswell, Marietta.  Suwanee also has a diverse population with a healthy mix of many races.

 

All the following is from Wikipedia.

 

---------------------------------------------

Population as of 2010, 15,355.  Ethic diversity, 67.4% white, 18% Asian, 10.8% Black, 6.75% Hispanic.

 

Median household income $84,038.  Less than 3% of the population below the poverty line.

 

In 2003, Suwanee was named a City of Excellence by the Georgia Municipal Association and Trend Magazine.

In 2007, Suwanee was voted among the Top 10 Best Places to Live by Money Magazine.

In 2012, Suwanee was voted the 3rd best place in America for raising a family.

In 2013, Suwanee was identified as one of the nation's 10 best towns for Families by Family Circle magazine.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

As someone who lived northeast of there in Dacula and shopped/worked in the area for 8 years, Suwanee was far and away the best kept secret in the area. Tons of golf, swim, tennis communities, shopping, work opportunities. Close to the Gwinnett Arena and other attractions as well.

 

But if your original question is low crime, good schools for kids while still affordable, Suwanee is hard to beat.

Edited June 3, 2015 by thecampster

[thecampster]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suwanee,_Georgia

[Wurider05]

I live in Cobb County (Kennesaw) and its great. I would suggest Kennesaw if you have a family as they have a lot of things for families here. It was actually voted the top city for Families in the United States a few years ago. 

[Cwell]

Good 'Burbs (low crime/top schools): Vinings, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Kennesaw, Woodstock, Milton, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Cumming, Buford, Suwanee, Newnan, Peachtree City.

 

Avoid (higher crime/iffy schools): Douglasville, Chamblee, Doraville, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Stone Mountain, Lithonia, College Park, Jonesboro, Morrow, McDonough, Fairburn.

 

Somewhere in Between: Marietta, Roswell, Duluth, Gainesville, Tucker, Smyrna, Acworth

 

I'm probably stepping on some toes with this list. Just trying to answer your question about crime/schools as honestly as possible

Born and raised in College Park.....yeah avoid the southside of Atl at all cost lol

[JonKoncak]

Buckhead is the best place to live in the city.

Though, I have heard that the schools around here are starting to get overcrowded

Edited June 3, 2015 by JonKoncack

[Dejay]

Born and raised in College Park.....yeah avoid the southside of Atl at all cost lol

I can cosign. I grew up in SE Atlanta (Zone 3, Down by Law, Red Dog squad ring a bell?) between some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the entire region (Thomasville, Carver Homes, Gilbert Gardens, Lakewood Heights, Swallow Circle, Joyland Apartments, Jonesboro North and South). Unless you're talking about Peachtree City, the southside is NOT where you want to be venturing into.

[TheFuzz]

I'm one of the youngsters here, so take this with a grain of salt:

 

Decatur is a fantastic place to grow up. It's a little on the pricey side and it seems to be getting pricier, but the school is great and there's plenty of great restaurants. It's pretty college-towney though and I imagine it could get grating living around a bunch of snobby twenty-somethings, lol.

 

Edit: Should also say, I got into a great school upon graduating Decatur High, and also have a huge group of great friends from the area (though not every kid had it that way). Great teachers at the school, too.

Edited June 3, 2015 by TheFuzz

[hazer]

Here ya go, pretty close to the list I gave ya:

 

http://www.northfulton.com/johnscreekherald/stories/Alpharetta-Roswell-best-suburban-cities,73539?

[macdaddy]

I live intown and my kids go to Atlanta Public Schools.  We are happy there but it's not for everyone.   If you don't want to be to far out i'd suggest the Oak Grove neighborhood in Dekalb.  Schools are good.  It's convenient to everything and fairly affordable.

[JTB]

You guys have been great! I really do trust your actual experience over the research I'm doing lol....I feel like I have a good idea of where we need to look and where we should avoid.

[lethalweapon3]

I'll likely move this over to The Lounge in a bit, but I think everybody covered everything already for you!

 

I'm biased toward ITP living, but for those who have issues with crime and schools the North Cobb (Northeast and Northwest) and Decatur (City of... NOT the unincorporated/unincorporating areas of DeKalb!) are your best OTP and ITP bets, respectively. Both areas have rational means of accessing Philips Arena, particularly Vinings in Cobb.

 

Someone else had questions similar to yours last year ("moving to ATL") and I think that thread is over in The Lounge somewhere. 

 

~lw3

Edited June 3, 2015 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

Here's that other thread I just mentioned. You might PM @Gianluca to see how his search turned out.

 

http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/397048-moving-to-atlanta/

 

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

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