Need help from Atlanta residents . . .

[Luv2Travel]

My husband and I used to live in Atlanta about 13 years ago after we were first married. Since then we moved to a smaller town in North Alabama and found it a great place to raise a family. Three children and several years later my husband and I may be relocating back to Atlanta. When we lived there previously we lived in Norcross and we were on the "outskirts" of the city. After a recent visit to Atlanta I see that the outer perimeter has grown significantly!

My questions are: (1) If you could pick any area around Atlanta (outside of 285 anyway, I know we can't afford to be too close to downtown), where would you pick to live? (2) What areas around Atlanta really seem to be growing right now? On our trip to WDW last weekend I noticed even south of Atlanta, down I75, seemed to have some newer areas. (3) Our children are still in elementary, so where are some good schools located? (4) Are there any good but affordable private schools available? (5) Any other words of wisdom about where to relocate in the Atlanta area?

Thanks for any help. I'm just in the preliminary stages of trying to narrow down the area to look for housing.

 

[flrose]

Where will you be commuting to for work? Do you want to be N or S of the 285 corridor?

My first thought after reading your post was "DON't DO IT!"
But, then I am from Fl. have been in Ga. 4 yrs and miss my family, the beach and being close to WDW of course.

I don't believe you would want to move back to the Norcross area. That area has changed alot from what I understand. I live in Buford which is NE of Atlanta up 85. Not far from the Mall of Georgia. It has probably doubled in size in the 4 yrs. The traffic anywhere is terrible and getting worse, they don't think out the roads before they build new subdivisions. If we were to move it would be further north into Hall Co. I am Gwinnett Co. now the elementary school my son has been going to is great! But, they are building several new schools just in our area to handle the growth.

Don't know that I have helped any but, really need to know more about your commute, if you have one.

 

[Disneyaholic]

I would have to agree with flrose -- if you don't have to move to Atlanta, DON'T!

We live in East Cobb county -- supposedly some of the best schools in the state, but we're spending a fortune and a half to send our kids to a private high school.

The commute is tough from any direction, but I think the north and northwest suburbs (along GA 400 and I-85) are probably the worst.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions you would like to have answered.

 

[Luv2Travel]

Thanks for the info flrose. I figured someone would tell me not to do it! LOL I'm not just jumping up and down about leaving where we're at (my hometown), but it could be a very good move for my husband's career.

I guess it would make more sense to know what kind of commute he would have. But since he'll be working mostly out of his truck or at home, and since there is an office on the NE side of town and on the SE side of town, I guess I'm more concerned about the better area for the children and their education.

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

We were in the same situation as you - about 1 1/2 yrs ago. However we moved here from out of country and were completely at a loss as to where to look. DH's new office is in Lawrenceville, so we narrowed it down to NE. In fact we live in the same area as you flrose!
We based our decision primarily on the elementary schools.
We are also in a growing area, with lots of new subdivisions (however that also made it difficult as there were too many houses to choose from.....)
I don't find the traffic all that bad, but I also find that I really don't drive outside my area. In our 1 1/2yrs here I have probably only been to ATL maybe three times.
I like our area since we are so close to either The Mall of Georgia or the new Discover Mills Mall. Also the new Gwinnett Arena is fabulous! Was there last night for an event and it was so nice not to have to drive to ATL for first rate events!
We are also very close to Lake Lanier. The recreation and facilities for kids is also very good.
We had a good real estate agent who worked with me over the phone prior to us moving here. She really knows this area. PM if you would like her contacts.
Good luck!

 

[Luv2Travel]

Disneyaholic and Yzma and Kronk - thanks for your info also. I probably will take you up on your offers to pm with questions when we get closer to making a decision. Private schooling and a good real estate agent are two of my top concerns.

 

[ead79]

I live in Marietta, GA. It's located north of the city off of I-75 in case you haven't traveled our direction to see the famous "Big Chicken." I went to a wonderful private school from kindergarten to 8th grade where the tuition was quite reasonable. I then transferred to public high school (Walton High School), which Columbia Univ. rates as the number one public high school in the country. The commute to downtown from Marietta isn't usually too horrible (about 45 min. usually during morning rush hour). We also have a very close family friend who is a real estate agent. Please PM me, and I will be more than happy to give you more details.

 

[browneyes]

My brother lives in Cartersville. I think my SIL said it took her about a little over an hour to drive to Atlanta each day. It's a small town feel type of area. It's according to how far you want to commute as to where you might want to live. They used to live in Marietta. They liked it too, but it's built up so much, it's almost like living right in 'Lanta.

 

[DNSDisney]

I just might know of the perfect town for you. It is called Peachtree City GA. It is in Fayette co , it is down I-85 about 20 mins from the airport. I live there so I know a bit about the city. We have the best educational system in the state. So much so that the state is starting to model the state after the Fayette co system. All of our high school SAT scores are higher than national avg.(by at least 100 pts) You can check this info out at the website for the GA dept of education, they have report cards etc on each school in the state. There are several private schools in the area as well ,including one for LD students.
But the nicest thing about Peachtree city is , it still has a small town feel to it. We also have something quite unique, over 500 miles of golf cart paths around the city. You can go shoping on your golf cart, or take the kids to school on it. We are one (of only 2) planned communities in the nation with this. You can go anywhere in Peachtree city on a golf cart LOL. We even have golf cart parking at the groc. stores and Walmart.
One other (i think) advantage is in 4 short yrs when my daughter turns 15 and wants to start driving,and her own car. Her first car will be a GOLF CART! To many accidents with kids just learning how to drive. I feel much safer with her on the cart. There has only been 2 accidents here ever in 20 yrs involving carts
There is a website for the city as well if you would like to take a look at it. It is Peachtreecity.org
If you have any questions feel free to email me.
take care and good luck,
Sharon