Questions for Southerners--LONG

[Bichon Barb]

DH and I are contemplating selling our rep firm and possibly moving south. Seeing that I am the only child left in this area, my elderly parents would probably move whereever we go. After reading the public/private school poll, I'm starting to think that we have it really good where we live in terms of public education--although we pay for it in property taxes.

ATLANTA: There may be an opportunity for us to open a new rep firm in the Atlanta area. The positive to this is that my sister, BIL and Niece live in Lawrenceville. My question is how is the public education system in Georgia? Do the low property taxes affect the schools? Is the traffic as bad as I have heard. (I ask you this, because I know I can get an honest answer. If I asked my sister, she'd say anything to get us down there .) Anything you can add is appreciated.

VIRGINIA and the CAROLINA'S: I don't know if there are any opportunities for us in Virginia, but I like the climate and the terrain. Also, my brother and SIL live in Norfolk. I understand that North Carolina has grown a lot over the last ten years. So there may be opportunity there for us.

Again, how is the public education system in Virginia? In North and South Carolina? Property taxes? Overcrowded? Anything you can add is much appreciated.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Atlanta traffic is HORRIBLE!!! North Carolina is beautiful....they have great schools, but the property tax is kind of high. A guy I work with used to live in Asheville and he LOVED it. Good luck!!

 

[Bichon Barb]

Just for property tax comparisons. Central New Yorkers pay about 3.5% of our homes' assessed value. On average, if you live in a $100,000 home, you pay around $3,500. If you live in a $200,000, you pay around $7,000. If you live in a $300,000, you pay around $10,500, and so on--minus a few hundred if you sign up for the NYS STAR exemption.

 

[WDWAurora]

I live near Asheville...in the country moreso, however. Schools near Asheville are very good, however depending on the section of the county, you might not be so well received based upon where you're from. YES it is that country. If you want more info on that, feel free to pm me. The mountains of NC are fantastic because they truly experience all the seasons, and just generally have fantastic weather. Parts of NC are also extremely overcrowded. I'm in the triangle for college, and I would not recommend it as far as traffic and overcrowding go.

I'll leave the tax question to others.

 

[trayletha]

Virginia schools are a mixture of the best and the worst, you'd really have to know exactly what school district you would be moving into to get a clear picture - also there are districts with good elem schools but bad MS/HS and viceversa. The rural areas of VA are shrinking but there are still some really beautiful places to live, and traffic up and down the interstates is a nightmare for commuting. BUT - I like it.

PS Property taxes are, again wide ranging - depending on the county.

 

[WDWAurora]

Actually I will add to the tax question. The cost of living is probably much lower here, especially towards the mountains. Property taxes are probably comparable, but homes are just not worth as much, if that makes sense. Prices are not quite as inflated here. However, I can tell a difference in things like grocery prices between my home near Asheville (low low grocery prices) and here in Raleigh (still low, but nowhere near the low mountain grocery store prices) Hope that makes sense!

 

[WeirdEyes]

My co-worker said that the tax in North Carolina was a lot cheaper than 3.5%.....he thinks it was somewhere around 1% on property tax....but is not sure cause it was about 8 years ago. I can tell you that usually southern states do not pay a whole lot on property tax. Of course, here in Alabama, we don't hardly pay anything. My home is appraised at about $230,000 (standard 3 bedroom/2 bath, 2002 square feet heating & cooling) and our tax is only about $500 per year...cheap! I'd pay more to help the schools.

 

[browneyes]

Like Trayletha said, it's depending on which area you live in in each state as to the property taxes. Taxes in Atlanta should be higher than Lawrenceville, for example.

I think the public schools in Georgia are ok. I can only personally compare them to a school I went to in Alabama (many moons ago), and the Georgia schools were more advanced. I don't know about the school systems in NC, SC or VA. As far as being overcrowded, I don't know any class at my kids' school that has more than 20 students in each classroom. My dd has 14 in her class, my ds has 16 in his class. They're in elementary school and we're 2 1/2 hours from Atlanta. I think with the HOPE programs, they've pushed to lower classroom sizes.

Atlanta traffic can be heavy, just like any other city. I don't think the traffic in Atlanta is as bad as it might be in NYC though.

 

[Bichon Barb]

I think we'd need to find out where our customers would be. I doubt they'd be in downtown Atlanta. As a matter of fact, I believe that the territory goes a little into Alabama. And if we lived in Lawrenceville, I'm sure he'd want his office there--maybe even out of the house. Hmmmmmm. These are all important things to think about.

Keep the advice comin'!

 

[HuggaBaloo]

Hey Barb! I thought I would post a reply here too.

ATLANTA - Like I've already told you, Atlanta traffic is horrendous!! No ifs, ands or buts about it. It just is. Period. I've also already given you some of the positive aspects so I won't duplicate here. When I lived there, I actually worked in Lawrenceville. Though it used to be more of a "quiet suburb", it was growing very rapidly when I left. IMO, most Atlanta suburbs just end up being extensions of Atlanta rather than their own communities outside of Atlanta. However, the county you live in can make a huge difference in regards to taxes and other issues.

SOUTH CAROLINA - OK, you did not know this but I actually grew up in SC. I personally don't care for the state (<b>generally</b> speaking), mainly because of the poor leadership over the years. Also, I just don't think there are that many nice places to live there. A few exceptions: Charleston (though very touristy) and the Greenville/Spartanburg area (could be crowded because it is growing pretty fast but I have not been there in a long time). I have family in Columbia, but I personally just don't care for the city, although I will say that they have made great strides in recent years to improve it. This is not to say that there aren't other great places to live, but they tend to be smaller towns IMO and I didn't get the impression that's where you wanted to be.

NORTH CAROLINA - I love NC and to this day still think about moving there. I have spent a lot of time in Charlotte and Raleigh and really liked both. The Raleigh/Durham area is a fairly crowded area generally speaking but I would much rather be there than Atlanta.

Since I do not have children, I cannot say that I am extremely well-informed about the educational systems, but from some of the things I've read in the past, I believe that both GA and SC are rated far below the national average. Of course, that may not be reflective of the school systems in Atlanta specifically. I'm sure other posters can support or correct me.

I will have to defer to others as to the tax questions since I have never owned a home.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[stormi65]

Our home is worth about 200K and our property taxes are about $1,250 a year. We only pay county taxes since we are outside the city limits. If we lived in the city, we would have to tack on another $1000.00 or so. Homes here range in price, but it is getting crowded. We have many people here from the Northeast, especially New Jersey. I have lived in North Carolina for 17 years and have seen the constant growth in the Raleigh and Durham areas. It is a nice place to live, safe and the closest beaches are just over 2 hours away.

 

[disneyjunkie]

If you're thinking about Raleigh, be sure to look into the magnet school programs. If your child attends a magnet school, you won't have to worry about the reassignments the county does each year.

 

[ofiesty4u]

Gotta go for the Carolina's.... then again I might be biased...

 

[olena]

Public schools in GA? Pretty pathetic overall. You can find some exceptions here and there, but do your homework. There are some very good private schools in the Atlanta area. One advantage to education in GA is the Hope Scholarship. If your child graduates with good grades, the Hope Scholarship will pay for tuition to state schools.

Info on the Hope grant.


The property taxes are very reasonable. especially if you live in unicorporated areas of counties.

Traffic? That can be worked around. One key is to live close to where you work, if possible. Another key is to have flexible hours. Chris' shift is from 10-6, so he mostly avoids rush hour traffic.

 

[tar heel]

I'll chime in about North Carolina taxes and schools!

Property taxes are set locally, so they vary A LOT! The most expensive place, I think, is Chapel Hill because there is a county tax, a city tax AND a school district tax (and the schools are great). The least expensive places are rural areas in both the mountains and the east.

I live 20 miles from Charlotte -- the largest city -- in a very rapidly growing and changing suberb -- most of the newcomers are form the Northeast including many of our teachers. We are in the city limits and our taxes are a little over $1 per $100 valuation, so the taxes on a $250,000 house are about $2,500 -- way less than where you live now. Here, that $250,000 will get you a new home in the 2,500-3,000 square foot range. In some of the rural areas, that will get you a mansion, and in other areas, a good bit smaller home.

Schools where we live are good to excellent, but there's a good bit of variance even within districts. We moved across the county (less than 10 miles) six years ago and improved our school situation. We go to new schools. The oldest of the three schools in my district is the high school -- and it has had one graduating class! The elementary school and middle school are both in their second year. I expect our neighborhood to be redistricted to still another new school in two years, but my youngest will be in middle schools.

Another thing North Carolina has going for it education-wise is higher education. We have wonderful state universities that are relatively cheap. UNC Chapel Hill is arguably one of the best unversities in the country (okay, I am an alum and the total cost for an in-state student is about $12,000 a year. In Georgia, though, good students get free tuition.

 

[Jenn]

We are also considering a move to GA within the next few years and have been looking at Marietta, Cumming, Canton, Alphretta and some other nearby towns. Any advice you can recommend would be greatly appreciated. My husband deals with a company in Norcross and they have been offering him positions for years, and he would likely work for them if the fit was right.

 

[ofiesty4u]

hey tar heel...

not to get off subject, but my old roommate from college is from Concord, still lives there I believe...

sorry, it's the little things that amuse me...

ps. I miss NC...

 

[lynetteSC]

I have to agree with Tar Heel ... although you can tell I may be biased!!! LOL!

We actually live in Rock Hill, SC ..... which is about 20 mins from Charlotte, NC. Cost of living is much better in SC. The schools in our area are pretty decent ... Fort Mill, SC (only about 10-15 mins from Charlotte) seems to have a SUPER school district from what we hear. (No kids yet) Our property taxes sound low compared to what the others are saying, however, we are outside the city limits, so not sure how much difference that makes.

Also, they are creating a huge outer loop that is about half way complete to help with traffic around Charlotte.

Good Luck in your decisions!

 

[lynetteSC]

p.s. We are about 2 hours from mountains ... 3-4 hours from beaches ... AND you will be MUCH closer to WDW no matter where you move! LOL! Gotta have your priorities you now ...

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by lynetteSC
I have to agree with Tar Heel ... although you can tell I may be biased!!! LOL!

We actually live in Rock Hill, SC ..... which is about 20 mins from Charlotte, NC. Cost of living is much better in SC. The schools in our area are pretty decent ... Fort Mill, SC (only about 10-15 mins from Charlotte) seems to have a SUPER school district from what we hear. (No kids yet) Our property taxes sound low compared to what the others are saying, however, we are outside the city limits, so not sure how much difference that makes.

Also, they are creating a huge outer loop that is about half way complete to help with traffic around Charlotte.

Good Luck in your decisions!

I've heard great things about Rock Hill.

My mom's cousin moved to Rock Hill from Brooklyn last summer. Her daughter is moving to Charlotte next year. They both love it there. They are trying to talk my parents into moving there when they retire.

My dad wants to back to Latta where they all grew up.