More on relocating to Atlanta area
Jan 20th, 2006, 05:08 PM
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More on relocating to Atlanta area
We're relocating to Georgia from Florida and have the flexibility of choosing where since we'll be working from our home. Our budget is limited as far as housing and we're deciding b/w catholic and public schools although I prefer public due to the high tuitions in Georgia catholic schools. So, we're looking at Kennessaw/Marietta or Lilburn if private or Cumming if public. I'm told the schools in Forsyth county are very good. Also, we're wanting to be somewhat away from traffic congestion. Many people have mentioned the horrendous congestion in metro Atlanta, but we won't be commuting for work. Any advice, thoughts, or opinions on these areas? Thanks
Jan 20th, 2006, 05:41 PM
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If you are working from your home, why not go a little further north into Cherokee or Pickens Counties? (My vacation cottage is in Pickens--I'm in Fla. most of the time). Canton is a nice area, just where the Appalachians start to make their appearance. I have a feeling you'll make a fortune on anything you buy there. I don't know much about the schools, but, as a teacher, I can tell you it doesn't much matter. The parental involvement is what is key. I happen to know some people who moved to a new development near Ball Ground, and they love their daughter's elementary school. If you're avoiding congestion, this is the direction to go...although, who knows what will be the case in a few years. Kennesaw and Alpharetta and Roswell, three of the closer-in suburbs, are traffic nightmares around rush hour. So is much of Gwinnet county. So, go north young lady (or south or east or west, but north is preferred by many, I guess because of the prettier landscape and also because it's the posher side of Atlanta)!
Jan 20th, 2006, 07:07 PM
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I moved up here from S. Florida as did my best friend and her family. I ended up in N. Fulton County and they're in Forsyth. The've been very pleased with their kids' public schools and I respect their opinion as they are both teachers. I teach in Alpharetta (Fulton Co.) and think the schools are good here. Cobb Co. has a very good reputation and some parts of Gwinnett do as well. I can't address the merits of various Catholic schools but like anything, some must be better than others. If I had kids, I'd probably choose the school first and home 2nd.
www.accessatlanta.com has school ratings for the vast metro Atlanta region, including some of the outer counties. YOu might want to get their school guide and use that as a starting point.
www.accessatlanta.com has school ratings for the vast metro Atlanta region, including some of the outer counties. YOu might want to get their school guide and use that as a starting point.
Jan 21st, 2006, 10:59 AM
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A little off the topic - but how can anyone say that schools don;t matter - it;s only parental involvement. then how can you have school districts with 90+% of students going to 4 year colleges and 15% going to 4 year colleges within a few miles of each other. And SAT scores that are different by hundrds of points. Does one area have all great parents and another all awful parents.
IMHO school districts differ drastically - at least in the New York area (and I have heard the same from friends in other places) in terms of quality of staff (how many are PhDs, how much experience do they have, how much extra training have they taken), assignments (class sizes, how many classes does the teacher have, are extracurrics required), number of class offerings (how many honors course, special subjets, AP courses)?
To anyone with children who is moving I would think the school district and it's standards/achievements would be the first consideration.
IMHO school districts differ drastically - at least in the New York area (and I have heard the same from friends in other places) in terms of quality of staff (how many are PhDs, how much experience do they have, how much extra training have they taken), assignments (class sizes, how many classes does the teacher have, are extracurrics required), number of class offerings (how many honors course, special subjets, AP courses)?
To anyone with children who is moving I would think the school district and it's standards/achievements would be the first consideration.
Jan 21st, 2006, 12:38 PM
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NYTraveler--Don't really want to get into a heated debate about schooling, but what I meant was that, given Liz's list of possible suburban school districts, I think that the differences between the quality of the education will be negligible.
An acquaintance of mine had his daughter in a somewhat poorly-rated rural school district in the North Georgia mountains, but, because he is an intellectual himself who passed on his love of literature, the arts, etc. to his child, she became an avid reader and, consequently, much brighter than most of the kids I teach in my extremely well-rated school's A.P. courses.
Personally, I'm an advocate of home-schooling (seeing the mediocrity of public education on a daily basis), but I'd rather not go off on that topic here. There are plenty of websites on the subject if you're interested.
An acquaintance of mine had his daughter in a somewhat poorly-rated rural school district in the North Georgia mountains, but, because he is an intellectual himself who passed on his love of literature, the arts, etc. to his child, she became an avid reader and, consequently, much brighter than most of the kids I teach in my extremely well-rated school's A.P. courses.
Personally, I'm an advocate of home-schooling (seeing the mediocrity of public education on a daily basis), but I'd rather not go off on that topic here. There are plenty of websites on the subject if you're interested.
Jan 21st, 2006, 03:33 PM
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North Fulton or Forsyth schools.
Not to disagree with Guy, but I wouldn't go further north - unless you really want to go north into the mountains. The schools along the GA-TN border (along Hwy 76) have EXCELLENT test results. For years, Union County and Fayette County shared the #1 and 2 spots (in different order year to year) as far as state test results.
Just had the conversation with my dentist. He sold his practice in Gwinnett County after his kids were grown. Moved to Big Canoe (in the mountains). Drives down to practice once a week in Cumming (a 45 minute drive). He said he and his wife had a really tough time adjusting to the quiet, simple mountain life. They consider Cumming "the big city" where they do their shopping, dry cleaning, etc. (which is hilarious to me because when I was growing up, Cumming was the boonies!)
From Alpharetta/Cumming (N. Fulton/Forsyth) you can get to downtown in 45 minutes without traffice (of course that rarely happens), but you have easy access to events in Atlanta if you want it.
Not to disagree with Guy, but I wouldn't go further north - unless you really want to go north into the mountains. The schools along the GA-TN border (along Hwy 76) have EXCELLENT test results. For years, Union County and Fayette County shared the #1 and 2 spots (in different order year to year) as far as state test results.
Just had the conversation with my dentist. He sold his practice in Gwinnett County after his kids were grown. Moved to Big Canoe (in the mountains). Drives down to practice once a week in Cumming (a 45 minute drive). He said he and his wife had a really tough time adjusting to the quiet, simple mountain life. They consider Cumming "the big city" where they do their shopping, dry cleaning, etc. (which is hilarious to me because when I was growing up, Cumming was the boonies!)
From Alpharetta/Cumming (N. Fulton/Forsyth) you can get to downtown in 45 minutes without traffice (of course that rarely happens), but you have easy access to events in Atlanta if you want it.
Jan 21st, 2006, 04:38 PM
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My place is in Bent Tree, next door to Big Canoe. I'm exactly an hour and fifteen minutes to downtown Atlanta, with no traffic of course.
I'm thrilled with the location. I'm deep in the woods, but I can be shopping in Buckhead or seeing world class art at the High Museum in a little over an hour.
I'm thrilled with the location. I'm deep in the woods, but I can be shopping in Buckhead or seeing world class art at the High Museum in a little over an hour.
Jan 21st, 2006, 04:48 PM
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But, living there full time is a different story. Not sure that's what the relocators are looking for. I lived fulltime in Rabun County for a year. Love the area, but it's a long haul to downtown - although the postmistress' husband did it four times a week for 27 years!
Jan 22nd, 2006, 04:04 AM
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Thanks for all the advice. If I didn't have kids, I would love to be much further out, BUT, this move is going to be a big adjustment for the kids. Plus, my best friend lives in Roswell and its important to be close to her. She's the one who suggested Cumming. My husband's going up next week to check out the areas I mentioned in my original post.
Feb 10th, 2006, 07:17 AM
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Liz,
We are building a home in Cumming, in James Creek. We'll close in mid-April. The schools are supposed to be top-notch, according to a good friend who is a nanny. We don't have kids, but know a lot of people who have gone that direction because of the school system. We just liked the area and the house, but we also knew that for re-sale, we'd need to buy in an area that had a reputable school system.
We are building a home in Cumming, in James Creek. We'll close in mid-April. The schools are supposed to be top-notch, according to a good friend who is a nanny. We don't have kids, but know a lot of people who have gone that direction because of the school system. We just liked the area and the house, but we also knew that for re-sale, we'd need to buy in an area that had a reputable school system.
Mar 11th, 2006, 04:33 PM
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Liz810,
Before you make the big decision about where to live in or near Atlanta, please check out Peachtree City, a beautiful planned city about 20 miles southwest of Atlanta. If you work at home and can live where you want, you really should visit Peachtree City.
Most children go the public schools, even though there are several good private schools nearby.
Our city is made up of four (soon five)villages, each with it's own school, shopping etc. There are about 75 miles of golf or jogging paths woven in and out of all the subdivisions, shopping, schools and golf courses (three golf courses).We have two large lakes and 4th of July is an old time celebration with the fireworks shot out over one of the lakes.
This is a large planned city, very green, lots of flowers and shrubs. Homes are available in all price ranges (they don't last very long). There is a large selection of good restaurants and good shopping at the "Avenue" and other places. I can go on and on...
My family has lived here about 16 years and we plan to stay.
If you need any other information e-mail me at [email protected]. I can answer most of your questions. Best wishes, - Joan
Before you make the big decision about where to live in or near Atlanta, please check out Peachtree City, a beautiful planned city about 20 miles southwest of Atlanta. If you work at home and can live where you want, you really should visit Peachtree City.
Most children go the public schools, even though there are several good private schools nearby.
Our city is made up of four (soon five)villages, each with it's own school, shopping etc. There are about 75 miles of golf or jogging paths woven in and out of all the subdivisions, shopping, schools and golf courses (three golf courses).We have two large lakes and 4th of July is an old time celebration with the fireworks shot out over one of the lakes.
This is a large planned city, very green, lots of flowers and shrubs. Homes are available in all price ranges (they don't last very long). There is a large selection of good restaurants and good shopping at the "Avenue" and other places. I can go on and on...
My family has lived here about 16 years and we plan to stay.
If you need any other information e-mail me at [email protected]. I can answer most of your questions. Best wishes, - Joan
Mar 17th, 2006, 05:14 PM
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I second the recommendation to check out Peachtree City.
The public schools are excellent (at least for Georgia, but that's another topic all together) and those 75 miles of paved recreational trails allow you complete city access via golf cart, a great way to travel. Parents drop their children off at school via golf cart; students 15 and over drive themselves to school in golf carts.
Also has easy airport access, which can be a very stressful commute from the north side of Atlanta.
Two large lakes, lots of green space, dog park, BMX track, skateboard park, roller hockey rink, indoor swimming pool, soccer fields etc (i.e. a lot of recreational opportunities for children and adults)
There is an amphitheater that has a ten event concert series (first five this year - Styx, Foreigner, Eddie Money, The Temptations and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons)
I lived 9 years in Dunwoody, 4 in Buckhead, but the last seven years in Peachtree City have been the best.
The public schools are excellent (at least for Georgia, but that's another topic all together) and those 75 miles of paved recreational trails allow you complete city access via golf cart, a great way to travel. Parents drop their children off at school via golf cart; students 15 and over drive themselves to school in golf carts.
Also has easy airport access, which can be a very stressful commute from the north side of Atlanta.
Two large lakes, lots of green space, dog park, BMX track, skateboard park, roller hockey rink, indoor swimming pool, soccer fields etc (i.e. a lot of recreational opportunities for children and adults)
There is an amphitheater that has a ten event concert series (first five this year - Styx, Foreigner, Eddie Money, The Temptations and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons)
I lived 9 years in Dunwoody, 4 in Buckhead, but the last seven years in Peachtree City have been the best.
Mar 17th, 2006, 11:40 PM
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Treasures and Evening:
That is so interesting...did you or do you have to commute into the city(downtown or midtown) from Peachtree City? I actually have the other Moving to Atlanta thread, and we had started to give up on Peachtree because it sounds as if it would take an hour in traffic to reach the city.
That is so interesting...did you or do you have to commute into the city(downtown or midtown) from Peachtree City? I actually have the other Moving to Atlanta thread, and we had started to give up on Peachtree because it sounds as if it would take an hour in traffic to reach the city.
Mar 18th, 2006, 05:50 AM
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Hi,
I live in Peachtree City and volunteer every Monday at an office in downtown Atlanta. It takes me about 1/2 hour to get to downtown (about 20 minutes to the airport) Of course if there is a major accident or it's a major downpour, it can be slower but the volume coming in from the south side, though growing, is significantly less than from the northside, so the chances of an accident interruption are less.
When I first moved to Georgia (21 yrs ago), I lived in Dunwoody and commuted to downtown and it was an okay 30-35 minute commute but I would never want to do that commute today.
Hope this helps
Pamela
I live in Peachtree City and volunteer every Monday at an office in downtown Atlanta. It takes me about 1/2 hour to get to downtown (about 20 minutes to the airport) Of course if there is a major accident or it's a major downpour, it can be slower but the volume coming in from the south side, though growing, is significantly less than from the northside, so the chances of an accident interruption are less.
When I first moved to Georgia (21 yrs ago), I lived in Dunwoody and commuted to downtown and it was an okay 30-35 minute commute but I would never want to do that commute today.
Hope this helps
Pamela
Mar 18th, 2006, 03:51 PM
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Dear Pamela,
Thank you for your helpful replies...My husband would be commuting to downtown, so we're worried the commute in heavy traffic could get tiresome, but being near the airport is a plus too. He'll be there soon, so can see for himself. If he likes it, I will come and we'll seriously look for a home.
Right now, schools are the biggest issue for us; we've been lucky enough to live in areas with wonderful schools up until now. And of course, we know very little of the Atlanta area, and it's vast!
Sorry for jumping from the thread I started to this one, by the way...
D
Thank you for your helpful replies...My husband would be commuting to downtown, so we're worried the commute in heavy traffic could get tiresome, but being near the airport is a plus too. He'll be there soon, so can see for himself. If he likes it, I will come and we'll seriously look for a home.
Right now, schools are the biggest issue for us; we've been lucky enough to live in areas with wonderful schools up until now. And of course, we know very little of the Atlanta area, and it's vast!
Sorry for jumping from the thread I started to this one, by the way...
D
