soontobegeorgian

Thanks, everyone, for all the inputs. My husband thinks it's "do-able" for him to commute from Alpharetta to downtown. But come to think of it, it might really not be a good option for us.

East Cobb seems to be an appealing option at the moment. If we put our kids to public school,though, I'm afraid about the quality of education in middle school for my daughter 2 years from now. From what I've read. the middle schools are not great. Am I just over-stressing myself?

Btw, are there any gifted and talented schools available? Or, do they just have a program within a regular public school? How about optional schools--are there any in the area? Is it even worth looking into it?

i8inParis

I just wantd to let you know that as
someone in the same position as you,
dealing with the good schools vs.good family area vs.commute issues I know
EXACTLY what you are going through!
At this point I don't think private school is an option if we bite the bullet and buy inside the per.
My strategy is to visit the schools and
hang around and actually talk to parents and to the kids that attend the school. I will even go to a PTA meeting after I've really narrowed my choices down! I'm not going to base my decision solely on test scores and
demographics, although both will be
scrutinized. So much depends on parental involvement, and if new administration has been brought in to
improve things. I wish you luck in your search.

padams421

The gifted and talented program is part of the regular public school system.

I've never heard of a very good middle school in GA. Middle school seems to be the weakest part of the GA public schools. That being said, Dickerson in East Cobb is consdiered to be one fothe best in the state. I know from reading the local newspapers that there is a current controversy about redrawing the lines to move some Dickerson kids to another middle school, and it appears that those parents don't want their kids moved. Be careful looking at houses in East Cobb. You need to make sure that a house that is currently in Dickerson is going to stay in Dickerson. I don't know enough details to tell you what subdivisions will change schools under the new plan.

I do think you are obsessing a bit, but I probably would do the same. Have you considered renting for a year just in case you aren't happy with where you initially choose? It's pretty easy to find a rental house in East Cobb as that area has a lot of corporate transfers.

ATLApril

What about Walker? It is a great private school located in Marietta. Smyrna would be a good option for your family. It is convenient to I-75/I-285 and growing in leaps and bounds. The public schools aren't too great but there are some great private schools in the area. If you would like to receive listings for houses in any of these areas you can e-mail me at [email protected] . I am a Realtor here in Cobb county and can e-mail you listings and statistics on different schools for you to browse through. Let me know if I can help.

Thanks,

April=)

bballmama

I also vote for the Rosewell/Alpharetta/Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area. My personal favorite is living in Roswell, shopping at the Alpharetta mall. I have family who does this, and we will also do the same in the future. I will absolutely not do the commute into downtown. It is a nightmare. I would, however, consider doing Marta into downtown for my commute. I routinely take Marta from Dunwoody to the airport and it's a piece of cake. Does anyone else have any thoughts on that?