Cherokee County (Macon, Kennesaw, Acworth: countertops, house, luxury)

[trish74]

My family and I are looking in Cherokee County and my husband will commute to Buckhead 2 days a week. What subdivisions do any of you recommend, i.e. River Green, Harmony on the Lakes, we want a wonderful elementary school ( which ones are better) since we have 2 small children and also what route should he take to get to the Lenox Mall area in Buckhead?

Looking for a 4 or 5 bedroom 300 to 400K and a basement.

Also, since our kids still need preschool part-time are there any good church 3 and 4K programs or private school 4K programs that may not be filled for this year?
We are moving from Macon,GA. Thanks for any advice.

[BobKovacs]

We bought in Harmony on the Lakes, and will be closing in early September. We'll be there by the end of July so the girls can start school on time. Honestly, we didn't spend an inordinate amount of time looking around at all of the different subdivisions- we found one that suited our needs perfectly, and bought.

The elementary school is Holly Springs Elementary, and it rates very well. We took a tour of the school, and compared to the facilities we have in our town in NJ (which is a fairly well-rated school in the state), it's 500% better.

Harmony has homes by Pulte, Sharp and Haven that will all fit your size/price range, and a great amenities package as well.

Regarding the commute into Buckhead, he can either take 575 to 75, or take the scenic route down 140 to 400. I'm not sure which would be shorter time-wise, as I'll only be heading into downtown and/or Buckhead once a week or so, and it'll be during non-rush hours.

Bob

[applejuice]

Bascomb Elementary is good...so check out Towne Lake. There are numerous subdivisions in the Cherokee area...depending what you want. Towne Lake are older homes-golf course masterplan community...Bridgemill also golf course and they have newer homes and great pool and amenities (I don't know what school they have)

River Green and Harmony on the lake are newer areas, but I am not familiar with the schools.

[ready2move]

Also check out Bradshaw Farms, Mountain Park in Woodstock. Right around your price range and a pretty area. It's in pretty area as well.

[trish74]

Are they building a new elementary school at Harmony on the Lakes and I also heard one is going to be built on sight at River Green any info on this?

Also, does anyone know of any good church programs for preschool or private school preschool half day programs for 3 and 4K?

Also are the subdivisions near things like Publix or Target or other shopping....I heard they were getting The Avenue up there too??

Thanks for all the information....we are looking up there over the next 2 weeks.

[BobKovacs]

There is a new middle school and a new high school that Harmony sends to. There's another elementary school being built nearby soon, but I'm not sure in the kids from Harmony will go there, or just some of the kids currently at Holly Springs ES from other areas.

For shopping, there are three corners worth of shops at 140 and Cherokee Drive, just a few miles from the north entrance to Harmony- they've got several supermarkets and a load of other stores. There's also a large shopping center (or two) being built on Canton Hwy at Sixes Road, just about 4 miles from Harmony. I know there's a Home Depot going into one, and I believe I heard that Walmart is going into the other.

Bob

[trish74]

Thanks so much for all the advice... moving is scary since I have lived in Macon forever except college years pretty much. My brother is in Acworth and wants us to come there. Do you see any advantages on Cherokee versus Cobb? Just curiuos. I really HOL so I hope to get up there this weekend. We might consider building do you think that would be an option for us? How was your experience building Bob? Thanks again.

[BobKovacs]

I really can't comment on Cherokee vs Cobb- we chose Cherokee because it's where I'll be working, and we wanted to be close to work. As far as building goes, it's still a viable option, and the process went very smoothly for us. If we close the first week of September as we're supposed to, the total build time will be 4 months from first shovel in the ground to closing- not bad IMO.

You can also look into standing inventory homes, which are often a pretty good deal- you just don't get the luxury of picking your lot, your elevation, your cabinets, countertops, etc. Pulte only had two standing inventory homes when we were looking, and neither had a basement, so we didn't even consider them. Haven seems to have a decent inventory (we looked at around 1/2 a dozen of their homes), so something that works for you may be available for a quick closing.

Bob

[kaos5]

I live in Towne Lake and between there and Hickory Flat where you are considering there is an abundance of beautiful homes and good schools.

But I would caution you on your decision to move so far away. We moved this way because my husband originally worked in Kennesaw. (15 mins away). He now has a better job that requires him to work in Buckhead, midtown and his offices are downtown. On the weekend that is a 30 minute drive during the work week 1:15 to 1:45 minutes and you are thinking about moving 15 minutes north of us.

We will be moving toward east cobb in about three years, as soon as we update the house and my daughters finish Bascomb.

Think about that commute!!!