Tucker, Dillard Crossing-should I buy? (Smyrna, Clarkston: for sale, apartment complex, lease)

[Citysearch07]

Hi Everyone,
I have 2 questions..

I am planning to relocate to Tucker by the end of the year from NY and I wanted to know if Dillard Crossing is a good complex to live in? (I've noticed that there are always about 10-15 homes up for sale?)

I visited GA about 3 times in the last 6 years and I have settled on Tucker. I am interested in buying a townhouse but I don't know much about the diffrent complexes or areas. This past January, I viewed a unit in Dillard Crossing (which is close to Tucker Middle School on Cowan) and it was very nice. Is the area safe?

I know that each person's opinion will be diffrent but can someone suggest a really nice, quite, and safe complex in Tucker (DeKalb). I will like to stick with a townhouse at first. Decent schools (Middle and High) and a safe neighborhood is my focus.

Second
Any comment on Clayton State University?

Thank you all for any information provided..
Your input will help me make a more informed decision. Thanks Again!

[JPD]

I'm not familiar with Dillard Crossing, but you should be aware that the area near Tucker Middle School (Idlewood and Fellowship Roads) is full of aging apartment complexes and some empty commercial buildings (there used to be a hospital where the Middle School is, so there are some leftover and underused medical related buildings along Idlewood). This is not the best part of Tucker. Dillard Crossing might be very nice, but it's surrounded by not so nice areas. If you want to live in a townhouse, Tucker is probably not the best place to be.

I live in Tucker and I love it. If you want to live in Tucker I would consider renting a house in a subdivision or perhaps getting a short term lease at the Du Pont apartments behind Publix (the only newer apartment complex I know of in Tucker) so you can get a feel for the town.

Clayton State College is not close to Tucker. I wouldn't live in Tucker if I had to go to Clayton regularly.

[Citysearch07]

Hi JPD,
Thanks for the information! I have been watching Dillard Crossing for the past year and it seems that people are having a problem selling quickly.

Since I am not from the area, it is very hard to make sound decisions when everyone you are dealing with tells you, "It is really safe here." Do you mind if I continue to ask you more questions about other areas in Tucker? I have been looking at some homes but I have no clue about the conditions of the area. It is quite hard to made good choices when all you can see are pictures of the inside of a beautiful home, which appears to be a surronded by serenity.

I have the names of a few subdivisions which I will post tomorrow. Can you provide any information that you may have about them.

I also called the Dupont. I will check them out on my next visit. Do you know anything about Five Oaks apartments on Montreal Rd?

Thanks again for the information you provided..

P.S.
Is Clayton State over 45min from Tucker?

[JPD]

Hey, feel free to ask any questions. I'll try to answer them. I'm not familiar with the apartments on Montreal Road. That might be considered Clarkston.

You could probably get to Clayton State in 45 minutes from Tucker if you're not traveling during rush hour. It's not too far from the airport. I can get to the airport in about 25 minutes from my house, so 45 minutes to Clayton State seems do-able.

[bungalowgirl]

Citysearch07,

What is it about Dillard Crossing that you like?

[Citysearch07]

Hi Bungalowgirl,
Dillard Crossing is a gated community with nice unit layouts. Most are 2 bedrooms with an extra room which can be used as a third bedroom or an office. There are two or three story and some plans are set up roommate style(the extra room is located on the lower level). The community has a clubhouse and pool. Cost ranged from about $145,000-$180,000.

Community seemed O.K. when I visited.

[Citysearch07]

JPD

Below is a list of some locations (residential homes) anything you can tell me about the areas would be great. Also, what is you take on Tucker, Dekalb or Gwinnett County? I would be looking to work in the Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, or Perimeter area, some possibility for the Smyrna area.

Locations

Classic Village-Duesenberg Dr.
Edinburgh Estates-Edinburgh Dr.
Leeshire Court-Leeshire Dr.
Summerfield-Wildflower Ln.
Presidential Point-Presidents Walk

Schools

Brockett or Smoke Rise Elementary?
Tucker or Henderson Middle?

Is Tucker High School a good school?

As far as schools are concerned, I am looking for one that will have access to programs that will challenge my daughter (academically) and have a safe environment. Plenty of extracurricular and sport activities would also be great.
There will not be any school that is without problems; but to what extent is my concern.

In the end, it is what my daughter and I put into her education that will determine the outcome but having a decent place to attend will be very helpful.

Thanks for any feedback that you can provide!

[JPD]

My take on Tucker is that it's a great place to live. I moved here when I was in kindergarten. I moved into the city for my 20s, and now I'm back. Aside from a bit more development, Tucker is very similar to what it was 30 years ago. Tucker is on the short list of "Next Hot Spots" for the metro area since it's easy to get intown and is still affordable. In the last few years the number of good restaurants in Tucker has tripled. Tucker has been a safe and stable community for decades, and I believe it will not only continue to be that way, but will get even better over the next several years.

Dekalb is very generous with Tucker. We have a new middle school, our high school (which is an "International Baccalaureate School") is being replaced with a new facility next year, we're getting a new, larger public library to replace the current one. We recently got curbside recycling and generally have good services from the county.

Dekalb schools aren't statistically as good as some other counties, but you get out of school what you put into it. Brockett and Smoke Rise are both good schools, as are Livsey and Midvale. Smoke Rise is the "rich" area in Tucker. Idlewood is the worst performing elementary school that feeds into Tucker High. I don't know much about Henderson Middle, but I think it's a good school. Tucker Middle has a lot of hispanic immigrants, probably a good number of which are in the US illegally, so that brings averages down as many of the kids came to the US not knowing english. But as I (and you) said before, you get out of it what you put into it. I don't know of any instances in which the immigrant students, or any other group of kids, cause problems, so I wouldn't be worried about that. My neighbor works at the middle school, so I'd probably hear about any recurring problems. The schools have all the sports and extracurricular activities you'd expect.

I don't like Gwinnett. Supposedly there are some great schools in Gwinnett, but that doesn't make up for the rampant development and horrendous 24/7countywide traffic jam.

I'll have to look into the specific neighborhoods you asked about. I've heard of, and probably spent time in all of them, but after living here so long I'm sort of on auto-pilot and don't even bother with street names anymore.

[Citysearch07]

JPD thanks for the information! I really appreciate all your help. Where can I look for more information on what is happening in Tucker. I would like to follow what is going on with the High School plans and the community.

Although I had pretty much settled on Tucker, your email about the community and schools makes me feel that I am making a good choice. I look foward to the information about the diffrent area from my previous email.

I checked out the THS website and I like what the school has to offer. I think it will work just fine when the time comes for my daughter to attend. The school seems to have a stable record and hopefully that will continue.

Another thing I would like to know about is the taxes in Tucker.
What is the rate? Is it considered high or low for the area?

Looking foward to your reply

[JPD]

Hey no probolem. Glad I could help. I'll tryo to get you some info about the neighborhoods you listed, but it might take me a few days. In the meantime here are a few links with more Tucker info:

New Tucker High School Construction Website - - This is a brand new website put up by the architects that are designing the new high school. There's not currently a lot of content, but the process of building a new school is in the very early stages.

TuckerToday: Community Website for Tucker, Georgia and DeKalb County - events, news, politics, crime alerts, zoning, forum - - Outdated website content, but the user forum has a good bit of info.

Association Web Page - - Website for the Tucker Parent Council. They seem to be the best source of info on the new school.

Main Street Tucker Alliance (broken link) - - Main Street Tucker Alliance, an organization working towards revitalizing Tucker's Main Street.

https://dklbweb.dekalbga.org/TaxAssessor/ - - Dekalb County Tax Assessor.