What can you tell me about Lovejoy? (Atlanta, Clayton: relocating, homes)

[Tee212]

Hello all,
I am a single parent of a fourteen year old boy and I am thinking about relocating. I have been researching the area of Lovejoy and am interested in the Southfield station subdivision on groveway. I have heard a few things about Clayton county as a whole but I do not want that to effect my decision. If there is anyone that can give me their honest opinion about this area it would be a great help to me. I am interested in knowing about anything you can tell me about the area but especially the schools, transportation, and crime. I have lived in HARLEM all my life so dont hold any punches give it to me straight.

Thank you

Tee212

[Clayton resident]

Originally Posted by Tee212

Hello all,
I am a single parent of a fourteen year old boy and I am thinking about relocating. I have been researching the area of Lovejoy and am interested in the Southfield station subdivision on groveway. I have heard a few things about Clayton county as a whole but I do not want that to effect my decision. If there is anyone that can give me their honest opinion about this area it would be a great help to me. I am interested in knowing about anything you can tell me about the area but especially the schools, transportation, and crime. I have lived in HARLEM all my life so dont hold any punches give it to me straight.

Thank you

Tee212

I'm also a former NY resident, but from Queens, hubby is from Harlem. I live in the Lovejoy area & love it, have had no problems. If you're gonna do Clayton, the farther south you go the better off you'll be, unless you do Lake Spivey which is very expensive & I think farther southwest?

Not sure where southfield station is - are they apartment buildings or subdivision with single family homes?

Yes Clayton has crime, but so does every other county in Metro Atlanta. If you based your decision solely on media reports, you'd think Clayton was much worse than everyone else and I'm not convinced it is. Clayton is similar to some of the 5 boroughs in that some areas don't get as much coverage as others, especially on the crime tip, but you know stuff is happening all over NYC on a regular basis. I haven't had any negative experiences living in Lovejoy area and had have experienced no crime thank God. But if you live in south Clayton, you will need a car.

For me, Clayton has just enough city that I don't miss NY.

As far as schools go, Clayton is the worst in Metro ATL there is no denying that fact. However, GA overall is one of the lowest rated states for education as a whole. So IMHO, even if your son attends the worst school in NYC, he'll probably get a better education there than he would in any GA school. I've said this in other posts - some folks choose North GA in part because the school system is better (and it is) but if your kid attends the best school in a state that's near the bottom of the educational ladder anyway, I'm not sure how much difference that makes in the long run.

I will say this: the parents I know in Clayton who work with their children to ensure they are learning, their children seem to be doing well - and there are plenty of kids that you'll never hear about (because it's not newsworthy) who are doing well in Clayton County public schools. No matter where your kid goes to school if you don't work with the kid, it won't matter if you send them to the best school or the worst your kid isn't going to learn anyway.

Hope this helps! Any other questions feel to ask or PM me and good luck w/your decision!