Alpharetta, Duluth, Marietta or Elsewhere? (Atlanta, Lilburn: real estate, apartment, to rent)

[mrpanda]

Duluth High School? Yikes. That high school is starting to go downhill and I wouldn't touch any homes within that school cluster. Peachtree Ridge is a much better bet if you want to stay within the city limits of Duluth. There was a recent rezone where a lot of the apartments and homes priced under $200,000 were rezoned for Duluth HS and homes surrounding and north of Sugarloaf Country club were zoned for Peachtree Ridge.

If you see the school limits, Peachtree Ridge cluster takes in the best parts of Lawerenceville, Duluth, and parts of Suwanee. Subdivision Willowstone where home prices range in $350k - $400k range is zoned for Peachtree Ridge. The subdivision right next to Willowstone is Thorn Hill where prices are in the $150s which feeds into Duluth HS. The cut off between the two schools is right there on Bentley Road.

Trust me. I wouldn't buy within the Duluth Cluster... Look into the Peachtree Ridge Cluster. Even if you are renting, try to rent within the Peachtree Ridge cluster.

Originally Posted by AhwlwayzBlessed

Okay - We're FINALLY on our way to GA in June/uly (yay me!). I think I've decided on Duluth; Duluth High School and now it's time to find a place to live. Do you use realtors when looking for rentals or is that strictly left to web surfing. If realtors, does anyone have any recommendations? Not looking to buy, just want to rent first.

[AlwayzBlessed]

Thanx so much for the tip on DHS vs. Peachtree Ridge. I also had a house search for that area; however, wasn't sure. Looking at the school, they seem pretty comparable; however, upon a little further investigation into the parent reviews of the school; it appears to be in line with your comments.

Thanks again.

[AlwayzBlessed]

We're on our way June 27, 2012 - woo hoo..only 93 days left!!! I'm so excited, I don't know what to do with myself. So, I'm thinking about NOT brining any furniture with me, just very basic stuff, because I've had everything for so long and I don't want to cart it around any longer. Any good furniture stores in the area?

[AlwayzBlessed]

Why didn't you like Alpharetta? I've heard nothing but great things about it and the only reason I settled on Duluth is because I like diversity and Duluth seemed reasonable as far as diverse demographics. I have a couple of friends in Johns Creek, so that was an alternative, but they said that diversity is almost non-existent in that area and that there was a cross burning a few years back; so Heavens knows I'm not trying to force my children to be the Little Rock 9 (there's only 3 of them; and one will have graduated by June, but you know what I'm getting at).

Please let me know why you didn't like Alpharetta - aside from the bulldozing of wild/tree life.

Originally Posted by cittic10

Good idea on renting first. VERY GOOD!!!!
Once you buy in Atlanta, you can never sell.

It's like the Hotel California.... you can check out but you can never leave.
So rent first and decide which area you want to spend a long long long long time in.

FWIW, I lived in Alpharetta and couldn't stand it.
And that was before they bulldozed all the wooded areas and widened all the roads and propped up retail crap everywhere.

[bryantm3]

i wouldn't freak out really, you can rent for a while and see what neighbourhoods you like and which ones you don't.

i live in alpharetta and i like it alright, the black to white ratio is probably 20% black to 80% white. a few years back it used to be that alpharetta was the kind of place you were talking about with country clubs and materialism and whatnot, but now it seems much of that is centred in forsyth county and johns creek.

alpharetta is getting a little better all the time, but as it is there's not a ton to do here, you'll most likely want to go further in.

duluth and norcross are okay, there's more stuff to do over there i guess, but outside of the historic downtowns are just miles and miles of suburban sprawl and neighbourhoods that are starting to go down. if you're moving out that way, or pretty much anywhere in the suburbs, i would either go with a more historic home or a new home (last 10 years) as a lot of the stuff in between was not well built and is starting to get run down (not really bad or anything, just not as nice as it used to be).

honestly from what i've read on here i think you'd like to live a little further in, maybe sandy springs or dunwoody, but alpharetta, duluth and marietta once again are all OK, but i wouldn't go any further out than those.

if you're moving in 93 days, don't get worried and start second guessing yourself. no place you've mentioned moving to will be a problem, none of them are ghettos and none of them are country clubs. you may find that after a few years of living here you may decide you like one neighbourhood better than another but there's nothing that you should really worry about. you'll love atlanta.

[AlwayzBlessed]

Thanks so much for your response and great insight. I love getting responses with so much detail, especially when I have very little knowledge of a particular area. I looked at Dunwoody when I first started my quest, but I didn't want to be in DeKalb school district. My children are currently in a spectacular school district, do I want to make sure I keep that quality. Seems like Alpharetta might be a but more progressive than the area I live in, lol. Thanx again.

Originally Posted by bryantm3

i wouldn't freak out really, you can rent for a while and see what neighbourhoods you like and which ones you don't.

i live in alpharetta and i like it alright, the black to white ratio is probably 20% black to 80% white. a few years back it used to be that alpharetta was the kind of place you were talking about with country clubs and materialism and whatnot, but now it seems much of that is centred in forsyth county and johns creek.

alpharetta is getting a little better all the time, but as it is there's not a ton to do here, you'll most likely want to go further in.

duluth and norcross are okay, there's more stuff to do over there i guess, but outside of the historic downtowns are just miles and miles of suburban sprawl and neighbourhoods that are starting to go down. if you're moving out that way, or pretty much anywhere in the suburbs, i would either go with a more historic home or a new home (last 10 years) as a lot of the stuff in between was not well built and is starting to get run down (not really bad or anything, just not as nice as it used to be).

honestly from what i've read on here i think you'd like to live a little further in, maybe sandy springs or dunwoody, but alpharetta, duluth and marietta once again are all OK, but i wouldn't go any further out than those.

if you're moving in 93 days, don't get worried and start second guessing yourself. no place you've mentioned moving to will be a problem, none of them are ghettos and none of them are country clubs. you may find that after a few years of living here you may decide you like one neighbourhood better than another but there's nothing that you should really worry about. you'll love atlanta.

[vkvidal]

Good luck with your move... We got here 6 months ago and settled into Alpharetta in an apt. Complex. It's ok but like someone said not much really going on here! There are some nice parks and north point mall area with tons of stores and restaurants but other than that.... You will prob need to get in the car and explore other places for fun. It's something we have been doing lately and that's how we found Dunwoody... We really liked it but didn't want to be that close to the perimeter and not too many Christian or private school that way that I could find anyway. We also just explored Woodstock, loved it! It's in Cherokee county and from what I hear excellent school system. Check it out if you get a chance. Johns creek is really nice, very family oriented and I think it's somewhat diverse....
There is so much to see and explore here.... You will definitely need to look around and check out different areas in order to really figure out where you will want to live!
Enjoy the journey and best of luck with your move!
Ps. They have rooms to go here.... Always having incredible sales!!!
K.

[chalvey]

Originally Posted by AlwayzBlessed

Thanks so much for your response and great insight. I love getting responses with so much detail, especially when I have very little knowledge of a particular area. I looked at Dunwoody when I first started my quest, but I didn't want to be in DeKalb school district. My children are currently in a spectacular school district, do I want to make sure I keep that quality. Seems like Alpharetta might be a but more progressive than the area I live in, lol. Thanx again.

Dunwoody High is ranked in the top 5% of high schools in the state. I actually went to Vanderlyn, one of the best elementary schools in the state. To be candid, I personally do not trust GreatSchools. My belief is that if ones child goes to a good school, and that they are motivated and ambitious, they will do fine regardless of being in the 1st, 15th, or 30th best school in the state.

However, you will be hard pressed to find a house in Dunwoody between $200,000-$250,000. You will find mostly old town homes and 1950's ranches or small two stories homes that need a drastic renovation. Good luck!

[AlwayzBlessed]

LOVED the RTG site. We don't have one here in Cali. I've already picked out my living room and my youngest son's bedroom set. Great prices, too. Thanks so much! My youngest is a special needs child (EXTREMELY HIGH functioning on autism spectrum - mostly a speech issue), do that's over of the reasons I want to try my hardest to get it right the first time, because I don't want to shuffle him around if at all possible.

Originally Posted by vkvidal

Good luck with your move... We got here 6 months ago and settled into Alpharetta in an apt. Complex. It's ok but like someone said not much really going on here! There are some nice parks and north point mall area with tons of stores and restaurants but other than that.... You will prob need to get in the car and explore other places for fun. It's something we have been doing lately and that's how we found Dunwoody... We really liked it but didn't want to be that close to the perimeter and not too many Christian or private school that way that I could find anyway. We also just explored Woodstock, loved it! It's in Cherokee county and from what I hear excellent school system. Check it out if you get a chance. Johns creek is really nice, very family oriented and I think it's somewhat diverse....
There is so much to see and explore here.... You will definitely need to look around and check out different areas in order to really figure out where you will want to live!
Enjoy the journey and best of luck with your move!
Ps. They have rooms to go here.... Always having incredible sales!!!
K.

[AlwayzBlessed]

I definitely don't know enough about the zoning to make sure my daughter would end up at DHS. Thanks so much for your help. I appreciate the feedback.

Originally Posted by chalvey

Dunwoody High is ranked in the top 5% of high schools in the state. I actually went to Vanderlyn, one of the best elementary schools in the state. To be candid, I personally do not trust GreatSchools. My belief is that if ones child goes to a good school, and that they are motivated and ambitious, they will do fine regardless of being in the 1st, 15th, or 30th best school in the state.

However, you will be hard pressed to find a house in Dunwoody between $200,000-$250,000. You will find mostly old town homes and 1950's ranches or small two stories homes that need a drastic renovation. Good luck!