Acworth/Powder Springs or Woodstock??? (Atlanta, Macon: new home, transfer, neighborhood)

[trish74]

My family is moving from Macon up to the Atlanta area. My brother lives in Acworthh so i know the area a little. We are trying to narrow down areas. My husbands headquarters is in Buckhead Exit 2 of 400 but he only goes 1-2 days a week every other week. He works from home but also travels 2-3 days a week every other week. So we have looked at Woodstock -Laurel Ridge between 575 and 400 and a place off 92 near Crabapple.

Then we have looked at Antioch in Powder Springs (Vaughan school district) and Acworth Brookstone (new elementary) and another Acworth place which is Ford district. So we are still alittle spread out.

I like up 400 in South Forsyth but seems far up and far away from the airport too. We drove the commute Friday from Buckhead around 285 up 75 to up 41 just to get an idea during Friday afternoon rush hour to Acworth off Mars Hill and it took 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Even we he does go into work he can go in early and get off early or later on those days he does have to go-----

So does Acworth/Woodstock on the east side/ or Powder Springs seem better? I am a stay at home mom with 2 preschoolers---are we crazy for even looking at these areas??? Schools are a high priority and I will go back to teaching in 3 years or so and Cobb seems to a good place to work.

Thanks for any opinions. We have looked at Roswell and Alpharetta but a bit out of our range and Roswell seemed older. We are looking at 275K to 375K and I have found houses in these areas for that.


THANKS!!!!

[gt6974a]

We live in Acworth right off of 75 and 92. I work downtown and my fiance works in Buckhead as well.

My father lives in Brookstone. You need to tack on 20 minutes just to get from Brookstone to 75 in the morning/afternoon. Our commute averages around 50 minutes so your estimation is pretty accurate.

With his schedule, Acworth is very doable. You'll definatley want the west side of 41 for the better schools.

The best way to get to Buckhead is 75 South to Mt. Paran or West Paces and then neighborhood roads over to Buckhead.

[trish74]

Thanks. Mt. Paran or West Paces is that off 75 and if so at what point? Just trying to get an idea. Thanks for the input since you live there you know. Would you rule out Woodstock then or what about East paulding County as well??

Thanks again----any info is appreciated!

[gt6974a]

Well, Mt Paran and West Paces are right inside 285 off of 75, it just saves you from trying to go 285 West(horrible) and then 400 South.

I wouldn't rule out Woodstock, should be comprable to Acworth commute but I think it's a little worse as far as commute b/c of 575 is smaller. My fiance's boss lives in Towne Lake, he claims 35 miles to corner of Peachtree/Piedmont.

East Paulding is about the same as Brookstone considering the back of Brookstone is East Paulding, although the farther south or west changes the route.

i.e. Brookstone is just far enough South of Acworth, that you'd actually take Stilesboro down to Barret or by Kennesaw Mountain to get to 75. If your closer to 41 you'll take higway 92 to 75. And if you go a little far south of Brookstone you'll take Dallas Highway down to Barret (aka East-West connector)

[chiefs fan]

trish74:

We live very close to Antioch in unincorporated Powder Springs (near Due West/Mars Hill). This year we are in the Vaughan district, but next year we are redistricted to Ford. We have two boys starting kindergarten at Ford this very morning (we applied for a hardship transfer so they wouldn't have to switch schools next year). Anyway, any of those schools you mentioned should be great. Ford is supposed to have an excellent reputation for parent involvement. Vaughan seemed pretty nice too when we toured it before we were redistricted. It is a larger school than Ford though. Pay close attention to homes in Brookstone, since some of them stay at Ford, while others will attend Pickett's Mill next year. I think the boundary line is at Burnt Hickory...best to verify with the school district's website.

I used to commute to exit #5 on GA 400, and it would take me about 1 hr and 20 minutes on average. I never took the freeways since they were so clogged; side roads are definitely the way to go from this area. Anytime I tried a route using the interstate, it took too long.

[trish74]

Do you know if Vaughan, Ford, Bullard, or any of the west Cobb schools have Spanish or any other extras at the kindergarten and up level like in east Cobb? Or can anyone tell me why to choose on those school districts over the other? And should I not move into the new school Pickett's Mill district? I am very concerned about the schools and I am trying to choose houses based on this as well as other factors. Thanks!!

[chiefs fan]

Originally Posted by trish74

Do you know if Vaughan, Ford, Bullard, or any of the west Cobb schools have Spanish or any other extras at the kindergarten and up level like in east Cobb? Or can anyone tell me why to choose on those school districts over the other? And should I not move into the new school Pickett's Mill district? I am very concerned about the schools and I am trying to choose houses based on this as well as other factors. Thanks!!

I just received some notice from Ford the other day that they have a Spanish course that they offer after school for a fee, but nothing during the regular class day. I don't know about Vaughan or Bullard, but I would suspect they have something similar to Ford.

Ford is supposed to have an excellent reputation. When we moved here, it seemed to be preferred over Vaughan, Due West, Frey and Bullard, but we considered homes in all of those areas. There are still a lot of new homes cropping up all over the place in this part of Cobb, so you will want to make sure you would be happy with the surrounding schools in case you get redistricted in the future. That is what we kept in mind while house hunting. As mentioned earlier, we were originally supposed to attend Vaughan, but are redistricted to Ford. I know that one neighborhood we looked at originally went to Vaughan, was redistricted to Bullard, and are now going to be moved to Due West.

Pickett's Mill is going to pull students from Lewis, Frey, and Ford when it opens next year. I really don't think it will be a bad school choice at all. You can always do a little research on these current schools and look at the school boundary maps on the school district's website to get an idea of the area it will encompass. The nice thing about Pickett's Mill is that it will be under capacity for a while.

I have to say we have been pleased with Ford so far, but then again, our kids have only attended one week so take that for what it's worth!

[trish74]

Do you think some of the teachers from Ford will go to Pickett's Mill or do they even have choices? Just curiuos. Ford seems to have a great reputation and Vaughan too. Then in east Cobb Tritt does and Shallowford Falls. Thanks.

[chiefs fan]

Originally Posted by trish74

Do you think some of the teachers from Ford will go to Pickett's Mill or do they even have choices? Just curiuos. Ford seems to have a great reputation and Vaughan too. Then in east Cobb Tritt does and Shallowford Falls. Thanks.

I'm not really sure of the process the school district will use to supply teachers for Pickett's Mill (& Allatoona HS for that matter). I suspect they would do a combo of new hires and also see which teachers would volunteer to teach at the new schools, but that is just merely my speculation. I don't get the impression that the teachers at Ford will be wanting to leave the school for Pickett's Mill though.

I attended some of the redistricting meetings with the school board this past spring, and I know that Brookstone I fought pretty hard to try and keep their entire neighborhood in the Ford Elementary/Harrison HS boundaries, but ultimately things didn't pan out....the neighborhood is just too big. You can view the meeting minutes for the school boundary discussion here:

Cobb County School District (broken link)

I can't really comment about the schools in East Cobb; we looked at East Cobb at first, but decided to focus on West Cobb so we could spend less on a house while still feeling good about the school quality. I think there are other threads about East Cobb schools that might be helpful if you are also considering that area.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions too! Good luck on your decision...

[Victor319]

If I would be on your shoes, ACWORTH would be my decision. Good schools and the traffic on I-75 is a lot better for any area than taking I-575 from Woodstock.

Victor