Lithonia, Ga Panola Road (Atlanta, Dunwoody: salon, apartments, power lines)

[SAAN]

Actually, neither Panola or Gresham Rd Walmarts have self serve check outs and there both pretty new, im starting to notice in majority blacks area Walmarts not have them as an option. Not sure about the new one on Memorial Drive.

As far as crime, Panola rd is hit or miss, the newer neighborhoods seem to be more calm. More of the problems are between covington and redan, where you will see more foot traffic.

[nb1968]

Originally Posted by SAAN

Actually, neither Panola or Gresham Rd Walmarts have self serve check outs and there both pretty new, im starting to notice in majority blacks area Walmarts not have them as an option. Not sure about the new one on Memorial Drive.

As far as crime, Panola rd is hit or miss, the newer neighborhoods seem to be more calm. More of the problems are between covington and redan, where you will see more foot traffic.

I HATE self check outs. It is like the company is saying "We are too cheap to pay more people to be cashiers." and leaving the customers to fend for themselves with those stupid beeping malfunctioning self checkouts. That is why I quit going to Home Depot with those stupid self checkouts. At least LOWES will pay for a few cashiers.
So, I make it a point to go to the stores that DONT have them!

[ReadyForMarriage]

PANOLA RD = G - H - E - T - T - O!

Trust me....do not let the pockets of exclusive subdivisions fool you. It is a mess to commute through and don't even get me started on the Wal-Mart there....might as well be in a 3rd world country.

[nb1968]

Originally Posted by ReadyForMarriage

PANOLA RD = G - H - E - T - T - O!

Trust me....do not let the pockets of exclusive subdivisions fool you. It is a mess to commute through and don't even get me started on the Wal-Mart there....might as well be in a 3rd world country.

Please list the qualities that define ghetto to you.
I dont think it would be the, . . Exclusive subdivisions and regular subdivisions and small strip shopping centers on Panola.
My defenition of Ghetto is:
the only nearby retail being the Liquor Store (with bars on the windows) and a bunch of bums hanging around it trying to hustle you, beg for money, rob you or sell you drugs; substandard housing; abandoned housing; crumbling infrastructure; Gang graffiti; gang activity; all the houses with bars on the windows due to constant break ins; youths standing on streetcorners selling drugs; the sound of gunfire; between the gunfire, the conds of couples fighting and children crying; frequent police helicopters chasing perps; people sitting around all day and night because they dont even want to work as they are going into the 3rd generation on welfare.
Did I miss anything?
I dont see too much of the above mentioned on Panola.
Do all homes have to cost 300k+ and have a Ruth Chris Steakhouse for an area not to be considered Ghetto?

[ReadyForMarriage]

Originally Posted by nb1968

Please list the qualities that define ghetto to you.
I dont think it would be the, . . Exclusive subdivisions and regular subdivisions and small strip shopping centers on Panola.
My defenition of Ghetto is:
the only nearby retail being the Liquor Store (with bars on the windows) and a bunch of bums hanging around it trying to hustle you, beg for money, rob you or sell you drugs; substandard housing; abandoned housing; crumbling infrastructure; Gang graffiti; gang activity; all the houses with bars on the windows due to constant break ins; youths standing on streetcorners selling drugs; the sound of gunfire; between the gunfire, the conds of couples fighting and children crying; frequent police helicopters chasing perps; people sitting around all day and night because they dont even want to work as they are going into the 3rd generation on welfare.
Did I miss anything?
I dont see too much of the above mentioned on Panola.
Do all homes have to cost 300k+ and have a Ruth Chris Steakhouse for an area not to be considered Ghetto?

I lived in the apt complex next to the Publix ~ 0.5 mi south off of the exit. ALL OF THE ABOVE IS TRUE ABOUT PANOLA. In that complex alone, in the 1.5 yrs I lived there, there were 3 homicides!!! The plaza where he BOA is a dump. It's congested, yadda yadda ya...I would not recommend anyone moving to Dekalb unless it near Dunwoody.

BTW - Ruth Chris SUCKS! : )

[anggilliam]

I live in Lithonia and have lived here for 5 years. This has not been the best living situation of my life. I now have to carry "protection" that I never thought I would need, my home has been burglarized (and I do have an alarm system) and the vacant buildings that have stodd in a major intersection that whole time I've lived here are now grafitti covered.

South DeKalb is not a thriving area. I have witnessed a decline in spite of the efforts at "renewal". In ten years, I've seen two new roads, a new mall that now has a weekend curfew to keep it safe, that's it.

[anggilliam]

Let's not forget about the dudes who robbed the Bank of America on Panola and tried to get away on the Marta bus. Or the one that robbed it on a bicycle.

Oh yea! Just lost the Starbucks on Panola. The cousins were going in there with their own coffee not even in a Starbucks cup to try to fake it!

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by ReadyForMarriage

I lived in the apt complex next to the Publix ~ 0.5 mi south off of the exit. ALL OF THE ABOVE IS TRUE ABOUT PANOLA. In that complex alone, in the 1.5 yrs I lived there, there were 3 homicides!!! The plaza where he BOA is a dump. It's congested, yadda yadda ya...I would not recommend anyone moving to Dekalb unless it near Dunwoody.

BTW - Ruth Chris SUCKS! : )

Wow...

nb1968 has a pretty grimey description of "ghetto". You're saying that ALL of it is true about Panola Rd, even near Browns Mill and Snapfinger Rd?

You're saying that ALL the stuff nb1968 mentioned happens in and around Cavalier Creekside (now Creekside Crossing)? Where isthe Liquor Store (with bars on the windows)? When you get gas on any corner of Fairington/Minola Rd and Panola, bums frequently hang out and try to rob you and/or sell you drugs?

The ONLY available housing in the area is substandard? A large number of homes in and around Creekside Crossing have burglar bars? On what corners are the youth selling dope? I see the kids selling the newspapers on the corners, and the occasional guy dressed like Uncle Sam advertising for some tax service or something... But I just haven't seen the groups of thugs posted on the corners selling crack, etc. (And I pass through that exact intersection on my way to work.).

The area is rife with abandoned graffiti covered houses? Where? Where is the crumbling infrastructure? Welfare families sit around all day waiting for the next check in your community? How did you find out? You constantly went to sleep to the sounds of gunfire, police helicopters, and screaming couples and children? I'm not saying you're lying or anything, but it's tough to imagine ALL of that going on in Creekside Crossing. Tell us more about the three people that were murdered in your complex... Was it on the news and such?

The Wal-Mart is a little unkempt, but I think the one on Gresham is worse... Tell us why the BOA Plaza is a dump... (Just curious.)

Let me ask you this, would you rather be on that intersection, or the intersection of Moreland Ave and Memorial Dr., or Moreland and Kirkwood Ave., or Moreland and Wylie Street? What about, James P. Brawley (north of CAU), or the intersection of West Lake Ave and Simpson Rd. or the corner of North Ave and Boulevard. In my opinion, the area of Panola that you are talking about is just lovely compared to those places I mentioned.

I can think of several areas in Kirkwood, Grant Park, East Atlanta, Peoplestown, Pittsburg, Oakland City, Capitol View, Vine City, Old Fourth Ward, Center Hill, and Adamsville that definitely have ALL of those elements. But Panola Rd. in Lithonia? ....Not so much... I'm not saying the area is a utopia or anything, (and correct me if I'm wrong), but I definitely don't think it's as bad as nb1968 described.

The irony is that it seems that many people on the forum would gladly promote many of the areas I mentioned and decry Panola, Lithonia, and South DeKalb as being unsafe... Do you really believe that all those areas I mentioned are safer and have less crime than Lithonia (especially with APD furloughs, etc.)?



But I'll agree that Ruth Chris sucks...

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by anggilliam

I live in Lithonia and have lived here for 5 years. This has not been the best living situation of my life. I now have to carry "protection" that I never thought I would need, my home has been burglarized (and I do have an alarm system) and the vacant buildings that have stodd in a major intersection that whole time I've lived here are now grafitti covered.

South DeKalb is not a thriving area. I have witnessed a decline in spite of the efforts at "renewal". In ten years, I've seen two new roads, a new mall that now has a weekend curfew to keep it safe, that's it.

Where exactly in Lithonia do you live? In terms of economic development, I don't think anybody will give us anything, I think that the community would have to unify and fight to make it what they want it to be. Grant Park, Kirkwood, West End, etc. didn't just start turning themselves around. The people rallied together to make it happen.

I kinda think we sit and complain too much without getting our hands dirty and making that change. IMHO, the ONLY reason the northern suburbs are more desirable is because the residents take better care of them.

After all, ReadyforMarriage said three people were murdered in her apt complex and no one did anything. I had never even heard that and I live less than 5 miles away. On the other hand, one bartender was murdered in Grant Park and it was the shot heard 'round the world. (No pun or disrespect intended.) The community was in an uproar for months, it was all over the news and radio for months, all types of organizations were formed... they were practically protesting in the streets.

But if a bartender was murdered on Wesley Chapel... (cricket, cricket, cricket)

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by anggilliam

Let's not forget about the dudes who robbed the Bank of America on Panola and tried to get away on the Marta bus. Or the one that robbed it on a bicycle.

Oh yea! Just lost the Starbucks on Panola. The cousins were going in there with their own coffee not even in a Starbucks cup to try to fake it!

True.

But let's also not forget the BOA robbery on Overbrook Pkwy in Norcross, or the BOA robbery at Dunwoody Place and Roswell Road, or the Wachovia bank robbery in North Fulton, or the Bank of America robbery in Sandy Springs. And let's not forget the "Barbie Bandits".

Who/What is blamed for those robberies, the criminals, or the "bad area"?

I don't hear anyone saying, "Get away from those shady Norcross, Dunwoody, Roswell, or Sandy Springs areas because the people in those areas rob banks!"

LiveLeak.com - Atlanta; The bank robbery capitol of America

Not that I'm okay with bank robberies or anything, but it's not a Lithonia/Panola Rd./South DeKalb thing. It seems more like a Metro Atlanta/recession/desperate criminal thing...

As for the Starbucks, I hate to see it go, but who are "the cousins"?

Panola Road Starbucks gets official closing date