Stone Mountain (Atlanta, Dunwoody, Tucker: for sale, rentals, crime rate)

[Timmo]

Hi All,

I've been considering the move to Atlanta, and started doing my research. You may already have seen some of my posts and questions. I've seen some cheaper housing (rentals) in Stone Mountain, and I've seen mixed responses from this forum.

What's the lowdown on this place? Is it too suburban or far from the city? Is it middle class and safe to raise a beautiful baby girl? Or is it very ghetto and like the town I live in now (N'awlins)?

We're very blue-statey type of people and don't want to live around rednecks and hicks either.

[nscruggs]

Timmo,

You're going to continue to get the same responses everyone else has gotten. Nothing has happened to change anyone's mind. I currently live in Stone Mountain & will quote myself in a few other posts.

I wouldn't describe an area as ghetto unless it is truly a poverty stricken area, evidenced by lots of boarded up homes & business; lots of people loittering on the street; people walking on the street drinking; broken bottles, needles & other drug paraphanalia littering the streets; car alarms going off several times a day; sirens being heard several times a day; loud in general such as people yelling or blasting stereos ; homeless people sleeping on sidewalks, etc.

Stone Mountain is not like that at all. My biggest complaint is not enough people maintain their homes & cut their grass. So please, if you move here & buy or even rent a home, cut your grass.

The area is definitely hit or miss as far as the homes. Half of the residents don’t seem to own a lawnmower or care anything about the maintenance of their homes. That said, the area in general is pretty quiet. I’ve never been concerned about my safety or security.

Pluses
-Proximity to Stone Mountain park for running, bike riding, hiking, golf, etc.
-Centrally located for a suburb. I can get to downtown, midtown, or Buckhead in 20 minutes; Perimeter, Duluth or the airport in 25-30 minutes (no traffic.
-Traffic is not as egregious as some of the northern suburbs.
-GREAT Jamaican food.

Minuses
-No amenities
-The fact that the jail is so close is not a selling point nor is the associated businesses (bail bonds, etc)
-I’ve been approached by men begging for money on more than one occasion at Office Depot and Kroger. Now I go to the Krogers in Lilburn and the shopping areas in the Gwinnett side of Stone Mountain

I lived in LA before moving here & I’m just used to there being things within walking distance or having all different types of ethnic restaurants within a 5 minute drive. Even in lower income areas, yards were meticulously maintained (granted many yards were less than 100 sf). The fact that people here let there grass get 2-3 feet tall is seriously disturbing. Anyway, that is my point of view as a married woman with no kids. If I did & schools mattered, I’d live in Dunwoody or I wouldn’t live in Dekalb (if things are like they were 10 years ago).

[lastminutemom]

A big minus -- the schools (at least on the DeKalb side)

[atlantagreg30127]

I know folks who have moved OUT of the Stone Mountain area. No one I know has had a desire to move TO it for the last couple of years. It's gone downward of late. The mountain itself is great and I love to visit the park when I can. The town has just fallen enough that it's no longer on the list of "desirable" locations. While you can blame the troublemakers who have moved into the area, just as much fault rests with the local law enforcement for not cracking down enough as well.

No, it's not a "New Orleans". Few places can match that crime rate (even here). New Orleans is a city of mega-extremes. More culture than you can find in any other city of that same size, but more trash than you can find in any city of that size as well. You really can't use it as a comparison for any other place here in the States.

Would *I* move to Stone Mountain these days? No.

[BillWagner]

Stone Mountain is an area of town that is going to change considerably in the next decade. They have just approved a project to revitalized using local taxes to revamp the Memorial Drive area. I own some rental and homes I have for sale in the area that I have remodeled. There is a lot of fix up type homes in the area, HUD, rental, etc. Some neighbors have been there for years and keep up their homes very well. I have seen a big change in the last year with the county and city making changes in keeping the standards of neighborhoods up. This is only as good as the people in the neighborhoods that actually care for their neighborhoods. There is change for the good there in places and will be in the future. I would say that check out your surroundings before purchasing. Go one Saturday afternoon and walk the neighborhood and talk to the neighbors before you purchase. There will be change there soon...Bill

[Steven2149]

I worked with Dekalb Police in the area and I will say that crime in the Dekalb / Stone Mountain area is terrible. There are a large number of shootings, murders, robberies, burglaries, car thefts, and narcotics. In the last two years there have been one shooting that left a police officer dead, hoardes of other murders and robberies. There are no two ways to say it or to sugar coat it. I would avoid living anywhere near Memorial, Hairston, Ponce, Juliette. If you look up into areas along Hugh Howell Road, going towards Tucker, you will find some much nicer areas. That is possibly the only desireable area in Stone Mountain these days.

[Timmo]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm turning away from this area primarily because it's too far from the city center. I'm still considering around Decatur, perhaps Midway Woods.

Someone mentioned Memorial Drive being dangerous - Memorial Drive at Stone Mountain or Memorial Drive near Columbia Dr?

Ditto on New Orleans (Atlanta Greg's comments). You can add the non-existent "recovery" and the exorbitant costs of living to those comments. Another reason why we're moving.

[nscruggs]

Memorial Dr isn't nice in both areas. I haven't driven the whole street but I don't know of any nice areas along Memorial Dr.

[Steven2149]

If safety is important, avoid anything in close proximity to Memorial.

[JPD]

I agree. There are some nice properties here and there on Memorial (particularly near the East Lake golf club), but bad areas are within a stone's throw of all of them.