The internet makes me scared to move to Atlanta (Columbus: section 8, apartments)

[Sattiepooh]

I'm really hoping for some help from this site. All the posts from here and other sites make me afraid to even move!

Currently, my family and I live in MS. We pay $725 for a 2 bdrm 2 bath apartment in a good neighborhood. I was thinking of the Stone Mountain/Clarkston area. My ONLY concern is saftey.

I have two young daughters and their father, though he would visit often, lives in Atlanta and attends GSU. I won't say only concern but feeling like my daughters can go outside and we won't be robbed in broad daylight is a big concern.

We're looking at about 7 apartments that are fairly close to the daycare they are attending but not more than 30 minutes from GSU. I read on one site that Hampton Village was not a safe complex and from how it looks, I couldn't tell.

I guess the easiest thing to do would be to list the streets and you guys tell me if their a safe area or not?

-East Ponce de Leon Ave
-Woodbend Dr.
-Tree Mountain Pkwy
-North and South Hairston Rd
-Hidden Chase
-Summit Creek Dr


Another thing I was thinking about doing was calling the Stone Mountain Police Station and inquiring but I wanted that to be a last resort. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[berkeleylake]

Originally Posted by Sattiepooh

I'm really hoping for some help from this site. All the posts from here and other sites make me afraid to even move!

Currently, my family and I live in MS. We pay $725 for a 2 bdrm 2 bath apartment in a good neighborhood. I was thinking of the Stone Mountain/Clarkston area. My ONLY concern is saftey.

I have two young daughters and their father, though he would visit often, lives in Atlanta and attends GSU. I won't say only concern but feeling like my daughters can go outside and we won't be robbed in broad daylight is a big concern.

We're looking at about 7 apartments that are fairly close to the daycare they are attending but not more than 30 minutes from GSU. I read on one site that Hampton Village was not a safe complex and from how it looks, I couldn't tell.

I guess the easiest thing to do would be to list the streets and you guys tell me if their a safe area or not?

-East Ponce de Leon Ave
-Woodbend Dr.
-Tree Mountain Pkwy
-North and South Hairston Rd
-Hidden Chase
-Summit Creek Dr


Another thing I was thinking about doing was calling the Stone Mountain Police Station and inquiring but I wanted that to be a last resort. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Have you visited the Atlanta at all? Do you know anything already about Dekalb county? Honestly, I would not have preschool or school-aged kids in most of those areas. And during rush hour, the downtown GSU campus is more like 45 min to an hour to get to from most of these areas.

[ATLTJL]

I'm sorry, I can't help as I don't know anything about Stone Mountain. All I know is that it used to be an ok area and apparently some of it still is, but a lot of it has gone downhill. Whenever I go there, I always think, "wow, this place is gross," but I'm probably not in the areas that are still good. I will say that when I visit there, even though I don't necessarily find the area attractive, I don't feel like it is particularly dangerous either. It might be, I don't know, but it's not like you're going to get mugged in broad daylight walking from a store to your car. At least it doesn't feel that bad.

My limited knowledge of Clarkston gives me the same vibe. I think it's disgusting (maybe just not my scene, I don't know), but it doesn't feel highly dangerous. I only know about Clarkston from doing volunteer work with refugee families and the area has a vast population of newly immigrated people. The area has a lot of inexpensive housing that does not seem well kept up that these people are put into by the government. I don't think crime is a huge issue because these are definitely people trying to get by who don't want any trouble with the law. The biggest problems seem to be things like drunk driving and domestic abuse as some of these people come from cultures where these activities are more permissable and rarely if ever punishable by law. I think most of them understand, though, that robbery, murder, etc. are not acceptable in pretty much any culture and they tend to mind their own business with strangers. My wife goes there to help refugees assimilate all the time and I never worry about her being there alone.

If safety is your number one concern, you probably can do better than either of these areas. For the prices you are looking for, though, I don't know. Rents have gotten sky high and $725 for a 2/2 is going to be pretty tough in most good areas. I don't think your girls are going to get robbed at gunpoint in either place, at least not by professional thieves. They do, however, probably stand a good chance of encountering kids their own age in both places without good upbringings that may engage in bullying, petty theft, etc. Personally, I would never send my kids to school in either place (if I had kids), but that's more because I'd be concerned about poorly run schools and disruptive students than actual safety.

Sorry that I don't have the exact info you are looking for, I'm sure someone here will be able to tell you exactly which parts of Stone Mountain and Clarkston are okay and which to avoid. If you say how old your kids are, people will be able to tell you with elementary, middle, and high schools in the area are better than others. In the metro area, you can tell a lot about an area based on school district.

[bryantm3]

if safety is your absolute #1 concern, i don't think i would recommend south dekalb or stone mountain. clarkston has a lot of refugees and international folks but the crime is not that bad. what i would look for is something closer to the city limits of decatur, or preferrably in the city limits of decatur.

i'll go ahead and tell you that you can't get in a good neighbourhood for $725 a month unless you're willing to buy a house and get a low mortgage rate— rents here for 2 bdrm/2 bath in a decent neighbourhood start at around $1000. have you thought of applying for section 8? section 8 pays up to $700 of your rent if your income is low enough and i *think* you're allowed to pay the difference to get into a better location. the areas i'd recommend are closer in, on the northeast side of atlanta, north of I-20, east of I-85 and inside 285. avoid the street called boulevard.

[10 feet tall]

Hate to tell you this, bro, but you should probably stay in MS. Better quality of life for the price range you are in.

You know the old saying, "Cities are great... that is, if you're rich.

[rashadi]

Removed

You might want to look into Tucker, which is better, and safer. rent isn't too high there and you can find decent apartments in the range you're looking for. Of course I am not saying you can get a mansion for your price but it doesn't mean the place will be bad.

In the end, the best way to know is by looking around the area and asking from those who know about a particular area. I hate when people speak without knowing for a fact.

[cqholt]

Here is a good place to look for crime stats:
CrimeMapping.com - National Map
Dekalb County, GA Crime Map - Showing Crimes in Dekalb County - Crime Statistics, Alerts and Reports - Crime Stops Here

[Columbuskidd92]

Hmmmmm,don't believe everything over the net.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Columbuskidd92

Hmmmmm,don't believe everything over the net.

Wait, so everything on the internet isn't true?! What about hat french model dude?

[researchnerd]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Wait, so everything on the internet isn't true?! What about hat french model dude?

"Bonjour."