Moving to Scottdale (Atlanta, Dunwoody, Tucker: apartment, rental, low crime) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

Sameera83 · 02-06-2013, 03:05 PM

Hi, I along with my husband and two young kids are moving to Atlanta in June. My husband will be working at Emory university. We have found a house that we like in Scottdale, in Lantern Ridge to be exact. I have a couple of questions, how is the area in general? Crime , population, cleanliness etc. Also what pre schools in the area are good? Is Robert Shaw theme school a good place for pre -K?
Any other info would be great, thanks!

starfish27 · 02-06-2013, 04:25 PM

Hi Sameera,
I live in Scottdale and to be very honest wouldn't recommend it for a family with children. I don't live in Lantern Ridge but it's by far the nicest pocket in Scottdale. I can't really comment on the crime in that neighborhood, but overall Scottdale does have a fair amount of it - drugs, burglaries, car theft, etc. Mostly property crime. You can look up crime stats for Dekalb county here: Crime Mapping - Building Safer Communities!

I've heard some relatively hopeful things about Robert Shaw recently but nothing specifically about the pre-K program. I'm actually getting ready to move out of Scottdale because I'm about to start a family. The schools aren't what I'd like and the crime is just more than what I'm comfortable with. I hear gunshots on a regular basis. I actually found a used bullet laying right outside my door last week. If you haven't already I would recommend you cruise around the area and see what you think. I don't know what price range you're looking in but there are much nicer and safer areas convenient to Emory. If you let me know more specifically what you're looking for maybe I can give you some suggestions. Sorry I can't give you more positive news about Scottdale though.

Sameera83 · 02-06-2013, 05:22 PM

Hi! Thank you for your reply. We are looking for a house to rent. With two kids an apartment just isn't enough space anymore. Our price range max is $2000. Could you suggest some areas/ zipcodes to look in.

starfish27 · 02-06-2013, 05:59 PM

I'm not too familiar with rent prices nowadays but I'll give you some areas to look into. City of Decatur is a good bet if you're concerned about schools and safety. It's very convenient to Emory (10-15 minute drive) and the schools are probably the best (or one of) in the intown area. I lived there for years and always felt very safe. They have their own police force and are very quick to respond and very visible. I wouldn't hesitant to live there with a family. It's not the cheapest place but I think you might be able to find a place under $2000. If you can it would probably be worth it. Just be sure that it's the actual City of Decatur and not Decatur in unincorporated Dekalb. They're very different areas. For the zip code, I believe all of City of Decatur is in 30030, but not all parts of 30030 are City of Decatur.

Also maybe look into the Mary Lin Elementary school district. I think the Candler Park neighborhood is in that district. Maybe some people that know more about the districting can chime in. But it's a very good school and the areas around it tend to be safe and family-friendly. It's also convenient to Emory. And also I'm not sure about pricing for a rental home there, but it also tends not to be cheap. Of course neighborhoods with low crime and desirable schools tend to be higher priced. I think the zip code there would be 30307.
Good luck!

lastminutemom · 02-06-2013, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sameera83

Hi! Thank you for your reply. We are looking for a house to rent. With two kids an apartment just isn't enough space anymore. Our price range max is $2000. Could you suggest some areas/ zipcodes to look in.

You can do better than Scottdale. Robert Shaw is a theme school which means you have to jump through hoops, including a lottery, to enroll. Neighborhood school probably isn't good.

DeKalb schools are a mess. Up to 26 kids in a kindergarten class with no teacher's aide. Bad situation.

Look in City of Decatur or City of Atlanta.

jeoff · 02-07-2013, 08:57 AM

Since you are just renting with young kids, there are still good elementary schools in Dekalb that have shorter commutes--Fernbank (Druid Hills area), Oakgrove (Norheast of Emory), Briarlake (North of Emory), Livesy (part of Tucker) and the schools in Dunwoody (furhter out).

As lastminutemom & starfish noted, City of Decatur and city of Atlanta (Lake Claire, Candler park, Inman park, Poncy Highland, Va Highland, Morningside).

If you are willing to move further out, Lilburn is much safer, has good schools and cheap rents. You can get nice sized houses in $1000/month range. I have been told that the commute to Emory can range from 30 min to an hour.

All of these would be safer and better than Scottdale.

Check out the schools at Elementary Schools in Dekalb County Public Schools - Stone Mountain, GA | GreatSchools

Sameera83 · 02-07-2013, 02:23 PM

The areas that everyone has listed doesn't have houses in our price range, we would like a 3-4 bedroom house with a garage for about $2000. Mostly rents in those areas are 3000+. Older homes are cheaper but then very shabby. We are thinking about private pre schools, if our son goes to a private pre school is scottdale still not worth living in? The reason we are pushing for it is because the house is just amazing and we can afford it.

jeoff · 02-07-2013, 03:13 PM

It just depends on what you are comfortable with. Personally, I would not be comfortable with what starfish27 described (but, I am not sure that Lantern Ridge is as bad as the area she is leaving). Maybe you should walk the area during the day, and talk to your potential new neigbors that are outdoors? Then drive the area at night. If you are not comfortable doing that, maybe it is the wrong area for you.

By the way, I am pretty sure, you can definately get not shabby (but not new) houses in better parts of Dekalb than Scottdale for under $2000/month. But, if you really want something newer and safer, you probably will need to consider a longer commute (Lilburn).

starfish27 · 02-07-2013, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sameera83

The areas that everyone has listed doesn't have houses in our price range, we would like a 3-4 bedroom house with a garage for about $2000. Mostly rents in those areas are 3000+. Older homes are cheaper but then very shabby. We are thinking about private pre schools, if our son goes to a private pre school is scottdale still not worth living in? The reason we are pushing for it is because the house is just amazing and we can afford it.

Finding a house of that size with a garage intown is difficult to begin with. Factor in safe with decent schools, then it gets even harder. The areas near Emory tend to be neighborhoods with older homes most of which don't have garages because that just wasn't the style when these homes were built. I didn't see any homes for rent around $2000 in those areas that I would describe as "shabby", but then maybe we have different ideas of what shabby means. It sounds like you really need to start searching further out if must have a garage and a large home. Personally, I would not risk living in an area with that level crime if I had a family. I've lived and worked in that area for many years and from what I've seen things are only getting worse. That's why I'm leaving. Scottdale is a small area and while my immediate area isn't the roughest of the rough in Scottdale it certainly is not good. I just don't think having a modern house with a garage is worth the risk especially when kids are involved. Also, if you're not looking to move until June then it's likely that the house you've seen in Scottdale won't be available in almost 5 months when you're ready.