Single AA mom considering move to Atlanta...please advise. (Ideal: renting, daycares)

[vacollins]

Considering a move to Atlanta. I currently live in Fairfax county, VA, a suburb of DC. I am a special education teacher and while I love the school that I work at now, I just feel I need a change or a new start. Additionally, Atlanta's cost of living is also very enticing. As a single mom, I am not really making enough money to enjoy DC the way I would like. Ideally, I would like an area with good daycares (my son is 3) and schools. I would also like to work at a school similar to what I have now...minimal behavior problems and very involved parents. I am not concerned about making less money as the cost of living should balance out. I have been trying to convince my boyfriend to make the move to Atlanta as well, but he is afraid to leave his current job (he is a licensed HVAC tech), yet he also realizes that the DC metro is no longer providing access to the lifestyle he wants either. Does the move to Atlanta seem like a good idea and if so, what are the best areas and districts that I should apply? I'm thinking that since I teach Sped I should be able to find a job fairly easy. Is this correct? Your advice is greatly appreciated as the move to Atlanta is a serious consideration for me right now.

[joey86]

Do you prefer a more urban or suburban lifestyle or a mix of the two? Is public transportation important?

[msh0146]

Cost of living in Atlanta is indeed a fraction of what you are dealing with in Fairfax, but beware. Teaching jobs are not as easy to come by as they were before the housing market collapsed, and the market hasn't really started to rebound here. While that's great for a prospective home buyer, it means that local school district budgets are under tremendous pressure from reduced property tax revenues.

What this means for you is that I'd highly recommend doing everything possible to find work prior to moving here. It's not impossible, and it's not that there are no teaching jobs particularly for special ed teachers, but still important to understand that the local job market just isn't very good for anyone yet, teachers included.

[vacollins]

joey86 I am definately a car person. Since I can't afford to live in DC I'm not really having a city life at all. Unfortunately, my life right now is more suburban than I would like. Plus I think the suburbs are usually good places to raise children. I was born and raised in Chicago (still have quite a bit of family there), but I would not ever move back there to raise my son. Way too violent.

[vacollins]

Thanks msh...that's something to think about.

[jeoff]

Gwinnett has many good schools and quite a few neigborhoods with good schools have been hit hard by the housing crunch (decent houses in safe areas with good schools can be bought starting at 100K). Many of the schools are very diverse, with no ethinicty making up 50% or more of the student population.

GreatSchools.org Search: 30047

[starfish27]

Teaching jobs are still quite difficult to come by here. I would definitely not recommend moving until you have a job lined up.
Also, I'm not convinced that a move from Fairfax to metro Atlanta would be a great move. I've lived in both areas, and I have to say that the education in Northern VA is far superior to what we have here. Even the "best" school districts in metro Atlanta are no comparison to what you have access to now. I agree that the cost of living in Atlanta is enticing. It's so much cheaper than suburban DC! I don't have a family yet (it's in the works) but I was just lamenting the other day that the school options my future children will have here are no match for Fairfax Co and the surrounding areas. Personally, if I lived there and had a child I would stay put.

[LovelySummer]

Ditto on the find a job before you uproot comments. Schools are closing yearly and they are tossing the teachers out and having them find jobs on their own basically. There are not enough jobs for teachers and I think cuts are being made in spec ed programs as well. Check it out before you uproot.

[tonygeorgia]

Find a job and the rest is easy

[netsirk]

Find a job, yes.

But also recognize that there are expenses that stay the same: food. Social life. Cable. Utilities. In some cases, the maintenance expenses are far more than I've seen in the northeast (depending on owning or renting).

Also recognize that, in the end, as with anywhere, you will pay for what you really want, depending on what's important for you. You hear that the cost of living is better here. Sure. On the surface.

But, as a for instance, I like Inman Park, and new townhomes here are going for the $500Ks. This is more than they go for for the same thing where I lived 30 miles outside of Manhattan, which, frankly, had a lot more going on than Inman Park does. Outside of the quick train ride to NYC, you also had a downtown area that was about six times the size of Inman Park. And you could get a great townhome in the $300Ks.

(And, I am sorry, but 30 miles outside of Manhattan is more urban, in many ways, than Inman Park.)

Please note I am not complaining--I love where I live and I'm happy to be here. But Atlanta is not like a northeast city, and that's both good and bad. It makes it difficult to compare apples to oranges.

My point is that you really have to think through what's important to you and not just look at a false "cost of living" idea.