Where is the best place in Atlanta to make a home? (Clayton: low income, affordable apartment)

[Newlife4me]

I am planning on relocating by March 08 and I don't want to make a mistake. I'm a young mom with 3 boys. Starting over and looking for creating a new and better life. Talk to me Georgia!

[Go Blue 99]

The best place to make a home in Atlanta is within a short commute of your job. Your quality of life will be much improved, even if you aren't living in a McMansion.

[lastminutemom]

You absolutely need to find a job first. Good employment isn't as easy as everyone thinks it is to find and economists are predicting a slow down in 2008.

Because of traffic in Atl, you need to know where you are working before deciding where to live. There are good (and bad) places to live all over Metro ATL.

[IntownHomes247]

What do you consider a good place? Bustling intown neighborhoods within walking distance to shops, restaurants & parks? Quiet suburban neighborhood? Small town ex-urb?

How big a house do you need? What price range are you looking for?

There is no one part of Atlanta that is "best." It will all depend on what's best for you based on your needs and budget.

[Newlife4me]

What do you suggest? I have 3 boys and they are very active.......Can you recommend an area?

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

You absolutely need to find a job first. Good employment isn't as easy as everyone thinks it is to find and economists are predicting a slow down in 2008.

Because of traffic in Atl, you need to know where you are working before deciding where to live. There are good (and bad) places to live all over Metro ATL.

[Newlife4me]

Wow,

I am a single mom with 3 boys. I need to find low income housing to start. I will be bringing close to 14000 to live off of until I can find good employment. An nice size affordable apartment, close to schools that provide busing for th boys. This is so confusing but I am looking forward to starting over!

Originally Posted by IntownHomes247

What do you consider a good place? Bustling intown neighborhoods within walking distance to shops, restaurants & parks? Quiet suburban neighborhood? Small town ex-urb?

How big a house do you need? What price range are you looking for?

There is no one part of Atlanta that is "best." It will all depend on what's best for you based on your needs and budget.

[IntownHomes247]

If you're going to be on a budget and don't have employment lined up first, then I think you'd do well to stay out of the intown neighborhoods. They are extremely expensive. I have no doubt that someone will reply who has knowledge of apartment communities in the suburbs.

Atlanta is a huge, sprawling metropolis. The core metro area is comprised of 5 counties (Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton) and there are something like 28 counties in the greater metro area, each county having multiple small cities, so there are a LOT of different areas to choose from. Clayton county has really bad schools -- they are once again in danger of losing their accreditation, so you might want to stay away from Clayton. But each of the other counties has a mix of good and not-so-good schools.

This site will show you a ranking of Georgia schools. It should be useful to you:

http://gppf.org/default.asp?pt=doc&doc=reportcard

You really should try to line up a job before you get here. There have been a lot of posts recently from people who moved to Atlanta thinking it would be easy to find a job only to have no luck after months of looking.

Good luck!

[Newlife4me]

Thank you soooooooooo much for this information. I appreciate it.

[netdragon]

I will second (or fifth?) the motion to find a job first. However, if you have your pick, you may want to choose a job close to an area you like and can afford. I'd give Kennessaw a look since there's some pretty affordable housing just outside of it and a lot of jobs available in that area.

[Newlife4me]

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to offer their advice on my situation. Your words are worth gold..................