When will growth occur in the south metro? And what will cause it? (Atlanta: neighborhoods, buy)

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Larry X

I love SW ATL (S.Fulton) my wife and I are planning to buy a home their in a few years, we attend Camp Creek CoC on Merk rd now. You get huge sq footage and lots of land for pretty cheap price. Plus I like the country feel and how quite it is; its not too far from from the inner city with 285 plus you get an Atlanta address in the unincorporated areas.

South Fulton is beautiful ... Serenbe is the most amazing community in all of Metro Atlanta ... I'm amazed how many people don't know about it.

Developer seeks to expand South Fulton hamlet | www.ajc.com

[Larry X]

Also their was talks about CoA annexing the Sandtown area in SW Fulton not sure where they stand on that now though, last I heard the only thing holding it up is the school situation.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Larry X

Also their was talks about CoA annexing the Sandtown area in SW Fulton not sure where they stand on that now though, last I heard the only thing holding it up is the school situation.

Ironically, one of the main reasons Druid Hills residents want to annex into the city is to get away from DeKalb County Schools.

How many Fulton County schools are within the Sandtown area? In 2006, the city annexed several upscale subdivisions off Cascade Road that brought in about 2,000 residents. But there were no schools inside the annex area, and I'm guessing those people were just absorbed into APS.

[sedimenjerry]

South Fulton is very pretty. It's amazing driving on S Fulton Pkwy how quickly you can leave the city behind. It might be for the best if it stays underdeveloped.

[Listennow32]

Originally Posted by demonta4

When do you think growth will finally occur in the south metro, and how? Also I would like to know what's you favorite thing about the southside, and what keeps you from living there.( Job isn't there, Crime, Schools, Retail, Reputation)

If growth continues and there are no national crises to disrupt it, I'd say within the next decade we should start seeing a significant turn around in the Southside of the Atlanta Metro. Cheap Cost of living, Better Commute, Access to Airport are going to really help bolster the south side. Clayton's decision to join MARTA was an awesome move and will help to position the county to benefit from economic development opportunities. The downsides are the schools, PERCEPTION of Crime, and lack of well paying jobs are significant barriers, but can be overcome with careful planning, business recruitment, and development. Let the haters hate, but the southside is where its at

[chuckshere]

I don't think people have comprehended yet what a really big deal Pinewood Atlanta is.

[AtlantaIsHot]

Originally Posted by PacinoWig

I guess what keeps me away from the Southside is that it sort of has both the disadvantages of living in the city (bad schools, crime) and the disadvantages of living in the suburbs (even worse traffic than you get in the Northern suburbs, bland communities). Not saying that my perceptions are 100% accurate, but that's how I see it.

Favorite thing about the Southside is probably Peachtree City. I just think it's a really neat, well-planned city that's probably more livable/walkable than many of the most sought-after intown neighborhoods. Fayette County is in no danger of joining MARTA anytime soon, but I think commuter rail connecting Peachtree City with the big job centers in Atlanta and the northern suburbs would cause it to really take off.

I agree! Peachtree City is truly remarkable and one of my favorites too. If I were to live on the southside, it would be in PC. The thing that strikes me about the southern metro is how flat it is compared to the northern parts. I like the hilly, forested terrain of the north and that would be my primary reason for moving there instead. I also like the views of the Chattahooche and it's many feeder rivers/creeks. I really think that these two natural features are resoponsible for the enormous growth that occurred in the north metro.

[Clayton white guy]

There is a great deal of hatred dealt out here for Clayton County. Much of it be people who probably know very little about it. That being said, I must also say that I am a life long member of the Clayton County community and I have ALWAYS loved it. For the record, I am White and yes I have school age children.
Now down to my true reason for posting. So many have a dismal view at the future of Clayton County, but God is not making anymore real estate. Especially in close proximity to downtown Atlanta and the airport. Clayton County will rise again on the factors of its location alone. It is even blessed with excellent interstate access. You can see the growth of other ATP (at the perimeter) locations across Metro Atlanta (Smyrna, Mableton, Vinings, Dunwoody, Tucker, etc) The Forest Park/ Mountain View area is also ATP and is adjacent to the International Concourse at the world's busiest airport. Finally, as someone else pointed out, Clayton County has an easy commute to the airport and downtown. Henry County and Fayette County can not say that! Henry has a dismal arterial road network combined with extreme congestion on Interstate 75; Fayette has NO interstate access at all. Clayton County sits at the perfect place for growth and redevelopment. There are many lovely places to live in Clayton County; we just need to get our story told.

[demonta4]

Just gonna mention this...
There's a forum online dedicated to Clayton called the Clayton Advicate, so check it out please, it's not as busy as it could be.

[ATLTJL]

I can only offer my personal take...

I've lived in Atlanta for almost 20 years. No matter where you live, you usually find reason to go to certain areas for one reason or another. You want to check out AMC Prime and it's in Alpharetta, you get invited to a friend's house in Marietta, or you need a specialty piece of furniture that is only available in a store in Lawrenceville. Whatever the reason, we find ourselves visiting communities we don't live in.

As long as I have lived in Atlanta, I have NEVER had occasion to visit the southside, save for to visit friends on a couple of occasions in Peachtree City. As a result, I just don't really KNOW VERY MUCH about it.

AND, when we visit places, sometimes it piques our interest. For example, if you have to come to Duluth for something, you might say, "wow, there are a lot of authentic Asian restaurants here, I'll have to remember this so I can come check them out sometime." And then you do, and become familiar with the area. But my visits to the southside, which have admittedly been limited to Peachtree City and I-75 exits on the way to Florida, I just didn't see anything that made me feel like I needed to return for anything.

It seemed to embody all the things people complain about when talking about the suburbs. Nothing but chain restaurants and a pretty bland are with no real character. I know that's not true of the northern suburbs, but it really seems more true of the southern ones. I recently wandered into South Lake Mall because I was in the area. There's no reason for me to ever return.

I will say that going to Tomorrowworld made me appreciate how beautiful South Fulton is. But there's really nothing down there, just a bunch of houses and nothing I saw that would make me want to come back for a visit. Because after all, on a normal day, I can't just run around on some guy's horse farm.

So I guess you would say the southside has no real draw. People don't find themselves exploring it much because what is there to explore? It's also not densely populated, so there is less of a chance that you will find yourself there visiting friends.