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Just keep in mind half of these people are too afraid to leave the suburbs and have never even visited the area that portray to be experts on it. I learned that a long time ago on here. Some of the same folks say stone mountain is a terrible area lol. You have to take some of this stuff on here with a grain of salt.
Just keep in mind half of these people are too afraid to leave the suburbs and have never even visited the area that portray to be experts on it. I learned that a long time ago on here. Some of the same folks say stone mountain is a terrible area lol. You have to take some of this stuff on here with a grain of salt.
So true. There are those who think that downtown Decatur is still the ghetto, Lol! The problem is that folks are way too scared of their own shadow these days & paranoid at the thought of being face to face with anyone that is different from them. Whatever happened to that pioneering spirit of our forefathers that helped create this country?
Its pretty ironic if you think about how the roles have reversed over time here in the south though. I still laugh when I see "others" clinch their purse a little tighter or lock their car doors when I get near.The fear is just crazy to me lol. I couldn't even see myself living life like that.
It's funny...I have never viewed South Dekalb as any kind of threat. I'm sure it has its undesireable areas, but so do other areas around Atlanta. I think people should stop assuming bc they have driven through once or twice. If you haven't actually frequented the area, then can you really form an opinion? There are also very nice areas in South Dekalb, like Flakes Mill (is that right...i had a brain fart), some areas off of Covington, Glenwood and Bouldercrest, etc. You have to go beyond what you see right off of 285, and you will see some nice subdivisions and well kept lawns..lol
I don't feel that there is enough cohesiveness that is NOT race-based among my fellow South Dekalb folks. Each neighborhood should have an home-owner association but not all do.
Whenever I go to downtown Decatur to the Maloof Auditorium for the County Commishioners' meetings the place is not packed like it should be for a county with 200,000+ residents. It always takes some race-baced Police shooting for people to actually give a crap about who they vote into office and even then its momentary. When black culture becomes the culture of consistent civic participation at the local level and that participation is based off of quality of life issues, then everyone will see a big change in how South Dekalb residents live their lives. Just my piece.
Also, would it hurt to have required a "manners & social graces" class at the elementary or high school level? But I guess "Conservatives" won't fund anything that doesn't make them money in the long run...
There's not that many true conservatives in Dekalb County. The only area where you may find a majority of conservatives is around Dunwoody, and that's iffy. You'll also find a number of conservatives, maybe half of the population, in and around Oak Grove, and a substantial population near Tucker. Other than that, Dekalb has very few conservatives, relative to the rest of Georgia. This has a lot to do with the black majority of the county, as well as much of the white population of the county being amongst some of the most liberal in the state.
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
2,014 posts, read 5,102,358 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by south-to-west
To make a blanket statement that all of South DeKalb is bad is completely erroneous. South DeKalb does have pockets of crime and poverty, but there are some gems there as well. You will see new housing developments along Flat Shoals Road, Custer, and Bouldercrest. Also, the area around Norris Lake is beautiful with a lot of nice homes. There are also plenty of neighborhoods around Stone Mountain that are just as nice as your typical East Cobb or North Fulton neighborhood.
What many people don't understand about Atlanta is that the bad areas tend to alternate with the good areas on a "street-by-street" or "block-by-block" basis. For example, you can drive down Flat Shoals Road from East Atlanta, where you have awesome homes and a great neighborhood center, then end up in complete ghetto with rundown package stores and everything at the intersection with Fayetteville Road, then a few blocks later pass by a brand-new subdivision with larger, more expensive homes and a new Wal-Mart. This is all in South DeKalb, mind you, within a 2-3 mile stretch.
All in all, finding the right neighborhood in Metro Atlanta entails a lot more than browsing some search engine by ZIP Code from your home PC--rather it entails you getting off your ass and exploring the area yourself.
It seems as if the southern part of DeKalb County is very similar to the eastside here in Macon where I stay.
The bulk of the area is middle class blacks, with a couple rough spots here and there that seem to alternate with the nicer areas block after block or street after street, but people only acknowledge the bad part and try to make the area seem as bad as some other part of town that is much rougher, when in actuality there are plenty of nice, safe areas to reside in as well.
This is based on a very surface impression, admittedly. South DeKalb doesn't seem to have much cohesion. Dorothy Parker would say there's no there there.
It's one thing to lack that cohesion in a safe-feeling, prosperous place (some of the northern Fulton and Cobb 'burbs). It's another to feel that in a place that feels like it's on the decline.
There's just such a broad scattering of low-end chain stores, abandoned stores, unkempt houses, very little landscaping, etc. There's a certain bleakness when you drive through on the main roads, of a vast post-WWII suburb that's hit hard times with no real nucleus. There's no real center down there, it seems to me, to rebuild anything around.
I don't feel that there is enough cohesiveness that is NOT race-based among my fellow South Dekalb folks. Each neighborhood should have an home-owner association but not all do.
Whenever I go to downtown Decatur to the Maloof Auditorium for the County Commishioners' meetings the place is not packed like it should be for a county with 200,000+ residents. It always takes some race-baced Police shooting for people to actually give a crap about who they vote into office and even then its momentary. When black culture becomes the culture of consistent civic participation at the local level and that participation is based off of quality of life issues, then everyone will see a big change in how South Dekalb residents live their lives. Just my piece.
No offense, but I work in the public sector and I would never attend a County Commissioners meeting voluntarily. Blacks have similar voter turnout rates to the rest of America and I think that there are a lot of black communities in Metro Atlanta where the local citizens are active in local affairs. For example the Historic District Development Corporation was a predominantly black nonprofit that led the residential revitalization of the southern portion of the Old Fourth Ward near the King Center.
No offense, but I work in the public sector and I would never attend a County Commissioners meeting voluntarily. Blacks have similar voter turnout rates to the rest of America and I think that there are a lot of black communities in Metro Atlanta where the local citizens are active in local affairs. For example the Historic District Development Corporation was a predominantly black nonprofit that led the residential revitalization of the southern portion of the Old Fourth Ward near the King Center.
None taken. It's too bad that a lot of these revitalization efforts usually seem to end with black folks being pushed out due to higher taxes, higher ultility rates, and higher priced housing. Also, I have no doubts that there are black communities in the Metro Area with active Homeowner associations. I just wish that I saw more of them in South Dekalb and with a total consistency. Just my perception, anyways...
I have lived in South Dekalb County my entire life. I am 32 years old and African American. I am a college graduate and a business professional. S. DeKalb Co has very affluent neighborhoods. Lions Gate Estates, Sand Stone Shores, Sand Stone Estates, Hunters Point and Hunters Pace are just a FEW all black neighborhoods who average home prices are around $400,000 to $1 million. These are not new neighborhoods they have been around for years. S. Dekalb Co is a black mecca many highly educated blacks live here very comfortably. Crime is here just like it is in Buckhead but when a car is stolen here it makes the news. In Buckhead or Roswell not so much. That is simply the truth. :0)
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