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So, we are finally moving. We can no longer afford to live in North NJ. My in laws live in Conyers and we will be staying with them for awhile. I don't know anything about this area. I lived in Lithonia (Stone Mountain) when I was about 2 years old so I don't really have any memories other than my mom always being anxious b/c my dad was always away on business and b/c they were a biracial couple in the south.
Here is all the info on my family so that you guys can get an idea of what we are looking for...
Budget...very small. My husband works at Whole Foods and is hoping to transfer but we will still be moving even if he cant. I know this is not all that helpful but I honestly am not sure what we will be able to afford. On his salary now I'd say nothing over $1000 per month.
Renting a house or apartment
Children- I have three boys ages, 7, 3 and 2. Public schools that have all day pre-k. Ideally the schools will have great special services/child study teams. My oldest has ADHD.
Suburban area- I want a small town/neighborhood feel. No cookie cutter subdivisions though. If you are familiar with Northern Jersey, something similar to that. We live in a city (Englewood, NJ) where just about everyone knows everyone else. Lots to do, very close to NYC, but Englewood itself is not a bustling, overwhelming city. We are willing to go a bit rural. If 'a bit rural' exists. lol
Demographics- Families, racially diverse
Easy access to public transportation- Not extremely important
Ultimately, once we can afford a house, we want more room for our boys and a more relaxed lifestyle. More outdoor activities. We love the arts. My oldest is very talented when it comes to painting/drawing. Even if we have to take a 30 min drive to get to the 'happening' part of town or the closest city, that's fine. We like to walk so if there are a few small stores in town within walking distance that's great. Just trying to throw out more ideas to help narrow it down or to find out that there is nothing at all like what I am describing in this area.
There are no Whole Foods in that part of Atlanta area, It would be a long'ish / Painful commute to get to one. Most of the school here are County based, (with the exception of a few City districts).
There are older non/cookie cutter home, but most are in need up updating you will find.
Walking to stores, and rural don't go together, Rural and 30min to town don't go together ...
Suggestion is Find (or get transferred) Job(s), then suggestion on where to live, in proximity to where you work, can be done.
Thanks for the reply. I guess I didn't word my post correctly. I didn't mean I wanted rural and walking distance to a quaint downtown....I meant suburban and walking distance to a quaint downtown and, well, yea I meant rural and 30 min to town (not a city but just a small cluster of stores). Basically I don't want to have to get in my car every single time we need something from the store, if we are in the suburbs.
I appreciate your reply.
Thanks for the reply. I guess I didn't word my post correctly. I didn't mean I wanted rural and walking distance to a quaint downtown....I meant suburban and walking distance to a quaint downtown and, well, yea I meant rural and 30 min to town (not a city but just a small cluster of stores). Basically I don't want to have to get in my car every single time we need something from the store, if we are in the suburbs.
I appreciate your reply.
I don't think there are many suburbs that aren't completely car-centric around here. I grew up in Conyers and lived there all my life till more recently. You MIGHT be able to get most of what you need walking around downtown Conyers (called Old Towne [yes, with an e]), but it'd be hard. All of the people that I know that do live right near downtown still drive to the store. But I'll echo what flyonpa said, there are no Whole Foods out there and the commute into Atlanta is very painful with no reliable public transit.
A little farther out from Conyers is a smaller town named Covington that might fit your description. It has a "downtown" and seems affordable. It's been a few years since I've been there, but I would describe it as "suburban-walkable-rural" if such a thing exists No Whole Foods though.
So, we are finally moving. We can no longer afford to live in North NJ. My in laws live in Conyers and we will be staying with them for awhile. I don't know anything about this area. I lived in Lithonia (Stone Mountain) when I was about 2 years old so I don't really have any memories other than my mom always being anxious b/c my dad was always away on business and b/c they were a biracial couple in the south.
Here is all the info on my family so that you guys can get an idea of what we are looking for...
Budget...very small. My husband works at Whole Foods and is hoping to transfer but we will still be moving even if he cant. I know this is not all that helpful but I honestly am not sure what we will be able to afford. On his salary now I'd say nothing over $1000 per month.
Renting a house or apartment
Children- I have three boys ages, 7, 3 and 2. Public schools that have all day pre-k. Ideally the schools will have great special services/child study teams. My oldest has ADHD.
Suburban area- I want a small town/neighborhood feel. No cookie cutter subdivisions though. If you are familiar with Northern Jersey, something similar to that. We live in a city (Englewood, NJ) where just about everyone knows everyone else. Lots to do, very close to NYC, but Englewood itself is not a bustling, overwhelming city. We are willing to go a bit rural. If 'a bit rural' exists. lol
Demographics- Families, racially diverse
Easy access to public transportation- Not extremely important
Ultimately, once we can afford a house, we want more room for our boys and a more relaxed lifestyle. More outdoor activities. We love the arts. My oldest is very talented when it comes to painting/drawing. Even if we have to take a 30 min drive to get to the 'happening' part of town or the closest city, that's fine. We like to walk so if there are a few small stores in town within walking distance that's great. Just trying to throw out more ideas to help narrow it down or to find out that there is nothing at all like what I am describing in this area.
Thank you!
I hate to say it, but for your situation (moving in with in-laws in a lesser-regarded suburb on a very limited budget), you will probably need to lower your shorter-term expectations.
You are most likely not going to find anything close to what you may be accustomed to in the suburban town that you currently live in North New Jersey....And if you move to Georgia expecting to find much of the same lifestyle and many of the same amenities that you currently may have in North New Jersey, you will be severely disappointed.
Here is a link to a page with some information about Pre-K programs in Rockdale County where you will be living with your in-laws in the Conyers area: Home
I'm not sure if Rockdale's Pre-K programs are all-day and I'm not sure if the information on the page is completely up to date with the references on the page to "2012-2013 Pre-K Information" on the page (...you will have to inquire further to see if the Pre-K programs in Rockdale County are all-day programs and whether your children might even qualify for the Pre-K programs that do exist which are likely limited in scope given Georgia's perennially severe education funding challenges).
I'm not sure if you will find the "great special services and child study teams" you are looking for in Rockdale County, which is one of the more relatively lesser-regarded and lower-cost suburban areas in the Atlanta metro region. Here is another link to the Rockdale County Public Schools website where you can research for yourself: Rockdale County Public Schools
Someone who wants and/or needs more special needs offerings for their children would probably be best served to look in some of the larger school districts serving more heavily populated areas like Gwinnett County (GCPS-Gwinnett County Public Schools), North Fulton (Fulton County Schools), Cobb County (CCPS-Cobb County Public Schools), City of Atlanta (APS-Atlanta Public Schools) and DeKalb County Public Schools.
Given your very limited budget and uncertain employment situation, you also should probably not expect to find anyplace that has the same small town/neighborhood feel that you might currently have in Englewood, NJ.
Like other posters have noted, there are very few places in the sprawling and severely automobile-overdependent Atlanta metro region where you may find the walkable small town neighborhood environment that you desire and there are even fewer of those places where all or most amenities are accessible by foot.
And the very few walkable small town/neighborhood environments that do exist in the Atlanta metro region are often at such of a premium that they are often somewhat expensive to move into or very close to.
After you move to Georgia, expect to do LOTS of driving on many roads that were not necessarily designed to handle the crushing amount of heavy traffic that they are often forced to handle during peak hours.
After you move to Georgia, you and/or your husband may potentially have to drive more than you might have ever driven during your entire lifetime up to this point.
The Atlanta metro region is very much an automobile-obsessed culture where everything everywhere is designed with driving in mind first and foremost (though most places designed for automobiles are not necessarily designed all that well for automobiles, hence the major traffic congestion issues).
The area you will be moving into in Conyers and Rockdale County is an East Metro Atlanta suburb that is often overlooked and not as highly-regarded when compared to Atlanta's highly-prized and highly-touted Northern suburbs.
Rockdale County is a suburb that has recently transitioned from being overwhelmingly majority-white to being overwhelmingly majority-minority (mostly black and some Hispanic) over the last 15 years or so.
Rockdale County is not as racially diverse as Gwinnett County, but you will still be living in a county where minorities make up about 60% of the population.
You will find many retail amenities in Rockdale County along the Georgia Highway 20 corridor just above (north of) and just below (south of) the often severely congested interchange with Interstate 20 (I-20)....But if you want more retail amenities (and other amenities like restaurants, the arts, entertainment, sporting events, recreation, etc) you will likely often have to hit the highway (the aforementioned I-20) and drive either into Atlanta or her heavily-developed (overdeveloped) Northern suburbs (Cobb, North Fulton, Gwinnett).
I live in Conyers and have children attending Rockdale County schools. Like others have said, walk-to-the-store type communities just don't exist in the Atlanta area. You'll need to hop in the car. But once you get used to it, you'll be fine. If you want to be near your in-laws, I would not move too far. You do not want to mess with the headache of Atlanta-area traffic every time you want to see them. If you'd like to stay nearby, I would recommend settling in an area zoned for Barksdale, Honey Creek, or Lorraine elementary schools. Middle schools - Gen. Ray Davis Middle. High School - Heritage. If you are not zoned for one of those schools, you have the option in Rockdale of applying for specialty/school choice options (getting into a school you are not zoned for, for a specific program). Heritage High is the performance and visual arts specialty high school. If you have a child that is STEM-oriented, Rockdale has a fantastic STEM high school, the Magnet School. I understand it is hard to get into and a tough program but it is outstanding. Rockdale also has a great career academy. You can check all of that out on the RCPS wesbsite. I would avoid getting zoned for Salem HS and Memorial MS. We attend Barksdale. The teachers and administration are excellent, and we have had a wonderful experience. My kids have gone from K-5th there. I have heard the same things about Honey Creek and Lorraine, and all three schools get good scores and have great reputations. Rockdale's pre-k program is for the full school day, however it is a lottery system to get in. Any day care that operates a GA Pre-K class is required to run it for the full school day and it is free (you only have to pay for lunches, sometimes not even that). So if you don't get into the pre-k school of your choice, you could enroll at a nearby daycare for pre-k. If you had any interest in private schools (maybe when your kids get to HS age), Young Americans and Peachtree Academy are good local options. For your son with ADHD, as is the case in any school system, if you are your son's advocate and provide all the documentation and education records necessary to the school they can more quickly get him any needed services. All of the teachers I have encountered are dedicated, hard-working folks and truly are looking out for the best interests of each child. Just work with them to get what your child needs and stay involved.
Rockdale is not fancy and does not have the bells and whistles of the northern suburbs. But it is affordable, has nice people, nice churches, sports/activities for the kids. It's not that far of a drive if you want to get into Atlanta for special events or happenings.
I hope that helps. Best wishes!
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No Whole Foods though.
