Ghetto Suburbs??? (Atlanta, Marietta, Chester: apartment complexes, rental, houses)

[netdragon]

There's a shift nation-wide of people moving back into cities, and the result is some suburbs actually becoming more run down than a lot of inner cities which are getting revitalized.

[SynMelRN2007]

The shift is evident everywhere. I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio and they have torn down the projects and built very nice condo's to bring more upscale people into the city. Whereas the little Suburbia land that I live in now has subsidized housing projects appearing and more available homes for lower income families. I moved to Suburbia land for the school district and it has benefitted my children well. They learned more here than they ever did in the inner city. My daughter graduates this May and we are relocating to ATL in June. We both agreed NO MORE SUBURBIA!!! We are looking for inner city houses to rent in a safe neighborhood...but it's a little hard doing it over the internet. Anyone have any suggestions? We are looking for a simple 2-3BDRM house with a fenced yard in close proximity to DT. I have already applied for my RN license and uploaded my resume to Grady Hospital, Atlanta Medical Center, Piedmont Hospital, and Crawford Long Hospital. When we come to ATL to visit family we drive through the suburbs and there are quite a few that I have noticed that are lower income suburbs. I believe this is something that has been planned for many years in various cities and now has become more noticeable.
SYN RN

[plessthanpointohfive]

What's your budget for a house? That will determine everything.

[netdragon]

I'd check out "Midtown West" (Marietta Blvd near Marietta Street in Bankhead) and also check out Bolton Rd near Marietta Rd, along with Collier Rd, and Deering Rd. I'd also check out Grant Park.

Hartford has also had a huge transformation. Inner-city Hartford is spread around 5 cities that are really more like one large city and three of them were depressed cities. The greenway around metro Hartford to prevent more suburban sprawl shot up land value in the inner cities and they are being rebuilt and fixed up. Almost every project in Hartford is gone now and replaced with single family homes.

Like locusts, people in suburbs had the unfortunate impact of "use/destroy an area, then move on". I'm glad things are starting to change.

[SynMelRN2007]

I must agree that the revitalization of the inner city is a plus in almost any city. The sad part is that it's only being done for money and appearances. They don't really care about the people. I must admit I'm glad they're making the changes also.

PS: We are looking to rent a home. I'm not buying anything soon. I can afford $1500 a month MAX.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Actually, if you're okay with not having granite, etc, then $1500 can actually get you something in many of Atlanta's neighborhoods, particulary in the 30307 zip code, and probably in City of Decatur (don't know the zips). These places have good schools. Before we bought our place in one of the neighborhoods that are in 30307 we rented a 2 bedroom for $1200/mo. And, the place we bought has a 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment with about 1100 sqft and we rent it out for $1100/mo.

So, you should be able to find something...craigslist is the best resource for non-corporate renting...

[Tdiddy0027]

I was just in South Fulton today. It is quite an anomoly. You can drive down a road that is the epitome of ghetto, then turn onto another road and find several high priced subdivisions being built. Over all, the ghetto parts of south fulton are most of College Park and East Point inside the Perimeter, the eastern region bordering Clayton County and Highway 29. The upscale areas are Camp Creek Parkway and Cascade outside the perimeter and along south Fulton Parkway especially around highway 92 where Le Jardin and Hampton Oaks are, and the middle class area where you'll find lots of apartments and townhomes is anywhere along I-85 in Fairburn and Union City. Hopefully that clears up a lot of the questions and generalizations about South Fulton.

[KevK]

Generally you can go by the "riff raff rule" which is a basic rule of neighbourhoods that go down hill. It is not in itself a racial thing either but has much more to do with the income and educational levels of the people and, the most important factor being the number of renters vs owner occupied homes in a given area. The riff raff rule is this: given all things equal (zoning and land use) the riff raff will creep at the rate of about 1/2 a mile per year. So if you buy a house that is 5 miles from a neighbourhood full of riff raff, you have about 10 years before they show up on your block.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Only if you're neighborhood is going down, though. If you have a gentrified neighborhood I don't think that rule applies. Gentrified areas usually don't decline again unless something catastrophic happens to the ecomony of the city.

[kwr]

Originally Posted by SynMelRN2007

The shift is evident everywhere. I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio and they have torn down the projects and built very nice condo's to bring more upscale people into the city. Whereas the little Suburbia land that I live in now has subsidized housing projects appearing and more available homes for lower income families. I moved to Suburbia land for the school district and it has benefitted my children well. They learned more here than they ever did in the inner city. My daughter graduates this May and we are relocating to ATL in June. We both agreed NO MORE SUBURBIA!!! We are looking for inner city houses to rent in a safe neighborhood...but it's a little hard doing it over the internet. Anyone have any suggestions? We are looking for a simple 2-3BDRM house with a fenced yard in close proximity to DT. I have already applied for my RN license and uploaded my resume to Grady Hospital, Atlanta Medical Center, Piedmont Hospital, and Crawford Long Hospital. When we come to ATL to visit family we drive through the suburbs and there are quite a few that I have noticed that are lower income suburbs. I believe this is something that has been planned for many years in various cities and now has become more noticeable.
SYN RN

Cincinnati is my hometown. Which suburban area are you talking about that has gone down?