Ghetto Suburbs??? (Alpharetta, Decatur, Chamblee: lawyer, real estate, for sale)

[Buckhead_Broker]

Originally Posted by QueenAngel09

i guess my post was deleted because it spoke truth Dekalb county is the 2ND RICHEST BLACK COUNTY it is not ghetto the success of blacks is underplayed we get no appreciation for being successful i feel insulted at the fact that my home is even being considered the hood, when white people commit crimes it's just one person wen black people commit crimes the whole race has to be held accountable, there is crime everywhere get over it, yea we might have people who smoke weed in our neighborhoods but atleast we don't have people who do meth if you don't want to live in this area that's fine but don't go and try to downplay the success of my community. i have lived here for 9yrs and not once have i seen any crime i'm not poor im 17 have a mercedes 2 yachts and 5 vacation homes and guess what i'm not white don't act white and don't live around white people but i sure don't live in the hood i live in the affluent community of STONE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA

And you're also full of Cr*p. If you have two yachts and five vacation homes, I'm Ronald McDonald. So, what kind of yachts are they? Where do you keep them? What is their displacement? What is their draft? What is their range? What is their engine/fuel type? Who do you insure them with? What shipyard did they come from? How many cabins fore and how many cabins aft? If you have them, you'll know the answers to these questions. If not, you're full of Cr*p.

And by the way, Stone Mountain is hardly an affluent community. The average household income is only $38,603. The national average is $41,994. The area is also one of the highest in Metro Atlanta for foreclosures.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by tonitonitoni

White flight is definitely reversing itself...they call it "gentrification". As a resident in Edgewood I see it with my own eyes. The suburbians can't stand the terrible traffic and commute so they find a house in a trendy, up and coming neighborhood and tell their friends how much they love being back in the city. Next, their friends come and by two other houses on the block. Meanwhile, because houses are being sold and purchased the property tax goes up, so that old couple who's been living in this neighborhood, through good and bad, for 30 years can no longer afford the taxes on their house, and has to move. And then some yuppy couple from Alpharetta moves right on in without skipping a beat. It disgusts me.

Too right...over the last 10-12 years, I have asked realtors "who is buying these intown McMansions?"...the consistent answer is people from the outer suburbs that are dying to get back in town and can afford to do so.

[jdubvjt]

Originally Posted by Buckhead_Broker

...And by the way, Stone Mountain is hardly an affluent community. The average household income is only $38,603. The national average is $41,994. The area is also one of the highest in Metro Atlanta for foreclosures.

Let me stand up for Stone Mountain a little bit!

Be careful when looking up stats like Stone Mountain's average income. Web sites usually refer to just the 1.6 square mile area City of Stone Mountain of about 7500 people. Many people on here quote racial composition and crime statistics but when you look up Stone Mountain generally the stats just refer to that area right around the Stone Mountain Village.

Right here on City-Data, if interested in Stone Mountain as a whole, click on each of the 3 Stone Mountain zip codes 30083 (mine), 30087, and 30088. You can see they add up to 50 square miles and over a hundred thousand people if I'm doing the math correctly! I think that's the only way to research Stone Mtn as a whole including the unincorporated DeKalb County areas that have Stone Mountain adresses.

Income-wise (responding to the quoted forum post) in the 30087 zip code, it estimates the 2005 household income as $77k, a zip with about a 50/50 white & black racial composition. Does this mean I think QueenAngel09 owns 2 yachts? No.

Anyway, considering how huge and disparate all of Stone Mountain is, I find it absurd when posters dismiss all of Stone Mountain as uninhabitable. You might not like what you see driving down Memorial and the various crime scenes on the news, but there are plenty of fantastic neighborhoods to be found. The site NeighborhoodScout describes by neighborhood (for example) as educated (rated 9 out of 10), upper middle income, mostly executive / managerial / professional, mostly white, and mostly "Artsy/funky" whatever that means! (Oh, if you put your mouse over it, it means "Like Greenwich Village or Harvard Square") I would not apply that to all of Stone Mountain or even all of 30083, but like I'm trying to say, it's a huge place with lots of different types of neighborhoods so don't generalize. This would apply to any city.

I haven't heard gunshots (just the train!) but obviously on the news there have been shootings and robberies. The crimes I hear about are usually 10 miles away yet still Stone Mountain.

I won't dispute all the facts everyone has ever posted about Stone Mountain, but it is difficult to believe the whole area the size of 2 Mariettas that spans both DeKalb and Gwinett counties is all going downhill.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by postprime

And it is the politicians (who the long time residents probably voted for) who decide what the tax rates are, not the people who dared to move into and improve a once blighted area.

Nobody was referring to tax rates. They were referring to the tax increase that results from a neighborhood increasing in value as a result of increased demand...in other words: "the people who dared to move in and improve a once blighted area". This results in a higher assessment/higher taxes even though the tax rate has not changed.

[postprime]

Originally Posted by JPD

Nobody was referring to tax rates. They were referring to the tax increase that results from a neighborhood increasing in value as a result of increased demand...in other words: "the people who dared to move in and improve a once blighted area". This results in a higher assessment/higher taxes even though the tax rate has not changed.

You're right. I shouldn't have used the word "rate." What I meant to say is that it isn't the fault of the new residents that assesed values went up. That is the decision of the tax assesor. And I really don't understand why property is taxed on market value rather than size or something that relates to use of infrastructure. The same thing with the ad-valorem tax on cars: if GA is gonna tax cars annually, wouldn't it make more sense for the rates to be based on things like fuel efficiency and emissions instead of how much a car is worth?

[JPD]

Originally Posted by postprime

What I meant to say is that it isn't the fault of the new residents that assesed values went up.

Of course it's their fault. It was their intention to improve the homes and the area, thus raising values, knowing full well it would raise taxes, and probably force out long time residents who couldn't afford the tax increase. The newcomers can't pretend they don't know how property taxes are determined.

[postprime]

Originally Posted by JPD

Of course it's their fault. It was their intention to improve the homes and the area, thus raising values, knowing full well it would raise taxes, and probably force out long time residents who couldn't afford the tax increase. The newcomers can't pretend they don't know how property taxes are determined.

Im sure those were their exact intentions, to raise taxes and force people out of there homes. Sounds like a vast left-wing conspiracy.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by postprime

Im sure those were their exact intentions, to raise taxes and force people out of there homes. Sounds like a vast left-wing conspiracy.

That's not what I said, at all.

I guess I'm supposed to believe that people who buy homes in depressed areas with the intention of fixing them up are completely unaware that by making the houses nicer the value will go up, and as a direct result, the taxes will go up.

[lastminutemom]

Actually, when a neighborhood is gentrifying, those doing the improvements often expect (count on?) the neighborhood changing over time. Sometimes it does (Virginia Highlands) fairly quickly and other times (Grant Park maybe?) it takes far longer than expected.

[diva05]

Originally Posted by postprime

I have serious doubts about there being a significant number of "yuppies from Alpharetta" moving to places like Edgewood. My experience is that they are recent college graduates or "yuppies" transplanted from Northern cities who have never lived in a suburb. And it is the politicians (who the long time residents probably voted for) who decide what the tax rates are, not the people who dared to move into and improve a once blighted area.

I recently moved to Westview (next door to Westend) and the majority of new home owners ARE from somewhere in Atlanta and are white. In fact, several grew up in Atlanta and are very familiar with the city's neighborhoods. I have yet to meet any recent transplants from the north. Yes, most are young, but they are not recent college graduates. The majority of new homeowners I have met are married or partnered (we have a significant gay population). Just about all of us came here for the architecutre and distance to downtwon (<10 min). You can't find our style of homes hardly anywhere in ATL.