Midtown and Children??? (Atlanta, Smyrna, Dunwoody: renters, condo, homes)

[plessthanpointohfive]

The main reason the handful of intowners are on here touting the public schools is because there is a great misperception that there are NO good public schools here.

You see it all the time "I moved out the burbs because of the schools."

Or "Only young singles and empty nesters live in the city because it's not family oriented."

And us intowners keep throwing our hands up and saying, "Now wait a minute! What about THIS WHOLE SECTION OF TOWN?"

That's all...

[kagmypts]

I am not arguing with you. We will be in-towners soon and cannot wait to get out of the suburbs! We also have kids so I completely understand where the OP is coming from. Agreed: good public schools = higher property values.

[plessthanpointohfive]

I just wanted to clear the air. While I am a public school advocate I do understand there are people who go private no matter what.

I went to Catholic school. Nuff said!

[kagmypts]

A couple of links, but not the one I really wanted:
Mikel Muffley | Neighborhoods
Atlanta Real Estate, Atlanta homes for sale, Georgia real estate

[gtrgrl74]

I am so relieved!!! My sister lives up there and said we have to live in the suburbs for good schools and environment to raise our children. The thought of that commute makes me crazy.
What about any of the condos in Midtown? The very urban ones?

[IntownHomes247]

There's a huge glut of Midtown condos available but you'll pay dearly for any amount of space and most units are 1 or 2 bedrooms (of course there are some larger units available).

[gtrgrl74]

I did notice that a little. My husband is from Chicago and really likes the Urban living so I thought I would ask.....
I also have heard that Buckhead is a little snotty. We live in such and area now in Florida and I kind of want to stay away from that. Don't get me wrong, we are very interested in keeping our family in a middle to upper-middle class neighborhood, but without the pretense. True or not?

[sweettea1]

I lived in midtown for 2 years with young children and I have to say that, despite the large numbers of families and active parents' associations, I did not feel safe. The area around Piedmont Park is nice but there is a lot of street crime, burglaries, hold-ups, prostitutes and other activity. I would recommend the other neighborhoods previously mentioned, including Virginia Highand, Inman Park and Morningside as my top choices. There's a noticeable difference in the 'feel' re safety even just going one mile out of midtown. Unfortunately, I think the proximity to Ponce De Leon and Boulevard make midtown a prime target for criminal activity within walking distance. Not sure if Midtown Blue (local security force) makes much of an impact. Again, just my personal opinion...having lived in NYC for more than 12 years, I was very pro-city but midtown Atlanta just didn't work for us.

[gtrgrl74]

And thanks for the crime info ------very important

[gtrgrl74]

Originally Posted by sweettea1

I lived in midtown for 2 years with young children and I have to say that, despite the large numbers of families and active parents' associations, I did not feel safe. The area around Piedmont Park is nice but there is a lot of street crime, burglaries, hold-ups, prostitutes and other activity. I would recommend the other neighborhoods previously mentioned, including Virginia Highand, Inman Park and Morningside as my top choices. There's a noticeable difference in the 'feel' re safety even just going one mile out of midtown. Unfortunately, I think the proximity to Ponce De Leon and Boulevard make midtown a prime target for criminal activity within walking distance. Not sure if Midtown Blue (local security force) makes much of an impact. Again, just my personal opinion...having lived in NYC for more than 12 years, I was very pro-city but midtown Atlanta just didn't work for us.

and just out of curiousity --------did u move out of the city all together after your midtown experiences?