Is College Park a decent area? (Atlanta, East Point: real estate, condos, credit)

[rougejoker]

I'm still in the process of narrowing down places to live, and I need to know if College Park is a nice area for a young family? If so, are there certain parts that are better than others to live in? How are the schools and the crime?

[plessthanpointohfive]

From what I hear the Historic part of College Park is undergoing revitalization but I don't think the rest of the area is all that desirable. I don't know if it's truly unsafe but I haven't heard good things about the schools.

Where will you working?

[VirtualM]

Historic College Park is beautiful and we would love to live there. We looked at several homes there, but ultimately it never worked out. I would say that it's already undergone reviltalization if it was ever undesirable in the first place! Woodward Academy is a pricey private school that serves K-12 and it has played a vital part in keeping the surrounding area moderately high-priced and well-maintained. That could be an education option if you're willing to shell out serious $$$. People that live in the tri-cities area are trying to push forward a charter school initiative for grades K-8, but with how the school boards in GA have treated potential charter schools lately, it's still up in the air. There are a lot of young families in the neighborhood, and they are very active in the community. There's a great park - Barrett Park - right in the heart of Historic College Park. There's also a little Main Street area with a few good places to eat and a couple of shops, plus great proximity to shopping at Camp Creek Marketplace. The only thing I'd caution about is proximity to the airport, which could possibly cause noise issues, but I grew up close to an airport so it doesn't phase me (eventually you don't even really hear the planes.)

Unfortunately I'm not as familiar with other parts of College Park, but I've had friends live there that weren't overly impressed (mostly just south of the airport off of Old National Highway and Riverdale Road.) But again, I have no real personal experience with the area to give a valid opinion.

[Tdiddy0027]

there are ghetto areas of college park, but most of its bad rep comes from the rappers that try to make it sound hard and tough. Downtown college park is really nice and Camp Creek Parkway is being revitalized, although most of it outside the perimeter is in East Point I believe. All in all, its a very up and coming area.

[flipd61]

Personally, you couldn't pay me to live there. Best areas are those not served by MARTA (atlanta public transportation)

[plessthanpointohfive]

Best areas are those not served by MARTA (atlanta public transportation)

I think this is a personal preference as realtors often advertise proximity to MARTA as a selling point. People who value the independence of public transportation pay a premium to live on MARTA lines.

I think you'd be hard pressed to say that Inman Park, Candler Park, or Decatur are not good neighborhoods.

I'm guessing you have the same misconception that many suburbanites have about light rail - that it brings crime. However, as many have pointed out, most criminals have their own cars and have no trouble finding any neighborhood they want. The ones riding MARTA aren't likely to steal your plasma TV - someone on the train or bus would notice...

[Love Cobb]

By young family I would assume you have school aged children. Clayton County has huge issues with the school board and accreditation seems to always be in question. I would suggest you look into the school situation before investing in your new home.

[blackrabbit]

Originally Posted by flipd61

Personally, you couldn't pay me to live there. Best areas are those not served by MARTA (atlanta public transportation)

Really............. I guess thats why all the highest real estate prices are close the MARTA and 8 million dollar + condos are going above the MARTA in Buckhead!

It sounds more like you can't afford to live near the MARTA and like so many other people justify living in the outer suburbs by blaming crime, schools, traffic or some other rubbish.............

[rougejoker]

Right now, I'm not working. I'm currently a SAHM, but since I have a BA in English, I might apply for a teaching position when I move down there.

As far as the quality of the schools in College Park, I'm not too much concerned about that. I'm more interested in teachers who are willing to teach and not just earn a paycheck. I'm currently dealing with that situation up here in Chicago, and I'm not too keen on going through this mess again when I get down to Georgia.

I'm also concerned about safe neighborhoods. As long as I'm able to stroll around on a warm summer night with my family in tow and not worry being shot at, raped, mugged, etc., I'll be happy for the most part.

[lastminutemom]

Rougejoker,

The challenge is that there are a zillion teaching jobs in Metro Atlanta and many of them are at schools that have strong parental support and kids ready to learn. It is hard for the schools that serve more at risk populations to attract and keep the most dedicated (not the ones just doing it for a paycheck) teachers. In metro ATlanta, the lowest performing schools generally have teachers with less than 3 years experience.

I know nothing about the schools (except Woodward) in College Park (which is Fulton Co, not Clayton as another poster inferred) but if you are going to return to teaching you can take your child with you.