Relocating from London, England (Atlanta, Alpharetta: credit score, home builder, established neighborhood)

[5atlbowers]

Funny! I have 3 children (7,5,and 3-years-old) and live in the most wonderful area of Atlanta. Our public elementary school was just awarded "Georgia's School of Excellence." I am inside the circle that goes around ATL which is a highway called 285. I live in an area called Emory. It is highway 85 and Clairmont. It is about 15 minutes to downtown. I would love to answer any questions you may have. We are from Miami and moved to Chicago, then Indianapolis and now Atlanta. I love it here. This city is amazing. Very afforable city and beautiful weather (you get all 4 season's; very mildly.) Buckhead is very "high end" and the worst traffic ever! Stay inside 285 or you will spend 1/2 your life in traffic.

We are thinking about a move to London for a year or 2. We think it will be a wonderful adventure and we will come back to Atlanta. We want to do this while our children are young. Let's help each other out.

[pickleswanson]

Originally Posted by ARSENAL

WOW......Thank you all for your responses.

Violence in English cities are second nature. The UK seems to top the charts in every negative criteria in Europe. Drugs, Teen-pregnancies, muggings etc

You tend to find this behavior in most built up cities, so we would expect certain levels of an anti-social culture wherever we relocate.

Location, in its basic form, is segregated into lines of Race and Financial statue. Race or racial indifference is an ongoing issue in every multicultural society. As we see it, the world is filled with a variety of peoples and cultures. We hope to equip our children with a diverse and well-rounded knowledge of people that are different.

But…..we are fully aware that this is the ‘South’ and Old habits die hard. We are not wet Liberals or Ultra Conservatives…Just hard working ‘Limeys’, looking for a better life, who just happens to adore the State of Georgia.

Some of your replies would suggest that we should be more specific, falling short of geographically mapping Georgia on Racial, Political and economical lines…..Ok

1) What counties in North-West/North/North-East/East of Atlanta could be classified as White, Black or Mixed areas?
2) What are most affluent counties in the above areas?
3) Where would you find the best schools in the above mentioned?
4) What Political party has Georgia tended to vote for over the years?

Can anyone help?

1) Can be easily found for exact percentages however ATL and its metro areas are diverse or well mixed. If you intend to get away from any race it will not be done here however racisim is not a problem and all people are welcome. Occasionaly race related crimes do occur and are highly visable because the south has been treated as racist for so long they go out of thier way now in order to insure everyone's comfort.
2) All of these areas are affluent counties and upon your vistit there I'm sure you'll find most of ATL is. But yes the nicer homes due tend to be outside of I285. Still many very nice areas are found within.
3) From my experience Fayette County don't know any school info for the above mentioned.
4) Democratic but shows a growing trend toward republican.

I find it very hard to break ATL down by cities and counties because each has its very own personality, perks and pittfalls. It covers a huge amount of land, it seems to never stop. Basically from Chattanooga, TN to Cordele, GA you will find a constant submegence of new businesses and populations. That is just north and south for oh say about 260 miles and I think it might actually be wider than long considering there are few breaks in development from Greenville, SC to Birmingham, AL about 290 miles.

I hope this helps and wish I knew of the exact web addresses to give more accurate info but one I suggest is refdesk.com

Good luck

[Westward]

Fulton and Cobb will be your two wealthiest counties. As said before, counties south of Atlanta will tend to be mostly black, those north mostly white. Most areas inside the 285 loop around Atlanta are going to be mostly black, except for the weathier spots.

Smaller towns radiating northward from Cobb and Fulton counties (outside the 285 loop) are mostly white, but there's going to be a degree of mixed population just about everywhere. You will find lots of Asian culture NE of Atlanta in the areas you mentioned as well as w/i the 285. NW of Atlanta (Cobb Co upward) you will find mostly white.

I haven't spent a ton of time in the areas you mentioned, but whenever I've have the occasion to head into Norcross, Doraville, Stone Mtn, etc I've not enjoyed most areas as much as Cobb Co, but maybe I didn't get into the nicest places? You might want to look around outer Cobb Co just for comparison. I'm guessing Cobb is more conservative than other counties around Atlanta.

If I were moving here, I'd rent well outside the 285 and get a feel for the entire area. A picture's worth a thousand words, and no one will be able to tell you what anyplace is really like. Some places with lots of "class" out here you couldn't pay me to live in because of the "one road in and out" effect. There are lots of places a person could be happy, whatever your race, income, many many new/used homes with great prices. Just plant yourself near a major shopping center/mall. Everything winds up in clusters here.

Westward

[atlantagreg30127]

Just be aware that while Atlanta is not the worst city in the U.S., it's what some people would call "cookie cutter". Meaning, you'll find a few nice unique village type areas such as "Virginia Highlands" and so on, but overall, metro Atlanta is just a sprawled out mega area of generic cookie cutter shopping centers, all looking the same, all with the same stores, etc. It's not a Vancouver or New York - more like L.A., minus Hollywood, beaches, and the ocean.

If you don't mind day trips, then the North Georgia mountains have neat places to visit like Dahlonega, Helen, or further north is Chattanooga, Tennessee.

For "close in" I might suggest avoiding Stone Mountain or much of Dekalb and Clayton counties. Crime is increasing in those areas.

[ptcgirl]

We also live in Peachtree City and truly it is the best suburb in the Atlanta area. It is amazing and worth looking at. We moved here a couple of years ago from San Diego, California. In our particular neighborhood, there are many different backgrounds: Indian, British, from all of the states, African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, and a few from around the Atlanta area. IT is a superb place to live. Peachtree City is about 20 minutes south of the airport. Check it out!

[leefowler]

Peachtree City is a really nice place, but I can't believe no one has mentioned alpharetta. This town in north Fulton is probably the most affluent community, displacing Buckhead and Sugarloaf. I don't live in either of the areas, but im fairly well aware of the towns. The schools are great, but then again a child will do well in any setting so long as the parents are involved. For the most part Alpharetta is an easy going place. Another thing to consider is how much land you want.

[Hyun-Soo]

Hello! A former UK resident in the US here. Altough I am American. Hope you like Georgia!

[sicce]

I have also moved from UK, to Atlanta about 3 months ago, for similar reasons. It is not possible to obtain the kind of information you are looking for through forums or visiting for a week or two, you really have to live here, as its such a personal thing.

I would advise that at first you pick a apartment for 6months, and become familar with the areas around Atlanta, you will be surprise how quick you get to know the good ones and the bad ones.

I have found, if you have young children than Atlanta proper is not a good place to bring them up, I am currently living in Alpharetta (North of Atlanta) easy to compute to downtown (yes traffic is bad here, but no where near as bad as in London). Alpharetta has good schools and seems free of crime so far (touch wood), and the Apartments seem to be good, Homes here are more expensive then many other parts of areas around Atlanta, and taxes are also higher but I am happy with my choice.

[ARSENAL]

Hi, sorry it's taken so long to reply but haven't been on the site for a while. thank you all for your responses! A lot has happened since we were last on the site and we now have family member number five.

Thank you all for your responses. 5atlbowers if you need any help/advice on your possible relocation to London please feel free to send us a private message and we will gladly give any assitance we can.Ideally we do not really want to rent, as we do not want to have to move our children again once we have found a school for them and because house prices seem to be rising! My partner is hoping to find work first, we have been looking on monster.com but does anyone know of any over sites, or any companies, he is in the telecommunications field. Are all the major communication firms in Atlanta?

We are hoping to visit again over the summer and see a few places. Lawrenceville,grayson and duluth seem to be at the top of our list at the moment. Communting is not to much of a problem as we are used to traffic coming from London. How are the schools in these areas, public or private and does anyone know what the fees are like for private schools? Any info would be appreciated.

Sicce, congratulations on your move! Do you have any advice on the best way to get a stay. We have applied for a green card but feel this may take a while, do you think it would be faster if we found employment first and then got a company to sponser us. What is the average home price in Alpharetta, we are looking at a 4 bd + with basement and how easy did you find it to get a mortgage?

[sumiller2000]

I would encourage you to check out Decatur GA. When I say that, I mean within the city limits of Decatur because much of what is outside the city limits but called "Decatur" is not great. The City of Decatur is about a 10-15 minute drive to downtown Atlanta and is inside the perimeter.

City of Decatur has its own school system (it is NOT part of the DeKalb County system) and has always had some of the top schools in the state. The primary schools are expeditionary learning schools (google ELOB for more info). 4th grade and up either already is or will soon be International Baccalaureate schools - this may be an attractive thing for you if you are coming from Europe.

Anyway, Decatur has a lot of super brainy kids because we have a lot of scientists, professors, lawyers and doctors around with the CDC and all of the hospitals and universities nearby.

The city itself is diverse, eclectic, mostly liberal and intellectual. There are lots of cool shops, coffee houses and restaurants downtown. It is becoming quite the fashionable place over recent years.

Good luck on your search. I'd recommend Ruth Golley if you are looking for a realtor in Decatur. She pretty much knows everything you need to know about Decatur.