Living in Decatur (Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Jackson: 2014, crime, how much)

[sadinpgh]

So I've been posting sporadically on here for about 6 months or so trying to find out as much as possible about various towns and areas in anticipation of our move to the Atlanta metro next year. One of the other areas we've heard about is Decatur and we would like to learn what we can from the people who are actually there. One of the big draws is that they are said to have a great school district considering their proximity to the inner city, as well as a rather young vibrant community feel. Our housing budget will be under $300k, and each house we look at that we like in the area is still listed in a "below average" school district. Do these realty sites not know anything about schools, are we looking in the wrong neighborhoods? Any insight will help.

We are coming to Atlanta for a "vacation" to scope everything out in June. Anything in particular we must not miss in Decatur?

Also, I'm aware that the properties we look at will most likely not be available when we move, we are just trying to get a general idea of how much house we can afford.

[cqholt]

$300K will not get much in the City of Decatur, which is the only are that feeds into the award winning City Schools of Decatur. The Decatur zip code is much larger than the city limits.

[Dkeating]

This is a map of the Decatur city limits: http://www.decaturga.com/home/showdocument?id=4394

There are a lot of places with Decatur postal addresses that are not in the city. I don't think you can buy an actual house in the city for $300K anymore.

[sadinpgh]

So are the other schools in the area really that bad? How about overall crime stats? Also, does the general vibe of the city leave once you are out of city limits?

I know much of this information is available online in some way shape or form, but after moving it Pgh, I've learned my lesson from just trusting what I read instead of getting my info from the source.

Luckily for me, people in Atlanta seem nice enough to share the information I'm looking for!

What areas inside the perimeter would you recommend for us? Two teachers, less than $300k budget, two elementary aged kids. Would like at least 3 bed house, decent sized yard, safe, welcoming and diverse area with plenty of options for things to do.

Our budget has us mostly landed in the burbs, which is fine and dandy, but if I can be closer to the city and still in a great area, all the better.

[Dkeating]

Originally Posted by sadinpgh

So are the other schools in the area really that bad? How about overall crime stats? Also, does the general vibe of the city leave once you are out of city limits?

I know much of this information is available online in some way shape or form, but after moving it Pgh, I've learned my lesson from just trusting what I read instead of getting my info from the source.

Luckily for me, people in Atlanta seem nice enough to share the information I'm looking for!

What areas inside the perimeter would you recommend for us? Two teachers, less than $300k budget, two elementary aged kids. Would like at least 3 bed house, decent sized yard, safe, welcoming and diverse area with plenty of options for things to do.

Our budget has us mostly landed in the burbs, which is fine and dandy, but if I can be closer to the city and still in a great area, all the better.

In a general sense, the areas north of Decatur have a better reputation and the areas south have a worse reputation.

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of places in the areas I'm more familiar with--SE Atlanta--that have many houses in the $300 range. There were a lot of places that fit the bill three or more years ago but not now. I'm sure someone else will know more about other areas.

[sadinpgh]

Most people have mentioned Lawrenceville, which we've done a lot of looking into and seems great, but in the case that we find work in the city, I just don't want to have to cross the perimeter every day. I've been told it's a rough drive.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by sadinpgh

So are the other schools in the area really that bad? How about overall crime stats? Also, does the general vibe of the city leave once you are out of city limits?

I know much of this information is available online in some way shape or form, but after moving it Pgh, I've learned my lesson from just trusting what I read instead of getting my info from the source.

Luckily for me, people in Atlanta seem nice enough to share the information I'm looking for!

What areas inside the perimeter would you recommend for us? Two teachers, less than $300k budget, two elementary aged kids. Would like at least 3 bed house, decent sized yard, safe, welcoming and diverse area with plenty of options for things to do.

Our budget has us mostly landed in the burbs, which is fine and dandy, but if I can be closer to the city and still in a great area, all the better.

If you move immediately west of Decatur and into the Jackson Cluster of APS, you can find homes for that price in East Lake, Kirkwood, East Atlanta, Edgewood.
http://www.atlantapublicschools.us/c...PS_2014-15.pdf

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by sadinpgh

So are the other schools in the area really that bad? How about overall crime stats? Also, does the general vibe of the city leave once you are out of city limits?

I know much of this information is available online in some way shape or form, but after moving it Pgh, I've learned my lesson from just trusting what I read instead of getting my info from the source.

Luckily for me, people in Atlanta seem nice enough to share the information I'm looking for!

What areas inside the perimeter would you recommend for us? Two teachers, less than $300k budget, two elementary aged kids. Would like at least 3 bed house, decent sized yard, safe, welcoming and diverse area with plenty of options for things to do.

Our budget has us mostly landed in the burbs, which is fine and dandy, but if I can be closer to the city and still in a great area, all the better.

The market for a 3 BR in the area that you desire for under $300K is VERY tight. Problem is if anything did come up it's likely that a builder would snatch it up and tear it down.
Try a search of 30329 in the Sagamore Elementary district. I really think it's your best bet unless you want to up your budget.

[sadinpgh]

Much to what I expect, the average price for the area seems to be a bit much for us. That being said, how bad would a morning commute from Lawrenceville to DeKalb area be? My wife and I will be teaching, so just as it is here, I would assume that being a teacher will mean our commute starts a bit earlier than most people. Right now I live about 17 miles from downtown PGH and it takes me about 45 minutes to get to work. Should I expect about the same coming from the burbs to the east side of the city?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by sadinpgh

Much to what I expect, the average price for the area seems to be a bit much for us. That being said, how bad would a morning commute from Lawrenceville to DeKalb area be? My wife and I will be teaching, so just as it is here, I would assume that being a teacher will mean our commute starts a bit earlier than most people. Right now I live about 17 miles from downtown PGH and it takes me about 45 minutes to get to work. Should I expect about the same coming from the burbs to the east side of the city?

There are only 2 freeways from Gwinnett and they get crowded early. Atlanta metro does not have a good arterial road network, so the freeways carry a bulk of the commuters.