Move to Atlanta from Chicago? (Smyrna, Alpharetta: for sale, houses, neighborhood)

[cmarshall]

Hello All,

I'm a suburban Chicago native who is looking to move to the Atlanta area. My family is African American and 8 people strong with children aged 7 months to 14 years. We are looking to move to the area for several reasons; namely the much lower cost of living, warmer climate, and the Hope scholarship program among others. I have been looking primarily in the North Gwinnett county area (Lawrenceville, Duluth, etc; 275k price range). However I find myself a bit discouraged due to the perceived bad state of race relations in the area. In the community I live in now (middle-middle upper; ~60% white, 20% black, 20% other), most neighbors don't look at each other through the lens of black or white. Kids here play, have sleepovers, and attend parties regardless of racial background. In addition, people who work together, usually hang out together, across racial boundaries. We have friends that moved to Snellville last year to be closer to family and they seem to notice a problem such that when a black family, no matter how professional or educated move next door, the white families move out. I think this is a travesty as well as tragic in a sense. I'm just not sure I should relocate my family to a place where people are labeled by their race 1st, being an American 2nd, instead of vice versa. That said, I haven't totally given up hope as of yet. Are there any diverse communities that you would recommend?

[jxu66]

I don't see that in Duluth area. Duluth is very diversity. Try to pick Duluth subdivisions along peachtree industrial side or Duluth/Lawrenceville around Sugarloaf cc side.

I don't know Snellville too much, being there only a couple of times. IMO, Sneville is still sleeper town, maybe a little behind Duluth area in diversity.

[merlin70]

I don't think you will have a problem in most of Atlanta. I lived for two years in Alpharetta, which most people say is "all white" and by default, racist. Most of the people on my street were white but my accross the street neighbor was black. Never a problem, everyone got along and I never heard anyone complain or say anything about it. When I went to the local park, there were Asians, Blacks, Indians, Whites, etc. and I never noticed any racial tensions.

I think most of it is overblown. Live your life and enjoy your family, don't worry about the very small percentage who might look down on you.

[cmarshall]

Originally Posted by merlin70

I don't think you will have a problem in most of Atlanta. I lived for two years in Alpharetta, which most people say is "all white" and by default, racist. Most of the people on my street were white but my accross the street neighbor was black. Never a problem, everyone got along and I never heard anyone complain or say anything about it. When I went to the local park, there were Asians, Blacks, Indians, Whites, etc. and I never noticed any racial tensions.

I think most of it is overblown. Live your life and enjoy your family, don't worry about the very small percentage who might look down on you.

Thank you Merlin for your words of encouragement. Believe it or not, your short paragraph makes me feel much better about possibly moving to the area. As long as there are enough people like you to go around, we should be ok.

[nicolahomes]

As a transplant from Brooklyn, NY I too had reservations about relocating to the South. My husband and I moved to Peachtree City, GA 18+ months ago when my daughter was 5 weeks old :0) Leaving my complete support system of family and friends with a new baby was the scariest thing that I have ever done. However, it was the best thing that we could have done for our new family. We have had nothing but positive experiences and I agree with the others that Georgia is a great place to live and ultimately raise your family.

I love New York and miss the diversity, food, and culture (mostly the food and of course my family), but when it comes to quality of life, in my experience, Peachtree City wins hands down. The people here are outgoing and warm. I know more of my neighbors living here in 6 months than I did living in New York 6 years! I feel that there is a definite sense of community.

In terms of lifestyles, the Fayette county schools rank among the top fifteen in Georgia, the climate in wonderful (especially compared to NYC and Chi-town), there is lots of green space, southern charm, and recreation for the family. PTC is offers public tennis courts, golf courses, aquatic center, BMX track, and amphitheater; plus one of the main attraction is that the city is connected by 90+ miles of golf cart path and trails which you can use to cruise around town, go shopping, take the kids to school, doctor, etc. The southern crescent is also developing rapidly and the area is gaining in diversity as more people discover the area.

I hope that was not too much information. I am not trying to sell you on PTC; I am just passionate about my new life and can go on forever. Continue to do your research and I hope that you will have a positive experience wherever your heart and head leads you.

Good luck,
Nik

[Stephanie Rose]

When looking for a new doctor or dentist, check out a publication called People You Need to Know in metro Atlanta. It's a great tool for people who are relocating to Atlanta.

[Quigley]

cmarshall,

I moved down to Atlanta from the western suburbs -- Naperville/Aurora. I find Atlanta to be much more racially mixed than up north. I live up in Alpharetta with houses in the price range above $500K. I'm white, my neighbors next door are from India, the neighbors across the street are African American, and there are several Asian families in the neighorhood. Except for older people living out in the country, I find Atlanta to be much less racist than the north in my opinion. In fact, I was up in Chicago for a conference a few years ago with a coworker who has lived in Atlanta all of her life. She was surprised cause she observed Chicago to be far more segregated than Atlanta. My wife remembers an episode of ER years ago where one of the African American doctors said to his wife that he wanted to move to Atlanta cause it was a "Chocolate city." His words; not mine.

[blondandfun]

I highly recommend Smyrna/Vinings. Its on the west side of town with cascade road and halloway prkwy just south, so all the whites expect and are fine living by blacks. Plus its younger, and has less foreigners.

[BillWagner]

I have lived in Gwinnett for about 25 years now. I do not think you will have a problem. Gwinnett is a very diverse county with good schools. The Lawrenceville, Duluth, Grayson, Loganville areas are great! You would be 30 minutes from Atlanta, even with traffic, and minutes from the North Ga. Mountains and Lake Lanier. 45 minutes from Athens if your kids want to go to UGA and there are smaller colleges within minutes in Gwinnett. In this area you are right in ther middle of everything like restaurants, shopping areas, the interstate highways, etc. I think you will love Gwinnett. Let me know if I can help you when you finally decide...

[atlantagreg30127]

I don't think people here react badly to race - they react badly to stereotypes. I'm going to give a couple of examples from my own neighborhood, and please see this as realistic and not racial statements...

Three streets up was "all white". A black family moved in. Two parents, 6 kids (roughly 12-19 years old - all living at home). Within two weeks the police were at that house several times for noise complaints (loud Rap in the driveway and from the house). The kids would hang out by the mailbox with friends yelling "MF" this and that at each other. Ok - you get the idea. Right now, about HALF of that whole street is up for sale. HOWEVER, more than likely the exact same thing would happen if it were a white redneck family with 6 kids doing the exact same thing.

So here I am, three streets away. A black woman from Kenya moved in across the street. At the end of the street is a black and white mixed couple (black man/white woman). Everyone is quiet, keeps their yards up, and not one of my neighbors (a couple of whom come CLOSE to bordering on redneck) have made one negative comment at all about either of these neighbors.

Yes, I do think that when a black family moves into certain areas here that when the other neighbors see them moving in, an eyebrow or two gets raised - perhaps a nervous eyebrow. And yes, deeeeeeep down in their minds they're doing the, "OMG I hope they're not gangstas" bit. Call it ignorance... call it perhaps bad past experiences... call it whatever you want, but yeah, it's there. However, once they and/or those neighbors get out and shake hands and everyone gets along, no, race will not be an issue. I'm being "real" here...not fluffy kum-bah-ya real.