Moving to Lithonia... What can I expect? (Atlanta: house, transferring to)

[Steven2149]

Peach, like I said in the earlier post, there are good and bad areas in Lithonia. From my experience, I would sort of blanket off the area between highway 124 to the east... 20 to the south... and Wesley Chapel to the West.... and rule them out. Aside from that, there are some quite pleasant areas of Lithonia. IF you are looking in the Pleasant Hill Road area, I think you are off to a good start. Many good neighborhoods there and you are within a somewhat (and I mean somewhat) reasonable commute to wherever. I-20 can get nasty though, but once you get inside 285 is much better. I would rather shoot myself than commute to Dunwoody from Lithonia, though. You run the entire gauntlet of 285's bad spots. Anywhere in South Dekalb is predominantly African American. Some of the areas I mentioned would be pretty okay... just expect the schools to let you down a bit. You could also put some thought into Tucker. Still quite diverse, but overall a good bit safer, and the schools are some of the better schools in the County. An area that I would suggest though, which has some good schools is that around the Stephenson High School area. Some parts are Lithonia and others would be considered Stone Mountain. I work in Real Estate, and if you might be interested in some further help and research, send me a pm. I'd be happy to offer any help I can with your relocation. If not, I'll still be glad to offer advice and insight on this forum.

[Steven2149]

To answer your later post about income and middle class. If you make 200k here, you can live like you are wealthy. I've dealt with people in that income range and they can easily afford 700-800k homes. I would say middle class here would probably be anywhere within a range of 40-80k per person... a bit more for families though.

[backfist]

Originally Posted by CaliPeach

Thanks, Steven 2149. This is a little concerning... I am looking in an area off of Pleasant Hill Road, definitely not South of the I-20. I am very interested in my family's safety, especially raising 3 boys and with an infant daughter. We have lived in the Oakland, Ca area for a very long time, so we are no strangers to fairly crime-ridden areas, but have had no real problems and have never been victims of crime. Should I be overly concerned about where we are going/moving to in regards to it being in Lithonia? I definitely respect your opinion.

Are there other areas that are predominately African-American with a better overall community profile? On a separate note, I don't want to end up in the equivalent of Pleasanton, Ca either (if you know that part of the Bay Area, No. California). We lived there for a year, and although the schools were great and the neighborhood beautiful, we were one of the only African-American families within the city limits, and my children felt somewhat out of place (both culturally and spritually) at school and at community events. Don't get me wrong, we are accustomed to diversity, but I am very interested in each of my children continuing to develop a stong sense of black pride and community.

Thanks, again, for all of your help!!

I understand what you mean about Pleasanton and the whole I-680 corridor. It's usually been less diverse than Oakland/San Leandro/ Hayward. But it's changing rapidly. Problem is, as you say, $200k a year doesn't go as far as it used to. We considered Oakland once upon a time--Rockridge--but prices were just ridiculously high for the home you got, and even then your neighborhood could get iffy.

The first place we considered was Lithonia. We checked the city profile, saw that the cost of living was low, crime stats were below the national average, and it was only 20-something miles from work. But having actually seen the area, we had to dismiss it. Schools were underfunded and under-performing, and although there were some nice individual neighborhoods, it was just too hit and miss.

I'd consider Tucker or Snellville or Duluth. You'll still be around plenty of Black folks, and have better choices for schools and safer neighborhoods.

[dlh891]

I'll once again mention Snellville as others have. We are a mixed family and we both love it here. Our neighborhood is 50/50 mixed and very well educated and cultured. We are only 10 minutes to Lithonia, we live just south of Rt 124.

[stvincent]

If you are in the 200K salary range then I would stay away from Lithonia at all costs. I do not know how 4 or 5 upscale subdisvisions spattered thoroughout Lithonia earns the area a reputation for being THE place for middle to upper income African Americans. Since you want to live in a predominately Black community I would suggest Sandtown or Cascade. Both are nice are both have majority middle to upper income dwellers. New homes range from the low 300s to over one million. The schools are not up to par compared with other areas of Atlanta and as a result most upper imcome families in the area choose private schools, mainly Woodard Academy in College Park. Also, you would find that crime is low in these areas, especially Sandtown, because they try very hard to keep apartment complexes from being built and keep the density in their communities low. I think the only reason the schools arent what they could be is because so many parents send their kids to private schools, not wanting to take a risk on their children's education. Cascade is the historical seat of old money and power in Atlanta but newer homes are being built everyday in the area. Yet, Cascade has lower income home dwellers and apartment dwellers scattered throughout the area which subtracts a little from the area's prestige. The zip 30311 is old money but that is no longer a desiable neighborhood due to the spread of the those from the ghettos of Cacade Heights and the West End moving into the Cacade area. The rest of Cascade and all of Sandtown is in 30331.

Sandtown, just to the south of the Cascade community, is less well-known but just as affluent. Homes in Sandotwn sit on more land than Cascade, has less apartments, and has more of a suburban/rural feel even though its only 20 minutes south of Atlanta. If you are looking online for homes, just make sure you stay in the zip 30331. If you don't see as many homes as you would expect online, don't worry. Most of these new subdivisions aren't online. You will see how much the area is growing when you get the chance to visit.

[SynMelRN2007]

My dad lives in the 30331 Cascade area and that area is beautiful. He has a beautiful home in a very upscale area but I have to admit that the schools there are horrible. The area is predominantly black. I am relocating to ATL this summer and I'm not looking to move in that area. I'm looking for more diverse areas. There are also a lot of subsidized apts scattered throughout so you must beware of the side streets and the areas mixed in between these nice fabulius homes.
Syn

[dejuan2]

I taught at Lithonia middle school during the 2003-2004 school year and I would advise you not to move to Lithonia. I would avoid that entire area if at all possible. The schools are horrible, students are not prepared to learn, there is little parent involvement, and the crime rate is high. I also moved here from California and the traffic is just as bad. I'm not sure where you will be working but the commute from Lithonia to downtown Atlanta is dreadful. Don't fall into the trap of falling in love with a big house in the wrong area. Consider the commute and the schools.

[CaliPeach]

I appreciate all of your responses. I will be consulting from home when in Georgia, and flying out to California every other week to consult on site, so I will need to run to the airport a couple of times/month.

I am sad to hear about the schools in Lithonia. What about the private schools in that area? What about schools in the Norcross area (my cousin lives there)?

[whispering]

Calipeach I live in Lithonia and am leaving to be closer to my job. That is the ONLY reason. I am above 20, close to Stone Mountain off Hwy 124 and there has been no high crime, theft or other issues up there. I am not sure where the other posters are referring, but off Stephenson Road there is not big crime issue.

[CaliPeach]

Well, call me a rebel, but I have finally moved to Lithonia! I really like it... it is so not California! I have met so many friendly and helpful people... Thank you, Atlanta! Not sure about the schools... the kids will be transferring to schools outside of the area or private schools soon... they will miss catching the school bus though (this is new and fun for them - they didn't have that in their California schools). Well, thank you all for your input. Now that I am here, I can explore and see what the areas here are really like... Who knows, maybe I will move in a couple of years (thanks to some of your advice), but for right now, I am just happy to be breathing clean air in GA... Thanks, again!