Moving in June (Atlanta, Roswell, Marietta: mortgage, insurance, budget)

[cmtiger]

Hmmmm... well, if you are used to 1000 s.f.... then you can definitely find something that will suit you here in Decatur. I would say that $325K - $350K will get you a nice 3br/2ba that is fine for a family of four if they aren't used to a mcmansion - I would guess you can get about 2200 s.f. for that. Realtors on this blog... do you agree?

The more reasonable areas of Decatur include Oakhurst, College Heights, Sycamore Ridge, Lenox Park and Rosewalk. All of these neighborhoods are very safe (except for maybe one small part of College Heights that's a little sketchy) and all are districted to excellent schools.

Anyway, looking at Lovin's list above... here are the areas that he listed that have reasonable schools and a large enough number of families to make it fun for you and your kids.....I'm partial to Decatur b/c I live there - but you can find fans on this board for all of these areas. I also really, really like Candler Park/Lake Claire (no lake so don't get your hopes up).

City of Decatur Schools

Decatur (Oakhurst/Clairemont/Glennwood/Renfroe/Decatur High)


Atlanta Public Schools

Poncey Highland (Mary Lin or Morningside Elem/Inman/Grady)

Virginia Highland (Morningside/Inman/Grady)

Inman Park (Mary Lin/Inman/ Grady)
Candler Park
Lake Claire

Grant Park (Neighborhood Charter School (lottery)/Atlanta Charter Middle (lottery)/ Grady???)


DeKalb County Schools

Druid Hills (DeKalb Co. Schools - Fernbank/Shamrock/Druid Hills)
Emory

You can look up these schools on greatschools.net or on the GA DOE website The Governor's Office of Student Achievement to see parent opinions, test scores, etc.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

we were really hoping to get something between $300-$400K range

Look at this one,a super location and walking distance to Parsons,one of the best elementary schools in Gwinnett.

Single Family Home SUWANEE, GA, 30024

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

Duck's Cosmic Kitchen looks really cool and will be one of the first placing I go to when I move. Cmtiger, thanks for the info but do you really need $400-$500K to purchase a home? I want something cheaper than my $550K home I purchased in CA we were really hoping to get something between $300-$400K range, but stunning in comparison to the 1000 sq ft home we bought 3 years ago. LovinDecatur I will check out those areas too, but are you sure about those places in terms of raising kids as my biggest concern is my children. I can always commute to the action I don't necessarily have to live in the action if that makes sense just want to make sure those areas exist in GA my husband really loves to go out and he really LOVES coffee.

I bought my house (3BR, 2 BA, 1710 sf) in the Clairemont area of Decatur last year for 350M. It's doable.
And in my list I only cited neighborhoods where I thought you would be safe...well, you might have to be a bit more careful in Cabbagetown, East Atlanta and Kirkwood...

[sbethea]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

Thank you all for your responses. Diverse to me means that folks are open to blacks being in a neighborhood. Where I can see other ethnic/nationalities without people being weird. We don't have to live all amongst blacks or whites just in a safe environment. Diverse to me also means that there are several different places to eat at and things to do (we love Asian, Mexican, and Italian food). I like seeing people exercising as my husband and I both run. Basically we'd like to make friends.

In terms of our price range we don't want to spend what we do here in CA. I guess no more than $2000/mo. Eventually, once we have lived in GA for a couple of months and have figured out where we want to be in GA then we'd want to buy a place.

I've heard a lot about Gwinett County could any one give some information about cities and living experience there? Also, a realtor told me that Decatur was dangerous it that true?

Thanks for the info.

Bayarea-girl

In my opinion, you will find a nice house for less than $2000. go to Home Rentals In Atlanta Investments Property Management Investment Properties and look at their houses. Gwinnett county is a very nice place to live as well as Cobb County. I am also moving to GA from SC in June and I did alot of research and also came to the state alot in the past couple of months. As far as Decatur, that is a myth, but I wouldn't take the chance when you really don't know. Tell your husband that as a fellow accountant, it will be very easy to get a job here in GA because it is a demand for accountants in the area. tell him to start at Accountemps - Accounting Staffing Agency - Temporary Financial Staffing Services. It is a placing agency but companies also go through them job permanent employment.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by sbethea

As far as Decatur, that is a myth, but I wouldn't take the chance when you really don't know.

Really, what do we know? After all, we only live here...

[cmtiger]

Originally Posted by sbethea

As far as Decatur, that is a myth, but I wouldn't take the chance when you really don't know.

There are parts of Gwinnett that I wouldn't even drive through in the middle of the day!

City of Decatur is not dangerous. Some of the areas outside the city limits that are a few miles south of Decatur (south of Glennwood Ave) are rougher. They call themselves "Decatur" but they are not part of the city.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by bayarea-girl

I've heard a lot about Gwinnett County could any one give some information about cities and living experience there?

I lived in Gwinnett County and currently lived in San Francisco. Our neighborhood in Duluth was much more diverse than San Francisco. Where we live in SF is all white or Chinese. In Duluth we had neighbors from all over the world. My street had a guy from New York,a Jewish woman from Florida,a Vietnamese family,a Jamaican family,some Indian families,a couple from China both teaching at Emory,a Puerto Rican family,a Mexican family,a mixed white & black couple,a couple black families,a few white families and lots of Koreans buying in whenever there was a house for sale. In Gwinnett the neighbors were very friendly,in SF no one talks to anyone.

In Gwinnett I can get the international feel of my current San Francisco lifestyle much better than intown areas like Decatur with not so good freeway access. For example in SF I may head over to Nijiya Japanese market in Japantown for sashimi quality fish. In Gwinnett the place to go is Super H. Even if I lived intown I would still have to make the drive to Duluth to shop here. Super H market in Duluth easily surpasses any available asian market in the Bay area. Think of Super H as a Korean version of 99 Ranch and Whole Foods combined. Just awesome. Avoid it on the weekends unless you go very early since it is super crowded. Suppose I want some authentic Carne Asada. In SF I will head down to Mission St. for good Mexican food. In Gwinnett, El Tacazo,the place across from Berkmar high school is better and more authentic than most SF Mission places. Note,I am talking about purely authentic,everybody speaking Spanish Mexican food,not Taco Mac or yuppie taco place of the month from Atlanta magazine. I could go on&on, soul food or Jamaican on Herrington Rd,Columbian at Atlantic seafood on Pleasant Hill Rd,Cajun seafood on Jimmy Carter etc.,etc. Also in Gwinnett you have a straight 20 min. drive down the 85 or Buford highway to access the international area of Buford highway. Notable highlights include Hong Kong Supermarket,Penang for Malaysian,China Delight for Cantonese seafood & dim sum. In contrast, from Candler Park it will be a shorter but crowded drive up Clairmont to get to this area. SF has a much greater volume of restaurants. For example,I will have maybe 50 different choices for dim sum instead of 6 but at least the international aspect is available in parts of the Atlanta area. There is also a much greater Korean presence in Gwinnett than in SF.

Gwinnett also has its own action including the new Gwinnett Center.

Gwinnett County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Here is info on Gwinnett soccer.

A soccer-crazed county in the Wiki Guide to Gwinnett

About GSA

Here is some info on downtown Norcross.

Norcross

More info on stuff to do in Gwinnett.

101 Things Every Gwinnettian Should Do

There is no Berlin Wall around the different counties. I lived in Duluth and frequently drove to places like Return to Eden organic foods and Phoenix and Dragon Books in Atlanta. I went to the Saturday morning Kung Fu class they used to have in Inman Park and at 8:00 am on Saturday it only took 25 minutes to get there. You can get a very nice house for a lower price and still enjoy everything the Atlanta area offers.

My suggestions are:

1)Parsons elementary in Suwanee. This area has become very international. They just opened up Lotte Assi Plaza,Korean oriented mall just down the road from here. The best part of Parsons is the fantastic,supportive administration. Here are some previous comments about this area:

Originally Posted by capoeira

I would look in Suwanee specifically in the Parsons elementary district. I prefer this to Roswell.

1)Suwanee has a better network of roads like Sugarloaf Parkway. Roswell has too many unimproved two lane roads. Even if you work at home you can be prisoner of your house between 4pm to 6pm due to the gridlock outside your subdivision. There are only 3 ways to cross the Chattahoochee River to get to Roswell so traffic is a nightmare in that area.

2)Suwanee has better access to the diversity of Atlanta on the weekends. You are a straight ride down the 85 to anywhere in the city. There are also alternative routes available.

3)Suwanee has easy access to the 316. Athens is a great town to visit on the weekends.

4)Suwanee is very family friendly. Lots of kids summer programs. Check out Bunten Road park in Duluth and the Suwanee Sports academy. Discover Mills is a great kid friendly mall.

5)Gwinnett has a very well defined curriculum and I prefer it over the other school systems.

Academic Knowledge & Skills - Academic Knowledge & Skills (AKS)

Roswell has its advantages too. It is very scenic. Be sure to check out the playground by the river.

Azalea Park Playground

You don't have to live intown in Atlanta(unless you work there). Even the suburbs have cool stores too,like the Natural Marketplace in East Cobb.

Natural Marketplace

Other ideas for Gwinnett are the Simpson elementary area and the Camp Creek elementary area. Both are "10" rated schools. Simpson is actually the highest scoring school in Gwinnett. It has the easiest access to Buckhead and the 285 via the 141.

Camp Creek is in Lilburn. In this area you can get a nice almost 3000 sq. ft. house on a large lot for 300,000. It has convenient access to the DeKalb area via the 78 freeway(about 25 min non rush hour). This area is very quiet and has little major retail. Most people find it boring but some people are looking for a quieter area.

My other suggestion is the area of East Cobb with good schools. It is a very pleasant and safe area.

[bayarea-girl]

Capoeira,

Thanks for the info. I'm going to check out Gwinett & East Cobb as suggested. I really appreciate your detail about the areas you listed. My family loves soccer so thanks for that info as well. Also, if anyone can provide info on finding good doctors (pediatricians) in GA that would be great. I really can't wait to move in June!

Shana

[Lizzy5]

This is the kind of house you can get in Gwinnett for around $300K.

http://www.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=569600&refurl

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Lizzy5

This is the kind of house you can get in Gwinnett for around $300K.

http://www.circlepix.com/tour.htm?id=569600&refurl

and for another 200M you might get brick walls on the other three sides