Marrietta Pros and Cons (Atlanta, Roswell: transplants, homes, schools)

[beezlebum]

My wife and school age children may relocate to the Atlanta area from
a midwestern college town within the next 6 months.

We recently had a short visit of Marrietta and we were rather fond of the downtown.

What are good and bad aspects of this community? What schools
are in the area? Is living close to the square a smart move with a
family? Any input is apprciated.

Regards,

[stvincent]

No, moving near the square is not a smart move for a family, IMHO. There are some nice homes on Whitlock and Chicopee right off the square...but most of the streets off the square take you into Marietta's slums. Marietta proper is not very desirable. The City of Marietta schools are not as great as the Cobb County schools either. The best part to move to if considering the Mareitta area would be either East Cobb or West Cobb. Both area's have Marietta address but lower crime, better schools, and more well maintained communities. West Cobb is less expensive and there are some beautiful communities off Burnt Hickory Road, which is in close proximity to the square but outside Marietta city limits. You could always drive to the Marietta Square if you like the ambiance but I don't think very many people are going to suggest living by it.

[beezlebum]

StV-
Thanks. I had the same suspicion about Marietta proper.

If you don't mind, I've reads to some really good threads about roswell.
I might be working at GTech. How long is the commute out of roswell?

[jxu66]

I would recommend take MARTA to GaTech at North Spring location. The traffic on GA400 is unpredictable. I-85/I-75 around GaTech is prone to traffic jam. We were trying to go to IKEA near Atlantic station one Saturday afternoon. It took us almost two hours just get off 14th street exit. Of course, we didn't realize that's taste of Atlanta week at Atlantic station.

[beezlebum]

Can you offer a feel for how long from Roswell (say downtown, morning rush) to the MARTA station?

[jxu66]

About 5 to 7 miles. 10 to 15 minutes drive. Then take 20 minutes train.

[brooklynbridgemedia]

Im looking to move to the area within a year also but I am concerned about the diversity. Ive heard that Cobb county is not very.....ethnic friendly. Is that true?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by brooklynbridgemedia

Im looking to move to the area within a year also but I am concerned about the diversity. Ive heard that Cobb county is not very.....ethnic friendly. Is that true?

Cobb County is a huge place with 670,000+ residents in several cities and unincorporate commnunities. The population mix over the whole county (as well as a lot of other statistics) can be found here...

I guess it depends on what you mean by "ethnic"...?

Out of curiosity, what have you heard?

[brooklynbridgemedia]

Ive heard that cobb county can be like the "good ole boys" sort of thing. Im black and love diversity...but I dont want to be where the majority of people dont like the fact that Im there..ya know?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by brooklynbridgemedia

Ive heard that cobb county can be like the "good ole boys" sort of thing. Im black and love diversity...but I dont want to be where the majority of people dont like the fact that Im there..ya know?

I've not run into that, but I'm not really a potential target for it, either.

Most of the folks in our neightborhood are transplants from someplace else.