Moving to Atlanta suburb- where to go?!

[Bellatoatl]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Because the Atlanta metropolitan area/region covers kind of a vast geographical area, it seems to be significantly easier just to list the areas (within and just outside the aforementioned I-75 Northwest/I-85 Northeast bounded ‘Golden Triangle’ area on the Northside of metro Atlanta) where you most likely will NOT be able to purchase a detached 4-bedroom single-family home in need of few, if any, updates with your housing budget of $410k and under:

> Alpharetta

> Johns Creek

> Roswell

> Sandy Springs

> East Cobb

> Suwanee

> Duluth

> Peachtree Corners 30092/Norcross 30071

> Smyrna

> Buckhead

> Brookhaven

> Chamblee

> Buford

> Woodstock

> Vinings

> Marietta

> Cumming

That narrows it down a bit. Thanks, we will start digging around!

[Bellatoatl]

Any areas to completely avoid due to bad schools neighborhood? I think that will help too!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Bellatoatl

Any areas to completely avoid due to bad schools neighborhood? I think that will help too!

Frankly, areas like Clayton County and South DeKalb County may not appeal to people with more adequate and more abundant housing budgets because of ongoing challenges with demographic shifts and administrative issues with the county school systems (the Clayton County and DeKalb County school systems) in those areas.

The Osborne HS, South Cobb HS and Pebblebrook HS clusters in South Cobb County; the South Gwinnett HS, Shiloh HS, Berkmar HS, Central Gwinnett HS and Meadowcreek HS clusters in Gwinnett County; some parts of South Fulton County and some parts of Henry County may also be areas that may not appeal to families who have the housing budgets to purchase homes in more affluent areas.

East metro Atlanta outer-suburban areas like Rockdale County (Conyers) and Newton County (Covington) also may not hold the most appeal to families who have housing budgets that can get them into more affluent areas.

[Bellatoatl]

Okay guys so searching has been intense and Gwinnett county is so hot right now! We have two properties in Dallas and Bremen that we are deciding on. It’s tough because they both have their pro’s and con’s. Although I love the Bremen home, I feel the area is not diverse enough compared to Dallas. We had issues with our current neighborhoods with racism and issues with my daughters daycare treating her different. Does anyone have much info on how demographics differ for these two areas.

Thanks!

[bryantm3]

Both of those are small town areas, in the foothills west of Atlanta. About as far out as you can get and still have access to Atlanta a few times a week. You'll have a tighter knit community but likely very conservative. Dallas is slightly more diverse, 30 miles outside of Atlanta. Bremen is far out there- 50 miles. I don't know if you will be able to do a 45 minute commute for Bremen but you may find it worth the commute if you like the town. I don't think I have ever been there.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Bellatoatl

Okay guys so searching has been intense and Gwinnett county is so hot right now! We have two properties in Dallas and Bremen that we are deciding on. It’s tough because they both have their pro’s and con’s. Although I love the Bremen home, I feel the area is not diverse enough compared to Dallas. We had issues with our current neighborhoods with racism and issues with my daughters daycare treating her different. Does anyone have much info on how demographics differ for these two areas.

Thanks!

The population of Bremen proper is about 89% non-Hispanic white (11% minority), while the population of Dallas proper is 58% non-Hispanic white (42% minority).

Meanwhile, the population of Haralson County (primary home county of Bremen proper) is 91% non-Hispanic white (9% minority), while the population of Paulding County (home county of Dallas, Georgia) is 68.4% non-Hispanic white (31.6% minority).

(In 1990, Paulding County’s population was 95% non-Hispanic white (5% minority), so Paulding County is much more diverse than it was in the past as the minority population in Paulding County has really grown in recent years and continues to grow.)

Bremen is a small town in rural/outer-exurban West Georgia, while Dallas is a growing far outer-suburban area on the very western edge of greater Atlanta’s sprawling metropolitan/regional development patterns.

(The eastern half of Paulding County is in the process of being consumed by metro Atlanta’s outer-suburban sprawl.)

Bremen and Haralson County stands out in my mind because there was an extremely powerful Georgia politician (former Georgia state House Speaker Tom Murphy, who served in the position for a record-setting 28 years) who was from that area of Georgia.

Both Haralson and Paulding counties are areas where Confederate sympathies have run very deep historically.

Though, Confederate sympathies do not seem to be quite as potent and even appear to be noticeably somewhat in retreat in the eastern half of Paulding County as metro Atlanta’s far outer-suburban sprawling development patterns continue to consume the area and increasingly diversify the population.

The increased diversity in Paulding County especially seems to be apparent in parts of the county like Hiram, where racial and ethnic minorities currently make up about 75% of the student population at Hiram High School, and in Dallas, where racial and ethnic minorities currently make up about 52% of the student population at Paulding County High School. Racial and ethnic minorities also currently make up just over 50% (50.3%) of the student population at East Paulding High School in Dallas.

So Bremen and Haralson County are much less diverse than Dallas and Paulding County where the minority population currently appears to be trending increasingly upwards.