Which are is best? Peachtree City? Sharpsburg? Tyrone? Fayettville? or Newnan? (Atlanta: relocate, for sale)

[njsocks]

I am trying to get down to a few areas we are looking at to eventually relocate to....but wonder what was your favorite? rate them in order if you wish!
I am looking for:

Great school systems (my kids start pre-school next yr.)
How is tuition per year for private schooling around these areas?
Hospitals? some better than others?

Seems like a safe area to move! Are there malls around?
Are taxes higher in one town than another or consistent with each other?
thanks for your help!

[pomartini]

My personal favorites:

Peachtree City
Sharpsburg
Newnan

Never looked in Fayetteville or Tyrone but only because I was warned to stay away due to declining schools.

I couldn't find the "right" home in PTC so built in Sharpsburg. Very pleased but would rather have "settled" on a house in PTC since that would have probably suited our lifestyle better and had been a better fit for my small family. However, we are happy in Sharpsburg. Schools are good in PTC and Sharpsburg. I found the Braelinn/Peeples catchement area in PTC and the Canongate or Thomas Crossroads catchment area in Sharpsburg to be the best for what we were looking for. Others may comment on particular schools in Newnan.

You can count on approx. $10-12K annual tuition for private schools such as Heritage or Landmark.

Don't know much about the hospitals other than there's one in Fayetteville and one in Newnan. I believe plans are underway to construct a new state of the art hospital in Newnan next year.

My experiences have been that these areas are safe -- but I moved from a city that has consistently been ranked one of the unsafest cities in the nation so anything for me is a vast improvement. I believe/hear there are "unsafe" areas in Newnan and Fayetteville but I have never ventured to them. But, that is typical of any place you will choose. No malls around here except a new -- very nice but still under a lot of contstruction -- outdoor mall in Newnan that houses Dillards, Barnes & Nobles and other common like mall stores and eventually a couple of other anchor stores.

The taxes are higher in PTC - but I don't know by how much.

HTH.

[thedudewiththeplan]

From best to worst:

Newnan
Sharpsburg
Fayetteville
Tyrone
Peachtree City-Very expensive, higher taxes, math and science departments not that great in the schools(was a student from 4th through 12th grades), and is farther away from stuff to do.

[busterthebronco]

sharpsburg wins easily.

[kjjbuck]

It totally depends on what you're looking for. We've lived in PTC for about a year and couldn't be happier. I can't say anything against the other areas, but we love the community atmosphere in PTC - lots of outdoor activities for families, great schools (not sure I agree with the previous poster regarding math and science - I've heard the opposite, but who knows?), super friendly neighbors (everyone here is from somewhere else, so everyone knows what it's like to be new in town), very little crime (it's always a big shock when we hear sirens - a big change from what we're used to). The taxes are a little higher but we decided it was worth it to live in a community with more ammenities for our family. Having only visited the other towns for shopping and such, I can't comment on what it's like to live there, but we have not regretted our decision to move to Peachtree City for a minute!

[Mawoods]

I have lived in the Summergrove subdivision of Newnan for about 1 1/2 years and it is a lovely place to live and raise a family. I think the schools are good and the shopping is getting better and better and it is easy to access I85. We are between Newnan and Peachtree City. Taxes are not what they are in Peachtree City and you can get a whole lot more house too.
We are unfortunately moving and have a house for sale. When you come and visit, please check out the area and would love to show you our house. Even if you aren't interested, I would highly recommend you look at Summergrove.

[thedudewiththeplan]

Actually the math departments where the weakest. I went to McIntosh High and most of the math teachers were coaches who had to be corrected by the students quite a few times. I didn't experience to much friendliness when I was there either (since I did not own a BMW or Mercedes, a lot of people did not want to associate with me).

[Gr8xpectations]

Fayette County Schools consistently outperform in relation to state standards. The greatest thing about this is the fact that it's not a hit or miss situation like many other counties in Metro Atlanta. From time to time, I hear ppl refer to the declining schools in Fayetteville, but as a devoted parent, who is very active at my childrens' schools (and local realtor) and who moved to Fayette county particularly for the schools, I have not seen reports to support these statements.

IMO the ratings would go...

PTC
TYRONE
FAYETTEVILLE
SHARPSBURG
NEWNAN

The ppl in all of these areas are very proud and tend to think of each of the other areas as not as good or more problematic. Reality in comparison to the greater Metro Atlanta area, crime in all of these places is minimal. In Fayetteville the most problem area is the Fayette Pavilion, which is a shopping area (not a mall) but sort of a strip mall with everything from shoe stores, electronics chains, and groceries to a movie theater, Target, Kohls and Home Depot. I shop in this area frequently and have never had ANY problems, which I suspect is largely due to the fact that the biggest problem in Fayetteville according to the Sheriff's dept is shoplifting.

PTC is my top choice for several reasons. 1. The excellent schools 2. The great sense of community 3. The True Family atmosphere 4. The hundreds of miles of golf cart trails. FORGET GAS PRICES!!! You don't need to drive around town. Anywhere u need to go can be reached by your trusty golf cart. 5. The overall design of the city---there are walking trails, plenty of parks, and a lake for recreation. There is no mall but it does have a small upscale shopping area called the Avenues, which has everything from restaurants, a book store to williams and sonoma, gap and banana republic. I have heard negatives but they are minimal. 1. PTC is a planned community therefore the lot size are smaller and codes are more strict than one of the other communities in question. 2. Some ppl complain that there is an air of being better than others in PTC. I work there, and have many friends there and have never found this to be the case.

Living in Fayetteville, if I had been more informed in moving here I would have chosen PTC.

Tyrone and Sharpsburg are developing communities with beautiful homes and great schools, but are still underdeveloped and for many activities you will need to travel into PTC, Fayetteville or Newnan.

Newnan is a great city with beautiful slightly more affordable homes than say PTC, Sharpsburg or parts of Fayetteville (30215). It however, has its sketchy parts. I am not sure what the crime there consists of, but believe it to be slightly more than that of Fayette County. Coweta county has some great schools but unlike Fayette county its entire district was not rated one of the top in the state for the past 5 recorded years. There is an outdoor shopping area that was mentioned in one of the other responses, which has better anchor stores than The Avenue or Fayette Pavilion. But in a Metro area 110 miles wide, the distance between these cities is minimal and you could easily travel quickly to Newnan from either of the other areas.

[njsocks]

thank you so much guys!!!

MAwoods- I may be contacting you (I will pm you)regarding taking a look at your house...We want to come down in mid to end of July for a day or two. My husband works for the airlines and would like to look at Peachtree.Newnan and a few other areas....
thank you all!

Thanks for all the school info.

[Copyrider]

I work in PTC and rented there a couple years. Took my time looking around, and decided to buy in Sharpsburg.

PTC is at maximum residential build, and relatively expensive. They do have some good schools, low crime (tho that's ticking upward a bit), and a great path system.

But the covenants and regulations are very tight -- I don't care to be told what color I can paint my house, or that I can't have my own car in my own driveway for more than 24 hours -- and the city is quickly losing its character as roads get expanded, 20-foot walls go up alongside them, and they continue to expand retail (strip malls) despite not being able to fill the space they already have.

Newnan is expanding much too rapidly as well, and I believe is soon to fall prey to simultaneous sprawl and bust, which has plagued other SW Atl towns.

You can get good value in Sharpsburg, just make sure to look closely at the aerial photos (you might not notice that railroad curve back behind the trees til you're moved in and that midnight train comes screaming past your window), get the watershed protection maps, know the zoning, etc. You don't want to end up on a road that gets widened and suddenly you got the Indy 500 outside your doorstep. It's happened to a lot of people!

But if you do your homework, there are still good deals on good property.

If you want to buy cheap, hold, and sell when the expansion comes, consider Moreland -- it's the next boomtown.