Living in Dunwoody (Atlanta, Decatur, Druid Hills: hair salon, to rent, low crime)

[Zona11]

I am potentially moving to Atlanta and working at Emory. I heard that Dunwoody is a nice community with a suburban feel, low crime rate, a good place to raise children. Is this too far from Emory and will the commute kill me? Looking for some advice on the commute and living in Dunwoody.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Zona11

I am potentially moving to Atlanta and working at Emory. I heard that Dunwoody is a nice community with a suburban feel, low crime rate, a good place to raise children. Is this too far from Emory and will the commute kill me? Looking for some advice on the commute and living in Dunwoody.

Dunwoody is a very nice place to live. They are currently in the process of incorpation/cityhood--will have more direct control over government etc.

It is not 'Too Far' from the main campus of Emory. Some of the better schools in the DeKalb system are located here if that is an issue.

Brookhaven, Executive Park/N. Druid Hills Rd/Briarcliff/Clairmont are closer. You might like Sagamore/Leafmore Hills--some homes are similar to parts of Dunwoody.

A poster in this forum just moved from Alabama to Dunwoody--cannot think of her name right now.

LastMinuteMom could tell you a lot about Dunwoody and so could several other posters.

I live in Briarcliff Heights--renovated 50's houses and some new larger houses--single professionals, some families with young children and a few of us 'Old Timers'--no more than 15 minutes away from Clifton Rd.

I enjoy it--easy access to NE Atlanta and downtown. Plenty of MARTA routes, the Emory Cliff bus runs through Executive Park regularly. This is sometimes called 'The Emory Corridor'/Toco Hills.

hth

[lastminutemom]

Alot will depend on your price range-- renting or owning and what type of housing is acceptable.

Also, do you already have children?

[CMMom]

I did the drive from Dunwoody to Emory for a year and it was definitely workable. I experimented with several different routes, and finally settled upon heading down GA400 to the Sidney Marcus exit, then left onto Buford Hwy., right onto Cheshire Bridge, left onto LaVista and then cut over to Emory. Took about 40 min. if I left by 7:15. That was 8 years ago, so traffic could be different now, but it was fine. Afternoon commute took a little bit longer b/c traffic on Clifton can be pretty intense.

[Zona11]

Originally Posted by TakeAhike

Dunwoody is a very nice place to live. They are currently in the process of incorpation/cityhood--will have more direct control over government etc.

It is not 'Too Far' from the main campus of Emory. Some of the better schools in the DeKalb system are located here if that is an issue.

Brookhaven, Executive Park/N. Druid Hills Rd/Briarcliff/Clairmont are closer. You might like Sagamore/Leafmore Hills--some homes are similar to parts of Dunwoody.

A poster in this forum just moved from Alabama to Dunwoody--cannot think of her name right now.

LastMinuteMom could tell you a lot about Dunwoody and so could several other posters.

I live in Briarcliff Heights--renovated 50's houses and some new larger houses--single professionals, some families with young children and a few of us 'Old Timers'--no more than 15 minutes away from Clifton Rd.

I enjoy it--easy access to NE Atlanta and downtown. Plenty of MARTA routes, the Emory Cliff bus runs through Executive Park regularly. This is sometimes called 'The Emory Corridor'/Toco Hills.

hth

Thank you for your response. How is the crime on your neighborhood? DO you and your children feel safe where you live?

[Zona11]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Alot will depend on your price range-- renting or owning and what type of housing is acceptable.

Also, do you already have children?

We have two young daughters ages 3.5 and 15 months. Looking for kid friendly neighborhood. We would be looking to rent a house to start to be sure of the location and then buying in the 600 K to 800 K range.

[CMMom]

Dunwoody is very safe in my opinion. There was a time a couple of years ago when a group of teenagers were doing smash and grabs in houses up and down Spalding Dr. They just would break a window to get into the house and grab any purses, wallets, might be by the door and then leave. They were caught by an alert neighbor who got a good description.

Other than that, we have experienced occasional car break-ins in driveways when people left iPods, laptops, etc... in plain view. Again, I suspect teenagers as opposed to professional criminals.

Overall, this is a very safe community.

[RoslynHolcomb]

We just moved here about a month ago, and I feel very safe here. I mean, of course, you take reasonable precautions as you would anywhere, but it seems like a nice, safe area. My four year old plays in our fenced in backyard and I don't worry about him. Of course, I'm on the back porch so I can keep an eye on him.

I would imagine that in that price range you can get a much nicer house than we did. I love our house, but it definitely is a fixer-upper, which is fine with us. Our son hasn't started school yet, but I understand that the schools in the area are excellent as well.

I don't know anything about the Emory commute so I can't help you there. But, it's really good for shopping. There are nice parks to take the kids to. All in all, we've found it to be a very nice neighborhood and we're pleased with our choice.

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by Zona11

I am potentially moving to Atlanta and working at Emory. I heard that Dunwoody is a nice community with a suburban feel, low crime rate, a good place to raise children. Is this too far from Emory and will the commute kill me? Looking for some advice on the commute and living in Dunwoody.

Also close to the Perimeter Mall, a large convenient mall with restaurants.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Zona11

Thank you for your response. How is the crime on your neighborhood? DO you and your children feel safe where you live?

LOL--I have a dog. Taught school for many years and was 'Too Busy' to have kids.

It's very safe --probably like 98% crime free. There were a few break ins around the holidays but it is a very well patrolled area/DeKalb PD --not the sort to put up with crime.

It is a nice area--getting better as we speak. I would not want to walk to Emory down Briarcliff Rd every day but you could do it. I will walk to N. Druid Hills/Loehman's Plaza --Starbucks, Panera, Olivia Todd Hair Salon, The Pet Set/great dog groomers/daycare and Moe's/southwestern cuisine. The Target is across the street.

Occasionally I walk up to LaVista/Briarcliff--many ethnic shops and Whole Foods.

Hate the peak traffic times--everybody headed to Emory and Decatur but that is relatively minor in the great scheme of things.

Briarcliff Animal Hospital is very good and behind that on ??Zodeco Rd some shops that I haven't fully explored. A quilt supply store and some sort of collection of vendors--not a flea market exactly--??something 'Arcade'--several places to eat that sounded good.

Mason Mill Dog Park/Trail is nearby and the tennis center. Center for Special Populations is located here, too--activities for seniors and more.

Toco Hills--Kroger, Publix, Bagel Palace, GA Dept of Labor, Ace Hardware, all you could really need for shopping.

If you have school age children--they would attend Sagamore Hills Elementary/Shamrock Middle School/Lakeside High School. One of the better clusters in DeKalb.

hth