Relocating - Any advice? (Atlanta, Decatur: apartment, foreclosure, renters)

[ATLNewbie]

Hello,

I bought a property sight unseen in Decatur, Waldrop Station, just off of Flat Schoals Pkwy east of the 285 intersection.

The condo is beautiful and I have a nice view from the back porch of trees rather than someone else's house. But I didn't spend anytime there yet.

I am overseas with the military right now and bought the property so I will have somewhere close to school (GA State) for Nursing in about a year.

Anyone have some advice for a single white girl in this area?

I grew up in Michigan and Colorado, so racism is really new to me - I experienced more in FL than I have ever known was still going on today - I guess I was really naive about it.

Some friends of mine have mentioned that certain neighborhoods in ATL are great and there are less racial problems, and then they warned other areas would not be accepting of a white girl moving into a predominately black neighborhood. I talked to 2 of my neighbors (both black) though and they seemed nice as could be and said they'd keep an eye on the place till I get back.

So I think it is a nice place, but like I said I was only there a few minutes, literally =)

Anyone know about the crime at that neighborhood or anything like that?

Thanks a bunch =)

[ATLNewbie]

just wanted to also add the area is what you all refer to as the "other" Decatur - 30034 zip code

Thanks,

[dbarbee82]

Well Waldrop Station is okay I guess. I assume you brought it sight unseen because of the price of the units. I know that many of the units are foreclosure and are priced as low as 50K. Georgia State is about 12 miles from Waldrop Station, so you might have to deal with traffic. However I feel that no matter what your race is, you should just take some precautions. Anything could happen to a single black, asian, hispanic, or white women in any neighborhood in Metro Atlanta. I personal think that area is okay, there is some shopping, however there is not a lot of white people. It use to be an all white neighborhood years ago, but at the first sign of decline, whites got scared and abandon the neighborhood. The neighborhood is not exactly "hood", most of the black people that live over there are middle class. Most of the crime happens in the apartment communities, which I would stay clear of. There are some pockets of single family residences that are pretty bad, but others that are "havens." The first thing I would do is invest in an alarm system. Also communicate with your neighbors, esspecially the ones that actually own there units. I think there are a lot of renters in Waldrop Station. Don't leave any valuable out in the open in you car or leave your window blinds all open for the world to see. This make you more receptable to be a victim. Again I am not telling you this because you are white, just so you will not be a "victim of crime." I live in Southwest Atlanta close to Downtown and I love my neighborhood, most retired senior citizens that are home all day, plus there is a strong neighborhood association. But I still take there precautions. But best of luck. Welcome to Atlanta.

[ATLNewbie]

Thanks for the information, it seemed like a nice neighborhood and I noticed driving around there are some pockets I would avoid - being a single female makes you more cautious =) But overall I like the area and love the green trees and grass and everyone I met seemed really nice.