Moving To Atl Ga Area (Atlanta, Redan: middle-class, to rent, new home)

[LeahCam]

We are an African American family with 2 small children moving to the Atl area this spring. Can anyone recommend some upscale primarily African American neighborhoods with good schools?

Also, how does South Fulton county (Camp Creek area) compare to Fayetteville/Peachtree City area?

[Russ_in_Atlanta]

Hi LeaCam, Both are nice area's, It just depends on what you're look'n for. Very nice upscale homes in both areas but if you have kids then you may want to look at the diff. school dist. and compare them. One good thing about the area is that its away from the congestion of Atlanta. You can still get a nice 5bdr home for with a few acres out there as well. Fayetteville/Peachtree City is going to be a little closer to the Atlanta area and you're going to have more options into the city than Peachtree. You may also want to consider the tax's between Fulton and Fayette conuntry. Removed
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[Ghanley]

Hi LeaCam. As far as schools go, Gwinnett County is the best. There are many upscale areas, but those in the Brookwood High School cluster are very nice and the school has both an excellent academic reputation (tops in the state) and the best athletic program in the region as well. I am a teacher at BHS, and it has a very diverse population and a great reputation!! Most of the people in this area are from other parts of the country which makes it feel a bit more cosmopolitan than some of the other areas.

[PTCMom]

I live in Peachtree City and lived in Cascade and Fayetteville. Camp Creek is ok, but highly congested. It is closer to Downtown than Fayetteville and peachtree city.

Many new services, shopping and resturants in that area. What prices are you looking for and what type of home? The style of home and nieghborhood differ in the respective areas.

do you want everyone to look like you? or just some to look like you?

That is going to make a difference by area. South Fulton is also going through some changes as far as what town or cities they are going to succeed to. Fulton County is a mess right now.

Tyrone is another good area in Fayette County...not as many services but they are coming.

[PTCMom]

Oh..Forgot the nieghborhoods

Upscale is what price?
New or Used?

There are so many!

[stvincent]

There aren't any upscale predominately African American neighborhoods in Metro Atlanta with good schools. There are a few upscale black communities but they all have bad schools. Cascade inside the perimeter is where the "old-money" black people live. The public high schools in the area(Therrel and Mays) are two of the worst schools in the city though. West Cascade, outside of 285 is zoned to Westlake High School along with the affluent predominately Black Sandtown community. Westlake and Sandton Middle School are among the lowest rated schools in Fulton County. The Math and Science Magnet at Westlake is great but the rest of the school in somehow ghetto. Don't ask me how that's possible when most of the new homes in the area are starting in the 300s and 400s and going up from there. A. Philip Randolph Elem. which serves most of zip 30331 in Sandtown is actually a pretty good school though with great parental involvement. After that though, most of the children end up going to Woodward Academy.

South Dekalb's "upscale" black areas are Stone Mountain and Lithonia. Only certain subdivisions are upscle though. Most of the area is undesirable and when you drive out of your subdivions of $800,000 homes, you feel like you are back in the ghetto. The areas in SW Fulton are affluent on the whole compared with South Dekalb's affluent pockets. Lithonia High School is pathetic. Stephenson High School in Stone Mountian is ok by GA standards but schools in North Dekalb are much better. MLK High School, also in Lithonia scores poorly as well but they have a new IB magnet which should bring up the school's academics and provide your child with a decent education if they choose that route.

The fact is that most of the parents who live in these area's got tired of asking for funding for new schools(due to overcrowding) and better teachers along with better programs. Westlake High School has like 20 something trailers and has been on a waiting list to rebuilt for years while almost all of the North Fulton Schools have been rebuilt. So these affluent Black parents bus their kids to the schools in Northern Atlanta(Buckhead), Northern Dekalb, and North Fulton. The rest send their kids to private schools. Most of the students in the neighborhod public schools in these areas live in the older less expensive homes.

If you can't afford private school ar do not want to bus your kid to the opposite side of town just to have them get a decent edcation then you might want to consider a more mixed area. Tyrone is a good choice as many affluent Black families are moving there. Fayetteville is experiencing the same thing. And the schools in Fayette County are among the best in the state. While your kids would not be the majority in their neighborhoods or schools, they wouldn't end up feeling like they are the oddballs out either as the areas are steadily diversifying.

[cassarina]

Originally Posted by Ghanley

Hi LeaCam. As far as schools go, Gwinnett County is the best. There are many upscale areas, but those in the Brookwood High School cluster are very nice and the school has both an excellent academic reputation (tops in the state) and the best athletic program in the region as well. I am a teacher at BHS, and it has a very diverse population and a great reputation!! Most of the people in this area are from other parts of the country which makes it feel a bit more cosmopolitan than some of the other areas.

Actually Fayette County is the best in the state. Check out the data on test scores. Gwinnett is only a few points behind Fayette County. Fayette is also a much better area. The only problem is that there is not much racial diversity in Peachtree City. You might prefer Fayetteville it is more diverse.

[cassarina]

Originally Posted by stvincent

There aren't any upscale predominately African American neighborhoods in Metro Atlanta with good schools. There are a few upscale black communities but they all have bad schools. Cascade inside the perimeter is where the "old-money" black people live. The public high schools in the area(Therrel and Mays) are two of the worst schools in the city though. West Cascade, outside of 285 is zoned to Westlake High School along with the affluent predominately Black Sandtown community. Westlake and Sandton Middle School are among the lowest rated schools in Fulton County. The Math and Science Magnet at Westlake is great but the rest of the school in somehow ghetto. Don't ask me how that's possible when most of the new homes in the area are starting in the 300s and 400s and going up from there. A. Philip Randolph Elem. which serves most of zip 30331 in Sandtown is actually a pretty good school though with great parental involvement. After that though, most of the children end up going to Woodward Academy.

South Dekalb's "upscale" black areas are Stone Mountain and Lithonia. Only certain subdivisions are upscle though. Most of the area is undesirable and when you drive out of your subdivions of $800,000 homes, you feel like you are back in the ghetto. The areas in SW Fulton are affluent on the whole compared with South Dekalb's affluent pockets. Lithonia High School is pathetic. Stephenson High School in Stone Mountian is ok by GA standards but schools in North Dekalb are much better. MLK High School, also in Lithonia scores poorly as well but they have a new IB magnet which should bring up the school's academics and provide your child with a decent education if they choose that route.

The fact is that most of the parents who live in these area's got tired of asking for funding for new schools(due to overcrowding) and better teachers along with better programs. Westlake High School has like 20 something trailers and has been on a waiting list to rebuilt for years while almost all of the North Fulton Schools have been rebuilt. So these affluent Black parents bus their kids to the schools in Northern Atlanta(Buckhead), Northern Dekalb, and North Fulton. The rest send their kids to private schools. Most of the students in the neighborhod public schools in these areas live in the older less expensive homes.

If you can't afford private school ar do not want to bus your kid to the opposite side of town just to have them get a decent edcation then you might want to consider a more mixed area. Tyrone is a good choice as many affluent Black families are moving there. Fayetteville is experiencing the same thing. And the schools in Fayette County are among the best in the state. While your kids would not be the majority in their neighborhoods or schools, they wouldn't end up feeling like they are the oddballs out either as the areas are steadily diversifying.

Where did you do your research? Most of the schools you mentioned in the Cascade area and Lithonia High in Lithonia tested in the 96 plus percentile.
What is ghetto? Does it mean black or too black? I live in Newnan and am thinking about moving closer to Atlanta so I have done my research on many
school districts.

[south-to-west]

I know plenty of middle-class/upper middle-class blacks that are native Atlantans and graduated from Redan High in Stone Mountain and Mays High in Atlanta, and all have turned out okay. In fact, those schools are among the better schools in the state. When choosing a school, you should visit the school yourself and see it in person instead of looking at just test scores. Test scores won't ensure you child's education--it's up to the parents.

[fififarrah]

My suggestion is to rent first to feel out the community and after a year then search for a home in the town you like. It's unbelieveably hard to sell your house in Atlanta so make sure where you buy is where you want to live.