East Cobb or Sandy Springs/Buckhead? (Atlanta, Roswell: to rent, house prices, safe area)

[NYC doc]

Hi all,
My husband and I visited Atlanta for job interviews and we fell in love with it! The suburbs felt just like Westchester and Long Island, but the people were much nicer, and the homes were so affordable!!! [A $900,000 house in East Cobb would easily cost $2-3 million on LI]

So, my husband and I are moving down to Atlanta this summer and we are deciding between a job in East Cobb and a job in Sandy Springs. We are both from NYC, we are in our early 30s, starting a family soon, and are Jewish [not religious]. We have visited both areas and they are both very nice. We are torn, and would really appreciate some advice from people who live in the area.

From what I've gathered so far, East Cobb has the best schools, is the safest, and has great resale values on homes. While Sandy Springs has not as great schools, a little less safe, but is closer to great restaurants/shops in Buckhead. House prices are fine for us in both areas.

Is there a huge difference between these areas? Or am I just splitting hairs?

thank you so much!

[lastminutemom]

Hi and Welcome.

Since you are coming without children, would you consider renting first? That way you could get yourself acclimated to the community and have a better sense of what is important to you.

You could easily live in Sandy Springs and commute to East Cobb -- thought I need to ask which hospital(s) will he need to go to? (this is a reverse commute)

East Cobb to Sandy Springs is a more (maybe much) congested commute.

People love East Cobb. We live in Dunwoody and while people regularly give up the ammenities and newer homes in Alpharetta or Roswell or Duluth to have the better location, we almost never have people move in from East Cobb.

In my opinion, East Cobb is more neighborly than Sandy Springs, in part because most people use the public schools so there is a more connected community.

You could also live in Buckhead if you take the job in Sandy Springs (East Cobb not unmanagable but longer). There are lots of young couples in Buckhead. The elementary schools are well respected and the middle school is getting there.

I always try to encourage people to rent first if they can.

[NYC doc]

thanks so much Lastminutemom. I am thinking of renting a townhouse in Vinings if we go with the East Cobb location. I agree, I think renting would be really smart first, to figure out where we want to live.

I just got off the phone with a sister of a friend who lived there three years ago and she liked many aspects of it [she lived in Buckhead] but she said she ran into some scary racism, in which she often felt unsafe. [The racism being that she was harrassed for being white, with people jumping on her car, and saying, 'whitey go home'.]

Living in NY I am so comfortable living with every race/ethnicity and nationality, but I don't want to feel unsafe if that's what living in Buckhead/Sandy Springs is like.

What are your thoughts on that?

[lastminutemom]

I have lived here for nearly 20 years -- and I have never experienced anything like that. Wonder where your friend's sister was when that happened? My sister and her family and my mom live in Buckhead and I don't feel like there are those issues at all.

Race permeates a lot of the political scene especially in the close in counties -- Fulton (including the city of Atlanta and DeKalb). It is my least favorite part of Atlanta -- the inability to put racial issues aside to try and reach concensus.

[collin]

NYC Doc`
Just curious- What similarities did you find between East Cobb and Westchester? I thought East Cobb had many chain stores and subdivisions. Roswell has a small historic district, whereas Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Irvington, Briarcliff, Tarrytown, Scarsdale, etc. all have small independent unique shops and a town centers. Even White Plains has a walkable downtown. East Cobb does have some older homes similar to Westchester but otherwise, I didn't notice any likeness.

[NYC doc]

thanks so much lastminutemom and collin.

the friend that experienced the racism is single and was out late at night a lot, that's part of why I'm thinking she experienced it a lot. A second couple who was visiting the area went to the Phipps mall at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night and said they were the only caucasians there and felt very awkward and a little unsafe [they are also white and from NY].

Hey Collin,
It felt like Westchester to me in that the topography was hilly and woodsy, and the people seemed similarly upper middle white class. The stores and such were probably more what I've seen on Long Island, being strip mall shopping centers. But Marietta Square was sweet and quaint [although I guess that is not East Cobb].

Is Sandy Springs not considered as safe as East Cobb?

If all things are equal and you have the option to live in either town, which would be safer and better to live in overall with children?

[jxu66]

The question is that whether you want to pay private school for your future kids.

So if you live East Cobb, it is very difficult to get to top private schools in Buckhead or Dunwoody/Sandy Spring area due to traffic. Although Walton high of East Cobb (Pope and Lassister are ok but not that better than other schools, IMO) is considered one of top three high schools in Atlanta, it is not way compared to top private schools (like Paces) in Atlanta. It is much easier to get to Paces from Dunwoody. Just an example, Walton has SAT around 1130 range while Paces have average SAT 1310 (for simple comparsion, not endorse SAT is good measurement).

Also, Dunwoody/Sandy Spring is also predominate white, a lot more tranplants and less conservative than East Cobb, where a lot of old Georgia money located.

By the way, Dunwoody/Sandy Spring and Buckhead are two distinct areas. So I am not sure any experience in Buckhead has anything to do with Dunwoody/Sandy Spring.

[NYC doc]

thanks for the info JXU66,

THanks for this info:
"Although Walton high of East Cobb (Pope and Lassister are ok but not that better than other schools, IMO) is considered one of top three high schools in Atlanta, it is not way compared to top private schools (like Paces) in Atlanta. It is much easier to get to Paces from Dunwoody. Just an example, Walton has SAT around 1130 range while Paces have average SAT 1310 (for simple comparsion, not endorse SAT is good measurement)."

Would you say that Walker, the private school in East Cobb or Paces, in Atlanta offer a superior education? A safe area with the best possible schools [public or private] are my top priorities.

How would you describe Sandy Springs verses East Cobb to a northerner? Since Sandy Springs is inside the perimeter and 'requires' private schools, is it safe to say that Sandy Springs is more like Brooklyn [being that it's in the city, there are lots of interesting shops and restaurants around, but you go with the private schools?], whereas East Cobb is more like Scarsdale [public schools are good, safe, but very suburban?]

thanks again everyone.

[jxu66]

pm posters stvincent or search his older posts. He got two kids in private schools. IMO, Paces is the best in Atlanta, but it is very difficult to get into from what I understand. http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...cent-6933.html

Also, I just checked the map of city of Sandy Spring. I didn't realize that a part of Sandy Spring is inside of Perimeter. I always thought Sandy Spring/Dunwoody are neighborhood just outside of Perimeter. Anyway, I guess that if you live inside of Perimeter side of Sandy Spring, it is somewhat closer to Buckhead. Anyway, my impression of Sandy Spring/Dunwoody is that it is still very reclusive and pretty much bedroom community. Buckhead is more action oriented neighborhood.

[NYC doc]

thanks so much jxu66.