Powder Springs - The Real Low Down??!! (Atlanta, Marietta: crime, house)

[LadyEsquire]

Stats:

• Married,
• Professional,
• with 3 kids (10 yr, 5 yr, and 5mths old)
• Seeking home <$300k
• Fave builders: Silver Creek and Legacy
• What parts of Powder Creek are considere most/least desireable?
• Schools (Elem, Middle, and HS)???

Diversity...issues...growth...history???
Commute to ATL and around overall metro?
Are the homes in Powder Springs appreciating healthily?

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by LadyEsquire

Are the homes in Powder Springs appreciating healthily?

I don't live in Powder Springs, but I do live nearby. One of the mods (AtlantaGreg30127) has lived there for years, and I'm sure he can give you a more complete response.

I just wanted to let you know that virtually NO homes are appreciating in Cobb County at this point. Cobb values are not seeing the steep declines of some other parts of the metro area or other states like Florida, but most have depreciated around 10% in the last 12 to 18 months, with some homes coming down more. Outlook is flat or more depreciation with a buyer's market for the next year or two.

McEachern is the local high school, and from what I've heard it's middle of the road....not great but not terrible.

[atlantagreg30127]

If you're talking inside the town of Powder Springs, then here is a map that shows where a fair chunk of the crime happens within the town limits (and slightly out of)...

badPS.jpg photo - powdersprings photos at pbase.com

I would not buy a home that's on any of those streets (just my opinion).

Overall it's a bedroom community of Atlanta that tries to have a hometown feel to it. Until a few years ago it was predominately White, rural, "country", etc. With Atlanta's growth, the influx of immigrants, and road improvements, the area is growing rapidly. Some of it is good, some not. Racism isn't as prevalent as some would have you believe, but there is a bit of CULTURAL tension lately, as for whatever reason, we're getting a lot of people from places like Jamaica, Haiti, Kenya, etc. moving into the West Cobb/East Paulding areas. Skin color aside, the cultural and attitude differences between some of these folks and the locals (white AND black) are not exactly mixing well, so if you have a heavy "island accent", you might expect a mental wall popping up between you and the locals until you prove you're not going to come at them with an attitude. Color isn't a problem - cultures can be, depending on the culture. So it's not Mayberry, but it's not NYC either.

There's more gang activity and crime than there was a few years ago, but there's more in the way of housing and shopping available too, and housing is typically cheaper here than in some other metro areas. In other words, it's gone downhill a lot from where it used to be, but, there are far worse places you could live, too. You won't have a problem finding a home in that price range.

School ratings: Powder Springs Schools - Powder Springs Georgia School Ratings - Public and Private

Some people are moving North of Powder Springs to the Hillgrove school district in favor of it. Others can comment on that.

[gt6974a]

McEachern was the cream of the crop when I was in HS. So sad it went so far down hill, so quickly. Although, then all you had was McEachern and N.C. in the area. Harrison came during. Now there's quite a few others that I couldn't name, but I know there's been some controversy over school lines.

My mom used to work at Tapp Middle and I used to race BMX at Wild Horse Creek Park.

I think Greg has hit it on the head, but couldn't say for sure.

Good luck.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Originally Posted by LadyEsquire

Stats:

• Fave builders: Silver Creek and Legacy

Why?
Of all the builders in the Atlanta area- why would they be your "fave"?
Remember theres more to a house than sq/ft per $$.

[choicedecisiondotcom]

If Powder Springs will be your end choice, then I recommend the areas near or in west Marietta that are in the Still/Lovinggood/Hilgrove schools which include some Powder Springs & marietta residents. Great school district and a little east of that is the Due West area w/ great schools.

[LadyEsquire]

Originally Posted by neil0311

I don't live in Powder Springs, but I do live nearby. One of the mods (AtlantaGreg30127) has lived there for years, and I'm sure he can give you a more complete response.

I just wanted to let you know that virtually NO homes are appreciating in Cobb County at this point. Cobb values are not seeing the steep declines of some other parts of the metro area or other states like Florida, but most have depreciated around 10% in the last 12 to 18 months, with some homes coming down more. Outlook is flat or more depreciation with a buyer's market for the next year or two.

McEachern is the local high school, and from what I've heard it's middle of the road....not great but not terrible.

Thank you for the tid bit about the lack of depreciation in Cobb.

[LadyEsquire]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

If you're talking inside the town of Powder Springs, then here is a map that shows where a fair chunk of the crime happens within the town limits (and slightly out of)...

badPS.jpg photo - powdersprings photos at pbase.com

I would not buy a home that's on any of those streets (just my opinion).

Overall it's a bedroom community of Atlanta that tries to have a hometown feel to it. Until a few years ago it was predominately White, rural, "country", etc. With Atlanta's growth, the influx of immigrants, and road improvements, the area is growing rapidly. Some of it is good, some not. Racism isn't as prevalent as some would have you believe, but there is a bit of CULTURAL tension lately, as for whatever reason, we're getting a lot of people from places like Jamaica, Haiti, Kenya, etc. moving into the West Cobb/East Paulding areas. Skin color aside, the cultural and attitude differences between some of these folks and the locals (white AND black) are not exactly mixing well, so if you have a heavy "island accent", you might expect a mental wall popping up between you and the locals until you prove you're not going to come at them with an attitude. Color isn't a problem - cultures can be, depending on the culture. So it's not Mayberry, but it's not NYC either.

There's more gang activity and crime than there was a few years ago, but there's more in the way of housing and shopping available too, and housing is typically cheaper here than in some other metro areas. In other words, it's gone downhill a lot from where it used to be, but, there are far worse places you could live, too. You won't have a problem finding a home in that price range.

School ratings: Powder Springs Schools - Powder Springs Georgia School Ratings - Public and Private

Some people are moving North of Powder Springs to the Hillgrove school district in favor of it. Others can comment on that.

AtlantaGreg, thanks for the breakdown.

It is a bit disconcerting that locals have tension with West Indians (islanders) moving in. I am born and raised in the US, however, my family is from Haiti (mom) and Trinidad (dad). Caribbean people, mostly, are hard-working and take great pride in homeownership. So, I am curious as to what is causing such tension. Is it due to sheer intolerance, resistance to change, or are the new-comers making them uncomfortable some how?

I will look into North Powder Springs because school performance is important for a mother of three kids.

Thanks again!

[LadyEsquire]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

Why?
Of all the builders in the Atlanta area- why would they be your "fave"?
Remember theres more to a house than sq/ft per $$.

I am quite aware of that.
I liked those builders because of their floor plans and the amount of features offered at my price point.

Are there any builders you recommend, K'ledgeBldr?

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by LadyEsquire

It is a bit disconcerting that locals have tension with West Indians (islanders) moving in. I am born and raised in the US, however, my family is from Haiti (mom) and Trinidad (dad). Caribbean people, mostly, are hard-working and take great pride in homeownership. So, I am curious as to what is causing such tension. Is it due to sheer intolerance, resistance to change, or are the new-comers making them uncomfortable some how?

Well, of course, some of it is the old South, "we hate change" mentality. Many folks who live here have lived here quite literally all their lives, or at least a number of decades. It was a predominately white, sleepy, laid-back town. Now you have folks from all over the world, traffic, crime... well, "big city stuff" coming in, and some of the resistance is from that. You could be from Mars, actually, and they would resist that - or (gasp) - a Democrat.

Some is due political fear. Locally last year we had three Kenyan women murdered in their home here. The local news showed the sizeable immigrant community in the area (which surprised many locals), and went into detail about the possible political nature of the killings - they had run from persecution due to fighting female circumcision laws in Kenya, and were thought to have been hunted down and murdered by hit men once here as a result. The case still hasn't been solved. So pretty much if anyone here meets a black person with an accent, they're not taking the time to see if it's Kenyan, Haitian, Jamaican or whatever - they think, "Oh god, they're bringing their political stuff here with them", and fear for their own personal safety steps in, as they conjure images of African or Island hit men running the streets mowing people down with AK47s.

However, I'm known for saying it as it is, too - SOME of it is from the immigrants who are moving here. I work with the public somewhat with my job here as well, and I will have to say that a decent number of people from what we'd call "the Island Nations" who come in our door have very short, abrupt, and some might say rude attitudes. We encounter a lot of impatience from some of these folks even where I work, which of course, will only result in rudeness being tossed right back their way. So to a degree, it's a cultural thing - with the South being somewhat talkative, slower, with the "please/thank you/you're welcome" stuff heavy here, and those from some other nations not quite getting the hang of all that, being perceived as "rude" (when in fact they may not actually be - they just come off that way).

It's not like if you move to Powder Springs you're going to get a burning cross in your yard if you're from any number of Island or African nations. You won't be shot at or have doors slammed in your face. But at the same time, the general attitude isn't exactly, "Oh joy, Jamaican neighbors!!" either, when a family moves in. I can think of worse places for such a family to move to where they would encounter worse attitudes, but again, this isn't cosmopolitan NYC either.