Thinking of moving to the Atlanta area? READ THIS FIRST!

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by dlh891

Not all AREAS AROUND Atlanta have high crime.

I thought you liked the country anyway, why would you want to visit the city of Atlanta?

True,
The Atlanta Metro area is just like any other large city. Bad and Good.
The city is rough, they have issues in Clayton County, issues in areas of DeKalb and South Gwinnett, and some in Cobb.

Need, your in Florida. Like Miami, some areas outside the city are nice but inside? Whoa!

[marymel]

I know of a particular case in my town where a granddaughter accused her grandfather of molestation and he pled guilty to avoid more family damage, even though it eventually came out that the granddaughter was spiteful and had made the whole thing up and then got caught up in her lie. ANYWAY, not all cases are like that, I know, but life is too short to worry about EVERYTHING!! I just watched a 20/20 that said your child has a greater chance of being struck by lightning than being abducted by a stranger!
So densely-populated areas have a higher incidence of crime - duh! But they also have so much more cultural offerings, activities and opportunity for exciting experiences. Sure, I'd like to keep my children safe from all harm, but I think I'll forgo the bubble and live life!

[Barli]

Originally Posted by xxman777

I'm curious where the number 620 came from. I only counted 59 in Marietta (which actually expands far past the corporate limits of Marietta, population 60,000), are you counting cities that you think are within a 30-45 minute drive from Marietta or is there some site where you can come up with that number? Also, I think if you live in any major city you are going to have high numbers like that.

The number 620 came from the city-data page for Atlanta. Judging by the amount of yellow flags that appear, I'd guess that number is pretty accurate. When I said I don't want to live in a town that is within 30-45 minutes, I was refering to the towns where we were concidering relocating to, for example, according to mapquest, Woodstock is only 34 minutes from the center of Atlanta, Alpharetta is 32 minutes, Sugar Hill is 44 minutes and Cumming is 44 minutes. These are the areas where we were looking and Woodstock was at the top of our list. Therefore, if we moved to Woodstock, we'd be within 32 minutes to 620 known sex offenders.

[jxu66]

Forget mapquest. You will be lucky to drive 1 hour from Woodstock to Atlanta. I don't know where mapquest got those numbers. Those numbers are just not realistic. North side of Atlanta has big traffic problem (Atlanta is rated 4 worst traffic in the country, according to stat published AJC a couple of weeks ago). Most people need at least one hour get from Alpharatta from downtown, that's with help of MARTA.

[xxman777]

Originally Posted by Barli

The number 620 came from the city-data page for Atlanta. Judging by the amount of yellow flags that appear, I'd guess that number is pretty accurate. When I said I don't want to live in a town that is within 30-45 minutes, I was refering to the towns where we were concidering relocating to, for example, according to mapquest, Woodstock is only 34 minutes from the center of Atlanta, Alpharetta is 32 minutes, Sugar Hill is 44 minutes and Cumming is 44 minutes. These are the areas where we were looking and Woodstock was at the top of our list. Therefore, if we moved to Woodstock, we'd be within 32 minutes to 620 known sex offenders.

That makes sense. I agree that those numbers are probably right. I would warn you though that in any major city you are going to find similar numbers. I can't imagine that Atlanta has a higher percentage of sex offenders then other places. Also if you go to a rural area because there aren't as many sex offenders around you have to remember there are also a lot less kids for them to prey on. It all depends on the percentage, not just the number.

[AdamCharlotte]

When looking at the sex offenders you really need to look at the ratios of sex offenders to the population. For example Atlanta has 620 sex offenders but thats a ratio of 759 to 1. here are some other cities
Houston 567 to 1
Charlotte 1142 to 1
Miami 275 to 1

Also places like Alpharetta have only 22 sex offenders wich is 1745 to 1.
You cant live life in fear by numbers. Im sure living in Alpharetta is a perfectly place to be.

[Barli]

Originally Posted by AdamCharlotte

You cant live life in fear by numbers.

You're right, you can't live life in fear, but you can be cautious.

The news today of poor little Christopher Barrios sure puts this all into perspective. I know, this kind of thing, as terrible as it is, happens all over the world, however, it came at a time when I am in such a crossroads in my decision making over such a tough topic.

[duff30329]

You seem to have doubt relocating to Atlanta. I have always been of the mind when there is doubt, don't !

[MRS STL]

My family is considering relocating to ATL from the suburbs of STL. We are currently leaning towards the Loganville/Grayson area. We have been living in the same house for the past 8 years and we check the sexual offenders list at least every 3 months. The fact is that it's going to be hard to find a place with no registered offenders. You have to pay attention to the type of crimes that were committed. Also, that 620 number that was mentioned before was for the entire city of ATL. ATL is listed with a population of over 400,000. So that's 620 out of approx. 400,000. Grayson has 6 out of 765.

I just wanted to state the facts before some people who are reading this become too alarmed. If you check the "city" limits around were you live, you will probably be shocked by the numbers (data comes form www.city-data.com). I'm not saying that you shouldn't check and be cautious, but just keep an open mind and do your comparisons. We are considered to be over protective parents. Our kids are not allowed to run free outside as we did when we were kids. So, trust me when I say that this is something that every parent should check before moving and continue to check even after. However, be realistic. You are taking the risk no mater were you are. Most offenders did not perform their crime within their own neighborhoods. Just apply the numbers look at the percentages based on the population of the area and the surrounding areas. Also, just as important, check out the school ratings (www.greatschools.com) (broken link).