Living in Douglasville (schools, commute, crime, etc.) (Marietta, Newnan: chapel, homes)

[chasky324]

Hello,

Can anyone give me the pros and cons of living in Douglasville (Chapel Hill School district)? I'm, looking at some homes off Coursey Lake Rd, but I'd like to know more about the area as a whole - such as schools, crime, commute to Marietta, commute to downtown, diversity, things to do, etc.) Thanks!

[kayrob]

I don't live in what would be described as the Chapel Hill area but am not all that far from the Chapel Hill Road. 5-10 minutes depending on traffic. I can't speak for all of the things yous inquired about. Schools for one because my son is only 2. I doubt that there is very much in the way of nightlife in terms of any sort of clubs or lounges. A few sports bar type places including Buffalo Wild Wings and Taco Mac. One of which at least has karoake on one night out of the week. There's a pretty good mall with a 16 screen movie theatre, just about every chain restaurant you can think of. I know there's a pretty new aquatic center in town. I don't get the sense that there's a major crime problem although I hardly researched that deeply. But I know I don't hear about anything like home invasions, carjackings etc like I see so often on the news in other areas. Between the sheriif's department and the town police dept. there is a pretty heavy presence here and you will most often see one of the other or both patrolling whenever you're out and about in town. Where I live is about 2 minutes from the sherriff's department headquarters. Between the restaurants, mall and Walmart/ Sam Clubs traffic can be pretty heavy at certain times on the weekends. Most notably on Hwy 5, Douglas Blvd or Chapel Hill Road. Around Christmas was an absolute nightmare. All in all I've pretty much enjoyed living here because away from the aforementioned areas I find it to be really quiet and I enjoy that.

Oh and on a couple of more things you asked. Not sure about to Marietta but the commute to downtown depending on what time you'd be leaving home can be a killer. I-20 Eastbound is no fun at all in the mornings. Certainly not built for the amount of grwoth that this area has seen. My preference is to take marta but unfortunately the closest train station is not all that close at all about 20 miles down 20 East. So it might as well be 40 miles. Also the town is quite diverse with a good cross-section of Whites, Black and Hispanics. I do not recall seeing very many Asians however. An alwful lot of interracial couples also. Certainly far more than I ever saw in my home state of New Jersey.

[DouglasNews07]

I would not live right in Douglasville. I live sort of in the suburbs of Douglasville and except for the traffic, it's a great neighborhood. The Bill Arp area is still pretty safe, and as far as I know south Douglas around Dog River is pretty safe. Douglasville has seen a lot of crime lately--esp. on Hwy 5, Chapel Hill Road. Avoid anywhere north of the railroad tracks.

The schools are not that good. There are a LOT of gang members attending Douglas County High School as well as Alexander and Chapel Hill High, and I've even heard there are "wannabe" gang members at a couple of the middle schools.

If you go to the ScanDouglas website (just plug it into .com) you can hear what goes on.

The traffic is pretty bad. It's gotten to where I almost completely avoid driving on Hwy 5 or Chapel Hill Road and take back roads to the mall, but these have traffic as well. What used to be a ten minute drive for me now takes a good half hour in traffic. And on the weekends, don't even THINK about going to the mall, because everyone from Newnan to Waco to eastern Alabama comes to Douglasville on the weekends to go to the mall. Traffic is usually backed up for a mile at the corner of Douglas Boulevard and Hwy 5--people waiting in the right lane to turn onto Douglas Blvd to go to the mall. There's also a Bank of America on Douglas Blvd, and 9 times out of 10 there will be someone who slams on their brakes and turns into the bank.

Also, at school crossings, during the mornings and afternoons, no one goes the speed limit.

[DouglasNews07]

Oh, and as for clubs, we do have restaurants with full bars that are popular--Gumbeaux's, Irish Bred Pub, Fabiano's Pizza, and then there is one bar that I know of, La Chic, and Classic Grille & Tavern (I think that's the name of it) will be opening soon in the former Smoky Bones location.

[kayrob]

I'm bad with direction but what is North of the railroad tracks and what tracks?

We live across the tracks on the other side of the Sheriff's dept headquarters. Our subdivision entrance is on Chicago Ave. I don't know about the surrounding area but I know our subdivisions is quiet as hell. Of course it's also pretty sparsely filled with the economy being what it is.