Info on Kennesaw/Cobb county? (Marietta, Smyrna: real estate market, low crime, houses)

[flgal00]

Hey everyone I posted on here a couple of days ago and got feedback that I should look into the Kennesaw/Cobb county area based on my wants and needs.

I would like some info on the areas like Kennesaw, Acworth, etc. Are people in Cobb County generally nice? Is it easy to meet people? Does Kennesaw and Acworth have their own downtown area? I'm looking for a town where I can meet new people and attend college once I get settled in. What are the colleges like? Honestly, I'm just looking for a better quality of life for myself.

Thanks for your time!

[Ha-Mez]

Cobb County doesn't get much love here, so take responses here with a big grain of salt.

Honestly, if you don't mind Republicans, you'll probably meet lots of nice folks there.

[andy1324]

The acworth/kennesaw area is very nice and has a great suburban feel. It's also very affordable and relatively safe. The area doesn't get much love here because it isn't hip or trendy, and also the traffic from cobb into atlanta is horrendous, so keep that in mind.

Kennesaw state is the nearest college, don't know much about it. Both kennesaw and Acworth have small downtowns, but marietta square isn't too far away and that's much bigger.

[DawgPark]

Originally Posted by flgal00

Hey everyone I posted on here a couple of days ago and got feedback that I should look into the Kennesaw/Cobb county area based on my wants and needs.

I would like some info on the areas like Kennesaw, Acworth, etc. Are people in Cobb County generally nice? Is it easy to meet people? Does Kennesaw and Acworth have their own downtown area? I'm looking for a town where I can meet new people and attend college once I get settled in. What are the colleges like? Honestly, I'm just looking for a better quality of life for myself.

Yes, the Kennesaw area offers a great quality of life. Tons of families/kids and Kennesaw St is about to top 30,000 students after its Southern Tech merger.

And as the previous poster mentioned, this is not the best forum to get intelligent feedback about anything related to Cobb County.

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by flgal00

Hey everyone I posted on here a couple of days ago and got feedback that I should look into the Kennesaw/Cobb county area based on my wants and needs.

I would like some info on the areas like Kennesaw, Acworth, etc. Are people in Cobb County generally nice? Is it easy to meet people? Does Kennesaw and Acworth have their own downtown area? I'm looking for a town where I can meet new people and attend college once I get settled in. What are the colleges like? Honestly, I'm just looking for a better quality of life for myself.

Thanks for your time!

When I first moved here, I bought a house in Kennesaw. I don't have anything really bad to say about it and since I'm not sure what you originally posted a couple of days ago, then I mostly have to say it was not the best fit for me. I was the only person in my subdivision who was not married and/or had children. Also, mostly, the only things open after 10 pm were QT, Huddle House, and Walmart which definitely did not float my boat.

I had no problems with my neighbors or meeting people and everything was neat like no littering. The land is flat after Kennesaw Mtn (and kind of flat around it), but it's somewhat spread out aside from Barrett Pkwy so expect to be car dependent. Oh, and traffic is straight out awful during the rush hours - too many houses and not enough lanes.

I felt very safe there though. I read in a couple of places that Kennesaw has the lowest crime rate in Georgia and they (whoever they are) attribute it to the law that every head of household must own a firearm. The law is not enforced and the claims may be mostly propaganda, but it did feel safe.

Kennesaw does have a downtown if you can call it that. Picture Mayberry.

If I were married with children and telecommuted, I'd consider it again. Lord knows every school bus in the city must have rolled a three blocks from me. It's peaceful, pretty, and there is quite a bit of diversity. As nearly as I could tell, everybody was friendly and got along. It helps if you sign up for a few activities in your neighborhood. I signed up for tennis and had not played since I was a child when I took lessons. Lo and behold, I turned out to be the Venus/Serena of our league lol.

[hautemomma]

Others are right in that this forum does not appear to be a solid, balanced place to get POVs about places like Kennesaw. There trends a certain disdain for many things Cobb County, with the exception of a small contingent of Smyrna boosters.

Kennesaw is a great community and comfortable place for those who enjoy low crime, a solid real estate market, well-rated public schools and various local, everyday amenities. When major criminal incidents happen here, it's big news. You will find that Kennesaw is RARELY on the news for homicides, murders, home invasions and the like, unlike places in Clayton, South Fulton and DeKalb counties, where such news proliferates the evening news on a routine basis.

Homes traverse various price ranges, from the low $100s to in excess of $600K. There are many subdivisions, which may or may not be your forte, but it's hard to escape them out here, based on the development patterns of Kennesaw as the area has spanned out and grown. Many of these subdivisions have swim and tennis amenities; some also have workout facilities, interior parks, playgrounds and more. There are pockets of older homes not in subdivisions; those tend to be ranches, with the exception of some older, Victorian-style homes in what is considered downtown Kennesaw. By all indications, home values are inching upward in Kennesaw, as it continues to recover from the recession and decline in the housing market.

All of the Kennesaw schools, at every grade level, have good to great ratings on websites like GreatSchools.org, which is a common resource for parents investigating school systems. Some fare better than others, standardized test-wise, but they all have pretty solid reputations.

Kennesaw is quite diverse. Naysayers would have you believe there is no one out here but elderly, racist Republicans, but I have not found that to be true. Most people I've met tend to be in the moderate to progressive category, at least on the surface. There is a conservative tinge that is somewhat evident, likely on account of the many families and churches out here, which is not surprising. You see a healthy balance of many races and nationalities out here, no matter where you go.

There's currently a plan underway to revamp downtown Kennesaw, making it more of a market village with shops, stores and dining places. There's also been talk of additional public parks, bike lanes, greenways, amphitheaters and a nice, large library.

Whole Foods breaks ground here next year. And you can find all the shopping you'll likely need along Barrett Parkway and Cobb Parkway, from restaurants to the mall to Costco and everything in between.

Commuting into midtown or downtown and further points northeast (e.g. Alpharetta) or elsewhere is not that great from Kennesaw unless you leave early (before 7 a.m.) and are able to depart early from work (before 4 p.m.). Many people I know work from home on a full-time or part-time basis, and they don't really have to consider those commutes as an aspect of their daily lives. Going into the city on weekends or during non-peak times, on the other hand, is much more manageable. You can be in midtown in 20 minutes when there's no traffic; downtown in 25, in the City of Decatur in about 30 and so on.

Also, Kennesaw State is on tap to become one of the dominant universities in Georgia. Its star is rising fast. They have all kinds of development and construction of new facilities going on right now, and academically, it's gaining a more competitive reputation. I know several people who teach there.

[westau]

Kennesaw, Marietta, East Cobb, and Vinings are all nice areas within Cobb County. Kennesaw State seems to really be growing and I would think it would have just about any major you could want at this point. Vinings is going to have more young professionals than Kennesaw but if you go to the college you would have no problem meeting people living in Kennesaw.

[ttownfeen]

It's a nice suburb. Very much made for families and not for singles under 35. Source: I live here.

[Tarzanman]

Kennesaw State will never eclipse Georgia Tech, U(sic)GA, nor Emory. I also have serious doubts about it catching up with GA State.

Calling it a soon-to-be "dominant" university is a bit of a stretch.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Tarzanman

Kennesaw State will never eclipse Georgia Tech, U(sic)GA, nor Emory. I also have serious doubts about it catching up with GA State.

You have to be a Tech grad to know that. A frequent Technique reference to UGA.

Calling it a soon-to-be "dominant" university is a bit of a stretch.

KSU will soon be #2 in enrollment, is doubling its effective campus size, and picking up colleges in Engineering/Technology, Information Technology, and Architecture. Having one of the broadest array of programs, probaby becoming the largest university, and football, will place them among the dominant schools of the state. Only if they can't effectively raise money will hold them back, but I think they will do fine there too. All that will shift student interest away from GSU to KSU.