Thinking of moving from NJ to GA (Atlanta, Alpharetta: school, standard of living)

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by friendzy39

Kelley,JXU,and LastMinuteMOM.
Thank you soooooo much for the advice. I will definitely look for jobs first then will probably get an appartment before I buy a home. However, the only problem that I have is that, I am still in NJ and sending my resume to several companies, will they even consider looking at my resume with NJ address and phone number?

friendzy

I received a couple of callbacks when I was still in Jersey actually but not too many.

[LLD]

Long distance job hunting is tougher that in town job hunting. Because many companies do not want to deal with people far away, pay moving expenses, pay for travel for interviews etc. But it is doable.

I've done it several times. Once it took me almost a year, a couple of other times it took me about 4 months or so. They key is networking, networking and more networking. You have to talk to everyone you know, put your feelers out, send out tons of resumes and call some of the recruiters and start establishing relationships.

I have used my professional associations also. Job hunting is always work and an exercise in rejection. You must be mentally prepared and long distance job hunting is even harder.

One other avenue some people take and that is to move and work contract if you are in a field where there is lots of consulting and contracting work too.

[AKelley728]

Originally Posted by friendzy39

I am still in NJ and sending my resume to several companies, will they even consider looking at my resume with NJ address and phone number?

That's a tough situation to be in, I am fortunate that I work for a company that has an office in Alpharetta and was able to transfer down there.

That seems to be a common theme - I know of others who have moved from NJ to GA and they transferred down. I assume your company does not have offices in GA.

Do you know people in the area? Work your network if they work for IT companies or companies that have an IT department. I'm in IT project management, I would be more than happy to submit your resume to my company.

[howds]

BobKovaks; Also from NJ; I have ruled out NC (first choice for along time but I am unhappy with the school situation so I am concentrating now on Georgia. Houses look phenomenal for the price Harmony looks fantastic; can you give me an idea on what's outside the community (shopping, etc)? Being from NJ and I haven't visited Ga yet, it's obviously hard to picture. I do have to move next spring and am looking to vist Canton area in November. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by howds

BobKovaks; Also from NJ; I have ruled out NC (first choice for along time but I am unhappy with the school situation so I am concentrating now on Georgia. Houses look phenomenal for the price Harmony looks fantastic; can you give me an idea on what's outside the community (shopping, etc)? Being from NJ and I haven't visited Ga yet, it's obviously hard to picture. I do have to move next spring and am looking to vist Canton area in November. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Well, about 2 miles down the road from the north entrance to Harmony is the intersection of Hwy 140 and Cherokee Drive. There are shopping centers on 3 corners, with fast food, a supermarket, CVS, Walgreens, Blockbuster, Tractor Supply, etc. There are some small shops (drycleaners, etc) right at the north entrance, and some planned for the south entrance.

A few miles from the south entrance (3-4), there's a large shopping center under construction that will have a Home Depot. If you hop on Interstate 575 (around 5 miles from Harmony), you can be at virtually any shopping you need in less than 10 miles, and Altanta's always available 40 minutes away (in non-rush hours).

The really cool thing about the development, unlike alot of others, is that its in a highly rural area, and there's no plans on the books for any other developments nearby at the moment. Both entrances are served by two-lane roads (though parts of 140 near the north entrance are being widened to 4 lanes), and there's still tons of farms all around- my kids love seeing cows and horses on the way to the library....lol. There's still a Mom and Pop gas station/general store down the road, and a local music store with a white-bearded old guy who sits on a rocking chair on the front porch selling tie-dyed shirts on Saturdays. Downtown Canton is around 8 miles away, and has a nice theater and some "Main Street" shopping, as well as some nice old homes.

We love the fact that if we didn't have to visit our friends in Buckhead, go to the airport, or go to the one project I'm involved with in downtown Atlanta (I go there less than once a week), you wouldn't even know that Atlanta was there. We've got a brand new home in a great development, with everything we need relatively close by, while still being able to sit on the back deck and look out at the mountains.

Bob

Bob

[howds]

Thanks Bob. I have a son that wouold be entering high school in 2008. Are there many kids around??

[AnaNJ]

Hello everyone,
We are looking to relocate to the buford area fron NJ, our children 13yr old girl, 6yr old boy, I want opinion on the schools, the area that I am looking at is buford I am not too familiar with GA, Is this a good school district, I know that homes and Taxes are cheap, But how are the jobs? Most of my experience is in office work "admistrative". If I had to take a job at a mall what can I expect to get payed while I scout a job suitable.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by howds

Thanks Bob. I have a son that wouold be entering high school in 2008. Are there many kids around??

There's tons of kids around, both in Harmony and in the neighboring areas. There's a high school around a mile and a half from the south entrance (though it's not the one that Harmony's kids go to), and a brand new high school (which Harmony's kids do go to) a few miles away.

Bob

[howds]

Bob, Harmony kids go to Creekview, correct? Is it brand new as in 2007? If not Creekview, which HS do the Harmony kids attend? Thanks for your help. Bill

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by howds

Bob, Harmony kids go to Creekview, correct? Is it brand new as in 2007? If not Creekview, which HS do the Harmony kids attend? Thanks for your help. Bill

Yes- I'm pretty sure they're going to Holly Springs ES, Teasley MS, and Creeview HS (at least today....lol), even though the website still lists Creekland MS and Cherokee HS. Hickory Flat ES and Sequoyah MS/HS are actually just down the road (closer than Creekview), but the kids don't go there.

Bob