Avondale Estates?? Anyone? (Atlanta, Decatur: relocating, work, house)

[willrusso]

Hello. I will be relocating to Atlanta in the near future and I was looking at a place in Avondale Estates. I am single and have no children, so schools are a non-issue. I want a place inside the 'Perimeter' (Beltway as we call ours here in Raleigh), but I understand you have to be careful about crime areas. I despise suburbia hehe. Anyways, does the Avondale Estates / Decatur area have a lot of crime or run down areas? Is the area pretty conservative? I lead an alternative lifestyle and would prefer to live somewhere more open-minded or liberal-ish. I will be visiting this weekend. Thanks a lot for your help.

[lleckband]

Hi -

I am a resident of Avondale for the last 15 years. Avondale Estates has been quite conservative in the past, but the older residents who represented that point of view are largely gone. If by alternative you mean gay, we have quite a number of gay residents with and without children. Avondale Estates is 1 mile from Decatur, and east Atlanta is the most diverse area of Atlanta - one of the reasons we live there. Midtown is the only part of Atlanta with more gay residents, but it does not have the wonderful small town feel of Avondale, with its beautiful old trees and older historic homes. We have a beautiful lake and community club, a separate swim and tennis facility, and a beautiful playground and park. We havea wealth of community organizations you can beciome involved in, and our own government. We have mail delivered to our door, and garbage pickup in the side or back yard (wherever you keep it!) I love living in Avondale, and intend to be there for the rest of my life.

Avondale is by far majority white, but the children are changing that demographic. There is a large percentage of adopted children of all nationalities and races, and many more black and Asian couples have moved in that are increasingly changing the demographics. I think Avondale is a great place to live, and I would certainly recommend it!

[tdatl]

you can find run-down areas in any city, Decatur and Avondale Estates included. There are plenty of nice areas and there are some not-so-nice areas. When you start looking, ask the local police department for stats on the specific areas you're considering.

My girlfriend is a social worker (read=low pay), and her house in Decatur is a dump. She had a crack house a few doors down, though it's currently boarded up and unused. She also has a very large German Shepherd, so she personally has had no issues. This past Saturday night, we had dinner at the Avondeal Estates home of one of her coworkers. He has a crackhead neighbor.

[gumboula]

All depends on where in Avondale you are looking... lleckband, what is the state of schools in the neighborhood? I love the neighborhood, but have a young child who I would prefer to send to public schools. Any work going on to improve Avondale Elementary? Any neighborhood opinion on how relocating the Dekalb School of the Arts may help the high school?