Relocating to East Roswell - schools, neighborhoods, commute? (Atlanta, Alpharetta: apartments, rental)

[LeavingSeattle]

Hi-
I've scoured through many of the postings on this forum, so I'll apologize if this is a repeat but I haven't seen anything that directly answers my questions!

We're moving from SC (suburb of Charlotte) to the Atlanta area at the beginning of August for a new job. We have a very short time to make a ton of decisions as we'd like to get our 6yo settled in school by Aug 10th. Based on a couple weekend trips and lots of research, we've settled on the East Roswell or Alpharetta area just off GA400 (near Northpoint mall). I'll be working downtown Atlanta (near Peachtree & Ellis) and my husband works from home and travels frequently. I plan on working from 7-4 and will likely drive some days and use transit other days. We'll be renting for a year while waiting for our home to sell and making sure we love the area

Our questions:

Does anyone have firsthand knowledge of the commute from that area of Roswell to downtown? Leaving at 7, how long on an average day would that take? Between the Holcomb Bridge and Mansell exits, is one better than the other?

We've managed to secure spots at North Point Prep for private Pre-K for our 4yo and afterschool for our 6yo. Is this a decent facility? It appears very well cared for and the staff have been friendly... online reviews I've seen are great.

We like the feel of the Willow Springs neighborhood, but haven't managed to find a decent rental in there... is this a good neighborhood for a young family, it seems maybe there are more older couples in there?? How about Chartwell? We'd like a neighborhood with access to a community pool to keep the kids entertained and hopefully meet some neighbors.

Is Hillside an okay elementary? The parent reviews are great, but it has only a 7 on greatschools. The other elementary in the area is Northwood and it has a 9. I'm surprised there would be a big difference as the surrounding areas for both schools seem similar.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

[aries4118]

Hillside and Northwood are both great elementary schools. 1 or 2 points on one rating site should not be cause for alarm.

You'll like Hillside.

[rackensack]

I live near Centennial High in East Roswell, so I'll take a crack at some of your questions.

Originally Posted by LeavingSeattle

Our questions:

Does anyone have firsthand knowledge of the commute from that area of Roswell to downtown? Leaving at 7, how long on an average day would that take? Between the Holcomb Bridge and Mansell exits, is one better than the other?

I typically don't have to commute downtown, but do have to go to the airport frequently, and have had times when I was regularly working with a client in the Mt Vernon/Abernathy area of Dunwoody. Leaving before 6:30 or after 9 am, the trip from my house to Dunwoody would typically take between 20 and 25 minutes. Between those times, it could be up to 40 or 45 minutes. However, the biggest part of that was not really time on 400, but time on Holcomb Bridge getting to 400. There's not going to be a huge difference between Mansell and Holcomb Bridge as your entry point -- the backup between me and downtown in the mornings tends to be just south of Holcomb Bridge, and to last about to the Northridge/Spalding/Roberts exit -- below that, traffic usually moves pretty well. Likewise for the portion of 400 inside the perimeter, until the merge with 85 (the Connector). Traffic's usually heavy between that point and the "Grady curve". Most days, if you're leaving at 7, I'd expect it to take between 45 minutes to an hour to make the trip. You also could, of course, drive to North Springs MARTA station and take the train in. Time wouldn't be much different, though -- most of the delay is in getting from Holcomb Bridge to North Springs. You do avoid the downtown connector backup and having to pay to park downtown.

Originally Posted by LeavingSeattle

We've managed to secure spots at North Point Prep for private Pre-K for our 4yo and afterschool for our 6yo. Is this a decent facility? It appears very well cared for and the staff have been friendly... online reviews I've seen are great.

Have heard good things, and my wife liked it when she visited. Wait list was long enough we went elsewhere, closer to home, but don't know of any reason to be concerned about it.

Originally Posted by LeavingSeattle

We like the feel of the Willow Springs neighborhood, but haven't managed to find a decent rental in there... is this a good neighborhood for a young family, it seems maybe there are more older couples in there?? How about Chartwell? We'd like a neighborhood with access to a community pool to keep the kids entertained and hopefully meet some neighbors.

Both seem fine -- Willow Springs is slightly older than Chartwell, and Chartwell is within walking distance of all the stores and such at Haynes Bridge and Old Alabama (Kroger, Publix, Fresh Market, Walgreen's, Starbucks, J. Christophers, etc.) as well as being next to Newtown Park. Willow Springs is walking distance also, I supposed, just slightly farther. I think there'd be enough younger families in either that you'd be comfortable with them.

Originally Posted by LeavingSeattle

Is Hillside an okay elementary? The parent reviews are great, but it has only a 7 on greatschools. The other elementary in the area is Northwood and it has a 9. I'm surprised there would be a big difference as the surrounding areas for both schools seem similar.

Keep in mind the ratings on GreatSchools are purely based on "objective" criteria like test scores, and not on anything that actually measures the quality of the school experience. Hillside has more apartments in the district -- that's the difference, pure and simple: a slightly higher number of more transient, slightly lower income students in the district. The correlation between family socioeconomic status and test scores is much stronger than that between school quality and test scores. If you tested only kids from the single-family owner-occupied households in each district, I doubt you'd see much, if any, difference -- just like the situation with River Eves and Esther Jackson elementaries on the other side of Holcomb Bridge. My oldest is at Holcomb Bridge Middle School now, and from what I've seen there's no difference in preparedness or academic achievement between those of his peers who come out of River Eves and those who come out of Esther Jackson or Hillside.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by rackensack

Keep in mind the ratings on GreatSchools are purely based on "objective" criteria like test scores, and not on anything that actually measures the quality of the school experience. Hillside has more apartments in the district -- that's the difference, pure and simple: a slightly higher number of more transient, slightly lower income students in the district. The correlation between family socioeconomic status and test scores is much stronger than that between school quality and test scores. If you tested only kids from the single-family owner-occupied households in each district, I doubt you'd see much, if any, difference -- just like the situation with River Eves and Esther Jackson elementaries on the other side of Holcomb Bridge. My oldest is at Holcomb Bridge Middle School now, and from what I've seen there's no difference in preparedness or academic achievement between those of his peers who come out of River Eves and those who come out of Esther Jackson or Hillside.

Good post...and the parent reviews (of Hillside on greatschool.net) say it all! The parental reviews are a good thing to go by...

[LeavingSeattle]

Thanks rackensack! Very helpful response... I think your comments regarding Hillside (and what others have posted) confirm what I was thinking. Also good to know regarding North Point Prep - apparently they received notice that one of their families was relocating just an hour or so before I called regarding space availability. I feel lucky to be getting a spot.

If you were the one moving into the area East of GA400 - is there any particular road/neighborhood you'd pick knowing all that you know now about the schools/traffic, etc? Are there any shortcuts that would make the commute marginally better?

Thanks again!

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by LeavingSeattle

If you were the one moving into the area East of GA400 - is there any particular road/neighborhood you'd pick knowing all that you know now about the schools/traffic, etc? Are there any shortcuts that would make the commute marginally better?

Hmm. Well, the morning backups going west toward 400 tend to be from 400 about to Martin's Landing, plus or minus a half-mile or so. Of course, that also tends to back up Old Alabama up toward Northwood. Old Alabama around the intersection with Haynes Bridge also tends to get congested.

Given that there's only two ways across the river from this area (GA 400 and the Holcomb Bridge Rd bridge at Garrard Landing), and only two places to get on 400 (HBR and Mansell), there really aren't any secret shortcuts or magic routes that help much. The closer you are to 400, the less time you have to spend on Holcomb Bridge, Old Alabama, Mansell, or Haynes Bridge, but that also means you tend to be in less desirable neighborhoods (not bad mind you, just older/smaller houses near more apartments and such).