Planning to move to affordable ATL from high-cost WashDC area

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by neverbored

Is DeKalb really that bad? Let me try to get a reaction from people so I can determine the extent.

1-If you had the choice between living anywhere in Dekalb County for FREE vs. living anywhere else in metro ATL at market price or prevailing rents, where would you prefer to live and why?

2-If you absolutely had to live in DeKalb simply because you had no other options, what three areas would you live in and why?

For Heaven's sake, NO. Some of the best neighborhoods in Atlanta are in NW DeKalb, albeit relatively pricey.
If schools are a concern, I would gravitate to:

Druid Hills
LaVista Park
North Druid Hills
Oak Grove
North Decatur
City of Decatur
Dunwoody
Tucker

However, $50,000 might serve as a suitable down payment in most of these neighborhoods. Tucker would be the least expensive of the group.

[bizchick86]

DeKalb is not as bad as people are making it out to be. Because Dekalb has had a significant growth in its Black population over the last 30 years, people automatically want to label it the hood. I've lived there all my life, got an excellent education in virtually every school I went to in DeKalb, and continue to do well.

Just a word to the wise, while somewhat progressive, Atlanta consists of many people who have very prejudicial attitudes when it comes to anything black. This affects everything from intown development, to nightlife, to our transit system. Most of these folks are just ignorant.

In terms of neighborhoods, yes, you should go where there are solid schools, but if you are an active parent your children should be fine wherever they go. I suggest Water's Edge (in Lithonia, area code 30087), Southland (Stone Mountain/Lithonia), and the plethora of other middle-upper middle class neighborhoods in that area of Dekalb. Everyone from professionals to politicians live in this area. I am sure you'd even find some foreclosures. When I was house searching some time back, I believe this was the absolute best value in the metro Atlanta in terms of how much you get for your money. Also, I remember growing up, many of my peers who were upper middle class and who were similarly well-educated lived in these areas.

[neverbored]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

For Heaven's sake, NO. Some of the best neighborhoods in Atlanta are in NW DeKalb, albeit relatively pricey.
If schools are a concern, I would gravitate to:

Druid Hills
LaVista Park
North Druid Hills
Oak Grove
North Decatur
City of Decatur
Dunwoody
Tucker

However, $50,000 might serve as a suitable down payment in most of these neighborhoods. Tucker would be the least expensive of the group.

Thanks for your input. If I decide to obtain a home loan, I will consider these areas. Some of these are consistent with my tastes and preferred lifestyle. As for Tucker, I keep hearing about the goodness and affordability of Tucker, but when I drove through the Tucker area a couple weeks ago (I think I was on 29/8/Lawrenceville Highway exit off of 285), I failed to see what all the rah rah was about. Perhaps it is because I was on the main road driving through the commercial area/shopping district as opposed to venturing into the residential neighborhoods. One place I looked at was listed in Tucker, but it turned out to be a condo, and I was not impressed--seemed like the neighborhood was sketchy). I also notice that Tucker seems to be the only area where the Walmart does not stay open 24-hours. I wonder if that is good for the neighborhood or just an inconvenience. As for now, it looks my current price point and and reluctance to get a mortgage is going to restrict me to South DeKalb.

[neverbored]

Originally Posted by bizchick86

DeKalb is not as bad as people are making it out to be. Because Dekalb has had a significant growth in its Black population over the last 30 years, people automatically want to label it the hood. I've lived there all my life, got an excellent education in virtually every school I went to in DeKalb, and continue to do well.

Just a word to the wise, while somewhat progressive, Atlanta consists of many people who have very prejudicial attitudes when it comes to anything black. This affects everything from intown development, to nightlife, to our transit system. Most of these folks are just ignorant.

In terms of neighborhoods, yes, you should go where there are solid schools, but if you are an active parent your children should be fine wherever they go. I suggest Water's Edge (in Lithonia, area code 30087), Southland (Stone Mountain/Lithonia), and the plethora of other middle-upper middle class neighborhoods in that area of Dekalb. Everyone from professionals to politicians live in this area. I am sure you'd even find some foreclosures. When I was house searching some time back, I believe this was the absolute best value in the metro Atlanta in terms of how much you get for your money. Also, I remember growing up, many of my peers who were upper middle class and who were similarly well-educated lived in these areas.

Can you give me some specifics as to where Waters Edge is? Is it a subdivision? Perhaps some landmarks or a major intersection might help me locate the area. I was touring Lithonia and may have driven through this area. Also, can anyone comment on Lithonia as a city? I saw a youtube video of one of their city council meetings and the meeting. Off the hook!! How can you run a government like that? is there a City of Lithonia and also an unincorporated Lithonia that is just under DeKalb?

Where is Southland? Give me a major intersection, please. I am trying to locate it on a map.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by neverbored

Thanks for your input. If I decide to obtain a home loan, I will consider these areas. Some of these are consistent with my tastes and preferred lifestyle. As for Tucker, I keep hearing about the goodness and affordability of Tucker, but when I drove through the Tucker area a couple weeks ago (I think I was on 29/8/Lawrenceville Highway exit off of 285), I failed to see what all the rah rah was about. Perhaps it is because I was on the main road driving through the commercial area/shopping district as opposed to venturing into the residential neighborhoods. One place I looked at was listed in Tucker, but it turned out to be a condo, and I was not impressed--seemed like the neighborhood was sketchy). I also notice that Tucker seems to be the only area where the Walmart does not stay open 24-hours. I wonder if that is good for the neighborhood or just an inconvenience. As for now, it looks my current price point and and reluctance to get a mortgage is going to restrict me to South DeKalb.

Probably. The commercial area is definitely in transition (there is a master plan in place for it's redevelopment). IMO the better neighborhoods in Tucker will be found off LaVista and Chamblee-Tucker Roads (you were a bit south of that).

www.tuckergeorgia.org

[neverbored]

Let me publicize a few areas in Lithionia, Stone Mountain, and Decatur where I drove through the neighborhoods during the day and evening and thought the areas were at least relatively safe and livable and at least a little better than some of the lower-income neighborhoods I grew up in as a child before I became a middle-class adult and "moved on up" in life, with my good DC job.

Lithonia
6200 blk of Marbut Farms Ln
1900 blk of Longwood Ct
Stone Mountain
4800 blk of Fenbrook
1000 blk of Martin Rd
Decatur (not the City of)
3700 blk of Glen Mora Dr
1200 blk of Richard Rd

I agree with most of you in that i did have to be quite selective about which homes I was willing to live in when searching these areas whereas if I was searching for homes in some of the more affluent neighborhoods, I could have thrown a dart in the dark and probably still made out well.

Given my drive through these neighborhoods and my online crime reports research, I am at least willing to have my agent show me these homes and take a look inside. Please let me know if there are any other things I should be concerned about as I push forward toward my dream of getting rid of my monthly housing payment and freeing up some money to start my own business.

Thank you all for your opinions and insight. I appreciate it. It certainly keeps me sensitive to the red flags and continually refine my search.

[bizchick86]

Originally Posted by neverbored

Can you give me some specifics as to where Waters Edge is? Is it a subdivision? Perhaps some landmarks or a major intersection might help me locate the area. I was touring Lithonia and may have driven through this area. Also, can anyone comment on Lithonia as a city? I saw a youtube video of one of their city council meetings and the meeting. Off the hook!! How can you run a government like that? is there a City of Lithonia and also an unincorporated Lithonia that is just under DeKalb?

Where is Southland? Give me a major intersection, please. I am trying to locate it on a map.

the

Yes, Water's Edge is a subdivision. I thought I added a link to their homeowner's website but apparently I didn't. I'm not exactly sure of the intersection. I know it's off of Rockbridge Road. It might be near the intersection of Rockbridge and Deshaun Rd (Sp?) This whole area I'm referring to though begins at the intersection of Stone Mountain-Lithonia Rd and Rockbridge Road. Just follow along Rockbridge Road towards Lithonia and away from Stone Mountain and you'll see Water's Edge after a few miles. Maybe someone else can give you details.

Southland is on Stone Mountain-Lithonia Rd. less than a mile away from the Stone Mountain-Lithonia Rd and Rockbridge Rd. intersection. The ordinal directions get a little confusing around there for me to tell you whether it's east or north from the intersection, but everyone knows where Southland is if you ask at a gas station or a nearby store.

[neverbored]

Originally Posted by bizchick86

DeKalb is not as bad as people are making it out to be. Because Dekalb has had a significant growth in its Black population over the last 30 years, people automatically want to label it the hood. I've lived there all my life, got an excellent education in virtually every school I went to in DeKalb, and continue to do well.

Just a word to the wise, while somewhat progressive, Atlanta consists of many people who have very prejudicial attitudes when it comes to anything black. This affects everything from intown development, to nightlife, to our transit system. Most of these folks are just ignorant.

In terms of neighborhoods, yes, you should go where there are solid schools, but if you are an active parent your children should be fine wherever they go. I suggest Water's Edge (in Lithonia, area code 30087), Southland (Stone Mountain/Lithonia), and the plethora of other middle-upper middle class neighborhoods in that area of Dekalb. Everyone from professionals to politicians live in this area. I am sure you'd even find some foreclosures. When I was house searching some time back, I believe this was the absolute best value in the metro Atlanta in terms of how much you get for your money. Also, I remember growing up, many of my peers who were upper middle class and who were similarly well-educated lived in these areas.

Thank you for your perspective. I agree with the overall tenor of what you're saying and certainly do hope that DeKalb is not quite bad as many have portrayed it to be. At the same time, I recognize that DeKalb, like other counties, has some major challenges with crime that need to get resolved if it aspires to be a county with a good reputation for public safety.

I suspect that many of the people on this forum who advise against living in DeKalb say avoid it, not because it's highly populated by Blacks but, because (race issues aside) they truly feel uncomfortable with the perceived crime risk and may have some anecdotal experience or news reports to support their feelings. So for them, not living in the county gives them greater peace of mind.

At the same time, I suspect that there may be some people on the forum who, just like you suggested, see a surge in Black population and think to themselves, "Batten down the hatches cuz the storm is headeded in our direction!" or "Uh, oh, there goes the neighborhood!" And, that's why I've been asking so many questions about places like Decatur, Stone Mountain, and Lithonia, in particular. These places seem to have homes in the price range that I find agreeable. And, while I would probably prefer to live in some more affluent areas if money were no object, it is a factor, and I have to make a sound decision based on what I am willing to spend. Therefore, my goal is to pick the most desireable neighborhood I can get into within the budget I have established for myself.

Thank you, again for the specifics re Southland and Water's Edge. I'm researching them now.

[james229]

Move into a large apartment first