Dee1961, you have to realize that some people are "puttin' on heirs" as the country folk used to say, so you have to take what is written hear by all of us with a grain of salt.
Most of Lithonia (and you need to use street names with cross-references--because here, city names are different, long, and vast. It's like saying, because someone has the same last name as you, you must be related, so it's more of a street names thing) is well-kept, leave-it-to-Beaver suburbia, but without the suburbs, so much as neighborhoods.
The homes are a mix of old and well-kept ranches or two-stories w/wo basements. Typically a LOT of yard space--front and back with most areas, well maintained lawns are the norm--not the exception in 99% of the residential areas of here.
You can take your pick of neighborhoods--with or without yards. Some developers back in the late 90's decided to start building big homes with little yards (which was out of the norm back then), so you can choose that too--however close you are used to neighbors being.
I haven't been to Cascade, but that used to be a SCARY area in Atlanta, so I don't know if that's changed. The schools are NOT horrible (dear goodness, PLEASE read my other posts!!!)
Crime hits Vinings on the news OFTEN! I can count on 1 finger lithonia being on the news--funny though, those kids had hit other areas, but that was NOT mentioned.
Home values for a mega house I will guess are at MOST--$270's and that's PUSHING the envelope, they should be WAY LOWER for the SAME amount of house (AT LEAST 4 bedrooms HUGE Master bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, huge kitchen, dining room, living room, family/great room, and another room, and maybe 1 1/2 plus acres of back & front yard space combined--that is ONLY built in the 2000's, and THAT'S expensive for like 5 years back. In a VERY NICE, NEW subdivision. If you want an older home, WOW--then you could for for $130's EASY--keeping all of the same features that I mentioned for the newer home, and that's the new norm...just going back to how homes cost in the earlier 2000's and late 90's and prior.
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So even if you and a seller agreed on you paying $400,000 (you could get a mansion--brand new for that now!) for a home, your lender may not lend it to you, because the current appraised value for that home may be near 1/2 that (my guesstimate).
Every area where there are homes, or townhomes in lithonia houses well-off blacks, so you don't need a specific area. It's been like this for over 27 years now--even before the well-off blacks moved in.
The houses in Sandstone I & II where the first ones (that I can remember) that started building the what back then would be a mega house, but now that became the norm. Whenever people built (starting in the mid-late 80's, or '90's I can't remember), they would just build big homes.
Stone Mountain Lithonia Rd, over near some a set of rail-road tracks (before you get into the cute, and sweet old-fashioned German-esque Stone Mountain Village), you'll find mini mansions with UNIQUE custom builds, you'll have a taste of Miami beach and palm trees, and then you'll go into midwest, mountain-cabin like thing--they ALL fit though in ONE neighborhood, I think most of those people are black--it seems like most people are black in Lithonia anyway.
We don't have many apartments, but not far from the Stonecrest Mall area built a few to move in to the new, along with townhomes as well.
We have libraries everywhere, and we are actually expanding now--go to
DeKalb County Public Library - Home to see that we've got a library to serve every nook and cranny of DeKalb Co.--> something the residents wanted ions ago, and something they got ions ago. The expansions and the new libraries come from I guess a splost we voted on I think in 2007? Taxpayers voted it in, and we met with architects to discuss what we wanted, and now where getting that.
We have, what looks like a mini waterpark/put put (no golf, just reminds me of put-put turf) next to the Brownsmill Rec Center, it's awesome for kids big and small in the summer (also new as of last summer or spring I think).
SUmmary:
Don't believe the hype. I was angered by the lies about crime in LIthonia. PLEASE read my other two posts about Lithonia!
If you want to SEE from your comp, I think I may be able to put you in contact with a realtor who knows ALL of the nicest, most expensive EVERYTHING in the entire city
I do hope you move down here--you'll fall in love with everything! And that that you don't fall in love with--well, it will not be because of violence, or squalor, it'll just be because it's less developed, or whatever, we don't have crime like in Vinings, or in certain areas, because ours is LOWER.
I watch the news, plus I've lived here nearly 27 years (I KNOW what I'm talking about).
You'll be PLEASANTLY surprised at how BEAUTIFUL, quiet, peaceful, CLEAN, and devoid of crime it is here--and at how WRONG the MAJORITY of the posters including--kfont (NO offense) are!
PLEASE read my other posts on Lithonia, Panola Rd Just click on my username and click on my other posts.
Also, if you want pics and what not, I can put you in contact with the realty co that I mentioned earlier and I assume she wouldn't mind sending you pics of homes and areas, or at least addresses.
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