Moving to Atlanta in May 2010

[softwareengineer1101]

Originally Posted by ATL4U

If you care to expand your horizons outside and north of the perimeter, check out the Atlanta Real Estate in the five large counties north of the city, N Fulton, S Forsyth, Cobb, Gwinnett, Cherokee. Lots of great neighborhoods and schools.

Good luck,

Rob M

I'll check them out. Thanks.

[ATL4U]

Always good to know all your options, plus it's fun to learn about al the areas around you. RM

[softwareengineer1101]

Originally Posted by Dytdude

Lithonia Has some great areas look into the 30058 zip code they have great subdivisions its relatively quiet and nice place to raise a family. The schools are okay but If you are involved with your children's education it shouldnt be bad for you. Greenridge is a fantastic subdivision that your income could get u in. Welcome back to Atlanta!

I have read some pretty good reviews of the Bouie Elementary School in that area. Have you heard anything good or bad about Bouie?

[ambersmom722]

Bouie is one of Dekalb County's original theme schools that opened when my oldest niece started 2nd grade. (she just turned 21 last week). Although you may find some decent schools in Dekalb County, the system is poorly run. (the reason I left after 10 yrs of teaching there).

From what I understand, it is still a pretty good school. I know someone whose youngest child is still in attendance there. I am not sure of how the students are selected. Some yrs ago, it was done with parents lining up at the door on a Friday afternoon and camping out until Saturday morning. Siblings of students already attending gets first choice. Then others from the outside are added in. There is mandatory for X amt of hrs to be done before the school year ends volunteering. The students must wear uniforms. There is usually a boatload of homework (Ive heard quite a few parents complain about the endless assignments)

The school is in the area of Rock Springs, Panola Roads. (my parents live about 3 miles from the school) The homes/neighborhood are well established..(older homes, rather quiet neighborhoods)

Please forgive any errors in this post...I am typing at 3:19 am EST

[lastminutemom]

Bouie is a lottery only school (unless there is a sibling). What is the "home" school of the area you are looking into?

DeKalb County School System is generally weaker than other metro systems. With the exception of Clayton, DeKalb will see its property tax revenues impacted the most because of the high number of foreclosures.

Your wife will have a hard time finding an elementary job, I suspect. I was at a meeting this week where it is clear that the state is out of money. There will probably be a special legislative session and education (which has been spared the big cuts so far) will be hit pretty hard. I fully expect class sizes to be increased again as they were this year. (To show you how quickly this makes a difference, at the four elementary schools in my community, if the class size rules from last year were still in effect, there would have been at least 11 more teachers that would have been hired!)

I would find a job first and let that lead you to where to live. I have often written here that in Metro Atlanta we have lots of nice areas with good schools at lots of price points that allow for a decent commute and thus, a decent life.

[softwareengineer1101]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Bouie is a lottery only school (unless there is a sibling). What is the "home" school of the area you are looking into?

DeKalb County School System is generally weaker than other metro systems. With the exception of Clayton, DeKalb will see its property tax revenues impacted the most because of the high number of foreclosures.

Your wife will have a hard time finding an elementary job, I suspect. I was at a meeting this week where it is clear that the state is out of money. There will probably be a special legislative session and education (which has been spared the big cuts so far) will be hit pretty hard. I fully expect class sizes to be increased again as they were this year. (To show you how quickly this makes a difference, at the four elementary schools in my community, if the class size rules from last year were still in effect, there would have been at least 11 more teachers that would have been hired!)

I would find a job first and let that lead you to where to live. I have often written here that in Metro Atlanta we have lots of nice areas with good schools at lots of price points that allow for a decent commute and thus, a decent life.

It looks like the "home" schools of the area I am looking at initially renting in are:

Redan Elementary and Redan Middle School.

[DoveDiva]

To answer a few questions:

-the tech sector tends to be on the northern end of the metro, around Alpharetta. My husband works in IT and most of the jobs are up there.

-I've heard generally good reviews about the Smyrna, Mableton, and Lithonia areas. They don't have the **BEST** schools in the district, but they're pretty okay provided you stay involved.

-I second the reality that your wife will have a bit of trouble finding a job. She may have to start as a substitute teacher just to get her foot in the door. I'm an educator and I've NEVER seen so many certified teachers substitute teaching (and this is my ninth year teaching.)

Good luck!

[softwareengineer1101]

Originally Posted by DoveDiva

To answer a few questions:

-the tech sector tends to be on the northern end of the metro, around Alpharetta. My husband works in IT and most of the jobs are up there.

-I've heard generally good reviews about the Smyrna, Mableton, and Lithonia areas. They don't have the **BEST** schools in the district, but they're pretty okay provided you stay involved.

-I second the reality that your wife will have a bit of trouble finding a job. She may have to start as a substitute teacher just to get her foot in the door. I'm an educator and I've NEVER seen so many certified teachers substitute teaching (and this is my ninth year teaching.)

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. BTW, are there normally enough substitute teaching jobs in a single area such as Lithonia, or Alpharetta, to keep a teacher in the area? Or, do the majority of substitutes tend to work all over the metro area in a given week, month, semester, etc? Also, do you have any idea how much the average substitute teacher earns per hour in Atlanta?

[lastminutemom]

About $90 a day for a short term assignment, a little more for long term. BUT some counties, including DeKalb limit the number of subs they hire. It is my understanding that even getting sub positions is difficult right now.

I also want to say that while being involved can help your child succeed in spite of the school, what we have seen in DeKalb is that involved parents eventually feel like they are banging their heads on the wall and want out. That is why DeKalb has 1000s of requests for administrative transfers each year (most of which are not granted).