CA to Alpharetta-need advice on particular apt I'm thinkig about (Roswell: apartment complex, for rent)

[JackieinCali]

Hello everyone,

I'm relocating to Alpharetta area from Irvine CA and need some advise as I'm renting without seeing the place first. I have an apt on hold at a complex called Berkshires at Nesbit Ferry (100 Saratoga, 30022)that ProMove referred me to as being close to my job (Peachtree Industrial/Winter's Chapel) and good value for money. I'm worried about safety because it is less expensive than some others places that I called. The guy at ProMove thinks I'm overreacting, but thought I'd check what someone familiar with the area has to say.

I need to know if this area is safe and what is the demographic like. I had someone go by and look at them and said they looked fine, but when I called the Alpharetta Police Dept to inquire about safety, they said the area although Alpharetta is serviced by the Roswell Police Dept. Anyway..Roswell PD wants me to pay them to give me an investigative report on the area, so thought I'd turn to you folks here who are familiar with the area.

I am single white female with teenage special needs son who will be going to HS. Please share whatever knowledge of this particular complex and neighborhood that you have....it would be greatly appreciated.

[johnnyboy2008]

Hi. I lived in that area for 20 years and would say it is very safe.
30 years ago it was mostly rural with lots of land and mostly small houses. Then they built some very nice subdivisions and recently some super luxury communities. No scary areas or homeless wonderers to speak of.
You could search for posts by "rackensack" as he has explained the school situation for that area in depth. I don't know too much about it except to say that it is probably above agerage with very little "gang" activity etc.

I don't think that is roswell police jurisdiction...it always was unincorporated fulton county and i think they have a "crime report" map on their website. In the five years since I moved, they have created some new city governments and I am not familiar with the new boundries however the apts can tell you which police dept services that area, then the crime prevention officer should give you some general info over the phone. Here is a list of police calls to apartment complexes from the roswell police and berkshire is not listed. http://roswellgov.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=254 It is good reference to see which apts are ranked high in calls.

That place is next to the rivermont subdivision (although a different city name) so maybe you could ask them at their website http://rivermontlife.org/outside_home.asp

I wouldn't worry about the cheaper prices, the area is very overbuilt and they are probably trying to make their mortgage.

Here is the detailed demographics on zip code 30022
http://www.city-data.com/zips/30022.html

[JackieinCali]

Thank you so much for all of your help.
I called the complex and yes, it is serviced by Roswell PD and their "courtesy officer" is actually a Roswell Police Officer.

I noticed on the link you sent me for crime calls for Roswell that there is a complex named Saratoga on there....I think Berkshires used to be called Saratoga at Champions Green..I wonder if it's one and the same?

I sure wish they would clarify exactly what the crimes calls were instead of generalizing the list. From what I understand, there has been an increase in vehicle break-ins since the ecomony went downhill. Seems there is really no way to get away from that ...according to the list, it doesnt appear that it's any safer to live in gated vs open complex. Guess I'll have to increase my insurance and lower my deductible..haha.

Again, thank you so much for your help...if anyone else out there has any input on this area and complex..please feel free to share. I'd love to hear from you!

[lastminutemom]

Let's talk about your special needs high schooler. What exactly are his needs and what are your expectations?

[rackensack]

I live not more than a mile away (as the crow flies). It's a pretty safe area overall. The majority of East Roswell is single-family houses, and what apartments there are tend to be clustered along Holcomb Bridge and Nesbit Ferry. Apartment complexes inherently tend to have a bit more crime than single-family neighborhoods, but most of what crime there is will be property crime (particularly car break-ins, as you noted) and domestic violence or problems between parties known to each other. There's very little chance of being the victim of random stranger-on-stranger violent crime anywhere in the East Roswell area -- not saying it never happens, but it's rare.

This area was annexed into Roswell several years ago -- not long before we moved to the area four years ago. There will always be some confusion, however, as there are three municipalities that meet near the intersection of Holcomb Bridge Road and Nesbit Ferry Road -- Roswell, Alpharetta, and Johns Creek. Much of the area around the Rivermont development and the newer Ellard development on the south side of Holcomb Bridge are in the City of Roswell now, but have had Alpharetta mailing addresses for many years. Adding to the confusion, a couple of years ago the new City of Johns Creek was created, taking in all of the unincorporated area that had not already been annexed by either Roswell or Alpharetta. As johnnyboy2008 mentioned, as soon as you cross Nesbit Ferry Road into the Rivermont development from this apartment complex, you leave Roswell and enter John's Creek.

The apartment complex you're looking at sits behind a brand-new (less than a year old) shopping center with a SuperTarget, Marshall's, Panda Express, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Rack Room Shoes, etc. It's been a bit slow to fill up, as it was completed right about the time the economy went in the tank. You're correct that the Berkshires used to be Saratoga.

I suppose that this complex qualifies as "close" to a job on Peachtree Industrial/Winters Chapel, but I'd warn that the traffic on Holcomb Bridge Road and Spalding or Peachtree Corners Circle getting back and forth can be brutal at times. I've seen instances where traffic was backed up from the bridge over the river near Holcomb Bridge and Spalding all the way past East Roswell Park, and in the other direction from Nesbit Ferry nearly to Peachtree Industrial. It's not a long distance, but it can take a lot longer than you'd expect to drive it at times.

Centennial High School is where your son will attend; I don't know a lot about their special needs programs yet (though I will be finding out, as I have son with Asperger's who's currently in 7th grade at Holcomb Bridge Middle), but from my conversations with a few faculty members that I know socially, I'm optimistic.

[cityrover]

Do not fall for the "courtesy cop" routine. If something happens, you contact the actual police that is on duty at the time (aka 911 or their non emergency number for the servicing precinct).

That complex is alright if you get a unit that is in good shape. Otherwise maintenance isn't all that excited to fix things for you.

You are somewhat close to PTREE IND and norcross so you will get property crime, especially around christmas. You almost cannot avoid that at this point in the metro areas

[KevK]

It is safe but it is in Fulton County so caution is always in order.

[JackieinCali]

Should I be looking in other areas besides Fulton County? What areas would be safest within a decent commute to work? When I mean decent I mean within an hour. I'm coming from Orange County CA and I used to commute 2 hours each way to work in LA so driving is not a problem. I chose this particular complex because it seems to be very close to work in case I need to get home in a hurry and was hoping to save some wear and tear and fuel costs.

[JackieinCali]

It's a long story re: what my son needs so if you have experience with special ed in the area, please email me at jroberts116 at gmail dot com

I can tell you is that he's a senior this year..he was misclassified for alot of years at a tiny school in Northern Idaho while he was with his dad and put into a class with severly handicapped kids so he is no where near being able to pass an exit exam for high school. My hope is that GA High School special ed has some hands on classes for him such as automotive, carpentry etc.that will allow him to learn something to take into the world of work. He does not want to bag groceries, stock shelves, etc.

He's done well with those types of classes before, but the school he attends here in California doesnt offer it. All vocation is through another agency that the schools work with but they make it hard for special ed to attend because our school district hasnt had school buses in like 10 years or so and he doesnt drive yet. The school we are coming from is a Blue Ribbon School and is more of a fine arts HS than anything else. I'm very unhappy with the special ed program because they dont have alot of what they call 'supported classes' and after fighting for a para pro and not getting it he's really just floating around as an aid because he's not as impaired as most kids in his class, but he's not on par with everyone else either(he is cognitively impaired and without a specific LD diagnosed...he funtions much higher socially than he does academically and is considered a 'betweener' by most of his team...doesnt need enough of what they offer and they dont offer enough of what he needs). I wasnt too worried since after the NO Child Left Behind and exit exams came into play the community colleges opened doors to anyone 18, regardless of whether they've earned a diploma (including special ed if they can benefit) so he wouldve been able to attend a 2 year certificate program for a vocation...but...I have to move for work so no chance of us staying here.

I understand that it's not possible to attend any type of vocational program at the community college level in GA without a HS diploma (shame since so many LD and special ed kids who cant pass exit exam can do very well learning a trade or even just to give them a chance to learn something new to enrich themselves). I've found one school that said if we self pay instead of trying to go through Dept of Labor or Dept of Voc Rehab like most disabled people do that they can work around some of the rules so we may go that route, but in the mean time...I'm hoping that his last year of HS will help us to get him training beyond HS with a special ed diploma. I know that the school has community based learning as they do here..only diff is that here, all students are to do it and in GA it's only special ed so not sure what to expect.

Anyway, feel free to email me if you have any info on special ed or any tips on how to handle Fulton County school special ed dept. I really am hoping for a smooth transition and have been trying to get things in place before I get there, but I've been told that they wont look at his records until we actually get there. Problem with that is that I am a single parent and I'll be working and cant attend a gazillion meetings about class schedules, IEP's etc. Trying to get everything in place as we'll be there first week of Oct and I'll have about 10 days to complete all meetings, get class schedules worked out and get settled before I start my new job.

[JackieinCali]

Originally Posted by cityrover

Do not fall for the "courtesy cop" routine. If something happens, you contact the actual police that is on duty at the time (aka 911 or their non emergency number for the servicing precinct).

That complex is alright if you get a unit that is in good shape. Otherwise maintenance isn't all that excited to fix things for you.

You are somewhat close to PTREE IND and norcross so you will get property crime, especially around christmas. You almost cannot avoid that at this point in the metro areas

I know, I dont have much faith in a courtesy cop. I"m just hoping that since there is one onsite that it'll deter crime.

From what I understand the place has been remodeled. After living in California I think that actually having a maintenance team is a luxury for me. I'm used to fixing things myself and just leaving it off the rent and including a receipt..or in the case of my apt in LA a few years ago..I just take them to court for rent reduction due to decreased amenities if they dont fix something that I cant. I dont mind the DIY approach as I dont think I'd be comfortable with someone in my apt 'fixing things' when I'm not home unless they have a Saturday crew to come while I'm home.

I've been told that each unit has an alarm so I plan to get that monitored , but now it seems like breakins might be likely ....holy cow..I guess I'll either buy a dog or a weapon or something unless I can find another complex in a better area thats within my budget. I'm trying to keep the expenses low until I get re-established and I got a good deal at that place if I decide to take it.