What is Douglasville like???? (Atlanta, Fairburn: sales, 2009, crime)

[hunter6868]

We saw some homes we loved in Douglasville. I know this is not as developed as other areas of Atlanta. My main concern is schools of course and access to stores and easy commute to the airport. I don't see many threads about this area. Any info would be appreciated.

[DouglasNews07]

Seven or eight schools in the county did not meet AYP. All of the high schools have gang members in them. Our sales tax went up to 7% last week so the county can build a $151 million jail next to the courthouse. Property taxes increase every year. I would not move to Douglas County.

[Vice Principal]

Any school can have gang members in them. Two of the high schools in Douglasville are pretty good, Alexander and Chapel Hill. We moved here last year and like the area. The homes are nicely priced as well. Everything is close by. The commute to the airport can be about 25-30 minutes via Fairburn Rd. (Hwy 92) into Campbellton Rd. which then takes you to Camp Creek.

[tool_fan_2009]

I don't have kids, so I may not be the best person to give you advice on schools. But I have spoken with several high school students who say that their school (in Douglasville....forgot what it's name is) doesn't have enough textbooks for all the students and they have to share books in their classes. I haven't heard very good things from students or parents in the area about the schools. When I was in high school, we were given textbooks to keep for the semester for EVERY class. The idea that students don't have textbooks for their classes that they can study from at home and use for homework is completely crazy to me.


As for the culture here......It's a very conservative area. For a christian, conservative family this would probably be a great place to live. There is a lot of jesus in every corner of douglasville. I see a lot of "Palin 2012" stickers on cars.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by tool_fan_2009

There is a lot of jesus in every corner of douglasville. I see a lot of "Palin 2012" stickers on cars.

Nothing wrong with worshipping Jesus, but that Palin bit doesn't surprise me. There are some parts of the metro area that lag behind the area as a whole, some by 5 yrs, some by 10-15, etc. When I've driven through Douglasville it's struck me that it's barely within the same half-century as other parts of Atlanta, certainly the northern suburbs. Sorry to be so harsh. but I really only consider it a part of metro Atlanta at all in the narrowest sense. Unless you're just not bothered by these things or are specifically looking for a non-big city or a rustic small-town Southern feel, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

[DoveDiva]

My quick thoughts on D'Ville:

sleepy suburb, very family oriented, middle of the road schools overall.

the entire area is NOT pro-Palin--remember Obama won this county.

The better schools tend to be south of I-20. There's a charter school here that's doing well--Brighten Academy.

Not a whole lot of crime in comparison to the rest of the Metro.

Honestly the area is kind of 'live and let live.'

Housing is quite affordable. There are extracurriculars to put your kids in-karate, dance, soccer, football, etc. It's a straight shot to the city for nightlife, and a decent distance from the airport.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by DoveDiva

My quick thoughts on D'Ville:

sleepy suburb, very family oriented, middle of the road schools overall.

the entire area is NOT pro-Palin--remember Obama won this county.

The better schools tend to be south of I-20. There's a charter school here that's doing well--Brighten Academy.

Not a whole lot of crime in comparison to the rest of the Metro.

Honestly the area is kind of 'live and let live.'

Housing is quite affordable. There are extracurriculars to put your kids in-karate, dance, soccer, football, etc. It's a straight shot to the city for nightlife, and a decent distance from the airport.

Wow, did Obama really win Douglas County? I did not know that. If that's true, then I'll definitely have to revise what I said about the place.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by DoveDiva

My quick thoughts on D'Ville:

sleepy suburb, very family oriented, middle of the road schools overall.

the entire area is NOT pro-Palin--remember Obama won this county.

The better schools tend to be south of I-20. There's a charter school here that's doing well--Brighten Academy.

Not a whole lot of crime in comparison to the rest of the Metro.

Honestly the area is kind of 'live and let live.'

Housing is quite affordable. There are extracurriculars to put your kids in-karate, dance, soccer, football, etc. It's a straight shot to the city for nightlife, and a decent distance from the airport.

Well stated.

[tool_fan_2009]

wow, Obama won this area? That's shocking to me, since i was literally told in a JOB INTERVIEW "this is a pro-Bush, anti Obama environment...who did you vote for?". Not kidding. This was a medical related job, so politics shouldn't have even been brought up. I was then subjected to a rant about how we're in the "end of days" and the "rapture is coming soon". These kinds of statements should never be said in a professional interview. I have family who live in the area and when i told them about this experience, they weren't in the least surprised and said that that is just how the area is.

I think it's a good area for conservative, christian, southern families.

i found this info about the schools:
Douglas County High School, Douglasville Georgia / GA School Profile, Ranking, and Reviews - SchoolDigger.com
"Douglas County High School ranks 275th of 386 Georgia public high schools."
"Douglas County ranks 97th of 158 Georgia school districts."

This site breaks down each school by individual rankins:
Douglas County Public Schools Directory - Douglas County School Reports, Douglas County School Rankings, Douglas County Public Schools, Douglas County Private Schools

that should help you decide better.

[KevK]

Douglasville is a rather interesting place. It has annexed so much of Douglas County and is so big now that it differs from one area to the other. There was a time when Douglasville was 7 miles from Thornton Rd (Hwy 6) and now Thornton Rd is IN the city of Douglasville. They have swallowed up everything to the Cobb County line.
Douglasville is pretty nice and the services are fairly good. The schools are OK but not as good as Cobb or Gwinett . Still your kids will get a decent education in them. They don't have rampant crime there- the cops and DA are pretty aggressive about locking people up so criminals know to avoid it and go to more "criminal friendly" places like Fulton.
Douglasville also has fairly low taxes because it has lots of commercial property including the huge new Arbor Place Mall. You certainly will not have any trouble shopping in Douglasville. They do not have any transit system (yet) except for the van pool that serves downtown and midtown Atlanta. As for access to the airport, usually no problem going down Hwy 6 all the way there.