Small Modern Town (Atlanta, Savannah, Decatur: real estate, crime rate, daycares)

[moni0923]

I am looking for a small town that my family and I can move to in Georgia. I looking for a place with a modern town square that has a places to shop,few places where you can get a WI-FI signal, internet cafe/starbucks, a place where you can grab a late dinner up till about 10pm, and also have a diverse population of people (being that I am African American). I am also looking for a nice safe place to raise my children with good schools. It would also be great if the town would be within driving distance to Atlanta and have access to good jobs.

[bleighorr]

haha you'll have to live near Atlanta to get that. Here's my take on Southeast GA. I relocated here last August and I'm dying here. Moved from Raleigh, NC, to GA.

I'm living in Camden County near FL border, where a great job is $12.00 an hour but the cost of living is crazy high here. In Atlanta, the commute to great jobs is a total nightmare from what i've heard but at least you can probably do decently.

It is truly a life's quest to find a great job, a nice area, and affordable daycare as you age. What is acceptable at 25 is not acceptable at 35, so be careful where you plant roots....(ie. buy a house, have kids). It's hard to sell homes now, start over again, and find great daycares.

But i will say THIS about where I am now (35 miles outside of Jacksonville, FL): The commute to a real job in Jacksonville is HELL (2 lanes on I 95 into Jacksonville, road construction won't be complete for another 10 years....), the crime rate is shocking in Jacksonville, at least one murder every day, sometimes four or five, which pushes people out to Camden County, GA.

Great school systems here in SE Georgia, homes in $200K+ range are about 1,600-1,700 sq ft. 1/4 acre. IF you can take the commute to Jacksonville to make the money to pay for one of these homes, or IF you are retired military, get a decent pension, and work another job....then you can make it in Southeast GA. This is NOT a place for singles and is an absolute NIGHTMARE for single parents and people without support systems. the daycare situation here is the worst i've ever seen. I don't even think anyone regulates anything down here.

I work for a domestic violence shelter here and work closely with single parents every day. I also work with the social services system here, and they are an absolute nightmare. This is a totally political town, small town USA, who you know, not what you know. I have several friends with master's degrees who are making $12.00 an hour here.

There is also nOthing in the budget here for subsidized homes, subsidized daycare is a joke. The healthcare seriously lacking here (everyone is sent down to Jacksonville for healthcare if it's more than an ear infection). I would never have a baby in a hospital here, nor would i ever have any type of surgery here. I would also never live in Jacksonville unless I was filthy rich and could afford one of the $600K homes that would place you in a "better" neighborhood.

Downtown Jacksonville is very pretty, but that's where it ends. Orange Park, FL, a suburb of Jacksonville, is an overcrowded mess, and it can take you an hour to travel 9 stoplights on the main drag on a Saturday. The yards are about .152 of an acre, and the school systems suck. That's why little places like Camden County are growing, b/c people want out of the metro Jacksonville area with the overpriced real estate, high property taxes, and expensive cost of living.

Racial climate is ok b/c this is a military town (nuclear sub base here and people who are stationed in Mayport, Jax, FL live here), so there are no racial tensions. My kids are multiracial and they have not had any problems....although there are rednecks who live here, they keep it pretty much to themselves because without the military, this town would go to hell.

The high school is big 5AAAAA, close to 4,000 students here, and the main focus is football, although academically and behaviorally, it is decent. They allow a lot of Christian activities (Athletes in Action, etc.), which is something I believe benefits the kids. There have been 2 bomb threats (someone calling into the school and saying: ihave a bomb) and a few fights, but nothing like you'd see in a school in Jacksonville, where SWAT teams are regulars on high school campuses.

In order to really shop, you have to go to Brunswick (Glynn County) or Jacksonville. The hot spot hangout is the Super WalMart here. Brunswick is another smaller town about 45 minutes down from Savannah and before you hit where i'm at, but i hear the school systems there totally suck. I would never live there....lots of drugs, etc., and it's building up and looking very "strippy" with all the businesses sprouting up on every square inch of lot off exits 36 and 38.

Just to give you a preview of life in Southeast Ga: The only thing i'll miss when i leave here (and i'm trying to get a job back in Raleigh or Charleston, SC) is the school system. That's IT.

Hope this helps you as far as information in the Southeast GA area.

[irvm]

Originally Posted by moni0923

I am looking for a small town that my family and I can move to in Georgia. I looking for a place with a modern town square that has a places to shop,few places where you can get a WI-FI signal, internet cafe/starbucks, a place where you can grab a late dinner up till about 10pm, and also have a diverse population of people (being that I am African American). I am also looking for a nice safe place to raise my children with good schools. It would also be great if the town would be within driving distance to Atlanta and have access to good jobs.

As long as you stick with the 'few', there are a lot of such towns.
What kind of work do you do, and do you need to go into Atl to work, or just want to be able to go for shopping, entertainment, etc. once in a while?

[moni0923]

I work for the postal service and my husband is a machinist. I would like to be near the city to go shopping, and for work.

[irvm]

Originally Posted by moni0923

I work for the postal service and my husband is a machinist. I would like to be near the city to go shopping, and for work.

Maybe you would like Decatur: City of Decatur Streaming Video
Good place to live if you work in downtown Atl, since MARTA rail is right there.

[DisgustaTruth]

Sounds like Decatur fits the bill perfectly