Undedcided About Relocating From Boston To Marietta Georgia Is It A Good Step? (Atlanta: sales, low crime)

[undecidedbeantownoratl]

Hi
I Am A Young Woman With A 2 Year Old Daughter And I Have A Husband Of 3 Years. We Are Thinking About Relocating To Georgia In 2008 If It Is The Best Move For Us. I Have Lived In Boston My Whole Life But My Whole Family Is From Ga But Immediate Ones Live In Massachusetts. But I Have Been Doing Much Research On Ga And Plan To Do A Visit In December 07 To See How I Feel About It.

I Am Leaning More Towards Marietta Ga, Because Of The Area And Cost.

But I Would Like To Know If Anyone Could Give Me Information On Schools In Marietta Because Im Mostly Concerned About The Move For My Daughter.

Are The Daycares And Schools Good?
Is This Area Good For All Ethnicities?
Do They Have Good Access To The Marta?
Do They Have Stores Close To Homes?
Is There A High Crime Rate In Marietta?
Are The People Really Friendly Or Is That A Myth?
Is The Pay Good Or Really Low?
Is It Hard To Find A Good Paying Job In 2007-2008?
Is Marietta A Good Place To Start A In Home Daycare?
Do You Think Atl Is A Good Place To Visit And Not To Live For Northerners?

I Have Heard Some Different Stories About Ga Good But Mostly Bad, But Then Again I Say The Same Thing About Where I Live Because I Have Been Here All My Life, So Could That Be It, Is Georgia Really Not A Place You Want To Raise A Family, Or Could Natives Just Be Tired Of It And Thats How They Are Expressing It?

Please Let Me Know, I Need To Make A Life Changing Desicion?

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by undecidedbeantownoratl

1. Are The Daycares And Schools Good?
2. Is This Area Good For All Ethnicities?
3. Do They Have Good Access To The Marta?
4. Do They Have Stores Close To Homes?
5. Is There A High Crime Rate In Marietta?
6. Are The People Really Friendly Or Is That A Myth?
7. Is The Pay Good Or Really Low?
8. Is It Hard To Find A Good Paying Job In 2007-2008?
9. Is Marietta A Good Place To Start A In Home Daycare?
10. Do You Think Atl Is A Good Place To Visit And Not To Live For Northerners?

1. See the new sticky at the top for schools, Marietta is a big area so it depends on when you refer to Marietta where you are specifically talking about. Some area nice with good schools, some area's bad with bad schools, some decent areas with good schools and bad schools.

2. sure why not

3. nope, Marta is Fulton, Dekalb counties, Marietta is in Cobb and only has access to CCT Bus (no rail) and not too convenient. You'll need a car.

4. yep, urban jungle

5. yes and no, depends on where you are

6. yes and no, depends on who you meet, I'd say Marietta doesn't have much Southern Hospitality left, and many less Southern residents but that doesn't mean there aren't nice people.

7. Pay depends on what your profession is. Compared to Boston I'm going to say low, but our housing costs are cheaper.

8. Again depends on your profession

9. Probably but you'll have to see the local laws governing the number of children you can watch. Think it's around 8, then you have to add staff, get business license, etc.

10. I'd say it's an okay place to visit but I wouldn't designate it as a place to visit just to see. It's more like it's nice to visit if you have family here.

[kaday]

I moved here from Western MA in March. I am originally from the NY tri state area but have moved about every 3 years for spouses job. There are many people in my neighborhood from the Boston area (East Cobb) and I have met many more out and about. You won't be lonely for fellow New Englanders. There are plenty here.

[aries4118]

I recommend the city of Marietta for you. Inside of the city limits.

Why?

1. Marietta (the incorporated city) has its only separate, small school system.
2. The school system is excellent.
3. In Marietta city you will find that Southern charm.
4. It has a great mix of old and new.
5. Coming from New England, Marietta will offer that "town" feel that is common in the Northeast (you won't feel like you're living in suburban sprawl land).
6. A charming city with a historic square, historic neighborhoods, historic Kennesaw Mountain, a top-notch hospital, colleges (Southern Poly, Life University), nice ethnic/socioeconomic mix.

Go to Marietta (the incorportated city part!). You'll find exactly what you are looking for. Good Luck!

[charolastra00]

The Red Sox nation is certainly strong in GA. I've been to Braves-Sox games where there were more Red Sox fans than Braves fans!

Honestly, I would really recommend staying in Massachusetts. Having relocated there for college and probably semi-permanently from Georgia, the school districts on the whole are MUCH better (some inner-city Boston schools are better than suburban schools in the Atlanta area), the people are much more accepting, and overall the atmosphere is better.

Marietta is a bit better in terms of racial relations than where I grew up a few miles up the road, but I still wouldn't say it was ideal. I was belittled for being Jewish in my community from the day I started school til the day I graduated high school. Marietta has a stronger non-Christian religion base (there are several synagogues, at least one mosque that I know of, etc) than suburbs farther out of Atlanta.

In any case, you'll definitely need a car as public transportation is severely lacking and even if you were near the Marta, it doesn't really go anywhere (besides the airport). The whole Atlanta area is much more of a driving city than a public transportation/ walking city.

[nmnoelle]

Depends on why you want to leave Boston. Things you will appreciate about Atlanta area are the warm weather and the (relatively) extremely low cost of living. If you're native to Boston Proper, I would recommend incorporated Decatur, GA over Marietta.

All the Boston people I know really dislike the metro Atlanta culture. The lifestyle is much slower. Careers are not generally people's #1 priorities. Also, I think my Boston buddies consider the general population to be judgmental and unaccepting. I'm originally from NM, and I definitely prefer NM to GA.

[hpet0855]

You may also want to consider where you're going to work. I live North of Marietta (and love it). My children are too small for school but I've only heard great things about the Canton area. I could suggest some daycares, etc in Canton. Good Luck.

[johndoeboy]

Marietta is okay, but is basically just a suburb nothing more

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by undecidedbeantownoratl

Hi
I Am A Young Woman With A 2 Year Old Daughter And I Have A Husband Of 3 Years. We Are Thinking About Relocating To Georgia In 2008 If It Is The Best Move For Us. I Have Lived In Boston My Whole Life But My Whole Family Is From Ga But Immediate Ones Live In Massachusetts. But I Have Been Doing Much Research On Ga And Plan To Do A Visit In December 07 To See How I Feel About It.

I Am Leaning More Towards Marietta Ga, Because Of The Area And Cost.

But I Would Like To Know If Anyone Could Give Me Information On Schools In Marietta Because Im Mostly Concerned About The Move For My Daughter.

Are The Daycares And Schools Good?
Is This Area Good For All Ethnicities?
Do They Have Good Access To The Marta?
Do They Have Stores Close To Homes?
Is There A High Crime Rate In Marietta?
Are The People Really Friendly Or Is That A Myth?
Is The Pay Good Or Really Low?
Is It Hard To Find A Good Paying Job In 2007-2008?
Is Marietta A Good Place To Start A In Home Daycare?
Do You Think Atl Is A Good Place To Visit And Not To Live For Northerners?

I Have Heard Some Different Stories About Ga Good But Mostly Bad, But Then Again I Say The Same Thing About Where I Live Because I Have Been Here All My Life, So Could That Be It, Is Georgia Really Not A Place You Want To Raise A Family, Or Could Natives Just Be Tired Of It And Thats How They Are Expressing It?

Please Let Me Know, I Need To Make A Life Changing Desicion?

Well I just moved in Aug with my wife and 3 children from central MA to Marietta. Now Marietta is a small city, but the postal addresses that use Marietta span a huge area of Cobb County. I live in the area just outside the city limit near Kennesaw Mountain. Inside the city limits, you'll find some lower income folks and some of the less desirable elements. The City of Marietta also has its own school system which is not on a par with the county system.

Here is my (and my wife's) perspective:

- Weather is beautiful and we love the difference from New England.

- Quality and discipline of schools blows away our old town in MA, despite the reputation and anecdotes about schools in GA that we hear from people in MA. Cobb County has a good school system, and people in MA think their schools are better there than they are in reality.

- Crime is a big issue in the entire Atlanta metro area. The TV news is a seemingly never ending series of murders, home invasions, and other crime. We were astonished when we got here, and New England is a crime free paradise compared to Atlanta. Most of Marietta outside the city limits is fine and relatively low crime. East Cobb is very affluent.

- Traffic can be bad here, but not any worse that sitting on Rte 128 on the "computer commute" in MA. Many people here think it's soooo much worse because compared to rural areas or Atlanta 20 years ago, it's bad.

- Cost of living in GA isn't really any less expensive, with the exception of housing. In general, our expenses and taxes here are about the same as MA. This was a big shock for us. We expected to save a lot, but when you add up things like a higher sales tax rate (that is also charged on clothing), a higher income tax rate, and utilities like water and natural gas that are much higher here, I don't think we're saving much if anything.

- Marietta and Cobb are just a bit more upscale in my opinion from other metro Atlanta counties. Things like trees in the medians on divided roads just make that small difference, and the county is pretty well run by a very fiscally conservative set of folks.

[bridgemillres]

Hey Boston,
I'm from Westwood. Marietta is a lot like Waltham. The best high schools are Walton, Hope and Lassiter. If you buy in those districts, I'm sure the lower grades will be good, too. Marrietta is considered one of the best places to live but it really does have some bad sections so be careful.
Georgia is wonderful. Marietta was too city like for me but if you are truly coming from "Boston", you'll be fine. It wont take you a year before your body adjusts to the calmer weather and you'll be reaching for a sweatshirt when the temp dips below 75.
The South is nicer. The cranky Northerners hate it and go back. The nice Northerners stay and love it. Yes, you will find a confederate flag here and there but I don't think it's so much a reflection of them disliking the north as portraying their pride for the south. Southerners should be proud of the south.
Regarding taxes. I disagree with a previous post. We bought a similar house and our taxes dropped from $12,000 to $3,000. You'll save on oil but spend a bit more on electric. The only negative here is the grocery stores. Other than Whole Foods and Fresh Market (similar to whole foods), the grocery stores here are awful.
It's Jan 7th, and we sat outside for an hour after dinner. My husband was in shorts. It wasn't hot but it certainly wasn't cold.