Moving To Powder Springs (Atlanta, Marietta: section 8, apartment complexes, renters)

[GA BOUND]

I am moving to the Powder Springs area this summer. I am a single mother with two children (14 and 10). I am transferring my Sec. 8 voucher. Does Powder Springs offer alot of rental properties that accept Sec. 8 that are in decent areas. I will also be looking for employment in the clerical fields ie county, state, fed. gov. as well as legal.

I have done some research on the school systems and it seems that Cobb County schools are pretty good. I would like to live in an area where my kids can attend this school system.

Any suggestions on where to look for housing as well as employment.

Thanks in advance

[BobKovacs]

Powder Springs is pretty far out there, and isn't exactly a major employment hub. If you don't have a job lined up yet, I wouldn't go and rent there yet, as you could end up working a painfully long distance from home.

[GA BOUND]

What area would be good job wise that is not too far from Powder Springs? I have relatives there and I would like to be close to them.

[Airchauffeur]

Ga Bound, While Powder Springs is a pretty good size area, (from the Thornton Rd. area to Kennesaw), it's true that there's not much in the way of work. You could still live there and work in Marietta or Kennesaw depending on what you do. Powder Springs spreads througfh two counties, Cobb & Paulding. There's hardly any crime in either but also hardly any work. Marietta would be your best shot for work and is probably 40 minutes there on side roads. Pretty straight shot though, hope that helps & good luck!

[Love Cobb]

You can probably find a nice home with your section 8 voucher in Powder Springs. I don't think they have apartments out there. We are building a huge 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath out there. The schools are great and it is very family oriented. You need a car, even to get to the bus terminal to take you to Marietta and Atlanta. Good luck to you.

[atlantagreg30127]

I live in Powder Springs and have been in the area for around 14 years.

Regarding crime: Powder Springs still isn't among the "bad" areas to be in, but crime has increased noticeably over the last 2-3 years, particular associate with a teen gang problem in some areas. While most of it are more annoything things like just seeing groups of the guys walking around with their pants hanging off their butts, there has been an increase in things like car break-ins, as well as some home burglaries. Again, it's not like it's Stone Mountain or anything, but it's no longer the sleepy Mayberryish place it used to be, if that's what someone is expecting.

Transit: There is no public transit here. There is an "Xpress" park and ride lot where buses make morning commutes into the city and back in the afternoon. That's it.

Apartments: The city leaders will not approve building permits for apartments here, period. There are no apartment complexes, even older ones. Their view is that apartments bring too much dense population and car traffic into the area, and frankly, a comment or two has been overheard that they feel apartments bring "undesireables" into an area - now, read whatever you want as to what exactly an "undesireable" is, but it has been said they're referring to illegals. Either way, those are the reasons we have none. At one point I believe they even explored a way that would forbid home owners from renting out their homes if they moved to keep ALL renters out, but that was overturned as it's not legal to impose a restriction on home owners like that. I believe they do however, have limits on how many people can live per bedroom in a home, etc.

Section 8: I think they still do accept it in this area, but their general attitude about it isn't exactly "warm". I am aware of two section 8 homes within the immediate area, and upon arrival the police stepped up patrols on those streets a good bit. Now, both of those homes do happen to have kids/teens in them that are related to the gang problem mentioned above so that's probably the reason for the police stepping up, but I do know they're not thrilled to see section 8s moving in. They do their best to have developers bring in $300,000 and higher home subdivisions, or $225,000 ranch condo style homes into the area - they're not thilled with financially-assisted move-ins. (just being blunt honest).

Location: Around 5 miles West is a large shopping district in Hiram. About 10 miles East is Smyrna and Cumberland Mall. Commutes into the city average around 35-45 minutes per car on an average traffic day - more if it's typical bad. The city of Powder Springs itself doesn't really have much to it except a few small restaurants in shopping centers, fast food, and a couple of antique stores downtown, although there is a new large public library.

[GA BOUND]

I would like to thank everyone for their comments and response. All information is greatly appreciate.

I have another questions regarding the high schools. My 14 year daughter is interested in pursing a career in the Air Force she is in the Air Force ROTC here in VA what high schools if any have the Air Force ROTC this factor will affect the area I move in to

Thanks again for all the valuable info

[Love Cobb]

McEachern High is one of the best in Cobb County. I am moving out there for that reason alone, plus I like the shopping in Hiram it is getting just as congested as the E/W connector though.

[atlantagreg30127]

McEachern isn't what it used to be. It's not "bad" compared to most public schools, but it doesn't stand out on the very top like it did years ago. I've had many neighbors move because they say they haven't liked what's been going on there for the last 2-3 years (apparently more fights, drugs, rougher kids moving into the district, etc). They are moving a few miles North to the new Hillgrove High School area. I've heard from a couple of older neighbors who have said they are much more happy there than with McEachern, but not a ton of details were given.

At the Great Schools Web site for what it's worth, Hillgrove gets a 9 out of 10: Hillgrove High School - Powder Springs, Georgia - GA - school overview

McEachern is still earning an 8 out of 10, though: McEachern High School - Powder Springs, Georgia - GA - school overview

Compton Elementary however, earns very poor scores: Parent Reviews of Compton Elementary School - Powder Springs, Georgia - GA


Regarding the shopping in Hiram, keep in mind that to a degree Hiram is now being "overbuilt". In the last few weeks/months, Sonnys BBQ closed, Atlanta Bread Company closed, and Pier 1 Imports has just put up their "this store closing" sign last week. Other stores in that area are not getting huge profit sales.

With the housing troubles, the growth in that area suddenly slowed down, but developers were already in the middle of a ton of new shopping centers (many of which have few to no tennants lined up ahead of time). It's still a growing area, but not enough to match all the stuff built there. A few of the restaurants and certain stores like Circuit City do well enough, but it's expected that other stores will wind up shutting down as well.

Yes though, the traffic along Highway 278 near the intersection of 278/92 is very bad during rush hours and on Fri/Sat evenings.

[GA BOUND]

Can anyone tell me what the distict/area/street boundries/zip codes are for Wheeler High School in Marietta?

Also what area in Marietta are most of the county jobs in?