Peachtree City Help please... (Atlanta, Newnan: real estate, apartment, low crime)

[Elwood]

Hello all, we are considering a move to the south!

One of the locations that looks pretty nice (according to internet information) is Peachtree City Georgia. I do have many questions though. I have been reading this forum and there is some pretty good information here from plenty of good people.

My questions are:

How does GA. tax people? What would the estimated real estate taxes be on a $200,000 house?

Schools: How are the schools in the Peachtree Cityarea? Is the city/county keeping up with growth?

Infrastructure: Again, is the city/county keeping up with growth? We are looking for a larger city, but don't want to be slammed with traffic issues everywhere we go.

How is crime? I am from a small town in Illinois and theft, small violence and especially drugs (pot and meth.) are HUGE and it seems that law enforcement has their hands tied. We are looking for a low crime area that has stiff penalties for those who do break the law.

What about Job and Business prospects? My wife is an Rx, so her finding a job is not really a problem, but I am a farmer, so the prospects of a good jobs and /or a good business environment are important.


Basically, we are looking for small town type living, while having the nice shopping, restaurants and activities of a city. Excellent education is very important to us. We have two very smart kids who are very bored with school. Our local schools test about 5-10 points below state average and our graduation rate has fallen to 69%. My daughter who is in first grade has a reading ability and comprehension level of a 4th grader and she is quite bored in school and trouble from the bad seeds in her class seem to find her. My son is in about the same boat. They need a better education!

We are looking for friendly people with a good sense of community. People who care about their surroundings and who will work hard to keep it nice or make it nice.

What about fun activities? What is there to do in leisure time?

Any and all information you can share with me would be great. Thanks so much for all the help.

[Adamesq]

Elwood - I'm adding to your questions, but I wanted to mention that I found Peachtree City by looking down the 100 lowest crime cities on the main city-data.com site.

My quesitons:
1) Is there a Jewish population and would I double it by moving there?

2) Second the questions on the schools!

I'm looking at Georgia as an alternate to NC. Thanx!

[Elwood]

Georgia instead of NC?? NC is on our list of possiblities as well. Where are you in NC and why are you considering a move?

Thanks!

[Adamesq]

Actually, I'm looking at other states from Florida. NC & GA both get hurricanes, but I get more! So...less hurricanes, some cooler weather, bigger house, more land, nicer people.

[PROCO]

check out Henry County and a town called McDonough, GA. If there is no special reason for picking Peachtree City, don't go there. You can get way more house for your money in McDonough.
Schools are pretty new, lots to do, and the people are great. Plus you can drive around and still see farms, livestock and open areas.

zip 30252

Peachtree is congested in the morning and at evening. There is only one way in and one way out to the interstates in the area. I almost moved there 5 years ago and was lucky enough to stay in an apartment for the first 10 months so I was able to check out other areas.

Good Luck,
George 678-267-3545

P>S> I am not a realator, just someone who moved here and likes it.

[backfist]

Looks like Elwood, Adamesq and I might be riding in the same moving van.

My family and I are also considering GA and NC. From what we've found, the job prospects and the cost of living are pretty comparable, given the usual exceptions. Initially, we were leaning hard toward NC until we began looking at the population dynamics of the suburbs.

We noticed that the diversity of metro Charlotte falls off sharply once you leave the city and get into the suburbs. Yet with Atlanta, the suburbs--even the middle and upper middle income suburbs--still remain reasonably and comfortably diverse. Again, all other factors being pretty equal, this has us now considering suburban Atlanta over urban Charlotte.

I did look briefly into some home prospects in Peachtree City and it did look promising, but I have no idea about the schools or the traffic into the ATL.

[jill g]

I just started to look in Peachtree City. I too am Jewish and would like to know if there is a Jewish population in Peachtree city or another suburb. I have 4 children ages 21-12, the oldest is in college in Florida. Schools are very important to me.

[Tdiddy0027]

Peachtree City is the only southside community I know of that has a sizeable Jewish population. I believe it was about 2500 as of 2000 (about 2.5% of the population) I think there is a temple there. Newnan is also a good choice, Not many Jews though. There is also Fayetteville, McDonough, Conyers (also has Jewish presence) Stockbridge, and a few other good ones

[Original_GA_Peach]

If you want good schools or a good education, stay out of GA. Not just my opinion...check the stats. The only exceptions are the most expensive private schools...even then you have to be selective.

Forgot to add a very important point...most of the people we know have started home-schooling their kids. That has become a huge thing in the Atlanta area. Now...if you're willing to do the work, there are some really good home-school co-ops around.

[RETom]

I created an account because I read what was posted about McDonough comparing it to Peachtree City.

If you truly think there is a comparison between the two regions you are surely mistaken. I have lived in Peachtree City for the last 10 years. We have the best schools in the state. If you like zoning that protects your property and not have 5 homes per acre look at Peachtree City. We have amenities for the children that are unparalleled and Money Magazine ranked us the sixth best place to live in the country.

To show that I am not completely biased, the drawbacks are an overzealous police department and that there is traffic if you are trying to get to Newnan. Getting to the interstate is only a problem during rush hour and 85 is a much faster run into Atlanta that 75 from the Henry County area.

We lived in Atlanta for 5 years and when it came time to raise a family, we searched the whole metro area. Peachtree City won and we could not be happier.

Best of luck and we would love to have you as our neighbors.

Tom