Best places for families with young children? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: best suburbs, low crime)

[mom2justynsarah]

My husband & I are thinking about relocating to Georgia. We are originally from New York. Then we moved to S. Florida. We have been living in S. Florida for close to 11 years. But we have grown tired of the hurricanes and miss the mountains/seasons.

We have a seven year old son & a 17 month old daughter. The important things to us are the best schools, communities loaded with children, & relatively close proximity to Atlanta.

Our price range is from the 130's-170's. We want a single family home with a large enough backyard for play. If there are areas with a larger population of Jewish families (or mixed), that would be great.

We look forward to your replies.

Thanks!
mom2justynsarah

[cblackburn512]

You might want to consider the Athens area. It is close to the mountains and Atlanta and is rich in diversity because of the University. Some of the surrounding counties (Oglethorpe, Barrow, and Oconee) are extremely nice and still reasonably priced. I would say that Oconee has the best schools but also the higher property values. Athens has at least one active synagagoue that I know of. Sorry if I spelled that wrong.

[FloweryBranchGurl]

Hi there neighbor, I'm in Miami Lakes, used to live in Hoschton, GA. That's in NE GA. I miss it like you would not believe. My kids love it there. I'm trying to find a job as well as one for my husband so we can go back. Flowery Branch or Gainesville is the place for you. Beautiful, and yet close to Malls and Outlets, and about an hour from Atlanta. I'm an ultrasound tech and all the big hospitals are in Atlanta or N Atlanta and Dunwoody. If you think of anything else you'd like to know, just write me. Good Luck and God Bless You.

Sorry, I forgot to mention, I'm not sure about tje Jewish community there. You might want to look up some temples online and see where they are located.

[Tdiddy0027]

There are many Jewish areas in the metro, most on the Northside. Sandy Dprings, Dunwoody, Roswell, Alpharetta, East Cobb, West Gwinnett, LaVista Road in DeKalb county, Peachtree City, Rockdale County, Forsyth County. These areas all have an established and/or growing Jewish population.

[bbuch]

Hey mom2,

I think your best bet is in dunwoody. The largest Jewish population and concentration of synagogues is in the Toco Hills are. However, this area of town is expensive to live in.

Sandy springs is also a good choice, but also expensive. As you get closer to dunwoody (and further north) cost of living becomes less expensive and there are some good Jewish areas. Near dunwoody you will have close access to the JCC and at least one (maybe two) jewish day schools.

If you are also looking for synagogues to join, let me know. I have belonged to a few in Atlanta and might be able to help.

B

[jxu66]

There is a report on best public schools in Georgia link below. The best schools are in East Cobb and North Fulton (Dunwoody, Roswell, alpharetta). Not surprisingly, those areas are very expensive. 300+ up for single house. 200+ for townhouse.

You could go for schools for Gwinnett County (Duluth high and newly formed PeachRidge High) are pretty good. Look at their SAT scores. Suwanee and Duluth are good places to live.

It is sad statement. K-12 education school system in Georgia is not very good. So it pays quite a bit premium to get a house in right school district.

http://reportcard.gppf.org/DesktopDefault.aspx (broken link)

[backfist]

It's the same all over the country. The best suburbs are presumed to have the best schools. But anyone who knows a little something about land development knows that high cost/high profit homes are built first. Schools are an afterthought.

Once upon a time, we fell victim to the notion that the most desirable suburb would likely have the best schools. Not the case. I used the term victim because the schools in this "highly desirable" area were mediocre at best. But the illusion was still there.

My advice is to find a neighborhood in a suburb that provides your needs; some of the things you want; and don't worry about living in the suburb that everybody just has to live in. You'll be much happier.

We learned that lesson the hard way.

[stvincent]

The large Jewish communities in Atlanta tend to have homes priced in 400s to million dollar range but you could always live near these communites for alot less. The major Jewish communites are Toco Hills, Sandy Springs/Dunwoody, and East Cobb. All are within 20 minutes of Atlanta. And the best high school in the state, Walton High, is located in East Cobb although not one new home in the area is priced beneath 600k. Her are some affordable communites near where u would feel comfortable spending most of your time.

East Cobb- This is one of the most desireable suburbs in Atlanta because it has some of the state's best schools, a low crime rate, and lovely homes. The pricey section is on the southern end of East Cobb and the eastern end. The Kell High School District in the NW section of the community is very affordable with subdivisions containing homes priced in the low to mid 100s. This part of East Cobb is about 35-40 minutes north of Atlanta and traffic on I-75 might be a pain but at least when you arrive home at the end of the day you will retire to a good neighborhood with exceling schools. Temples are common throughout East Cobb so that wont be a problem either.

Sandy Springs/Dunwoody- This is one of the priciest communities in metro Atlanta and its zip codes are some of the most coveted. These communities boast large Jewish populations and Jews have set up many of their own schools and social organizations in this area as well. Unfortunately it is hard to live near this area, close enough to enjoy all the rich culture it has to offer and have it at your fingertips. Pricey communites border the area on all sides...Buckhead with its million dollar residences to the south, Roswell to the north with homes ranging from 300s to millions, and East Cobb to the west. While Peachtree Corners to the East has homes priced in the 300s to 400s range, the neighborhood is very small and the greater Norcross area to the immediate east is very affordable. Finding a new home in your price range will be difficult but there are plenty of older homes in your range which might appeal to you. But, the Norcross area is nortorious for Hispanic gangs and Norcross and Medowcreek High Schools are not high performing schools...so if schools matter more than proximity to a thriving Jewish community I would not sugest you move to this area. It depends on what you want.

Toco Hills is home to Atlanta's oldest Jewish community. Home prices hover around the 300s to 400s range though. The surrounding areas are more modestly priced but one would be fortunate to find a home around 250K. You might consider Chamblee if you would like to be closer to this area. They might have some homes in some less attractive areas that you could fix up. While that might sound discouraging, it might be a good idea beause Chamblee High is the best in Dekalb County and one of the best in the state. Chamblee also has a large immigrant population making it a diverse city rich with international restaurants and other cultural destinations.

As for beauty, The East Cobb option is definately your best bet. The northern edge that I mentioned is only about 15 minutes from the beautiful Lake Allatoona and the area is very hilly with some subdivisions boasting moutain like views. Norcross feels like no one could control the growth of the area. Chamblee is an intown neighborhood. While it is not near mountains or lakes, it is only about 5 minutes from Buckhead (the social center of Atlanta) and about 12-15 minutes from downtown Atlanta.

I hope this helps...let me know if u have ore questions.

[gahomes247]

hI there, we love to talk to people who loves Georgia. I have a couple of friends that live in Flowery Branch and they love it. what is nice about FB is that you get a lot for your money. my friend from california bought a home 5 bedrooms 3 bath; 1 acre lot for $180K( split level home) I can get you in contact with another good friend of mine that moved from california who has an employment agency in Swuanne,ga. I noticed that you posted this mesage back in May, I hope that we can still help you.
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[godswalkingangel]

Is snellville a good area.