quick move to ga (Savannah, Roswell: real estate, home owners insurance, crime)

[msim]

you look into lithonia, south fulton, and snellville in gwinnett county. The first two communities lithonia and south fulton does have a high percentage of blacks, but these are mostly middle class and upper middle class african americans. I was like you when I moved here from philadelphia. I wanted a mix community, but I did'nt want to be the only black. I was pleasantly surprised to find communities which one would think would be all white that are actually all black, so my point is here in Atlanta things are segregated for the most part, but not only by race but by CLASS! The schools are'nt that bad in lithonia or s. fulton, but they do have problems just like any other suburban school system. By that I mean even schools in North Fulton like parkview has problems and those schools are predominatley white. In the end the decision is up to you where you choose to live. So good luck in the hunt for a home. But beware traffic here is MURDHA.

[jxu66]

Don't know what's your expectation. Atlanta is not very cheap either, in my opinion. The average house in atlanta is relative low, but if you want to find a house in a good school district, it is not cheap either.

For example, at Duluth high school district, an average four bedroom 2500 square feet costs 250K+. Even the 3 bedrooms townhouse costs 170K+. At NorthView school district, that same house costs close to 280K. There are a plenty of 500K to 700K houses in Duluth, NorthView or PeachTree Ridge school district. I am sure that's true for other good school districts as well.

In general, Georgia public school education is not very good. It ranks the worst in the average SAT. So people pay premium to get into a good school district. When I live in Plano, TX, all schools are excellent. Plano Senior High school had average SAT of 1164 (better than pretty much all schools in Georgia), but it is very easy to find a 4 bedroom around 200K range.

[fruitnik]

i'm looking at douglasville,alpharett,marietta, and kennesaw..douglasville seems the best so far any suggestions

[AnnieLMac]

Originally Posted by fruitnik

i'm looking at douglasville,alpharett,marietta, and kennesaw..douglasville seems the best so far any suggestions

We just moved to Douglasville. I would suggest the Chapel Hill area. Excellent schools (for Atlanta)

We live in a major subdivision by the mall. And our community is almost perfectly mixed. There are no more white than black people and vice versa. Everyone we've met here is friendly, and almost everyone is from somewhere else, so being from out of Georgia wouldn't be unusual.

[Sara]

Hi Fruitnik,
I do not really keep up with the Georgia Education Stats, but my husband works during the school year for our local school board, and his boss mentioned that "Camden County Schools" have been rated the top school system for Georgia. And he mentioned because of that people from other areas of our state are drawn to this area. We are in the coastal region of Southeast Georgia and housing may be pretty decent as compared to where you live. We have a Naval Submarine Base, which may provide employment opportunities. You know a good thing you can do in your research is to also call up the chamber of commerce in the area you are looking for. Let me know if you want any links for this area and I will be happy to provide them for you. If you go to www.realestatebook.com you can just click on any state and find listings for the community you want to check out (for starters). Also, Camden County High School won State Champion for football (in case your children are into football or of high school age.) The towns in this county are St.Marys, Kingsland, Woodbine and Waverly. You may have heard of St.Marys, due to the HGTV's Dream Home which was built in a new gated community here. In the past couple of years there has been a growth spurt here, many find that it is just still small enough to not be a "rat race", yet big and progressive enough to avoid from having to travel far for work, shopping, childrens' activities, etc. St. Marys also was voted the #1 Boomtown for America's small towns a few years ago. There are quite a few mom and pop businesses that seem to do fairly well here. Anyways, just thought I'd offer up some learned facts and personal observations as I have lived here for over 8 years now. Not trying to sell you on the area but figured you would want to consider this part of Georgia as well. We are not far from Jacksonville, FL, to give you an idea about where we are located. Hope this helps and best of luck to you!
Sincerely,
Sara

[hwd]

Originally Posted by hatesthesouth

I can't believe your leaving FL to escape racial tensions and heading to GA. I lived in Tampa for over 4 years and I have been living North of Atlanta for about 1 year and I am currently making plans to get out of here because of all the racial nonsense. I was raised in the Northeast where the types of behavior I have experienced here does not exist. Things seem to be very segregated here and people from every race seem to prefer it that way. But in my opinion the most decent areas are going to be on the Northwest side of Atlanta, Cobb County especially. This where you'll find easier commutes and the best schools in the area. Good Luck, I'm heading back to NY, to the melting pot where I was raised.

Your problem is not Georgia, it is the people where you live. Most areas North of Atlanta, especially the further you get out of the Metro Atlanta and Suburb areas is going to be people with warped views. I don't know what it is about that area. But, it is only a small precentage.

Most people think that racial tension is worse in the south, but it is not. Some of the most tension with race are locations up north, that is a fact do the research.

[fruitnik]

thank you again for all the help espeacially the website@ sara..Now can anyone suggest the best way to search for a job..any referals or websites..I have 4 yrs at american express and i am currently working on my aa degree in business admin.

[aeh]

Originally Posted by jxu66

Don't know what's your expectation. Atlanta is not very cheap either, in my opinion. The average house in atlanta is relative low, but if you want to find a house in a good school district, it is not cheap either.

For example, at Duluth high school district, an average four bedroom 2500 square feet costs 250K+. Even the 3 bedrooms townhouse costs 170K+. At NorthView school district, that same house costs close to 280K. There are a plenty of 500K to 700K houses in Duluth, NorthView or PeachTree Ridge school district. I am sure that's true for other good school districts as well.

In general, Georgia public school education is not very good. It ranks the worst in the average SAT. So people pay premium to get into a good school district. When I live in Plano, TX, all schools are excellent. Plano Senior High school had average SAT of 1164 (better than pretty much all schools in Georgia), but it is very easy to find a 4 bedroom around 200K range.

How interesting!! We lived in Plano, TX as well (and LOVED IT--excellent schools, low crime, cheap housing, great restaurants, access to Dallas--the mecca of all shopping--) and are considering a move to Alpharetta. I have been envisioning Alpharetta as a Plano, although I guess smaller. We are in a very different price range than we were when we were in Plano so I am expecting to pay different prices, but wondering what your thoughts were on the comparison between the two?

[masimonsc]

Have you thought of working for an investment company like Edward Jones? I hear they have great training?

[jxu66]

Alpharatta and Duluth are more upscale version of Plano, TX. A lot of country clubs around. Also, there are a lot more $500,000 to $700,000 house. Those are the one without country club. A lot more townhouses in the region, probably due to high cost of land. Some of townhouses in Alpharatta costs upward of $300,000. You probably won't find that in the Plano, TX. h