Relocating to Georgia looking for some good advice, where are the moms?

[TDE]

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Originally Posted by jxu66

Just search on google. It is sad to see what happen to that poor mailman last year in Snellville, GA. A 60 years old man who is in debt want to go to jail so that government (jail) can take care of him.

[ladyephesus1]

I am relocating to Flowery Branch Georgia from Oregon.
Any advice for a single mother of two? I am also looking for lower income housing.
Any areas to research??

Thanks

[paulainga1]

Originally Posted by movingon007

Our family is relocating to Georgia. I have been researching the Alpharetta, Roswell, Lawrenceville, Norcross areas. I would like to hear from the moms who live in these areas who can offer valuable information regarding what they consider are the best schools. I have children in Elementary, Middle, and two going to High School this year. I am very concerned about the High School. I am looking for a property but want to locate the best schools and then find a house in those areas.

Also, I would love to hear from any south floridians (Miami) who have relocated to Georgia and what their experience has been like so far. Anyone else who has valuable information to a relocating family, please post your comments. We need all the help we can get. Thank you y'all!

I relocated to a small town in Georgia from the beaches of Florida. It was quite an adjustment. I struggled and almost went back many times simply because I missed the beaches and the many choices of things to do. Then I watched the amazing changes in my son and I knew it was the absolute best place to raise my child. I knew I could visit places like FL or other spots on weekends etc. The people in small towns of georgia couldnt be nicer. The respect and manners children learn here is amazing. I am not putting down Florida by any means as I will always love it the most, for me. But there are alot of distractions, temptations, etc that make it hard to shelter your kids and actually know everyone in community like you can in a small town. The area here I live very rural but the people all care about each others kids and if you were sick or injured, it seems like half the town would do anything for you. In Florida, its just sooo big that they probably would do the same, but theres so many people that its hard for everyone to know each other in larger cities unless its your next door neighbor. I struggled many, many times with where to live but it came down to making an unselfish parental decision. Florida was more fun for me but georgia was better for my child. So we are in Georgia. I'm not unhappy, don't get me wrong. I love the people. I love the small town charm. The gatherings of sporting events in the community and Fourth of July etc. and it just feels safer and less stressful. I just miss the beach life too. But thats what vacations are made for. Right?

[bibi2004]

hello danaives! im wondering if you ever made that move???? my family and i are planning to relocate to georgia nxt summer and have been looking in the same areas as you. we are looking for the same thing, primarily good school districts. i have 1 child in elementary school and another entering elementary school by nxt september also. all your advice would greatly be appreciated! thank you!

[ladyephesus1]

I moved from oregon to georgia. I personally think that roswell and alpharetta are two of the best places to live. Very nice place to live and raise your children. Good schools too!!

[Zimbochick]

We moved to Marietta from Seattle 3 years ago. Here's my take on things (and for the record I am NOT a realtor ). To say that traffic is bad here is a huge understatement. It is awful, and there are few if any public transport alternatives That is the first thing you need to look at way before you start looking at schools, neighborhoods, or anything else. A 15 mile commute can easily take an hour. When we started looking we decided that a 20 minute commute for my husband was tolerable, and only focused on those areas. Luckily the schools in those areas are outstanding. Everyone on here, no matter how well meaning is telling you how great their schools and neighborhoods are. I am happy for them, but you should rather figure where the most practical place is for you to live, then we can try and give info on those areas. This is a city of 6 million, it can take the whole day to drive from one end to the other. The unemployment rate here is 10%, and I wouldn't recommend coming here without a job, unless you are in a very specific field. The cost of housing is low right now, but resale is poor. I would only buy a house in Atlanta at the moment if I knew for sure I was going to stay here 3-5 years, or if the local economy picks up dramatically. There are houses ranging in price from $50k - $50mill. Bear in mind one thing I noticed when looking at homes was don't rule out older homes. With a city this size, some of the older homes are located in more desirable locations, near better schools. We noted a lot of new neighborhoods were located under power lines, or near busy roads, I guess you could say squeezing new houses in where there really shouldn't be houses. Most of the better neighborhoods have their own central play areas, tennis courts, and a swimming pool, for which you will be very grateful come July. I would also recommend a neighborhood with it's own swim team. It's healthy, cheap entertainment for the kids through the summer, and a great way for your kids to meet a load of friends, and for you to meet all the neighbors. Our pool has a margarita night on Friday nights through the summer, and everyone has a good time. As far as diversity goes, it really depends on where you live, and what you are comparing it to. I was anticipating our neighborhood and school to be primarily caucasian, but that just is not true. Our school's parents represent about 60 different countries. Beware of the size of elementary schools in some newer developing areas where there are in excess of 2,200 students in some schools. Ours has 700 students, which is a perfect size. As far as people being friendly and welcoming, I'm not even going to try and generalize. In my own experience I thought it took a while for people to open up, and a lot of effort on my part. One of the reasons for that I believe is that Atlanta is a fairly transitory place. It would seem a lot of people stay here for a few years, and then move on. I think that is one of the main reasons locals tend to stick together. It gets a bit difficult to invest emotionally in relationships when people are planning on moving on anyway. Lastly (in my experience) Atlanta is a fairly conservative place to live. People in the burbs have very traditional family values (yes I know I'm generalizing), and you'll find most families off to church on a Sunday. If you are looking for a place that is going to embrace your non-traditional lifestyle choices, or if your religious beliefs are not moderate, mainstream Christian, this may well not be the place for you. Again, traffic, traffic, traffic! Don't underestimate it, and use that as your primary research tool. OK, I'll stop rambling now!