Possible relo to north Atlanta area- Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Buckhead??

[AtlJan]

Originally Posted by FarmersInsuranceDerrick

Public School Riverwood cluster in Sandy Springs is the best value for schools out there. Brand new elementary school, high school being rebuilt and will be completely finished by 2020. Riverside is the closest neighborhood 400 to 750K homes.

As far as private schools, notwithstanding the $30,000 you could save by the fine public schools in the area
Holy Innocence is sectarian but not overtly so. Galloway if you like touchy-feely, Pace if you can't get in to the others, Lovett is the best mix of brawn and brains, Westminster is jock preppy to the max. There are others but those are the best.

I don't know where you are getting your information but Pace is one of the toughest tickets in town--very, very competitive to get into with very small class sizes. Pace, Westminster and Galloway are great choices--Lovett would be farther from Sandy Springs but manageable. What grade levels, what are your child's strengths and interests and what is your world view besides just non-religious? I would say Holy Innocents definitely, maybe Woodward. Mount Vernon is a great school, but is Christian. Atlanta Girls School for 6-12 girls, Trinity if preschool-6th.

Caveat--the Buckhead privates create their own traffic storm coming into and out of the schools--It takes me 8 minutes to get to my child's school any other time of day, but between 7am and 8am, it takes us 25 minutes there and 25 minutes back home. You have to add 20 minutes at least for just the traffic right around the school, carpool line, etc.

[dblackga]

Another private school to consider is Wesleyan -- it's about 20-30 minutes to the east, in Norcross.

[ElleKaye]

Originally Posted by robandtaramc

My husband has a job offer in the Ravinia Office Park area. We currently live in Vestavia Hills (Birmingham area) and would love something similar. We don't know anything about the Atlanta area! We have 4 kids (age 9 and under) and are looking for a family friendly community, close to my husbands work (with 4 kids I want him home ASAP and not stuck in traffic!). What are the pros/cons of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Buckhead? Are there other areas we should consider? We are probably looking in the $500,000-$600,000 range for a house, great elementary schools, etc. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I am from Alabama and familiar with Vestavia Hills. Prestige-wise, Buckhead would be the equivalent but it's going to cost a lot more to get something large enough to accommodate your family.

I like Sandy Springs better than Dunwoody. Both only recently incorporated into cities of their own within the last ten years. To me, Dunwoody is better with business development, but Sandy Springs is better with home life balance meaning parks and what not. Without question Dunwoody has better looking houses, but things are generally more spread out.

You might like East Cobb becuase of the high ratings of the schools, and it would still put your husband within a great commute to work,.

[AtlJan]

Originally Posted by ElleKaye

I am from Alabama and familiar with Vestavia Hills. Prestige-wise, Buckhead would be the equivalent but it's going to cost a lot more to get something large enough to accommodate your family.

I like Sandy Springs better than Dunwoody. Both only recently incorporated into cities of their own within the last ten years. To me, Dunwoody is better with business development, but Sandy Springs is better with home life balance meaning parks and what not. Without question Dunwoody has better looking houses, but things are generally more spread out.

You might like East Cobb becuase of the high ratings of the schools, and it would still put your husband within a great commute to work,.

This is a good post. East Cobb would work for you very well. You are lucky that your husband works at the perimeter instead of closer into town. It opens up a lot of options for you.

I agree--Dunwoody around Dunwoody village is nice and would be do-able. I think Sandy Springs (Heards Ferry, Riverwood school district) would be a bit better because the schools. And then East Cobb. It would fit the bill and you might fall in love with it--subdivisions with tons of kids and green space, all the kids going to the local public schools because they kick major butt and are awesome. Also, parts of Roswell would be good--sometimes driving around you don't really know if you are in East Cobb or Roswell--both good for you.

Buckhead--your budget is going to get you, like, a crappy 3/2 that floods. I do not think you should bother looking there. But who cares bc you have a ton of better options with great schools and lower taxes.

[FarmersInsuranceDerrick]

Really? So you think Pace is a first choice versus Lovett or Westminster?

[LovelySummer]

There is more than one elem school in this cluster so you may want to elab a bit more.QUOTE=FarmersInsuranceDerrick;41211798]Public School Riverwood cluster in Sandy Springs is the best value for schools out there. Brand new elementary school, high school being rebuilt and will be completely finished by 2020. Riverside is the closest neighborhood 400 to 750K homes.

As far as private schools, notwithstanding the $30,000 you could save by the fine public schools in the area
Holy Innocence is sectarian but not overtly so. Galloway if you like touchy-feely, Pace if you can't get in to the others, Lovett is the best mix of brawn and brains, Westminster is jock preppy to the max. There are others but those are the best.[/quote]

[AtlJan]

Originally Posted by FarmersInsuranceDerrick

Really? So you think Pace is a first choice versus Lovett or Westminster?

Absolutely, it's #1 for a lot of people. Families fall in love w/ Pace for reasons such as the small size of the school, the warm personable community, the sizable number of Jewish students. Other families might have Westminster, Lovett, Galloway, etc. as their top list for other reasons. At 6th grade especially, Pace is extremely selective, and in non-expansion years, there are almost no openings.

What you were saying about its being the choice when you can't get into the others is laughable.

Also, the school in Sandy Springs is "Holy Innocents" not "Innocence". It is named for the infants martyred under Herod.

And finally, you said Westminster is "preppy jocks to the max." My kid's friends there are mostly Asian and Hispanic, and while it's hard NOT to want to play sports on a campus with fields as lush as Westminster's, these kids hardly fit the "preppy jock" stereotype. Sorry.

[LovelySummer]

My post did not show up properly but OP should know there are several elementary schools in what ppl are broadly referring to as the Riverwood cluster. Heards Ferry, High Point and Lake Forest.
They are different from one another. Since OP has elem age schools OP should investigate each and make a decision. Also the west Sandy Springs area near Chastain and Riverside is different from the East Sandy Springs area, which we call High Point. They are also closer to different business sectors.
OP check the areas and elementary schools and decide.

Originally Posted by FarmersInsuranceDerrick

Public School Riverwood cluster in Sandy Springs is the best value for schools out there. Brand new elementary school, high school being rebuilt and will be completely finished by 2020. Riverside is the closest neighborhood 400 to 750K homes.

As far as private schools, notwithstanding the $30,000 you could save by the fine public schools in the area
Holy Innocence is sectarian but not overtly so. Galloway if you like touchy-feely, Pace if you can't get in to the others, Lovett is the best mix of brawn and brains, Westminster is jock preppy to the max. There are others but those are the best.