Dunwoody: Family of 4, Apartments in Great Schools (Atlanta, Decatur: rentals, condo)

[Firefly7071]

We are a family of 4, 2 boys (6&12) who are selling our large West Wobb home and "right sizing" into an apartment. We have sick of home maintenance, cleaning 5 bathrooms and want more family time so we sold off everything including our house! We want to spend our free time together, parks, hikes, activities, swimming, reading, games, bike rides etc. We are really trying to embrace the minimilist & natural life style.

But as someone who has always lived in a house in the suburbs, I want someplace that is "family friendly" and not just singles. Complex activities are a huge plus. My boys NEED to be able to play with other kids. My 6 year old has a melt down when I dont let him ride his bike! So gated will make my life easier too But not necessary.

We are looking for a really nice apartment 2 & 2+den or a very small rental home in any of these school districts. Vanderlyn Elementary, Chesnut Charter Elementary, Austin Elementary, Dunwoody Elementary, Peachtree Charter Middle.

Does anyone know what complexes serve these school districts? I just cant seem to find an easy resource just to get a list of the complexes for each school.

[vkvidal]

I am not sure about the school district these fall in, but my husband and I were just in dunwoody a few weeks ago driving around looking at apartments and 2 Blocks is really nice as is the Gables and the apartments about Perimeter Place. Good luck with your search!

[chalvey]

I believe that Jefferson is the only complex that is zoned for Vanderlyn and Pointe at Perimeter is the only complex zoned for Austin. Everything else in the perimeter area is zoned for Dunwoody Elementary. I would say Vanderlyn and Austin are the best schools, with Vanderlyn having just marginally better test scores. That being said I would recommend Austin, since they have are no trailers over there (I think). I went to Vanderlyn in the late 90's and early 00's. Brilliant school, but we were the 1st class to be put into trailers. It's not really the best learning environment IMO.

I would not look into the Georgetown area. It's a bit older, but the city is planing a $50 million redevelopment plan.

If your son can get into the honors classes at Peachtree Charter he should be set. The problem with Peachtree Charter is that while all five of Dunwoody's elementary schools are great, there is one school from Doraville that is zoned for the Dunwoody cluster. A lot of these kids are immigrants who do not speak English properly. Again, if he can be in honors and is motivated and ambitious he should do brilliantly.

http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/docu...chools-map.pdf

[spacelord75]

Originally Posted by chalvey

I believe that Jefferson is the only complex that is zoned for Vanderlyn and Pointe at Perimeter is the only complex zoned for Austin. Everything else in the perimeter area is zoned for Dunwoody Elementary. I would say Vanderlyn and Austin are the best schools, with Vanderlyn having just marginally better test scores. That being said I would recommend Austin, since they have are no trailers over there (I think). I went to Vanderlyn in the late 90's and early 00's. Brilliant school, but we were the 1st class to be put into trailers. It's not really the best learning environment IMO.

I would not look into the Georgetown area. It's a bit older, but the city is planing a $50 million redevelopment plan.

If your son can get into the honors classes at Peachtree Charter he should be set. The problem with Peachtree Charter is that while all five of Dunwoody's elementary schools are great, there is one school from Doraville that is zoned for the Dunwoody cluster. A lot of these kids are immigrants who do not speak English properly. Again, if he can be in honors and is motivated and ambitious he should do brilliantly.

http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/docu...chools-map.pdf

Basically agree with this. Austin did have some trailers, but they recently moved them all out in the last year or so (or almost all...can't see the whole field).

On a side note, there are a lot of homes for rent in the area now, with the bad housing market and people not wanting to take a loss, so that is an option as well.

[Firefly7071]

Thanks everyone, I think that I am just going to make a list of all the complexes, call them and just make a graph with what schools they are zoned for. When driving around these schools I saw most of the homes are the large homes that we are trying to actually get out of and really are looking for something small, like 2-3 bed, 1-2 bath, ONE family room. My house now has 3 family rooms. That is just crazy. How many "Media" rooms do we actually need!

[lastminutemom]

Given that you live in Metro Atlanta, I suggest you visit the complexes -- I am not sure you will like what you see. For the most part, these are not places where it is easy to play outside or ride a bike. Even gated, these are mostly stick construction with little green space. I am not sure any have activities, though there are some that have lots of families. (The complexes on Ashford-Dunwoody road for example were mostly not designed with families in mind, families live there because of the schools not because of the amenities.)
Avoid Broadstone at Dunwoody at all costs.

All the schools you listed are fine -- and as someone else mentioned you might consider renting a home though that might not have all the benefits of renting you are seeking,

I also recommend that you visit the schools you are considering. Not only do each of the schools have different personalities but are probably pretty different than Cobb schools.

[Firefly7071]

Yeah, I have seen a lot of the complexes already and just get depressed instantly. I am currently out of state temporarily because I pulled my kids out of a failing west cobb school and am staying with my parents to finish up the school year and look for another place to live. So just doing some research remotely for the time being. Your right, they really didn't build rentals for families who want a simple life. More so for financial reasons.

What I am finding is if you want good schools, you have to live in a large home in the subburbs. But what I really want is good schools, tiny house in the city. I think "times are a changing" and my age bracket (30's) and the 20 somethings will want something different, but that will take some time.

I started a Google Doc to help me keep track of the schools associated with each complex if you know of other complexes as well as condo complexes tell me so I can add them. I am sure I am not the only person struggling with this situation. I am just glad I only have 2 kids who are both boys.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...FFKUXd4bXlRb1E

[chalvey]

Originally Posted by Firefly7071

Yeah, I have seen a lot of the complexes already and just get depressed instantly. I am currently out of state temporarily because I pulled my kids out of a failing west cobb school and am staying with my parents to finish up the school year and look for another place to live. So just doing some research remotely for the time being. Your right, they really didn't build rentals for families who want a simple life. More so for financial reasons.

What I am finding is if you want good schools, you have to live in a large home in the subburbs. But what I really want is good schools, tiny house in the city. I think "times are a changing" and my age bracket (30's) and the 20 somethings will want something different, but that will take some time.

I started a Google Doc to help me keep track of the schools associated with each complex if you know of other complexes as well as condo complexes tell me so I can add them. I am sure I am not the only person struggling with this situation. I am just glad I only have 2 kids who are both boys.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...FFKUXd4bXlRb1E

The more I look at this, the more I think Decatur would suit you better. I know that it is not a suburb, but they have nice quaint homes and a brilliant school system.

Regarding how you have to live in a large home to attend a good school. I was born in the U.K, but my parents moved over here when I was five. Even though I never attend school over there, form what I can see they have a better system. Over there, getting into a secondary school is not based on where one lives (to a certain degree), but rather how one stands educationally.

[Firefly7071]

Decatur is also an option, I just wanted to start...... somewhere..
My husband works right across the highway from the Cumberland mall by the Weather Channel building. so we can really live anywhere near there. I wish our current home could just be morphed into a little bungalow. The culdesac we live on is amazing.

[Ktalina86]

Hi there, i know this is late reply, but wanted to thank you for posting the google doc. I am looking for something similar and you doc is very helpful. If you don't mind me asking, where did you settle to live??