Help! Colorado family movin to Alanta (Atlanta, Norcross: crime, middle school, college)

[Mela world]

[quote=westau;28321283]You actually could keep up with the monthly snowboarding trips as long as you lower your snow and mountain quality expectations...

I am heading up to North Carolina this weekend to snowboard and it is only about 3 hours or so to the closest mountain. Amazingly the base right now is 60-80 inches as well which is usually unheard of for

Yeah, I truly understand there's no comparing Colorado basin to southern mountains, but it's still good to know My family can continue to snowboard in the south. It will be interesting to see. But the Good thing is we will fly to Colorado during the winter months once or twice a year to snowboard

[Mela world]

Well again, I want to Thank everyone for taking the time to respond and yes! I will continue to do my own research on all areas of interest. As far as schools for my children ( ages 2, 13), it's not necessarily important for my kids nor I to live or attend schools in an all black community or all Asian community. Or a mixture of both. I just want a peaceful open minded place to call home.

[ATL_GUY]

as the other posters already said, I noticed the racial tension to be more on the internet and not right in your face. I was also worried about that before I moved to Atlanta and asked many natives of Georgia if it were really that racist, but they told me it's not bad in person and so far it's been true. I see racism on this forum and on the internet but not in person. You'll be fine I am sure. There are a lot of Asians, Hispanics and everything here. As you may know, there are also a lot of Black people in Atlanta. As you get outside of the city limits, it becomes even more diverse.

[Mela world]

Originally Posted by ATL_GUY

as the other posters already said, I noticed the racial tension to be more on the internet and not right in your face. I was also worried about that before I moved to Atlanta and asked many natives of Georgia if it were really that racist, but they told me it's not bad in person and so far it's been true. I see racism on this forum and on the internet but not in person. You'll be fine I am sure. There are a lot of Asians, Hispanics and everything here. As you may know, there are also a lot of Black people in Atlanta. As you get outside of the city limits, it becomes even more diverse.

Your right!... I'm not too worried about the racial tension after everyone here was so kindly to respond and I appreciated that. So, I'm sure my family will do well.

I just found it to be some what funny,...once a person reveals their race/ethnicity a few folks may assume the person prefers to live amongst the same group and that's not always the case.

Either way I look forward to the transition.

[flyonpa]

Q; is your plan to rent now, look around, then buy?

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by Mela world

One, there seems to be a lot of back and forward racial tension, when one inquires about public education districts, and best neighborhoods. Now, I understand racial division is universal, including a persons financial/job status. But I don't want to bring my kids up with that type of tension, in which they aren't experiencing much in Colorado (Rockie Mountains)

Will this become a daily problem if we move to Alanta? My ethnicity which isn't important is black American, to whom ever cares to know, and my husband is Asian.

There are two perspectives I will offer:
1. This is an internet message board where people are more prone to voicing opinions they might otherwise not mention.
2. Georgia is a red state and a southern state... and although Atlanta (and its metro area, somewhat) is a 'blue' city and has a large minority population, go 25 miles outside the city in any direction and this is no longer the case.
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish issues of race from issues of social class, financial class, or even political class (Herman Cain *is* from the area, lol). Not everyone you encounter will be a cosmopolitan, depending on where you are. Having said that, I would be extremely surprised if your family had any issues with race/racial tensions.

1. Does Alanta offer 4-H club ( agriculture & science)?

To my knowledge, 4H does not have a big presence here, but I might be mistaken... but if it is science that you're interested in then there are many outlets available (Georgia Tech is right near the middle of the city)

2. Does the Alanta and surrounding towns offer Fresh farmers markets?

There are fresh markets in many areas around town, but since Atlanta is a big city, you will find a more varied selection of exotic foods and plants at the farmer's markets or asian supermarkets around town.

3. Any teen activities, including adventurous summer camps, hunting, and gun clubs?

This is a good state to live in if you like to shoot guns

Since my family and I are outdoor people who will greatly miss our monthly snowboarding fun, I want to make sure we won't get bored.

Don't be misled by statements you might have seen in other replies... Atlanta is a tough town to live in if you like partaking in winter sports. I have done about 30 days snowboarding out west and 2.5 days here in the southeast. The closest hills for snowboarding are 3-5 hours away, have 90% artificial snow the entire season, use ancient chair lifts, have small vertical drops, horrible terrain parks, and way too many people on the weekends. It will be well worth it to save money up for yearly ski/snow vacations, rather than subject your kids to the ordeal that is snowboarding in the southeast.

4.Are there any foreign language programs outside of public schools (privately funded), such as Korean but not limited to? ( my husband isn't Korean)

Yes, chinese (mandarin), spanish, among a few others

5. Are people openly friendly or is it more of a clic? Just curious

The answer is yes :-). It all depends on who you meet.

6. Is it true that many public schools there, are closing down? If so, is it affecting all areas including upscale areas.

Speaking as a transplant from up north.... Georgia public schools are not on par with the education that kids get in most other parts of the country. If they could handle public school in CO then they should find the academic curriculum in Georgia to be slower and easier for the most part. Put them into honors classes as soon as you can.

That being said, I do like more greenery areas with walking/ bike trails, but that maybe asking for too much.

Do some research on the Atlanta beltline.

Now, commuting will be an important factor to my husband and if he can ride a bus/ tran etc that would be a plus.

He'll want to take the MARTA trains and avoid the bus. The buses get stuck in traffic just like cars do.

Lastly, can you tell me if its true: if your child attends a high school for four years and graduate with a 3.0+, then he or she will be guarantee entrance into a local university in the state/ full scholarship? If not, what are the facts?

That is a topic large enough for its own thread (or three). The program is called HOPE, and its hard to say what form it will still exist in by time your kids graduate. The popularity of the program has led to:
-Grade inflation in public schools
-Tougher admittance standards for in-state public colleges
-Tougher academic requirements to keep the scholarship
-Lowering the number of years and credits that the scholarship pays for
-Proposals to tier the scholarship based on household income.


There will be some things you miss about CO, and it will take you a while to find or appreciate some of the gems that Atlanta has to offer.... and also to get used to all the fat, sedentary people in the suburbs around here ;-). I would highly recommend making sure that your family gets out of the southeast regularly to give them a good perspective on the different ways of life between Atlanta and CO. The smallness of the mindset out here might surprise you sometimes

[Mela world]

Thanks a lot Tarzanman. I appreciate your observation. Yeah my husband said we will have winter vacations to Colorado since we have a vacation rental n Breckenridge. Also I plan to fly out to GA and travel around before we pack up. Regarding schooling for my teen we will more likely put him into a private school since he is taking advance classes aftrall I cant allow him to fall behind. Thanks

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by Mela world

Thanks a lot Tarzanman. I appreciate your observation. Yeah my husband said we will have winter vacations to Colorado since we have a vacation rental n Breckenridge. Also I plan to fly out to GA and travel around before we pack up. Regarding schooling for my teen we will more likely put him into a private school since he is taking advance classes aftrall I cant allow him to fall behind. Thanks

It is nowhere near that easy. Private school applications were due months ago and decisions come out in April. Frankly, if a school still has space it is unlikely the classes are really advanced. You are much better off, if your child isn't in a top tier private school, looking in N. Fulton which has continuous curriculum. Is your child currently in a private school?

Good public schools generally offer more than average private schools, in my opinion, for the gifted student.

Let me know a little bit more about your son and I can perhaps offer my two cents.

[ATLTJL]

and also to get used to all the fat, sedentary people in the suburbs around here ;-).

Typical City Data bias.

I can tell you as someone who has lived both in the city limits of Atlanta and suburban Atlanta that I have seen absolutely no difference in the number of fat people living sedentary lifestyles in the city vs. the suburbs. I have no reason to lie about this.

Of course, I haven't lived in every square inch of the city, and I have also chosen my suburbs wisely....there may be some out there with more fat lazy people than where I have lived and live now! But I also know that some of the fattest laziest people live in the city limits too

I also wanted to point out that things may get rural when you get 25 miles outside the city in most directions, but not on I-85. In fact, the racial diversity gets even richer than it is in the city around 25 miles or so up I-85. In other directions, I can't speak to, probably it does get more homogenous.

If you like walking/bike trails, the Beltline is the massive project that everybody is talking about, but you've got a pretty long term horizon to see it really take off. In the meantime, there are several area greenways that you can check out. Look up the Alpharetta Greenway. It's expanding, but is already fairly built out and offers a multi-use paved path for biking/jogging, etc. and a network of dirt mountain biking trails. Other greenways like the Suwanee greenway also exist, they are getting quite popular and there are some big plans to connect some of them into a huge network of greenways. I don't want to take away from the Beltline, which you should also look into, but also realize it isn't the only or biggest game in town.

[AtlJan]

I'm going to echo lastminutemom. It is past the deadline for admission to private schools in Atlanta. If your son has some very exceptional gifts (scholastic, athletic, drama, whatever), it may be worth it to call a few of the very good private schools and ask if they would consider him at this time. Otherwise, you are better off looking at some of the good public schools, intown: Grady & North Atlanta, or the East Cobb and North Fulton schools that are recommended on this board. If a private school has a lot of openings at this time, it probably will not offer as many advanced classes as the good public schools. He will not fall behind at these good publics--don't worry. It sounds like you are giving him a great foundation.