Lambert High School feeder vs. Milton or Cambridge (Atlanta, Forsyth: for sale, to rent)

[baseballmomNY]

Hopefully moving soon and just looking for some opionions.

We have 2 elementary school age kids (although our older one will start middle school next year)

We have been concentrating on Milton area, however we've been seeing a lot of positive feedback about suwanee (forsyth) area that feeds into Lambert High School.

Both of our kids are good students. Our son is into sports and our daughter is into theater.

Looking for swim and tennis neighborhoods where the kids can just run out and play with their friends. (although, I'm not sure that really exists anymore)

We will be moving from a suburb of NYC, and would probably look to rent for the first year before buying

[flyonpa]

Milton / Cambridge / Lambert are all great/Equal schools / Feeders. You will find lots of Swim Tennis (more in Lambert area). Where is work?

[lastminutemom]

No bad choices there. What I would do is make sure that when you find a place to rent in X school district, that you also take some time to look at the for sale home market and make sure that you like the style and price points. You would hate to move your kids twice in that short period of time.

[Mattie]

Milton would have the edge for theater programs. They have a very highly regarded program that regularly wins awards.

[flamadiddle]

What's your budget? There are swim & Tennis communities all over the place in this area.

Also consider that you'll pay a little less in property taxes in Forsyth (Lambert).

[baseballmomNY]

My husband works from home, so commute is not an issue.

Looking in the 550-600 range (give or take)

The taxes between where we are right now in New York and down there is such a drastic difference that the difference between Forsyth and Fulton doesn't really make a difference for us. Its more important that we are comfortable in the neighborhood.

Also, we would be looking to join a Jewish synogogue (we are pretty reformed!) Not sure if one of those areas would cater to that more than another.

Lastly, I'm hearing that Northwestern Middle School is a better choice than Hopewell. (although I think Hopewell is getting a new principal) Any insight on that would be greatly appreciated because that would also make a difference as to where we rent...(Lastminutemom...this was a good point that I neglected to mention, thank you!)

[Mattie]

My son went to Northwestern, and we were pleased. Hopewell, as you mentioned, had a lot of issues. But, yes, the principal has been replaced. Still no word on how the atmosphere is under the new one. I had two boy attend Milton, and the experience was very positive.

But, if the focus for your daughter is theater arts, you should consider Milton.

[baseballmomNY]

Do you mean Milton over Cambridge for theater, or just Milton/Cambridge over Lambert?

Does one area have more of a "small town feel" over another?

We've been to Milton a lot, we love that you can get more property and that the homes aren't on top of each other. We haven't been to South Forsyth area just yet

[Mattie]

Cambridge just opened a year ago, so I am referring to Milton for a theater program. Milton has stronger sports teams, but that is just due to the fact that juniors and seniors in the new Cambridge district were given the option of moving to the new school, or staying where they were. There is no reason to think Cambridge won't be a force in the future, in fact, it might be easier to make a varsity team at this point. So, sports would be a draw, but theater edge is definitely given to Milton.

[flamadiddle]

I think you'll be fine in any of those areas, but definitely have a look at South Forsyth before making a decision. You mentioned kids running around without worry and although it has its pros and cons, there are several "gated" communities in South Forsyth that are within your range. Take a look at "Laurel Springs" and "St. Marlo" for example. Both are swim/tennis/golf/gated communities. A little lower in price would be "Olde Atlanta" and "Deer Lake"