Differences between Fulton Co. and Dekalb Co.? (Atlanta, Kennesaw: sales, renting)

[ElleKaye]

I am planning to move from Kennesaw and am looking at some places in Buckhead and Brookhaven. Apparently, a portion of Buckhead is also in Dekalb County. I am not at all familiar with Dekalb County except for the the time I was in Decatur and could not pay for my gas at the pump.


Please tell me any subtle or significant differences between Fulton County and Dekalb County. For instance, I'm most familiar with Cobb County and can say definitively that sales taxes are lower than Fulton's, traffic nazis are more prevalent in Cobb, and there tend to be fewer street lights in Cobb.


I'd appreciate any details like that or whatever you have to offer like alcohol sales stop at 2 a.m. In Cobb which I learned the hard way while throwing a party when I first moved here. I understand that even within the counties, certain things vary by city but am just trying to decide if Buckhead in Fulton versus Buckhead or Brookhaven in Dekalb would be significantly different.


Thanks!

[Born 2 Roll]

There might be a very small part of the 30324 zip code (roughly the north half of which is a Buckhead zip code) which protrudes into DeKalb County above and west of Buford Highway, but that area is not known to be part of Buckhead as generally virtually all of Buckhead lies inside of Fulton County and the incorporated area of the City of Atlanta.

Generally virtually all of Buckhead lies in Fulton County west of the Fulton-DeKalb county line within the north end of the corporate limits of the City of Atlanta, while everything east of the Fulton-DeKalb county line is in Brookhaven from I-85 up to I-285.

I may be wrong (and I'm sure that someone will correct me if I am wrong), but I am personally not aware of any significant chunks of Buckhead that lie inside of DeKalb County maybe except for a small portion of the 30324 zip code above Buford Hwy, but I am pretty sure that area of the 30324 zip code that juts into DeKalb County above Buford Highway is under the governmental jurisdiction of the new and recently-incorporated City of Brookhaven.

As far as significant differences between Fulton and DeKalb counties, there are necessarily too terribly many glaring differences between the two counties as both counties are often mentioned in the same breath as if they are virtually one in the same ("Fulton-DeKalb, blah-blah-blah, etc").

The biggest difference between the two counties might be the bar hours as, to the best of my knowledge, most bars within the City of Atlanta (most of which, except for the small portion of the City of Atlanta that lies inside of DeKalb County, lies inside of Fulton County) must close at 2:30am while most bars within unincorporated DeKalb County don't have to close until 4am on most nights (some nights bars can stay open to 6am).

The bar hours in other incorporated areas of Fulton and DeKalb counties may differ from the bar hours inside of the corporate limits of the City of Atlanta and unincorporated DeKalb County.

Other than bar closing hours, there does not necessarily seem to be any significant differences between Fulton and DeKalb counties, maybe except that the county government that is responsible for delivering municipal services in unincorporated DeKalb County seems to be increasingly dysfunctional as of late, more dysfunctional than the city governments in most incorporated areas in Fulton and DeKalb counties.

[ATLTJL]

I think it really only matters if you have kids in school. Even then, it really boils down to the city lines as if you're in Fulton county you are in Atlanta and go to APS, but if you're in Dekalb county, you're in Dekalb county schools.

Also, as was stated, for things like trash pick-up and certain tax issues if you happen to be buying a house.

If you are renting and have no kids, it really makes no difference whether you are in Fulton or Dekalb.

However -- and I'm sure this will spark plenty of argument, but it's the truth -- Fulton is considered better.

[Born 2 Roll]

Most of Fulton County is incorporated while much of DeKalb County remains unincorporated for the time being.

Though, the Brookhaven area that the OP mentioned just incorporated into a new city last year, so the municipal services in the Brookhaven area are no longer delivered by the dysfunctional DeKalb County government.

[ElleKaye]

Thanks Born 2 Roll and ATLTJL.

Let me ask you about gas bills which I find outrageously high in Cobb as I'm not even home for much longer than 8 hours a day. It's almost a deal breaker to have all electric, but perhaps it's just a Cobb EMC thing. When I see places in Fulton or Dekalb with both gas and electric, I cringe.