What is crime like in atlanta? (Dunwoody: homes, neighborhood, living in)

[NorthmeetsSouth]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I have no idea what has happened to the latest generation of kids in the 8-18 year old bracket. It's amazing. Burning pets, stealing pets when they rob a house, beating up elderly residents who are in the homes they burglarize - kids who aren't even in their teens yet involved in carjackings and home invasions. Every generation has it's share of bad apples, but it's like the bad ones in this particular generation aren't just bad - they're downright evil; absolutely NO sense of right or wrong or any value of a human or animal life at all. None. It's very scary.

Remember the "Good old days" when children were afraid of being caught misbehaving by adults?! These days adults are afraid of children because so many of them will retaliate if you yell at them or tell their mothers what they are up to! I guess that many of them weren't spanked for bad behavior as children, so they grew up with no regard for consequences! (That was for you, otoatlanta )
I think the public schools have a lot to do with it. They have dumbed-down the curriculum so that everybody can graduate, not with the same education, but at least with the same self-esteem. They don't want anyone to feel like a failure, so they don't push them to try harder. Then, they go home to their moms and dads who often are more interested in being their pals than their disciplinarians. What we are winding up with are a bunch of spoiled brats who think they are above reproach and shouldn't be held responsible for any of their actions.
I, for one, am looking for a nice area with an older population so that I can move somewhere where I won't have to deal with them when they become the main component of the work-force.

[backfist]

Originally Posted by rlee857610

Dont move here. People are shooting each other left and right. Why right out side of my office window, three people have been shot dead this morning. And right now some buys are robbing the bank next door, and rapping some cows.

I am telling you this is the worst town I have ever lived in. Yesterday 16 people on the bus I was riding on just took out their knives and guns and went at it. THis is pretty typical of Atlanta so I hope you are well armed. Personally I keep a 357 and a machette on me at all times.

And that's the nice part of town.

The rest of Atlanta features daily suicide bombings, missle strikes and vicious fire fights between rival militias.

[SEAandATL]

If crime and safety is a concern, I wouldn't recommend moving to Atlanta. I would look at San Diego where everyone is always happy and there is rarely a murder. So far in 2007, there has only been 55 homicides in the city of San Diego, and the population is about 1.2 million (about 3x Atlanta's pop). I always wondered why Atlanta was one of the worst cities where there are so many unhappy people in general. Is it the weather? Or the lack of activities? I would say the biggest factor would be economics, and there is a lot of poverty in Atlanta.

When I used to live there, I thought it was one of the most God-forsaken cities in the whole United States. But since I left, my hometown pride has been drawing me to want to go back, even to give up San Diego for it. But lately it seems like Atlanta isn't what it used to be, not that it's at an all time high, but because even the outer suburban areas seem unsafe and gang-ridden. Also the types of crimes that are being committed lately are sickening and disturbing.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I have no idea what has happened to the latest generation of kids in the 8-18 year old bracket. It's amazing. Burning pets, stealing pets when they rob a house, beating up elderly residents who are in the homes they burglarize - kids who aren't even in their teens yet involved in carjackings and home invasions. Every generation has it's share of bad apples, but it's like the bad ones in this particular generation aren't just bad - they're downright evil; absolutely NO sense of right or wrong or any value of a human or animal life at all. None. It's very scary.

I think some of this is related to the fact that there's far more media coverage these days then there was 30-40 years ago when many of us were growing up. I remember knowing kids who did all sorts of nasty things when I was growing up, but none of that stuff made it into the papers or TV.

Latest one, too: In South Fulton alone, over 655 burglaries so far and most involve teens. 6-5-5 in just that one area alone - they say a 13% increase over the year before. Story: 11Alive.com - Teen Burglary Task Force Created (http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=107609 - broken link)

That might be something different. A lack of respect for the law sits at the core of that, I think. Screw special treatment for teens -- throw away the key, I say. Most teens are perfectly aware of the nature of the acts they're comitting.

[pbandj]

This is an interesting thread. Lots of people living in the burbs calling the city unsafe. My wife and I have lived in various intown neighborhoods for the past four years and haven't had any problems. Atlanta is a big city so of course it has its share of crime, but we have never felt unsafe here.

It's funny how divided this city is... people that live inside 285 never go OTP, and the people that live outside 285 never venture inside (except for work or sporting events). To each their own I guess.

[ToughLuv]

When I spent time in ATL for a year, crime didn't seem to be to bad..But I guess it justs depends on what your use to..

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by ToughLuv

When I spent time in ATL for a year, crime didn't seem to be to bad..But I guess it justs depends on what your use to..

It could also be that you were in a decent part of town. Overall, Atlanta really doesn't seem as bad as the media portrays it to be. If you're in somewhere like Buckhead, Midtown, or VA Highlands, you're a lot more likely to be safe as most of the violent crimes happen in the south and west side of Atlanta. Still you can never be too careful no matter where you're at of course.

[JHoustonGriff76]

I’ve lived in Atlanta for five years now and never had any trouble, even in the three years I lived downtown (I live just outside of Atlanta in west Cobb County now).
I’m not sure if you’re asking about the specific city of Atlanta or the entire greater metro area sprawl commonly called Atlanta, but I’d say most of Atlanta is usually safe in either definition.


Yes, even the city. There’s a lot misconception about Atlanta's crime problems from people who haven't spent much time in the city, except maybe to go the airport or a sporting event. My job puts me in contact with many people in the farthest reaches of the greater metro sprawl and many of them seem to think that you’ll automatically get carjacked and shot if you take a wrong turn on the way to a Falcons game.


This is silly but somewhat understandable because of the constant barrage of crime stories from Atlanta’s most notorious neighborhoods and housing projects on the news every night, the same few places being featured over and over again. Residents in the far off suburbs and exburbs get the local Atlanta broadcast for their local news as well, but being unfamiliar with the layout of the city, they aren’t aware of all the low-crime areas of that are rarely in the news and think most of Atlanta consists of the dangerous ghettos they see on TV.


While there are too many murders in Atlanta, statistically your chances of getting killed are still pretty low. According to a recent report there have so far been 121 murders in 2007 as of the end of November. Bad as this is, most of these murders were confined to a small number of bad areas and very few of them were random killings of strangers but resulted from things like gang warfare, drug related disputes, dance club or barroom fights that went too far, jealous ex-boyfriends, business hold-ups gone wrong, ect.


In short, Atlanta is just like any other big city. There’s always a chance of trouble finding you, but for the most part you can usually avoid it. Most of the crime is concentrated in a few rough areas, and are places you’d most likely never find yourself in by accident. You just have to know which hot spots to stay away from, be aware of your surroundings, and take proper precautions. There are a few safe and attractive neighborhoods in Atlanta that you don’t have to be rich to live in, and there are many more in the suburbs. I wouldn't let fear of crime be the main factor in deciding whether to move here or not.

[JHoustonGriff76]

Originally Posted by pbandj

This is an interesting thread. Lots of people living in the burbs calling the city unsafe. My wife and I have lived in various intown neighborhoods for the past four years and haven't had any problems. Atlanta is a big city so of course it has its share of crime, but we have never felt unsafe here.

It's funny how divided this city is... people that live inside 285 never go OTP, and the people that live outside 285 never venture inside (except for work or sporting events). To each their own I guess.

I've lived in the Atlanta area for five years now and find your observation to be accurate, but I think I understand the OTP/ITP divide after living in both.

I lived downtown (two blocks from GSU) for the first three years. I had to drive through some dicey neighborhoods sometimes and deal with panhandlers on a daily basis, but never I really felt unsafe.

Now I’m in West Cobb (the mailing address is Smyrna, but local residents and real estate people insist on calling it Vinings). Before I moved OTP, I never went to the suburbs because I figured there was nothing out there that Atlanta didn’t have a better version of. I still think this is true for the most part, but I don’t require the absolute best of everything (can’t afford it).

When I first moved out here, I’d make a lot of trips to Atlanta for dining out and shopping, but I gradually went back less and less as I got to know Cobb County better. There is much more diversity in culture and shopping choices than I originally thought. I can get the international groceries and gourmet foods I enjoy out here just as easily as I could when I lived in the city, and there are plenty of quality bars and restaurants (the club scene can't compete obviously, but I don't like clubbing anyways).

Now that I'm getting older and settling down, I prefer spending a night out with friends in a quiet restaurant in Marietta Square or someplace similar over a night of bar hopping in Little Five Points or Midtown. Since I can get most things here that I want without going to Atlanta, I rarely go anymore except to catch a music act at the Variety Playhouse or Fox Theater, and the occasional trip to IKEA. Conversely, the suburbs don’t offer anything of interest that can’t be found Atlanta, so there isn’t a reason for people inside the perimeter to leave except to get a cheaper price on landscape ornaments and building materials.



Anyways, now I can understand why so many people from outside the perimeter think that all of Atlanta is dangerous and horrible. So many of them just haven't spent any time getting to know the city because the suburbs already have everything most people want and a lot of what they see of Atlanta (outside of their grueling work commute) comes from the 10:00 news.

[pbandj]

Very well said JHoustonGriff76!