List of Cobb County Schools & Swim/Tennis Neighborhoods $350K - $450K range (Atlanta: for sale)

[linlacor]

We are relocating to Marietta or Roswell this summer from a Dallas Suburb (Coppell) that has highly rated schools (9 & 10 on Great Schools.org website). My husband will be commuting to Buckhead for work ~ 3 days per week & the airport regularly (he also works from home some days). I am primarily looking at Cobb County schools at this time and because we have a few months before we actually need to purchase a home, I am researching possibilities ad nauseam. My apologies if a thread like this has already been started, I have searched and haven't been able to find one that totally meets what I'm looking for. Please feel free to share the link if it already does.

This is the list I've come up with so far of the schools in Cobb County that we are interested in our children attending (will be 6th grade & 1st grade next year) with the neighborhoods that feed to them that are swim/tennis neighborhoods. I have also included which middle schools and high schools that the elementary schools feed to (as some elementary schools feed to more than one middle school and some middle schools feed to more than one high school) Our price range is between $350K - $450K depending on the amount of updates needed. I really prefer the traditional homes and stucco although I've read if we go stucco, we need to only consider hard coat. My husband isn't a fan of contemporary style or homes built pre 1980. I make no guarantees this list is 100% correct but to the best of my research abilities this is what I've come up with.

We are looking for a family friendly and active HOA type of community that will allow our children to have opportunities to meet friends over the summer (we'll move in June). We made a trip last weekend to look at various neighborhoods that feed to Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools and there were definitely some that had lots of Halloween decorations out and some that didn't and the size of the area where the swimming pool, tennis courts, and clubhouse definitely varied too depending on the subdivision. This was kinda what I was used to gauge the number of children living in the neighborhood.

The neighborhoods that stood out from our trip last weekend were Chimney Springs, Carriage Lakes, Carriage Park, Chadd's Walk although we didn't even come close to seeing everything on this list.

It's a very long list but if anyone is able to scan through, even part of it and point out any that you think either meets our criteria or doesn't or possibly might, I'd love your input.


Davis ES -> Mabry MS -> Lassiter HS
Neighborhoods - Creekside Oaks, Highland Pointe, Highland Ridge

East Side ES -> Dickerson MS -> Walton HS OR -> Dodgen MS -> Pope HS/Walton HS
Neighborhoods - Fox Hollow, Robinson Farms, Indian Ridge, Hidden Hollow, Indian Hills CC

Garrison Mill ES -> Mabry MS-> Lassiter HS
Neighborhoods - Chatsworth, Jefferson Township, Loch Highland

Mt Bethel ES -> Dickerson MS -> Walton OR Dodgen MS -> Pope HS/Walton HS
Neighborhoods - Tally Green, Willow Point

Murdock ES -> Dodgen MS -> Pope HS/Walton HS OR Hightower Trail MS -> Pope HS
Neighborhoods - Ashley Hall, Post Oak, Wellington

Shallowford Falls ES -> Simpson MS -> Lassiter HS
Neighborhoods - Chimney Lakes, Dorset, Lost Forrest,

Sope Creek -> Dickerson MS -> Walton HS
Neighborhoods - Hampton Farms, Kings Cove

Timber Ridge ES -> Dickerson MS -> Walton HS OR Dodgen MS -> Pope HS/Walton HS
Chadd’s Ford, Chadd’s Walk, East Hampton, Jackson’s Creek, Kensington, North Forest, Plantation Place, River Forest

Tritt ES -> Hightower Trail MS -> Pope HS
Neighborhoods - Carriage Parks, Carriage Lakes, Chimney Springs, Alpine Lakes, Alpine Forest, East Spring Lake, Mountain Creek, River Birch Glen, Plantation North, Walden

[Gulch]

Here are some neighborhoods that are in the East Side ES -> Dodgen MS -> Walton HS cluster and are within your criteria:

Independence Square
Meadow Chase
Princeton West
Penhurst

All are within your price range (Penhurst is newer and a little more expensive), have excellent swim/tennis facilities, have lots of kids, and are within a 10-15 minute walk to Dodgen and Walton.

[dblackga]

Wow, you've done a lot of research!! I plugged in your criteria in our local MLS search criteria, and at this point, there are only 5 homes currently for sale that meet your criteria of $350-$450, built after 1980, in those High School districts and in swim/tennis communities, so while there are good neighborhoods, the pickings are a little slim at the moment (holidays coming up, etc.) As you are probably aware, the schools that you have mentioned are all HIGHLY desirable schools, and the housing prices reflect that. In the spring, of course, more will open up -- you'll probably want to start seriously looking in February/March for a May closing, so it's not that far away.

I would also suggest that you widen your search a bit and take a look over in north Fulton County -- Northview, Milton and Chattahoochee HS are ranked right up there with Walton, Lassiter and Pope in the top 20 schools in Georgia -- with the Fulton Co. schools actually ranked slightly ahead of Lassiter and Pope. Access to Buckhead and the airport are about equal, and there are lots of swim/tennis communities.

[deacongirl]

I love where we live in East Cobb. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options, but I would try to make sure that you find a neighborhood that has a swim team--not all of them do. You can join other neighborhood swim teams but it is a wonderful way to make friends in your own neighborhood and much more convenient. I know that houses have been selling quickly so if you see one you like decide quickly. Oh, and FYI North Forest is most likely redoing the clubhouse area so don't let the dated appearance of the current set up dissuade you!

Re: elementary schools, I have a child at Timber Ridge and one at Mt. Bethel. Both great schools, but I really love the smaller size of Timber Ridge. The principal is wonderful as well.

[linlacor]

Thank you so much for the info. dblackga I had not considered those areas as I thought they were too far from my husband's office but once I checked, they look as though the commute would be very similar to what I looked at previously. I put together a similar list for that area but will start a new thread as it's a different area.

I am happy to be able to expand my search. I have changed our filter based on my new research to include some areas that seem to fit my criteria. Northview seems like an excellent school but my concern is that my daughter (entering 6th next year so high school isn't too far off in the horizon) is not an AP type student (i.e. she makes very good grades but doesn't live & breathe school so I think she would feel really discouraged in a school like that - the reviews I've read seem to say that it's a very academically competitive school and if you're an average or upper end of average (which is where she always falls on her performance tests) you may find yourself struggling to keep up. Anyway, for now I've excluded that school. Still too soon to tell with my Kindergartner :0)

Thank you again all for the feedback and of course would love others to jump in.

[WmMeeker]

Lassiter, Walton, Hillgrove and Pope are all really good schools so the feeder schools into them would be good as well. McEachern used to be a really good school but after Hillgrove opened up, many of the white students fled McEachern for Hillgrove leaving it questionable. Sprayberry is also a pretty decent high school though not as good as the ones above. Marietta High also has a good rep but you have to live in Marietta or pay tuition to attend there.

[dblackga]

Originally Posted by linlacor

I have changed our filter based on my new research to include some areas that seem to fit my criteria. Northview seems like an excellent school but my concern is that my daughter (entering 6th next year so high school isn't too far off in the horizon) is not an AP type student (i.e. she makes very good grades but doesn't live & breathe school so I think she would feel really discouraged in a school like that - the reviews I've read seem to say that it's a very academically competitive school and if you're an average or upper end of average (which is where she always falls on her performance tests) you may find yourself struggling to keep up.

Truthfully, if that is a concern, then you're going to find the same problem at most of the schools you are looking at -- especially Walton. The schools you are looking at are top tier in Georgia -- the very top. With over 357 high schools in Georgia, the schools mentioned here (and, frankly, in almost every post discussing the top public schools in the Atlanta area) -- Walton, Lassiter, Pope, Northview, Milton, Chattahoochee -- are all in the top 20, with Walton and Northview being in the top 10. In every school there is a layer of academic superstars -- and then there's the rest of the school, who do well, but aren't getting 2400's on their SATs, etc. Just food for thought. :-)

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by dblackga

Truthfully, if that is a concern, then you're going to find the same problem at most of the schools you are looking at -- especially Walton. The schools you are looking at are top tier in Georgia -- the very top. With over 357 high schools in Georgia, the schools mentioned here (and, frankly, in almost every post discussing the top public schools in the Atlanta area) -- Walton, Lassiter, Pope, Northview, Milton, Chattahoochee -- are all in the top 20, with Walton and Northview being in the top 10. In every school there is a layer of academic superstars -- and then there's the rest of the school, who do well, but aren't getting 2400's on their SATs, etc. Just food for thought. :-)

This. You can't go wrong with any of those schools listed.

[WmMeeker]

Originally Posted by Gulch

This. You can't go wrong with any of those schools listed.

You are right. Any of the top 20 schools are fine. You won't do any better at one vs the other.