Need some friendly guidance! (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: apartments, rentals, condo)

[chrisaran]

Our little family (myself, wife, 2.5 year old daughter and dogs) are looking to start over and leave the horrible state of Florida. My wife is a school teacher (pre-k to third grade) and I will probably be a stay at home dad until school time for the little one. Originally started looking at the Gwinnett County (Snellville and Lawrenceville) but we are curious on opinions of that area and any other areas north of the city. Number 1 and 2 is schools and low crime. Just want to find a great place we will never want to leave. Are areas of interest would be Stone Mountain, the Braves, parks (hopefully pet friendly) and malls, so anything within decent distance would be ideal. Traffic isn't a huge issue (since we have visited Chicago, Detroit, DC, Miami and lived in Orlando area).

1. Budget $1200 max - renting first
2. House/Condo/Townhome? House a MUST
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) Wife - Teacher, Husband - Unsure
4. Children(public school vs. private) Public
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two? Flexible but prefer Suburban
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? NOT Important
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Middle to Upper Class, LOW CRIME

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated since neither my wife or I have never lived outside of our tiny little county we live in now.

If it helps cities of interest are Marietta, Kennesaw, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Duluth, Lawrenceville and Snellville. Although it is not limited to those basically anything outside of 285 in the northern areas.

THANKS

[MattCW]

Snellville or Lawrenceville would probably suit you well. You could also look toward the northern suburbs of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Roswell and Alpharetta, and these would give you what you want plus good access to transit if you want to head into Atlanta for any reason. You've certainly picked some good areas on your own; short of specific questions, I'm not sure how much more we could provide!

[lorilove]

I am curious what you hate about Florida so much - so we can steer you away from making the same mistake.

[flyonpa]

Job need to come 1st, Where will she be teaching? Then find place to live...

[chrisaran]

The number one reason for leaving Florida is the 11 month summers. We want all seasons, darn it!
Another reason is education and that includes both what the child receives and the teachers salaries.

[chrisaran]

Originally Posted by lorilove

I am curious what you hate about Florida so much - so we can steer you away from making the same mistake.

Originally Posted by flyonpa

Job need to come 1st, Where will she be teaching? Then find place to live...

Very true but job search does relate to areas you may or may not want to live. Obviously we will not move until a job is secured, that's simply common sense which we have plenty. So a more insightful comment about the areas would be appreciated.

[chrisaran]

Here's a question. What websites are used in the areas the most for seeing available rentals. Down in my area where I live it's craigslist or zillow. Are there any others that are used in Atlanta area?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by chrisaran

Our little family (myself, wife, 2.5 year old daughter and dogs) are looking to start over and leave the horrible state of Florida. My wife is a school teacher (pre-k to third grade) and I will probably be a stay at home dad until school time for the little one. Originally started looking at the Gwinnett County (Snellville and Lawrenceville) but we are curious on opinions of that area and any other areas north of the city. Number 1 and 2 is schools and low crime. Just want to find a great place we will never want to leave. Are areas of interest would be Stone Mountain, the Braves, parks (hopefully pet friendly) and malls, so anything within decent distance would be ideal. Traffic isn't a huge issue (since we have visited Chicago, Detroit, DC, Miami and lived in Orlando area).

1. Budget $1200 max - renting first
2. House/Condo/Townhome? House a MUST
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) Wife - Teacher, Husband - Unsure
4. Children(public school vs. private) Public
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two? Flexible but prefer Suburban
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? NOT Important
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. Middle to Upper Class, LOW CRIME

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated since neither my wife or I have never lived outside of our tiny little county we live in now.

If it helps cities of interest are Marietta, Kennesaw, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Duluth, Lawrenceville and Snellville. Although it is not limited to those basically anything outside of 285 in the northern areas.

THANKS

Gwinnett County is a really good place to look as the Gwinnett County Public Schools system is considered to be one of the absolute best large urban-suburban school systems in the entire nation and has been recognized as such on multiple occasions in recent years.

Snellville, Lawrenceville and Duluth are good places to look within Gwinnett County, though you must be careful where you look as parts of those areas and, Gwinnett County in general, are transitioning from traditional suburban areas to areas that are more urban in nature.

With schools and crime being your top two priorities, if you do decide to look in the Snellville area, look north of the US 78 Stone Mountain Highway/Main Street corridor in the 30078 zip code in the feeder zone for Brookwood High School, which is a very highly-regarded high school which is rated a "10" on the GreatSchools website.
Brookwood High School - Snellville, Georgia - GA - School overview

The area of Snellville below (or south of) the US 78 Stone Mountain Highway/Main Street/Athens Highway corridor is further along in its transition from suburban to urban with a much more transient population, lower-quality schools (in the feeder zones for South Gwinnett and Shiloh high schools), and higher (and rising) crime than in most (but not all) of the areas of Snellville above (or north of) the US 78 corridor.

The part of the area with a Snellville mailing address above (north of) US 78 is also a very-good area to consider because of the amenities available in the very-large shopping strip along GA 124 Scenic Highway north of US 78 up to just beyond Webb Gin House Road, which also happens to be an area of extremely-severe traffic congestion during much of the day (particularly during evening rush hours and the Christmas shopping season).

The area in the neighboring feeder zone for Grayson High School is also a great place to look as it is (also) an area with excellent schools with much community support, low crime and a large stock of affordable newer housing.

If you look in the Lawrenceville area, look within the feeder zones for:

...Archer High School (which is a new high school that just recently opened up in Fall 2009 on the southeastside of Lawrenceville);

...Mountain View High School (which like Archer is also a new high school that recently opened in Fall 2009);

...Collins Hill High School.

If you decide to look in the Duluth area of Gwinnett County, look within the feeder zones for Peachtree Ridge High School (whose feeder zone straddles areas with Duluth, Suwanee and Lawrenceville addresses) and Duluth High School.

Marietta (in the feeder zones for Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Wheeler, Sprayberry, and Kell high schools in East Cobb County and in the feeder zone for Harrison High School in West Cobb County); Kennesaw (in the feeder zones for Kennesaw Mountain and North Cobb high schools); Roswell (in the feeder zones for Roswell and Centennial high schools); Alpharetta (in the feeder zones for Alpharetta High School); and Johns Creek (in the feeder zones for Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Northview high schools) are also great places to look.

...Though, admittedly, finding a detached single-family home for $1200 or less could potentially be a challenge in areas like East Cobb, Roswell, Alpharetta and Johns Creek.

Other great places to look include:

...In the Hillgrove High School feeder zone area of Powder Springs in West Cobb County;

...In the Allatoona High School feeder zone area of Acworth in Northwest Cobb County;

...In the North Paulding High School feeder zone area of the area with an Acworth mailing address in North Paulding County;

...Anywhere in Cherokee or Forsyth counties;

...In the City of Buford in the highly-regarded small independent Buford City Schools system;

...In North Gwinnett County in the feeder zone for Mill Creek High School;

...In the Flowery Branch High School feeder zone area of South Hall County;

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by chrisaran

Here's a question. What websites are used in the areas the most for seeing available rentals. Down in my area where I live it's craigslist or zillow. Are there any others that are used in Atlanta area?

In addition to Craigslist and Zillow, two other websites that are used for finding available rentals are:

...Georgia MLS:
Georgia MLS

...and the HomeFinder section of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta's main daily newspaper:
AJC Homefinder / Apartments and homes for rent | www.ajc.com

[lastminutemom]

Have you checked teacher salaries in Georgia? Keep in mind that the highest salaries are paid in the most challenging school district, City of Atlanta.

Most systems have furloughed teachers (they aren't being paid for a full year). While that is slowly improving, teachers haven't had a raise for many years in most metro systems.

Also, though things have improved, the teaching market isn't so great here. Especially for elementary school. Some systems steer away from experienced teachers because they cost more.

Does your wife have any certifications (ie special ed, gifted, esl)