Teens in Alpharetta/Milton (Forsyth: transplants, cliquey, middle school)

[freezinNY]

Can anyone tell me how the teens are in Alpharetta or Milton?
I will be relocating there and have 14 year old twins, 1 boy and 1 girl.

Not too worried about my daughter, as she is pretty much a "tough" girl who will stand her ground if anyone gives her BS (Girls here are VERY cliquey/stuck up and she doesn't have time for that crap.)
She is actually looking forward to making friends that are "normal."

Son is the complete opposite. He's shy and has been picked on somewhat during this school year. He's a very nice kid and would benefit from making friends that don't make him the brunt of jokes.

I just worry that moving to such an affluent area probably means that the kids are stuck up. But from what I'm reading a lot of the population is transplants, so it may very well be that the teens are from areas like mine and act the same way. I don't know.

Should I be looking elsewhere?

[flyonpa]

I have found the teen in the "Greater" Alpharetta area, to be more or less like all teens from NY/NJ/PA...

I don't think you will find much difference in the High schools in North Fulton/Forsyth/East Cobb/Cherokee Demographics. Most are Middle / Upper Middle Class area.

Not sure what your timing, But since most HS (If not all) get 2 or 3 middle school that feed it, 9th grade is a good mixing point, since everyone is arriving "New". (A few Cherokee schools do JR High 8/9 and SR HS 10-12 but it not district wide)

[ChefRamsey]

People vary, statistics don't. Just get em in some out of school activities that suite their needs.

You're looking at a desirable area in Georgia of which there are few.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by freezinNY

Can anyone tell me how the teens are in Alpharetta or Milton?
I will be relocating there and have 14 year old twins, 1 boy and 1 girl.

Not too worried about my daughter, as she is pretty much a "tough" girl who will stand her ground if anyone gives her BS (Girls here are VERY cliquey/stuck up and she doesn't have time for that crap.)
She is actually looking forward to making friends that are "normal."

Son is the complete opposite. He's shy and has been picked on somewhat during this school year. He's a very nice kid and would benefit from making friends that don't make him the brunt of jokes.

I just worry that moving to such an affluent area probably means that the kids are stuck up. But from what I'm reading a lot of the population is transplants, so it may very well be that the teens are from areas like mine and act the same way. I don't know.

Should I be looking elsewhere?

I do not know your son, but regardless of financial class, teenagers in large enough groups will pick on each other for some reason or another. This same type of social behavior has been observed in other primates (like chimpanzees), so I would hesitate to postulate that Alpharetta, Milton, or any other area have any distinct characteristics that would make being picked on less or more likely (except for the number of kids).

If your kid is having problems making friends at school then the first thing I would do is attempt to plug him into a social network AWAY from his school. Even if the situation at his high school only improves marginally, having a social safety net away from that environment will give some measure of solace. This might be a wierd sport (lacrosse? martial arts? gymnastics?) or an interest (hackerspace? tabletop gaming? programming?) ...or something like that (playing/recording music? acting or improv comedy?)

Speaking from personal experience.. the most difficult thing to remain cognizant of in that situation is the longview. Specifically that not fitting in with the group of people immediately around you doesn't mean that you cannot still grow/learn as a person or enjoy a good social life. Sometimes the only thing you can really do in that situation is live the best life you can and wait until your situation changes.