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Hi, my husband is getting transferred to ATL and will be working in the College Park area. We have a 9th grade daughter and would like to find a suburb within a 45 min drive that has good high schools. We are a middle class family and are coming from a small CT town. We would like to find a community that is not too upper class or snooty where my daughter could fit in and not be the poor family in town LOL. We haven't decided on buying a house or renting a house yet. Our budget would be 150,000 - 200,000 to buy and up to 1400 to rent. My main concern is a good high school for my daughter. ANY inf0 is greatly appreciated as I have never been to ATL before. Thanks!!
Hi, my husband is getting transferred to ATL and will be working in the College Park area. We have a 9th grade daughter and would like to find a suburb within a 45 min drive that has good high schools. We are a middle class family and are coming from a small CT town. We would like to find a community that is not too upper class or snooty where my daughter could fit in and not be the poor family in town LOL. We haven't decided on buying a house or renting a house yet. Our budget would be 150,000 - 200,000 to buy and up to 1400 to rent. My main concern is a good high school for my daughter. ANY inf0 is greatly appreciated as I have never been to ATL before. Thanks!!
With your budget, some places for you to checkout within 45 minutes of where your husband will be working in College Park might be in:
...Fayette County in the Tyrone area in the attendance zone/feeder zone for Sandy Creek High School and in the Fayetteville area in the attendance zone/feeder zone for Fayette County High School...
(...You should also check around in the Peachtree City area in the attendance zone/feeder zone for McIntosh and Starr's Mill high schools, though finding something for under $200k to buy in this area could potentially be a challenge, you should definitely look to see if you can find anything to buy or rent in the Peachtree City area which has some of the best schools in the entire Southeastern U.S...)
...Coweta County in the attendance zones/feeder zones for Northgate, East Coweta and Newnan high schools...
...Douglas County in the attendance zone/feeder zone for Alexander High School...
...Henry County in the attendance zones/feeder zones for Union Grove, Ola, Dutchtown, Locust Grove and Woodland high schools.
Start your search in Fayette, Coweta and Douglas counties because they are the most convenient (in the relative sense by metro Atlanta standards) to where your husband will be working in College Park.
Because rush hour traffic can often be very-challenging on I-75 south of Atlanta, Henry County should likely be the last place that you look in case you cannot find anything that you like in Fayette, Coweta and Douglas counties.
Best of luck with your home/school search and your pending move.
Hi, my husband is getting transferred to ATL and will be working in the College Park area. We have a 9th grade daughter and would like to find a suburb within a 45 min drive that has good high schools. We are a middle class family and are coming from a small CT town. We would like to find a community that is not too upper class or snooty where my daughter could fit in and not be the poor family in town LOL. We haven't decided on buying a house or renting a house yet. Our budget would be 150,000 - 200,000 to buy and up to 1400 to rent. My main concern is a good high school for my daughter. ANY inf0 is greatly appreciated as I have never been to ATL before. Thanks!!
I have lived in both the College Park & East Point, Ga area. They're two towns right next to each other. To live 45 minutes from your husband's job, well...can turn into a logistical nightmare quickly when faced with that daily commute! You're gonna hate it! As far as schools go, try applying for Woodward Academy, a private independent school located in College Park. The area isn't too bad either, looking for a 1st apartment. The mobile security the school employs as well as College Park Police makes it a relatively safe feeling area. Nice homes there as well. Also, living in the area temporarily, until you learn your way around, will give you a chance to get more comfortable and see where else you might want to live--without breaking the bank! One thing to note, that where ever you decide to live--without a doubt, make sure the water is included (in the rent) or else you can and will find yourself stuck with a nightmarish headache! Let the water be the landlord's problem...not yours--or else you will find yourself fighting over thousands of dollars of over charges that will never go away!
Another thing to make sure you do to ask the landlord or realtorupfront is--who your utilities are with/ who your utility company will be! You want where ever you rent, to be a town rate--NOT Georgia Light & Power. Let me say that again... The difference in rates is huge!
When I lived in a 2 br/1 ba apartment in College Park (Off Virginia Ave--2009), my very 1st electric bill was only $23! It scared me so bad (because I am used to these ridiculously enormous CT Light & Power electric bills...) that I thought it was a typo! When I called them up to get the right amount--I almost shook myself to death when she told me it was correct and if I had a problem with it! Subsequently--it hovered between $23 to $26 a month practically that whole year! The only time it jumped was during my last month...and my final bill was only $40! The next place in East Point was a gorgeous, 2 br/ 1 & 1/2 bath townhouse with all utilities included for $781. The landlord was only paying $20 a month for lights and I know this because he had a slight dispute with the town utility company in my presence!
Anyways, good luck with your search! You might want to try a realtor to help you with your housing search as they can give you a better projection on what's out there!
Last edited by McaVacationDivas; 04-13-2014 at 11:29 AM..
The southside's nicest suburb will be Fayette County, largely anchored by Peachtree City.
Peachtree City will be out of your price range, you would be poorest, and might think some things are snooty.
I would look in some of the cheaper parts of Fayette, like Fayetteville. The schools are probably better.
However, what place really stuck out in my mind was Newnan/Coweta County. It is right next to Peachtree City, has the same shopping amenities, tends to be more affordable, more middle of the road middle class, and has a decent mix of white-collar and blue-collar types.
The other side to this is Atlanta has mostly grown north. There is more economic success, people, development, etc.. to the north.
I-285 West going south isn't that bad of a commute at all and Camp Creek pkwy and Langford pkwy aren't too congested going into the East Point/College Park area.
This means you could be looking in areas of Southern Cobb and get amenities from our larger, more successful counties and not have a bad commute south. It can also open you up to more job hunting options later on, that you can't entertain if you live south. I won't suggest specific areas. I know other posters can give you the ins and outs of Southern/West Cobb better than I can, but you should definitely look into it.
I don't want to start an argument, but be careful with MCA's advice. Truth is East Point/College Park are really rough around the edges. They definitly have a nice charm and character with their 'town-like' neighborhood settings and they are starting to slowly attract more attention. It would be a nothing commute. However, they are considered traditional areas of high-crime, poor schools, and civic funding issues in our region.
Woodward Academy is an old, well-established private school in Atlanta. However given its high tuition cost, competitiveness, and your house budget.... I don't think it is for you.
Your best bets are Fayetteville, Newnan, and South Cobb.
Woodward costs over $23k/year for a high schooler.
The GSSO is a government program designed to funnel money from the government to private schools. Problem is private donors decide where it goes, which leads to highly unequal payouts that a parent planning where they move can't rely on. The privately held scholarship fund, which is regulated, then make their own internal decisions, which again leads to unequal payouts and distributions...etc...
Even then, it will not pay near the full amount...much less to all students.
It is hardly free private schools for most. It is why more people should learn more about it.
But to be bluntly honest. This is hardly sound advice for anyone moving here, unless they already know they will go into a private school from the start.... in which case chase after any funding you can get.
The far safer option would be to move to an area with good public schools.... even if you pursue funding for private schools that you may or may not get.
Last edited by atlantagreg30127; 04-13-2014 at 08:16 PM..
I have lived in both the College Park & East Point, Ga area. They're two towns right next to each other. To live 45 minutes from your husband's job, well...can turn into a logistical nightmare quickly when faced with that daily commute! You're gonna hate it! As far as schools go, try applying for Woodward Academy, a private independent school located in College Park. The area isn't too bad either, looking for a 1st apartment. The mobile security the school employs as well as College Park Police makes it a relatively safe feeling area. Nice homes there as well. Also, living in the area temporarily, until you learn your way around, will give you a chance to get more comfortable and see where else you might want to live--without breaking the bank! One thing to note, that where ever you decide to live--without a doubt, make sure the water is included (in the rent) or else you can and will find yourself stuck with a nightmarish headache! Let the water be the landlord's problem...not yours--or else you will find yourself fighting over thousands of dollars of over charges that will never go away!
Another thing to make sure you do to ask the landlord or realtorupfront is--who your utilities are with/ who your utility company will be! You want where ever you rent, to be a town rate--NOT Georgia Light & Power. Let me say that again... The difference in rates is huge!
When I lived in a 2 br/1 ba apartment in College Park (Off Virginia Ave--2009), my very 1st electric bill was only $23! It scared me so bad (because I am used to these ridiculously enormous CT Light & Power electric bills...) that I thought it was a typo! When I called them up to get the right amount--I almost shook myself to death when she told me it was correct and if I had a problem with it! Subsequently--it hovered between $23 to $26 a month practically that whole year! The only time it jumped was during my last month...and my final bill was only $40! The next place in East Point was a gorgeous, 2 br/ 1 & 1/2 bath townhouse with all utilities included for $781. The landlord was only paying $20 a month for lights and I know this because he had a slight dispute with the town utility company in my presence!
Anyways, good luck with your search! You might want to try a realtor to help you with your housing search as they can give you a better projection on what's out there!
If the OP is looking for a town / school situation that is not too "upper class and snooty," and has a home budget of only $150,000-200,000, then Woodward Academy is clearly not an option -- on all points. It's a very expensive, very exclusive private school -- dare I say one of the "snootiest" in the metro area, if not the country.
The OP will be much more happier and find exactly what she's looking for in Newnan / Coweta County, which is a reasonable commute to College Park and has both homes in her price range and decent schools. Next-door Fayette County has much better schools, but as others have mentioned finding a nice home for under $200,000 is going to be next to impossible in Peachtree City, and difficult but not impossible in Fayetteville. There's a lot of new construction going on in Fayetteville right now, especially.
I'd suggest starting my search in Fayetteville as well as East Coweta / Sharpsburg and going from there. A competent Realtor is going to be your best friend.
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The difference in rates is huge! 
Subsequently--it hovered between $23 to $26 a month practically that whole year! The only time it jumped was during my last month...and my final bill was only $40! 
