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Not to get off the subject, but I have found that many people in the PNW have a skewed view of race relations simply because they live in a region that has very few black people. They think that they're enlightened and liberal when it comes to race, when the reality is they're just seldom confronted with it and thus don't have to deal with it. When they travel to parts of the country with large African-American populations, it's quite a shock. Some discover hidden biases they didn't realize they harbored. Others see racism where it doesn't exist.
On the flip side, when I travel to places that are mostly white, it strikes me as odd. Walking into a restaurant or store or airport or bank or hotel and not seeing a single black face working there can be very disconcerting.
TO THE OP: Georgia is not Washington, but if you come with an open mind and adventurous attitude you'll be fine.
Amen. I'm still reeling from my year in the Midwest -- it was a small city, probably 95% white. Real estate agents would say, with a perfectly straight face, "Oh, you don't want to live THERE, that's the black side of town." And yet, those same people would turn up their holier-than-thou noses up at Atlanta because we were "racist." Umm . . . exactly what do they think racism IS? My name is not indicative of my race, but I've often been highly amused at the look on people's faces when they are expecting an African American person, and end up with someone who just happens to have a colorful last name . . . :-)
"You want to avoid racism, but would prefer a mostly white neighborhood?"
Point taken. Yes, I want to avoid racism, I dunno know why I said mostly white. I honestly would feel really weird being part of the minority. The community I live in currently is 80% white, and less than .5% identified as 'black only' *very* white. There are all of two blacks in my neighborhood and 2 mixed. Yes, I notice race. Yes, all are welcome. I wish I knew both better than I do, one is only two doors down from me and the only black man on my street. Nicest guy and he is WELCOME. What I don't want is to live in a place where a non-white would be unwelcome. Does that make any sense? Honestly, yes, because of familiarity, I would probably be more comfortable in a mostly 'white' community... do I really care, no. Far more important is that everyone is WELCOME - regardless of skin color or anything else for that matter.
HAHA. Yeah. It would feel weird being part of the minority, wouldn't it? Better hold on to that privilege where you can!!! ...not.
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.
probably mostly white - just because that's what we are used to - but very concerned to avoid racism if possible... is it possible in GA - excuse my ignorance, born and bread in the NW and the stories from the south break my heart
Excellent comments on the board by dblackga and Newsboy.
As for the OP, finding a decent detached 3-bedroom single-family home to rent for only $1500/month or less within only a 30-40 minute commute of the Buckhead/Brookhaven area could potentially be a challenge in the current rental market in metro Atlanta.
If you want to improve your chances of finding a rental home for $1500/month or less (which $1500/month could be pushing it, particularly inside or close to the I-285 Perimeter highway which is to Atlanta what the more-famous I-495 Capital Beltway is to Washington D.C.), you will most-likely have no other option but to consider living in one of the Northeastern row house-style attached townhomes which continue to spring up (if not proliferate) all over the traditionally-overdeveloped, overpopulated and severely-congested Northside of metro Atlanta.
If you want to increase your chances of finding a detached 3-bedroom single-family home for rents of $1500/month or less in areas with good schools, you will likely have the best luck in areas like:
> the Wheeler, Sprayberry and Kell districts of East Cobb (rents will likely be much-higher in the Walton, Pope and Lassiter districts of East Cobb because those schools are much more highly-regarded, though you may potentially find older homes (15-20 years or older) with rents of $1500/monthly in those much more highly-regarded districts)...
> the Campbell district of Smyrna...
> maybe in the small Marietta City Schools system (which is independent of the Cobb County Schools System)...
Otherwise, if you want a detached 3-bedroom single-family home for only $1500/month on the very in-demand Northside of metro Atlanta, you will likely have to look in areas that will likely be further-out than the 30-40 minute one-way rush hour commute window that you would like to stay inside of.
Like JoeTarheel stated earlier, areas like Sandy Springs and Dunwoody are good places to look, but all that you will likely be able to find for rents of $1500/monthly or less in those closer-in areas are the Northeastern row house-style attached townhomes that I spoke of earlier. Though maybe, just maybe, you might be able to find some older detached single-family homes to rent at that rate of $1500/monthly, so you should definitely look in those areas.
Other good areas to look are the Peachtree Corners 30092/Norcross 30071 zip codes in Southwest Gwinnett County which is an area with good schools that is a straight-shot commute down 141. You will likely find more townhomes than detached single-family homes in this area for the $1500/monthly rental range that you are looking to stay under, but with the quality of the schools in the Norcross High School district, the P'tree Corners/Norcross area is definitely worth a very-close look.
If need be (if you cannot find anything that you like in the areas inside of or just outside of the I-285 Perimeter), you can look in the areas of North Fulton County along the GA 400, GA 141 and PIB (Peachtree Industrial Boulevard) corridors if you are willing to put up with longer commutes of 40 minutes or more and are willing to live in a Northeastern row house-style attached townhome or an older detached single-family home.
That's because the schools are of the absolute highest-quality in the GA 400, GA 141 and PIB corridors in districts/clusters for schools like Roswell, Alpharetta and Milton high schools in the GA 400 corridor; Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Northview high schools in the GA 141 corridor; and Duluth, Peachtree Ridge, North Gwinnett and Lanier high schools in the PIB corridor.
The schools are also quite good in the South Forsyth and Lambert districts in South Forsyth County, but the commute to and from Buckhead/Brookhaven will be quite long on some days.
If you are open to the idea of living in a condo or a Northeastern row house-style attached townhome in a more urban environment, you could also look around very-close to where your husband will be working in areas like Buckhead (where you will likely only find high-density condos and maybe a few townhomes), Brookhaven (where you will likely find mostly high-density condos and townhomes in your price range) and Chamblee (mostly high-density condos and townhomes and MAYBE some older detached single-family homes).
Also, one thing that you will likely have to adjust to living in metro Atlanta is the substantially-higher level of diversity that you will encounter after moving to metro Atlanta.
Like dblackga noted, metro Atlanta is a very increasingly diverse metro area where minorities made up just over half of the metro area's population at last count.
Metro Atlanta went on a massive population surge in 1990 after being named host of the 1996 Olympic games....A population surge that accelerated in pace throughout the 1990's and 2000's (Atlanta's regional population more than doubled from 2.9 million in 1990 to about 6.2 million today) and that has the state of Georgia poised to become a 'majority-minority' state within the next decade or so where non-whites will be the majority of Georgia's population.
This means that you are likely going to be living in an infinitely much more-diverse environment than you currently live in the suburbs of Seattle (...the only areas where you will find populations that are 80% white are far to the north of Atlanta in far-out Northside suburbs like Cherokee and Forsyth counties where the rush hour commutes will be over an hour each way...you will also have to pay substantially more than $1500/month in rent or mortgage payments to live in a neighborhood that is 80% white someplace closer-in to where your husband will be working as the overwhelmingly-predominantly white neighborhoods are disappearing in metro Atlanta at a very-fast rate).
Many Atlanta suburban counties that were once over 90% white in the recent past are now well over 50% non-white (and in some cases 60, 70 and/or over 80% non-white), so get ready for the culture shock of potentially living in an area of increasingly-extreme diversity in an suburban, post-suburban or semi-suburban environment.
Also get ready for the culture shock of living in a metro area and state that going through a bit of an extreme identity crisis in its transition from an overwhelmingly predominantly-white metro area and state dominated by rural and exurban interests to an increasingly ultra-diverse metro area and state that will be dominated by post-suburban and urban interests.
It will be quite the culture shock to bare witness to the ongoing political, social and cultural push and pull between Georgia's predominantly white and ultraconservative past and Georgia's majority non-white and politically, socially and culturally moderate future. It will most assuredly be much-different than anything that you may have ever witnessed first-hand out in the 'left-coast' political social and cultural environment of Washington State, that's for sure.
Last edited by Born 2 Roll; 05-16-2014 at 12:42 PM..
Not to get off the subject, but I have found that many people in the PNW have a skewed view of race relations simply because they live in a region that has very few black people. They think that they're enlightened and liberal when it comes to race, when the reality is they're just seldom confronted with it and thus don't have to deal with it. When they travel to parts of the country with large African-American populations, it's quite a shock. Some discover hidden biases they didn't realize they harbored. Others see racism where it doesn't exist.
On the flip side, when I travel to places that are mostly white, it strikes me as odd. Walking into a restaurant or store or airport or bank or hotel and not seeing a single black face working there can be very disconcerting.
TO THE OP: Georgia is not Washington, but if you come with an open mind and adventurous attitude you'll be fine.
I lived in atlanta for 7 years been in seattle for 6 years their is a high % minority population here but they not black folks.also a ton of blacks here in seattle are boeing,microsoft google amazon army,navy air force so they are not used to the large numbers of poor blacks you see in other parts of the usa.seattle is one of the last places in america a HS grad can make 100,000 on somebody's job.you say enlighted and liberal well i can tell you it is a ton of interracial dating in the pac nw and not just black -white.most folks here got somebody close to them in a IR realtionship,it is a another world here.you can talk to WW here without them turning into linda blair in the exorcist movie head swiviling scared somebody going to see them talking to a BM like most parts of the USA,because they will get greif from co-workers and family.. i have walked into tons of places here seattle and they do not act like i am going to rob them like the rest of the usa outside pac nw.it is live and let live here i wished i came here 30 yrs ago.the barber shops are full of bros who laugh and say they never will live in the south again
Also, one thing that you will likely have to adjust to living in metro Atlanta is the substantially-higher level of diversity that you will encounter after moving to metro Atlanta.
Like dblackga noted, metro Atlanta is a very increasingly diverse metro area where minorities made up just over half of the metro area's population at last count.
nope the highest % of mixed racefolks in america live in in king county (seattle and south suburbs) according to last census.king county is named after MLK jr his face is on all the county vehicles. that is bs it is all white bread in seattle.more blacks in atlanta not other races thereare huge numbers of the american indians ,mexicans,arabs east indians every asian country in big numbers becuase boeing and microsoft recruit wordwide to get the best.how afro americans move atl others groups move to seattle because they know they wil not be dealing with racially driven poverty and crime like most places in the usa.when i drive by the jr and sr high schools no such thing as all the bros here and all the others over there in separate groups.it is a different world here
OP - As you have seen race can be a touchy issue here but as a fellow Washingtonian who has spent 7 years living in the heart of Atlanta you will be fine as long as you are open minded and excited about your new adventure. While Seattle is no slouch diversity wise in the city as you know the suburbs often are not there but Atlanta is very diverse as others have mentioned and many suburbs are that way too.
There are many things to love about Atlanta but it is much different than Seattle in many ways. The culture, the outdoor activities are not as vast, the weather etc. If you are tired of dark grey winters Atlanta will be a great change.
Atlanta is more diverse in its northern suburbs then anywhere else.
rest is the good ol south. miami is more diverse than atlanta. i think folks need to leave that one alone it is still basically black and white there with dribs and drabs of others. i barely saw any other groups .
I just sent you a direct message. We moved to the PNW about 2 years ago from East Cobb.
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