Am I on the right track? Family, walkability, etc. (Atlanta: apartments, to rent)

[backnforth143]

Hi Everyone,
I've been lurking for a couple of weeks on your forum, but just found out on Monday that we will be moving for sure. Here's my info:

1. Budget: would like to stay under 425k for sure
2. House/Condo/Townhome? SFH
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) job will be near GA Tech (278 and 29 area); is that midtown? Would definitely want to be within an absolute max of 30 min. to DH's new job.
4. Children(public school vs. private) we have 3 young boys, oldest entering 1st grade. He is possibly 2e, highly gifted with suspected adhd with anxiety (formal neuropsych evaluation in July, right before we move). Currently attends a fairly progressive elementary school with lots of hands on learning; the kid definitely needs to be engaged and challenged.
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two: would love a walkable neighborhood
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? not
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. We would like a friendly, safe area that is family friendly. We'd love to be able to walk to restaurants, etc. We're trapped in a sprawled out suburb now that is stifling, so we'd like to be around a more social community. We value diversity and open mindedness.

My research has shown me that we would likely really love Decatur, but would likely be out of budget. I also think we could be happy in Smyrna, I see that parents really like the schools and as a teacher, I know to look beyond a great school rating.

Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance for your help! We will have a 5 day house finding trip to visit, but will move within 2 weeks of that trip so it will be imperative that we get the neighborhood correct. We will have some flexibility to rent for a couple of months, but don't want to switch schools if we don't have to.

[jsvh]

I'd rent first for sure. I think you have some nice options in other east side neighborhoods between Decatur and downtown. But you will likely need to sacrifice some size on the house in order to get into Decatur or Grady school districts. But if you are OK with a couple of your boys sharing a room you should be fine. You can also check out Jackson School district for some more flexible options there.

I will let the Smyrna / Cobb folks make their case, but I am not convinced that those areas are really that walkable. There may be a couple shops and restaurants in an area but you will likely have to cross at least one 5 or 6 lane street to get to anything.

[AtlJan]

Smyrna village area is very walkable. You can walk to park, restaurants, shops, village greenspace. What else can you ask for? I doubt she is going to be walking to the grocery with three young boys.

[lastminutemom]

2e kids are very challenging as you probably know. And I can't think of a really progressive public school here, outside of maybe city of Decatur (and even those aren't so progressive.)

School starts here in six to seven weeks. When is your move date?

[netdragon]

For $425k, you can also look around Ivy Walk and West Village too (Atlanta Rd and Cumberland Pkwy) which is a bit more of a pricy area than Market Village. The area AtlJan is talking about, Market Village, is probably a more walkable and better choice though. It is the intersection of Spring St and Atlanta Rd, just North of Concord Rd. The school there is the new Smyrna Elementary (formerly Brown School district)

Smyrna is a progressive and diverse area. But, like most schools, public schools teach state and common core curriculum. School systems are at the county level in GA (with the exception of Marietta city and Decatur). Cobb has a good school system. Other than magnet and charter schools (Campbell Middle in Smyrna is a Charter Middle), the customized education is at private schools.

4br homes will range from low $300ks to high $400ks depending on square footage, number of bathrooms, HOA, yard size, whether or not they have a basement and if it's finished, and how custom they are. However, if you stay in the middle of the road for 4br homes in Smyrna, the $350k range, usually 4br/3ba range, you can probably afford some of the great private schools in the Smyrna/Vinings area or nearby in Buckhead. They tend to have small lots (why they are only mid $300ks typically) but you can pick one right near a park. E.g. Fox Chapel Dr across Atlanta Rd from Ivy Walk is near a playground on Atlanta Rd bordering some million dollar homes, and it's not too far from the start of the Silver Comet Trail, via a connector trail. Closer to market village up Atlanta Rd, there's the village green, a pond, the library, and South of Concord Rd, there's the large Taylor Brawner Park with green, picnic areas and playground. All of the aforementioned are connected via the Atlanta Rd trail.

I'm not really sure about the gifted programs in the Smyrna school since I haven't had a kid through them yet. Our daughter is in Nickajack and each year from first on they evaluate whether kids qualify for "Target". It's a very small percentage of kids based on strict factors and she didn't qualify. However, they still do a weekly "brain lab" and since she is ahead of most of the other kids because of preschool, the school provided extra material for her to keep her ahead. http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice...rServices.aspx

When they get to Campbell Middle school and high, they can be in IB (International Baccalaureate) if they qualify. It is a very rigorous program. Since Campbell is a charter school, it's one of the few middle school IBs in the metro area.

Then, of course, there's special ed. In Cobb, those are often separate schools. I think Brown is being re-purposed for that at this time since the district for market village is now Smyrna Elementary.

[westau]

Smyrna is a good suggestion but it is also questionable on whether it is within a 30 minute commute or not. If your husband can work slightly non-traditional hours that would help.

[ruskintl]

You may want to check out Grant Park. It is extremely family-friendly and has the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School which is K-8 and uses a constructivist method (hands-on, community-building, lots of projects). Jackson High School has the international baccalaureate program. I may be biased because we live in Grant Park currently, but we generally find it pleasant and convenient to all that downtown/midtown offers. Prices range from 100k-600k depending on the condition, but most are under 400k for 3 or 4 bedrooms. Ga Tech is only 4 miles from the park. The future Beltline trail is adjacent to the neighborhood, and we also have Zoo Atlanta inside the park and some nice restaurants and bars within walking distance.

[backnforth143]

Thank you everyone for your feedback! There's a lot of really great ideas here.

lastminutemom, it looks like our targeted move date is around 7/27, but that still needs to be firmed up with our relo person. I am definitely feeling the crunch here on the school situation. I had a feeling that this would happen, but I am happy to see as many choices in ATL as I'm seeing. Definitely better than some of the other options DH was tossing around. I've seen a few private schools that look interesting and will follow up with them and see if it is even possible at this point. Regardless, I have a lot of documentation on the kiddo to use as a foundation for advocating for him. He's really a great kid, but definitely can throw adults for a loop if they aren't prepared. Thankfully our school was great about documentation, I have copies of his advanced learning plan, MAP scores, cogat scores, etc. I'm hoping the neuropsych will give us some good educational recommendations and confirm or rule out any ADHD, etc.

Looks like I'll have a busy house finding trip! I'll take a look at the suggestions and keep my eye out for any other good ideas. Thanks everyone.

[79_Limited]

I would rent for a year before you make any decisions. It worked for me. Neighborhoods really vary in Atlanta and the only way to really get to know them is to spend time there both night and day. Decatur, Grant Park and Smyrna are all very different. I have lived in all of these areas except Smyrna except my office is close to this area.

[lastminutemom]

Keep in mind, that given the closeness of the start of school, most likely the school district you move into will be your child's school for next year. And that most charter (and many private) schools have long waiting lists. I am just throwing this out there as a suggestion, any way you could delay your move (if your husband came ahead) until school starts and you have time to visit and get things better figured out. Renting is a great idea, but in the better school districts, outside of apartments, can be nearly impossible (and even the better apartments may be full.)