Pl explain towns.neighborhood in Atlanta (Tucker, Decatur: condo, low crime, homes)

[swishtut]

I've been looking at Atlanta as a place to buy a home for some time now. I live in NJ where property taxes are through the roof, and I'm looking for a more tax friendly state. I've done research for weeks on Atlanta, fulton and Dekalb counties. I've learned that midtown, Va-Hi, City of Decaturand Morningside are great places, however for me they are not affordable. I need a 2/2 for around 259k, I don't want a condo.

As an alternative to places i couldn't afford, I started looking for a mid century home in Tucker but decided it was too suburban for my 20 year old. After much research i found that i love bungalows and thought Kirkwood might be a good place to look. Zips 30317 and 30316 seemed like places that i coild afford with nice homes, and what i liked about Kirkland and some of the other neighborhoods was the community. I looked at some beautiful homes in 30040 but after reading about the crime rejected that area.

Of course i want a safe place to live. In NJ you only have car break ins or property crime if you live in certain towns. Each town has its own police force and police the do. If i were to call the police right now in 3 minutes there would be 5 police cars. So i took the info i was getting on city data about car break ins and home invasions and property crime with a grain of salt, thinking maybe it was in the past. Then i went on the Kirkland cite and into the forum. I found that jndeed it is true that they have these kind of crimes on occur a pretty regular basis. The residents report it on the forum. They have to remember to remove items from cars, they need security systems, they reinforce doors because property crime is the norm. The only are a where i would need to do those things are some areas of philly, ( not all), and probably camden NJ.

My question is do all neighborhoods within a zip code have the same issues. Is there any neighborhood in 30016 or 30017 that has low crime. Are there any other areas you would suggest. Why dont different areas have their own police force.

I do think i would love living in Atlanta without the crime. The city seems to have everything. I was interested in Va-Hi and Morningside because of the walkability. We will be making a few visits before deciding if the city is right for us.

[Dkeating]

It's not that bad. A lot nicer than Camden. Get yourself an alarm, some Strikemasters, and don't leave valuables in the front part of your car. Kirkwood has a juice bar, a wine store, and a coffee shop where they pour the water through a funnel over the coffee. It's pretty tame. East Lake, EAV, Grant Park, and Ormewood Park are also nice.

[swishtut]

Thanks for the info.
LOL, I went too far when I spoke of Camden. If that were the case I could move to Camden. no comparison to Atlanta. I am more concerned with home breaking than cars. It can't be that bad because everyone there has glass doors.

[jsvh]

Crime is not that bad. You are more likely to be killed or injured during a 30 min commute than you are from crime in the city. Just drive around and visit at night and make sure its is somewhere you feel safe. Those areas are stroller city.

[swishtut]

Thank you for replying, Jsvh. I feel much better about my planned move. Some of the posts i read jad me comvined that crime was an everyday occurance. All i really need to do is be a little more conscious of whats going on around me.