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This largely speaks to transitional neighborhoods where those with means have been the brave souls to go in and "improve" the community. They are, in many instances, just waiting for the lower-income folks to get priced out entirely. This is especially so as gentrification consumes "hot," in-demand city residential areas where homes and land cost 5-10X more than they did just a few years ago.
Precisely.
This has the same impact as gated communities. How is it different?
I think you have to take everything cqholt says with a grain of salt. When he says he doesn't venture outside a 5 square mile radius and assumes that anything outside that is just soccer moms in SUVs, I'm pretty sure (at least I hope) that he is joking...but from his posts, it doesn't really seem like this is actually very far off from the truth.
No offense to the guy, I admire him for being an active part of Kirkwood's upswing and we like to spar on here (respectfully, I hope, most of the time!). But he is definitely extremely biased, and would probably admit as much. And he'll really say anything to defend Kirkwood and similar areas, proving they are superior to all else, even when the facts don't necessarily support that. But I get it, that's all part of trying to elevate an area. You have to take an NRA style "all guns, totally legal, all the time" approach to progress sometimes. The NRA knows full well there is no reason for private citizens to own assault rifles, but it also knows that if it gives in at all, the opposition will just keep chipping away at it. So it picks a stance, and sticks with it no matter what....just like our good friend cqholt on Kirkwood. And plenty of others, don't mean to single you out cq....you at least usually makes a case that has some salient points with a perspective one can understand.
The point I'm trying to make is that his comments on this thread show that he has no idea what he is talking about as far as the suburbs are concerned, or at least, paints them all with the same broad stroke. I live smack in the middle of one of the most diverse areas of town. My particular neighborhood has homes that start in the low 200s nowadays (down to the 150s during the foreclosures, you may still be able to grab some here or there at that price) and they go up....I don't know, to the upper 300s, maybe? Perhaps 400s? I'm not quite sure, but I will say that my next door neighbors on one side are a couple of retired African American sisters (Jehovah's Witnesses), and on the other is a Korean lawyer. I see kids wearing Muslim scarves waiting for the bus. I see white kids, Asian kids, Hispanic kids, and your guess is as good as mine kids.
And guess what? Everybody lives together. Walks our dogs together. Some people are more social than others, but everyone gets along. In fact, I'm always shocked every Halloween how friendly and courteous the neighborhood kids are when they come trick or treating.
The point I'm trying to make is that we all live together. There are no gates to keep anyone out. You don't have to make a 6-figure salary to live there. Everyone goes to a decent school, has a solid roof over his head, sidewalks to walk on, and parks to visit. These are the modern suburbs, not the old outdated model that cqholt is talking about, even though I'm sure that still exists elsewhere.
Now, there is Sugarloaf Country Club down the street. That IS a gated community. But guess what? Piedmont Driving Club is down the street from what a lot of cqholt is talking about. You can always point to that sort of thing, there will always be wealthy people that try to separate themselves from the less affluent. I really don't believe that is more common in one part of town than another.
So back to the point: the facts are the facts. Suburban areas of Atlanta are more diverse than most of the city. I'm sorry if that doesn't jive with the narrative that some people want to believe about the city, but there it is. Do with it as you will.
Yes, I do own an home and purchased it during the crash, but I moved here not for an investment but for a home. I plan on sending my kids to APS and am a huge part of the neighborhood.
Good for you, cq. The city needs more folks with your commitment.
This has the same impact as gated communities. How is it different?
I think you have to take everything cqholt says with a grain of salt. When he says he doesn't venture outside a 5 square mile radius and assumes that anything outside that is just soccer moms in SUVs, I'm pretty sure (at least I hope) that he is joking...but from his posts, it doesn't really seem like this is actually very far off from the truth.
No offense to the guy, I admire him for being an active part of Kirkwood's upswing and we like to spar on here (respectfully, I hope, most of the time!). But he is definitely extremely biased, and would probably admit as much. And he'll really say anything to defend Kirkwood and similar areas, proving they are superior to all else, even when the facts don't necessarily support that. But I get it, that's all part of trying to elevate an area. You have to take an NRA style "all guns, totally legal, all the time" approach to progress sometimes. The NRA knows full well there is no reason for private citizens to own assault rifles, but it also knows that if it gives in at all, the opposition will just keep chipping away at it. So it picks a stance, and sticks with it no matter what....just like our good friend cqholt on Kirkwood. And plenty of others, don't mean to single you out cq....you at least usually makes a case that has some salient points with a perspective one can understand.
The point I'm trying to make is that his comments on this thread show that he has no idea what he is talking about as far as the suburbs are concerned, or at least, paints them all with the same broad stroke. I live smack in the middle of one of the most diverse areas of town. My particular neighborhood has homes that start in the low 200s nowadays (down to the 150s during the foreclosures, you may still be able to grab some here or there at that price) and they go up....I don't know, to the upper 300s, maybe? Perhaps 400s? I'm not quite sure, but I will say that my next door neighbors on one side are a couple of retired African American sisters (Jehovah's Witnesses), and on the other is a Korean lawyer. I see kids wearing Muslim scarves waiting for the bus. I see white kids, Asian kids, Hispanic kids, and your guess is as good as mine kids.
And guess what? Everybody lives together. Walks our dogs together. Some people are more social than others, but everyone gets along. In fact, I'm always shocked every Halloween how friendly and courteous the neighborhood kids are when they come trick or treating.
The point I'm trying to make is that we all live together. There are no gates to keep anyone out. You don't have to make a 6-figure salary to live there. Everyone goes to a decent school, has a solid roof over his head, sidewalks to walk on, and parks to visit. These are the modern suburbs, not the old outdated model that cqholt is talking about, even though I'm sure that still exists elsewhere.
Now, there is Sugarloaf Country Club down the street. That IS a gated community. But guess what? Piedmont Driving Club is down the street from what a lot of cqholt is talking about. You can always point to that sort of thing, there will always be wealthy people that try to separate themselves from the less affluent. I really don't believe that is more common in one part of town than another.
So back to the point: the facts are the facts. Suburban areas of Atlanta are more diverse than most of the city. I'm sorry if that doesn't jive with the narrative that some people want to believe about the city, but there it is. Do with it as you will.
You are right. I should probably put him on ignore. He does give off a very insular, I-do-everything-in-life-within-a-5-mile-radius style of fanaticism.
There are tons of parents who have felt like you, who then put their home on the market either before Kindgergarten or after 4th grade. Or cross their fingers for admission into a select charter or private.
This has the same impact as gated communities. How is it different?
I think you have to take everything cqholt says with a grain of salt. When he says he doesn't venture outside a 5 square mile radius and assumes that anything outside that is just soccer moms in SUVs, I'm pretty sure (at least I hope) that he is joking...but from his posts, it doesn't really seem like this is actually very far off from the truth.
No offense to the guy, I admire him for being an active part of Kirkwood's upswing and we like to spar on here (respectfully, I hope, most of the time!). But he is definitely extremely biased, and would probably admit as much. And he'll really say anything to defend Kirkwood and similar areas, proving they are superior to all else, even when the facts don't necessarily support that. But I get it, that's all part of trying to elevate an area. You have to take an NRA style "all guns, totally legal, all the time" approach to progress sometimes. The NRA knows full well there is no reason for private citizens to own assault rifles, but it also knows that if it gives in at all, the opposition will just keep chipping away at it. So it picks a stance, and sticks with it no matter what....just like our good friend cqholt on Kirkwood. And plenty of others, don't mean to single you out cq....you at least usually makes a case that has some salient points with a perspective one can understand.
The point I'm trying to make is that his comments on this thread show that he has no idea what he is talking about as far as the suburbs are concerned, or at least, paints them all with the same broad stroke. I live smack in the middle of one of the most diverse areas of town. My particular neighborhood has homes that start in the low 200s nowadays (down to the 150s during the foreclosures, you may still be able to grab some here or there at that price) and they go up....I don't know, to the upper 300s, maybe? Perhaps 400s? I'm not quite sure, but I will say that my next door neighbors on one side are a couple of retired African American sisters (Jehovah's Witnesses), and on the other is a Korean lawyer. I see kids wearing Muslim scarves waiting for the bus. I see white kids, Asian kids, Hispanic kids, and your guess is as good as mine kids.
And guess what? Everybody lives together. Walks our dogs together. Some people are more social than others, but everyone gets along. In fact, I'm always shocked every Halloween how friendly and courteous the neighborhood kids are when they come trick or treating.
The point I'm trying to make is that we all live together. There are no gates to keep anyone out. You don't have to make a 6-figure salary to live there. Everyone goes to a decent school, has a solid roof over his head, sidewalks to walk on, and parks to visit. These are the modern suburbs, not the old outdated model that cqholt is talking about, even though I'm sure that still exists elsewhere.
Now, there is Sugarloaf Country Club down the street. That IS a gated community. But guess what? Piedmont Driving Club is down the street from what a lot of cqholt is talking about. You can always point to that sort of thing, there will always be wealthy people that try to separate themselves from the less affluent. I really don't believe that is more common in one part of town than another.
So back to the point: the facts are the facts. Suburban areas of Atlanta are more diverse than most of the city. I'm sorry if that doesn't jive with the narrative that some people want to believe about the city, but there it is. Do with it as you will.
You got me.
It is no surprise that middle income, suburban areas are diverse. It is good to see once, homogeneous counties, like Gwinnett and Cobb are now the most diverse to Atlanta. Let's just hope the county commission soon follows so those diverse populations are well represented.
There are tons of parents who have felt like you, who then put their home on the market either before Kindgergarten or after 4th grade. Or cross their fingers for admission into a select charter or private.
I don't believe cq is the type to cut and run.
You get a group of committed families together and they can turn a school around very fast.
In Gwinnett (Lilburn, Snelville), the only gated communities we toured were very racially, ethnically diverse, much more so than most intown neighborhoods. I think that you are right in saying that many immigrants want "the American Dream", but it's probably also true for many folks that are the first generation from their family to have earned a professional degree, or started a successful business--they want new, safe, good schools, gated, and over 3000sqft--probably more so than many (white) folks that "been there, done that" with their parents, and the cost of entry for these *exclusive* communities is often the cost of tear-downs in many intown neighborhoods.--so a diverse group of folks get to show (and enjoy) that they made it, at a price they can afford.
Entirely anecdotal but there was a gated community near me in the Brookwood cluster. I knew a lot of people in there and it was far from being all white. Lots of east Asian and south Asian families. Also plenty of black families. A few had their own businesses and had fairly short commutes. There are a few other gated communities that went up after I graduated or at least before I got a chance to really meet people who lived in them.
You get a group of committed families together and they can turn a school around very fast.
Thank you for having faith in me. I have gone out and talked with students and parents of students in King and Jackson. It is not as bad as people make it out to be or SchoolGrade.com makes it out to be. I do not believe in putting all my trust in website, I would rather do my own research and visit the schools to talk with administration and visit PTA meetings.
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