Family moving to Atlanta area needing help finding nice area (Roswell: condo, townhome)

[tnfamily05]

Hello everyone!
Thanks for taking the time to help me and my family out as we start our next adventure. I have lived in the south all my life but never in the Atlanta area. We are moving from “small town USA” in TN in search of a place with great schools. Our current town is great; however the one high school we have is not so great and after living here for 9 years with no real reason to stay we have decided to for a new place. We have three children and I would love to find a nice home to purchase in an area that has a highly rated, recommended and liked elementary, middle and high schools.

I found a sticky note on this forum with this list of questions on it………so here it goes.

1. Budget? = Under 300K, but hopefully around 250K
2. House/Condo/Townhome? = House
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) = Both my wife and I work from home.
4. Children(public school vs. private) = Public
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two = This is a tricky one, so let me explain this the best I can. My wife’s work from home job is watching kids out of our finished basement. She would like a place that is in an area where child care would be needed. So, if a subdivision(s) is what we have to do then we can deal with that. However, I don’t really want to be able to touch my neighbor’s house while standing in my own yard. Ideally, I would love a lot that is about ¾ of an acre.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? = Not important
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. = See answer to question 5 along with the fact I want to be zoned in an area with excellent schools.

[sedimenjerry]

In a rush so I'll make it brief but I'm gonna be biased and suggest my own area. Brookwood HS in northern Snellville in Gwinnett County. Best in the county, one of the best in the state. If you can't find enough land look east at Grayson HS or even Archer HS. Budget should work for you.

[dblackga]

Originally Posted by tnfamily05

Hello everyone!
Thanks for taking the time to help me and my family out as we start our next adventure. I have lived in the south all my life but never in the Atlanta area. We are moving from “small town USA” in TN in search of a place with great schools. Our current town is great; however the one high school we have is not so great and after living here for 9 years with no real reason to stay we have decided to for a new place. We have three children and I would love to find a nice home to purchase in an area that has a highly rated, recommended and liked elementary, middle and high schools.

I found a sticky note on this forum with this list of questions on it………so here it goes.

1. Budget? = Under 300K, but hopefully around 250K
2. House/Condo/Townhome? = House
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) = Both my wife and I work from home.
4. Children(public school vs. private) = Public
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two = This is a tricky one, so let me explain this the best I can. My wife’s work from home job is watching kids out of our finished basement. She would like a place that is in an area where child care would be needed. So, if a subdivision(s) is what we have to do then we can deal with that. However, I don’t really want to be able to touch my neighbor’s house while standing in my own yard. Ideally, I would love a lot that is about ¾ of an acre.
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? = Not important
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. = See answer to question 5 along with the fact I want to be zoned in an area with excellent schools.

A few suggestions of specific neighborhoods, with values between $225-300,000, with 4+ bedrooms, and 1/2-1 acres:

Rivermist Subdividion: Lilburn (Brookwood HS)
Chessington Chase, North Bridges Subdivisions: Johns Creek/Alpharetta; (Chattahoochee HS)
Lake Charles Estates, Mountain Park subdivisons: Roswell; (Roswell HS)
Indian Hills, Tall Pines subdivisions: Marietta (Walton HS -- very highly rated)
Alpharetta Estates subdivision: Alpharetta (Milton HS - very highly rated)
Bayswater subdivision: Suwanee (North Gwinnett HS)
Nancy Creek Heights and Sexton Woods: Brookhaven and Chamblee (Chamblee Charter HS)
Bethany Springs and Margate subdivisions: Cumming (South Forsyth HS)

PM me if you want more details. There are also some specific magnet schools for varous disciplines; i.e., the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Lawrencevlle is ranked 4th in the country among public high schools, if your kids excel in those disciplines. Another direction is the DeKalb School of the Arts in Avondale, another magnet school for kids with an interest and talent in the arts, ranked 108th in the country. If your kids are interested in pursuing specific sports, such as swimming, lacrosse or soccer, you may also want to position yourself closer to a major training facility -- lots of soccer clubs in the Atlanta area, but only a few compete at the highest level. There are a few swim facilities, but unless you're really into early, early mornings, you'd want to be closer rather than further away. :-)

[silverado_chevy1500]

Bookmarked!!

[netdragon]

Duplicate of //www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...ood-great.html where there's been a lot more discussion.

As mentioned, I suggest West Cobb (McEachern, Hillgrove or Harrison school districts around Macland Rd and Dallas Highways). Area is West of Marietta, GA and Smyrna, GA West of Barrett Parkway. It perfectly matches your criteria, and the lots tend to be large for the metro area.

[kersnick]

I moved from Kennesaw 10 years ago. My daughter attended Harrison High School. Back then it was a great place to live. I still have friends that live there. I only moved because of work. You were close enough to Atlanta to do all the fun things, but far enough away to feel like you weren't in a major city. I travel a lot thru Atlanta and traffic then and now can be hectic. HHS is a big school, the schools nearby were North Cobb and McEachern. All of these schools I believe were either AAAA or AAAAA. We lived there for 15 years and did enjoy our time in the south.

[pfa15]

What are the best public, private school options in the south dekalb area?

[jeoff]

If it is not too far out for you, Consider Oconee County--it is on the Atlanta side of Athens, which houses the University of Georgia. The schools are among the best in the state. You can get culture on the cheap because of the University--museums, concerts, etc.. There a variety of nice inexpensive restaurants in Athens. The sports facilities in Oconee are top notch. Parks, the Georgia Botanical Gardens, Festivals...tons of family friendly activities. Acre subdivision lots are not hard to come by--and it really is not far from Atlanta.