relocating to Griffin Ga (Atlanta, Peachtree City: transplants, 2014, crime rate)

[pjmootz]

Can someone please tell me about the crime I am hearing about in Griffin. Is the crime rate high because the population is small? My husband is considering taking a very good job in this area, which may be to good to pass up. I love the idea of a small community, we are currently in Gwinnett County which is to big with to much traffic. However I am getting discouraged I have a little girl going into middle school who is advanced and my older girls are in College. We have excellent schools in Sugar Hill and I'm concerned about the schools also. I have heard about a private Christian school in the area which may be an option. Any information you have will help.

[PTC Dad]

You should consider southern Fayette County. Fayette County is one of the most affluent counties in the State and nation. You could commute to Griffin in 15-30 minutes and the schools in Fayette County are some of the best in the state.

I'd look at the McIntosh, Starr's Mill, and Whitewater Clusters. The Whitewater district would be the closest to Griffin. Parts of the Whitewater district are only 15 minutes from downtown Griffin. Also, they are opening a Charter School in Brooks that is going to allow kids from the surrounding areas to attend. If you decided to move to Griffin, that may be a good option.

http://thecitizen.com/news-business-...ks-late-summer

[GA5mom]

I don't know about the crime in Griffin. But, I would agree with the suggestion to consider southern Fayette County, and I would also suggest considering McDonough (the Union Grove/East Lake school zone, they are top schools). If you're willing to consider private schools, I know many people are happy with Strong Rock in Locust Grove which is also not far from Griffin.

[PTC Dad]

Griffin does have a higher level of crime than most areas, but a lot of it is confined to certain lower income areas. Griffin is more like a traditional southern town and less like a suburb. What I mean by that, is there are several families that have been in Griffin for generations that run the town. They are the bankers, MD's, attorneys, and developers and tend to be the upper middle class of Griffin. The rest of the population is relatively lower middle class or poor due to lack of high paying jobs in the area. It is like Newnan used to be before it became an exurb. This effects the quality of schools. You also have some more affluent transplants such as pilots that live in the area because you can build a nice house a lot of land for significantly less than other areas south of Atlanta.

If schools and safety are your primary concerns, here are the top areas I would look. (2014 SAT scores)

1. Starr's Mill-Fayette (1623)
2. McIntosh-Fayette (1618)
3. Whitewater-Fayette (1537)
4. Union Grove-Herny (1528)
5. East Coweta-Coweta (1481)

Vs. Local public schools
Griffin- (1283)
Spalding County (1440)

Starr's Mill and McIntosh tend to stay ranked in the top 20 high schools in the state for SAT scores and are very academically rigorous with great athletics. They are very similar to the top performing high schools on the Northside of Atlanta because they draw primarily from Peachtree City which has one of the highest average and median incomes in the state. (Avg. family income is around 110K).

[Lagwagon113]

I grew up in Griffin but haven't lived there in over 10 years. It was fine. It's a small southern town that is kind of isolated from the rest of the metro. I went to school there and had no issues. I work in Manhattan now as an IT professional and do just as well as anyone else I work with so me growing up in Griffin (and going to school there) didn't hinder anything. However, if you are focused on your kids going to top schools you may want to look elsewhere as Griffin is nothing special and is essentially a small sleepy town that happens to be part of Metro Atlanta.

Edit: I just wanted to add that parent involvement is paramount. A school can only do so much but what happens at home is the real determining factor.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by Lagwagon113

I grew up in Griffin but haven't lived there in over 10 years. It was fine. It's a small southern town that is kind of isolated from the rest of the metro. I went to school there and had no issues. I work in Manhattan now as an IT professional and do just as well as anyone else I work with so me growing up in Griffin (and going to school there) didn't hinder anything. However, if you are focused on your kids going to top schools you may want to look elsewhere as Griffin is nothing special and is essentially a small sleepy town that happens to be part of Metro Atlanta.

Edit: I just wanted to add that parent involvement is paramount. A school can only do so much but what happens at home is the real determining factor.

Griffin is like a small town, not a suburb. Its a nice town with lots of nice people. I know many people who live or have lived there.

Can't really comment on the crime recently. Schools don't do as well as some others in the area.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by Lagwagon113

I grew up in Griffin but haven't lived there in over 10 years. It was fine. It's a small southern town that is kind of isolated from the rest of the metro.

I am a retiree, and I have been looking at Sun City Peachtree in Griffin. However, I am probably not going to look further at it because the supply of doctors is very limited, and the nearest hospital is distant.

The Sun City development looks quite attractive however, and the prices are much better than in other Del Webb communities. The shopping is not bad, with a Publix grocery and other basic stores. Can anyone else comment on life for retirees?

However, If I had kids, I probably would not live in Griffin.

[Saintmarks]

My father was employed at the UGA's Agricultural Experiment Station when I was very young. We moved away when I was 8. But we still have many friends in the area, my eldest brother married his high school sweetheart who was a native so we have that family connection still.

I would rate Griffin no better and no worse than similar sized large towns/small cities in the state. Since our time there, many of means have moved to the unincorporated parts of the county so the city proper shows a poorer demographic in comparison. I would look at county crime rates compared to other counties (as opposed to city statistics) to get a more accurate feel of the area.

You could live in Fayette and have a more suburban experience and not have a commute but you could find similar (albeit not as developed) areas in Spalding County outside the city limits.... and like any other town or city, you can explore the area and know what part of town is the "right" side of town to live in.

Again, not denying there are issues... but neither should Griffin be singled out as any worse than any other small Georgia city.

[CRMSY77]

I know these post are old so i would like to update info on Griffin.
It is a good town to live in. I have never had any problems with the schools here. My children have had good teachers here. Griffin has two high schools. BOTH are good schools. And I know, I have had my children go to both. As far as Middle Schools, I only know about one and it was nice. My children had good teachers and never had a problem. The main thing parents is to know your child's teachers no matter what age and what grade. Good communication is the key. As far as my children, they got a great education in Spalding County school system and then went on to college with no problems. And we are talking GA Tech, UGA and Ga State. All graduated with a very high GPA and now have great jobs.
Griffin has its good and bad as all towns. There are places that i would not want to live just like there are places in Atlanta and surrounding areas.
As far as driving to Atlanta... yes it can be bad but tell me where it is not in Atlanta. And then someone said we dont have a highway going to Atlanta....what????? you have 19/41 ...four lanes that runs right into interstate 75. Then on the east side of town you have a straight shot to interstate 75 by taking highway 16. As far as the commute to Atlanta... I live on the north side of Spalding and work at the airport. Its about 35 miles. Sure there is traffic but you are heading to Atlanta. I have never had any problems.
Shopping here is nice. We have Walmart, Kroger, Ingles, Food Depot, Hobby Lobby, Belk, Marshalls, Lowes, The Home Depot, and lots more that are easy to get to. We have lots of restaurants here also. I have never been afraid to shop here or be out by myself. We have people coming into town that film... The Walking Dead, Jumanji, Hunger Games and many more. Marvel Studios were here a few weeks back filming in downtown Griffin.
We have a great senior citizen center, activities for children...soccer, baseball, football...and very nice parks with great walking tracks along with ball fields etc. We also have UGA here and we have Southern Crescent University.
Griffin use to be a mill town and yes there were good old boys running the place but the mills are gone and now its growing and has changed so much. It is a nice place to live.
I think people that comment on Griffin have never lived here so they only hear the bad. Sure we have problems but what town does not.