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- The culture seems to be very different as I've noticed even from this site. It seems like you have to stay either in Black areas or White areas only, there's very few places where there's a mix of multiple races. Whereas I'm use to living in neighborhoods with a diverse mix of people now, this seems few and far between in Georgia. Is this the case?
Not sure where you are getting this information. Based on US Census stats - Gurnee is not very diverse by Atlanta standards.
Gurnee
73.3% White
7.8% African American
11.6% Asian
11.7% Hispanic
Compare this to: Smyrna
53.8% White
31.6% African American
4.9% Asian
14.9% Hispanic
* Marietta stats are comparable *
Alpharetta
70.0% White
10.9% African American
13.4% Asian
8.5% Hispanic
Duluth
48.7% White
20.2% African American
22.3% Asian
14.0% Hispanic
Atlanta
38.4% White
54.0% African American
3.1% Asian
5.2% Hispanic
Based on these stats - Alpharetta which is less diverse then most of Atlanta would be closest to what you are used to. It has excellent schools but will definitely be more than a 30 minute commute to downtown. I can't speak to whether there are options in your budget range.
Last edited by lorilove; 04-27-2016 at 09:54 PM..
Reason: Add Atlanta stats
On this I agree with looking at Gwinnett County. They have one of the best school systems in Georgia. My husband is from Chicago and all of his relatives who moved to Metro Atlanta moved primarily to Gwinnett County due to the schools. You could also find a small house there for rent in your price range. Gwinnett County and Cobb, like others have mentioned are very diverse, they have affordable options and even in areas that people label as "bad" their schools are decent in both counties. However, it is better to stay in particular cities/areas. We have family in Snellville, Lawrenceville, and Norcross in Gwinnett County. Those all have and are decent little cities in the metro. In Cobb, my husband and I lived in Mableton (very convenient for travel into City of Atlanta BTW), Smyrna/Vinings area (Vinings is not a city itself but is an area within the Smyna/Cobb County area and also is convenient for travel into City of Atlanta for your husband), and Marietta (has hit or miss spots). We also considered Sandy Springs before moving into the city itself, which is where we lived for almost 10 years. We got sick of commuting.
On segregation, people in Atlanta and especially on this forum are very sensitive about Atlanta being perceived as segregated or racist. There is lots of defensiveness on this subject. IMO (and I'm neither from Atlanta or Chicago, but I am from the midwest and I know of midwestern segregation like that in Chicago) Atlanta and Chicago are similar in this regard. Like you said OP, Atlanta can be confusing to people from Chicago specifically due to the metro being so spread out and covering a lot of counties. But in general, the city is segregated similar to Chicago. The suburbs in Atlanta are also segregated similar to Chicago whereas the southern suburbs are more black and the northern suburbs more white (though this is changing in Atlanta somewhat as a few of the southern suburban counties are becoming more diverse). The counties with the best diversity IMO are Gwinnett and Cobb. I would also add parts of DeKalb county to that mix, but schools in DeKalb to get into a good district, would be higher than what you can pay. So I'd tell you to stick with Gwinnett and Cobb. Cobb is closer to the city than Gwinnett and will give your husband a better commute into the city. However, if he doesn't have a job right now, there is no guarantee that he will be working in the city anyway as many jobs are not centered in the city like they are in Chicago. They are very spread out.
Also, on segregation, you get a wide degree of websites that rate the "most" and "least" segregated cities. Oddly enough the main one from 2015 does not list either Chicago or Atlanta as being in the top 9 "most" segregated cities/metros primarily due IMO to both have diverse suburbs around them.
Flying Biscuit on Peachtree most likely had you in Brookhaven.
Just north of Brookhaven is Chamblee which is quite diverse and possibly in your price range but does not have the best reputation for schools.
Just past that area is Doraville and Tucker - others will have to comment as to affordability and schools
OP, the bolded cities are in DeKalb county. DeKalb would fit your budget, but the school system in DeKalb is "if-y." However, some of the cities in that county do have decent schools. Tucker used to, but I'm not sure anymore so it would warrant research. Tucker is affordable and is also convenient to the city for commuting. DeKalb is also on public transit unlike Cobb and Gwinnett in case your husband ever changes his mind and decides to use it.
Not sure where you are getting this information. Based on US Census stats - Gurnee is not very diverse by Atlanta standards.
Gurnee
73.3% White
7.8% African American
11.6% Asian
11.7% Hispanic
Compare this to: Smyrna
53.8% White
31.6% African American
4.9% Asian
14.9% Hispanic
* Marietta stats are comparable *
Alpharetta
70.0% White
10.9% African American
13.4% Asian
8.5% Hispanic
Duluth
48.7% White
20.2% African American
22.3% Asian
14.0% Hispanic
Atlanta
38.4% White
54.0% African American
3.1% Asian
5.2% Hispanic
Based on these stats - Alpharetta which is less diverse then most of Atlanta would be closest to what you are used to. It has excellent schools but will definitely be more than a 30 minute commute to downtown. I can't speak to whether there are options in your budget range.
I'm not referring to what a city is based upon but what an actual neighborhood is. Yes, there are more whites in Gurnee BUT on my block and neighborhood in general There are Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Pakistanians on my block, in the schools, stores, etc. That's what I'm referring to. I wouldn't want to live anywhere where it is "all Black" or "all White"...all anything really. Hope that makes sense.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,086,242 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by jshaunte
I'm not referring to what a city is based upon but what an actual neighborhood is. Yes, there are more whites in Gurnee BUT on my block and neighborhood in general There are Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Pakistanians on my block, in the schools, stores, etc. That's what I'm referring to. I wouldn't want to live anywhere where it is "all Black" or "all White"...all anything really. Hope that makes sense.
My immediate neighbors in my subdivision are white, Indian, black, white, and white. I have no idea of the entire subdivision ... it's only 180 houses, but I don't know everyone.
My immediate neighbors in my subdivision are white, Indian, black, white, and white. I have no idea of the entire subdivision ... it's only 180 houses, but I don't know everyone.
I'm not sure if you have children or not, but what is your opinion of the schools in Mableton? Might be helpful for OP (& others). All I know is the online ratings & I've been dying to hear from someone who lives there.
I'm not referring to what a city is based upon but what an actual neighborhood is. Yes, there are more whites in Gurnee BUT on my block and neighborhood in general There are Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Pakistanians on my block, in the schools, stores, etc. That's what I'm referring to. I wouldn't want to live anywhere where it is "all Black" or "all White"...all anything really. Hope that makes sense.
Yes, it does make sense....Which is why an ultra-diverse community like Gwinnett County (along with diverse areas in North Fulton, Cobb, North DeKalb, South Forsyth, etc) would most likely be one of the best choices for you.
Though, like some of the other posters have stated, one very important thing that you need to keep in mind is that good-paying job opportunities will be spread all over the Atlanta metro and not just centered or clustered in Downtown Atlanta like may be the case in Chicago where many good-paying job opportunities (particularly office jobs) might be heavily clustered in and close to the Loop.
The job opportunities in Atlanta being spread out all over the metro area on a road and transportation network that is much more limited in scope than in Chicagoland (...multi-lane roads can be rare in many parts of the Atlanta metro region and much of the surface road network is based upon a network of discombobulated winding two-lane roads that back up easily during rush hour...unlike Chicago's grid-based network of heavily rail/bus transit-supplemented multi-lane surface roads) is one of the very major reasons why it is so critically important that you should first find out where in the transportation infrastructure-challenged Atlanta metro region your husband will be commuting to (and from) for work everyday before making a final decision on where to live.
(...Unlike ultra-dense and comparatively compact Chicagoland, Atlanta is one of the most spread-out, very low-density metro areas on the entire planet, so there is no guarantee that your husband will end up commuting to a job in the city....AND there absolutely no guarantee you would be able to find someplace with your criteria that is only a 45-minute drive during rush hour if he did have to commute to (and from) work in the city.)
You don't (for example) want to buy a home in Buford in Gwinnett County in Northeast Metro Atlanta and have your husband end up having to commute through rush hour traffic hell (by way of hellish rush hour roadways like I-85 Northeast southbound and the I-285 Top End Perimeter westbound) to Kennesaw in Cobb County in Northwest Metro Atlanta each morning and afternoon.
Likewise, you don't want to buy a home in Kennesaw in Cobb County in Northwest Metro Atlanta and have your husband end up having to commute through rush hour traffic hell (by way of hellish rush hour roadways like I-75 Northwest southbound and the I-285 Top End Perimeter eastbound) to Suwanee in Gwinnett County in Northeast Metro Atlanta.
Plus a rush hour commute to (and from) Central Atlanta (Downtown, Midtown, Emory area, Buckhead, Airport, etc) from most areas outside of the I-285 Perimeter isn't exactly a bargain either on many days.
Your husband and your family will quickly tire of a delay-prone metro Atlanta rush hour commute that can easily become 2 or 3 hours or more one-way just simply because the roads were wet (or a car or a bus caught fire, or there was a fender-bender, or a pedestrian got hit in the road, or there was some weird multi-car pile-up, or a guy tried to jump from an overpass, etc, etc, etc) on a particular day.
Just try and first find out where your husband will be commuting to (and from) for work each day before deciding on where to buy a home so that he will not end up with a miserable commute.
Houston not one of the most diverse cities?Lol wow dude i bet your one of those georgians who never been to Texas and assume Texas is like Georgia(which its not)Here some facts/stats:
Atlanta, Ga. census population (rank): 420,003 (40); Male: 208,968 (49.8%); Female: 211,035 (50.2%); White: 161,115 (38.4%); Black: 226,894 (54.0%); American Indian and Alaska Native: 988 (0.2%); Asian: 13,188 (3.1%); Other race: 9,317 (3.0%); Two or more races: 8,369 (2.0%); Hispanic/Latino: 21,815 (5.2%).
Houston, Tx. census population (rank): 2,099,451 (4); Male: 1,053,517 (50.1%); Female: 1,045,934 (49.9%); White: 1,060,491 (50.5%); Black: 498,466 (23.7%); American Indian and Alaska Native: 14,997 (0.7%); Asian: 126,378 (6.0%); Other race: 329,436 (15.2%); Two or more races: 69,530 (3.3%); Hispanic/Latino: 919,668 (37.4%).
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"2015 Most Diverse Cities in America study ranks Houston as one of the top 10 most diverse cities in America, coming in at No. 7 overall. Houston is the only city ranked in the top 10 that is not located in California or Washington."
Georgia is hillbilly but its still a good place to live though I was just saying its diversity is not like other cities(well atleast compare to other metro cities).Many people who talk bad about Texas never been their and never lived their as Texan,Texas and rest of america is light years ahead of Georgia.Look at Georgia's education system its the lowest and worst in the country,the state of Georgia is behind in times so you think racism wouldnt be rapid in a biblical state like Georgia?And look at the history of Georgia it was the SLAVE capital of the world at one time and its known for discriminating african americans.
My guy you most be a comedian, or you should be one. Now let me school you, Georgia is a state not a city (reread your comment). Texas is one of the most hillbilly backwoods state in the country, your progressive state has the most kkk chapters in the nation. Also look at the type of people that your state have produce two words George Bush(Both) so much for talking about the school systems in Georgia. Now let's talk about Texas being light years ahead of Georgia( Maybe you been sipping to much lean) Texas maybe light years ahead of Alabama, or Mississippi. (Georgia is hillbilly but it's still a good place to live though) that makes no sense, must be that good ole outstanding Texas education. You Texas bamas are hilarious, delusional, oh yeah and pathetic.
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