African American Family moving to Atlanta from Chicago: Johns Creek vs Roswell (White: 2013, crime rate)

[Clayton white guy]

So sorry, I just saw that you were working in Peachtree Corners, not Midtown Atlanta. In that case, looking at your criteria, Roswell handsdown:
1. Good public schools, DIVERSE even!
2. Quaint and charming downtown with a square, specialty shops, and restaurants.
3. Wide range of housing options ranging from historic old southern farm houses with wide front porches to Mid Century ranches to Cedar Contemporaries to giant brick traditional family homes!
4. Shopping options nearby, or within driving distance to the northern quadrant of the City of Atlanta.
5. Drivable to work, too across the river to Peachtree Corners region in western Gwinnett County.
6. Loads of transplants like yourself, many from the Midwest, too.

[bhammaster]

You aren't going to get much arts and culture in the burbs so, keep that in mind. Gwinnett county will be the best for what you want as far as suburbs go.

For your price range, consider intown. You can make it work and have good schools, diversity, transit and culture.

[rtloucks]

good afternoon fellow mid-westerner!

we are actually moving to Atlanta in the upcoming few months, originally from minnesota currently in Denver. But i just want to shar my opinion real quick.

Johns Creek, Tucker, Alpharetta seemed very dull, cookie cutter, bix box, boring and rural compared to Roswell/Sandy Springs/E Marietta


alot of people urged us to look into those places, and others urged us to consider the Marietta side. WE have been mych more satisfied with what we are finding in the Marietta, SAndy Springs, Rosewell area as far as schools, communities, activities, events etc. good luck

[Happiness-is-close]

Originally Posted by JMatl

I hear a dog whistle....

I am also from the Midwest originally, so I understand your preference for segregated suburban living - I just don't share that mindset.

Glad you're leaving. You couldn't pay me to live up there again.

Bahahaha. I thought you were a "Florida native", as you said before when arguing with me. I need to find out how to quote past posts of other posters. Stop trifling.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by Happiness-is-close

Bahahaha. I thought you were a "Florida native", as you said before when arguing with me. I need to find out how to quote past posts of other posters. Stop trifling.

I'm a halfback and lived in Florida half of my life, much longer than I lived in the Midwest if you're taking notes.

'Trifle' this.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by ARH22

My family will be relocating to the Atlanta area in the coming months and we are looking to find out which area will be the best fit for us. We are both African American college educated with above average income with 2 young boys (6 & 4). We currently live in downtown Chicago and my new job will be located in Norcross/Peachtree Corners.

I match some of your criteria. Jamaican Americans, college educated, but our income is (what I would call) average for the area. I've been in the Atlanta area for about 21 years.

We are looking at Johns Creek, Roswell and possibly Alpharetta. The things that matter most in our search are:

1. Quality of School

Northview in Johns Creek stands out. There are other good schools in the area, but generally Johns Creek/Duluth is thought to be the strongest region. Alpharetta (Chattahoochee, etc) are well regarded as well... but these are Georgia standard. I don't know how good the schools are in Chicago, but Georgia in general doesn't typically rank very highly.
[/quote]

2. Diversity of School[\quote]This is going to be a toss up. There are a lot of schools that run the entire gamut from majority caucasian, plurality asian, and majority african american. This trend more or less matchs median & average household income in the school zone.

Diversity is a tough sell in the affluent northern suburbs. You'll find mostly white and asians in Alpharetta & Johns Creek.

If you're working in Norcross, then living inside the Perimeter (or in Norcross itself) would give you the best commute. Roswell/alpharetta/Johns Creek would be a 20-30 minute commute.

There is traffic all over. As a general rule, avoiding having to travel more than 2-3 exits on the highway or more than 10 traffic lights will keep you in decent shape (results may vary, obviously).

This runs the gamut. I've had stuffy, jerk neighbors while living in the city proper and living in the suburbs. I've also had great neighbors living in the city proper and in the suburbs. I know what you're asking, but I can't give you a good answer because I'm a white-collar professional much closer to 40 than to 20, so my daily interactions nowadays are much different than those that your sons will have to navigate.

Ugh. This will be the most difficult aspect of adapting to your move. People down here consider a 1-2 block (chicago equivalent) commercial development that you have to drive to as 'walkable'. Basically all of the interesting stuff is in Atlanta proper and you have to go looking for it (in newspapers, online, and word of mouth).

Atlanta in general (especially the suburbs) just doesn't have the density of other large cities, which makes arts a challenge.

Thanks,

A

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

JMatl, you at least got one part correct, that I can't stand Atlanta and I'll even throw in the "never should have moved here" part. That would have saved me a lot of time, effort and money, but as they say hindsight is 20/20, live and learn and all that good stuff.

My wife and kids are already up there due to school and they are extremely happy with the change so it's not just me. I was also up there last week and actually felt like I was back in America again...

What exactly does that mean???

[fieldm]

67 people shot in Chicago this past weekend. Get out while you can

10 Dead, 57 Wounded in Weekend Shootings Across Chicago | NBC Chicago

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

What exactly does that mean???

It means a lot of different things not easily expressed in words. It's very different in Chicago, people are much more friendly and most have lived in the area for many generations. Here in the Atlanta area, it's a giant melting pot where everyone is from somewhere else and neighbors seldom socialize. And many are from foreign countries, which exacerbates the isolation and weirdness factor. This is not the America I know and love. Plus, my kids were miserable here and had no friends. It's the complete opposite in the Chicago area and we couldn't be happier with our decision to move back.

Originally Posted by fieldm

67 people shot in Chicago this past weekend. Get out while you can

10 Dead, 57 Wounded in Weekend Shootings Across Chicago | NBC Chicago

Where's the outrage from BLM, Obama, Jesse and Al? I guess black lives only matter when it fits their agenda? Let the carnage continue unabated while we fight over more important issues like who can use which public bathroom...

[residinghere2007]

For the OP, I would look toward Roswell or other communities in Gwinnet County. My husband is from Chicago and there are a lot of Chicago transplants in Gwinnet and most moved there primarily for the diversity of the county and the schools. We have family in Lawernceville primarily but some friends as well who are transplants in the Snellville area. With your budget you can move practially anywhere in Gwinnet or Roswell.

Good luck with your move.

I'll also say good luck to flamadiddle and your move as well. I'm also from the Midwest and do feel that Chicago and other bigger Midwestern cities have more people with solid roots in the areas and that does have a factor on the culture of an area. Chicagoland is a great area and too often people post the "shooting" stories as if to try to negate that. It also is not as segregated as people seem to think it is and honestly I felt Atlanta is similar to Chicago in that regard so that is no plus. Also Atlanta has higher crime rates so it is silly to bring up crime in Chicago compared to Atlanta or anything. But I do like Atlanta. It is just different from the Midwest but it is a nice city that I feel focuses a lot of re-defining itself and redevelopment of itself. I also agree with flamadiddle that there are a lot of transplants there and that that does affect the culture of a place. Chicago does have much more of a native population and culture IMO than Atlanta primarily due to Atlanta being such a magnet of population over the past 20 years.