Moving - advice (Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody: houses, middle school, where to live)

[susanlc]

We will be moving to Atlanta next summer and would like your thoughts on where to live. My husband will be working near the MARTA in Sandy Springs and I will be commuting to Athens 2-3 times per week (and working from home the other days). We are Jewish, not too observant, but we prefer our kids to be in schools that have some other Jewish kids and would not consider Christian private schools. I prefer to be in a community with a mix that includes working/professional mothers.

I'd be really grateful if you could you help us answer these questions?

1) Are there shuttles or public transportation to UGA? If so, where does it leave from?
2) Schools - one high school student who is a strong student and wants public school
3) Schools - one middle school student who prefers private school
4) Overall communities we should consider - that are good for older kids, parents, etc.

Overall, we would like to be near restaurants, and stores. We are originally from the NYC area, but have moved around a lot.

Thanks so much for your help!

[ihatecolumbusga]

I would recommend Dunwoody. There are lots of Jews there, Dunwoody's very close to Atlanta, and no there isn't public transportation between Atlanta and Athens.

[MattCW]

Druid Hills is also a very strong Jewish community.

As to transportation to UGA, strictly speaking, there isn't public transportation, however Southeastern Stages and Megabus both serve Atlanta and Athens directly. Southeastern Stages boards at the Atlanta Greyhound station, and Megabus boards at the Civic Center MARTA station. The current departures from Atlanta on a random weekday are: 6:20am (Mega), 12:01pm (SES), 6:10pm (Mega), and 8:15pm (SES). The journeys for a few days out are $15-$27 depending on fare category (SES is the only one that has fare categories), and take about an hour and a half to an hour and fifty minutes. Megabus drops you off in downtown Athens while Southeastern Stages has a station (shared with Greyhound) on Atlanta Highway about 6 miles outside of downtown Athens. The SES/Greyhound station is about a half mile walk to the nearest local bus stop for service to the rest of Athens.

[PeteATL41]

Check out Riverview HS. Commutable to the Buckhead private schools. Pace Academy probably has the biggest Jewish cohort of the three. By the way if you are applying to private school, the applications are all due in January and open houses and other admissions events are going on now.