Georgia or North Carolina? (Atlanta, Macon: real estate, chapel, homes)

[Nanseev]

Hubby and I are originally from Boston, but we have lived in Southern California for about 5 years. We're looking to get back to the east coast for a number of reasons...closer to family, better schools, cost of living, etc.

We thought we had it narrowed down to East Cobb County in Georgia (or possibly North Fulton as well...basically that general area), but someone suggested looking in North Carolina to compare.

Soooo.....I'm wondering if anyone on here has any experience with comparing the two? Our #1 priority is a superior school system as we will have two children eventually in public schools (they are 3 1/2 and 18 months right now). We haven't been overly happy with what we've seen in CA in regards to school systems...especially when you compare them to Massachusetts schools.

We have not narrowed down where in NC...I'm assuming it would be a suburb of Charlotte or Raleigh-Durham, but I'm not even sure about that. I don't think the Bostonian in us have ever quite "fit" in Southern California, and that is one of my fears with moving to Georgia...that it will be to "southern peachy" for me. I must admit though, California has thinned out my blood, and I thoroughly enjoy the lack of cold weather. Given that, I'm concerned that North Carolina might be too cold for me.

Hubby is a school teacher, so our move will depend on his ability to get a teaching job. His job doesn't have to be in the same community...just commutable. I think he would actually prefer a "harder" school system as he enjoys the challenge of "unteachable" kids and the rewards of getting through to them. I believe (although please correct me if I'm wrong) that overall North Carolina schools are higher rated than Georgia, but most Cobb County schools would probably be higher rated than most North Carolina ones.

Decisions, decisions. Thanks in advance to the responses....they are much appreciated!

[mattattack25]

Well, I just moved to Asheville NC from Southern Ga (Albany)... I'm 25, don't have kids, so I can't tell you about the schools in NC or Atlanta... (I can tell you that you don't want to move south of Macon if you want your kids to have a good education, but you didn't include that in your list of choices, but just FYI.)
I'm in the mountains, so it's colder here, but Charlotte or Raleigh would have the same temps as Atlanta probably...
If you move to Atlanta, you probably won't have the problem of it being too "peachy" as you say... Many, many people in Atlanta are from the north, so it is mixed well and not very southern in my opinion... Atlanta is very metro and up-to-date (I think)... traffic is horrible, but you might be used to that... people aren't very friendly there if you ask me, but that might not be a problem to you, I dunno... Georgia as a whole is very southern compared to North Carolina (not like that's a bad thing), but as long as you are in Atlanta, you probably won't have a problem... I would pick North Carolina... but I'm biased now that I live here...

[LLD]

It is my understanding that the schools in research triangle -- the Raleigh-Durham, Chappel Hill area are very good. But I think the real estate is higher than Georgia.

[TakeAhike]

We have not narrowed down where in NC...I'm assuming it would be a suburb of Charlotte or Raleigh-Durham, but I'm not even sure about that. I don't think the Bostonian in us have ever quite "fit" in Southern California, and that is one of my fears with moving to Georgia...that it will be to "southern peachy" for me. I must admit though, California has thinned out my blood, and I thoroughly enjoy the lack of cold weather. Given that, I'm concerned that North Carolina might be too cold for me.

Hubby is a school teacher, so our move will depend on his ability to get a teaching job. His job doesn't have to be in the same community...just commutable. I think he would actually prefer a "harder" school system as he enjoys the challenge of "unteachable" kids and the rewards of getting through to them. I believe (although please correct me if I'm wrong) that overall North Carolina schools are higher rated than Georgia, but most Cobb County schools would probably be higher rated than most North Carolina ones.

Decisions, decisions. Thanks in advance to the responses....they are much appreciated![/quote]

~~~~~~~~
Georgia ranks 49th/or possibly this year 48th on national test scores/education. The areas of Cobb and Fulton that you mentioned would be ranked much higher--true in all the counties that comprise the metro area-affluent communities have higher test scores. I assume this is true nationally.

GA/NC are similar in climate. Hopefully the air is cleaner in NC--terrible traffic/pollution in Atlanta and surrounding environs and lots of development across the state of GA--so the environmental issues are widespread.

SLS

[lastminutemom]

Although I live in Georgia, I would vote for NC. The fast growing areas of NC have learned the lessons of Metro Atlanta and are so much better planned.

Additionally, as a state -- they are better in their approach to education in general.

Also, your husband should know that Georgia is not a union state for educators...no collective bargaining. NOt sure about NC In general, southern schools do not compare positively to many northeastern schools even in the best districts.... hard to put your finger on why. Southerners are just behind the ball on education in general... lots of opportunities for the educated to have other careers than teaching, perhaps as well.

good luck.

[marymel]

I am currently in North Georgia and our family is relocating to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill "Triangle Cities" this summer. I have worked in East Cobb and lived in downtown Atlanta. Check out the North Carolina forum on this site - there are LOTS of people moving there with the same questions you have! I'm moving in search of a biotech career in the Research Park and any state's schools are going to be better than Georgia's, as far as test scores. THat said, there are some great public schools in GA, most in East Cobb or Forsyth and Dekalb counties.

[tampa]

We just re-located from NY Metro area to Fl and are now being unfairly taxed 300% increase in 3 years ( The SOH Tax shift is unbelievable we didn't move here to pay everyone else's taxes) so we plan on re-locating again.
We're young retired and not afraid to re-locate (hopefully for the last time), we do not have to consider schools We just want a nice quiet area somewhere in AL,GA,SC,TENN or perhaps AR. to live in peace. And considering our experience in FL a place where we will be treated equally and fairly. As we treat everyone else!
Tom

[tdatl]

Originally Posted by bhs119

[i]Georgia ranks 49th/or possibly this year 48th on national test scores/education.

this is one of those statistics that I must call you out on. I see it all the time, but it's meaningless. Those who use it as a basis of comparing education? find out where these people attended school and judge those systems harshly.

here's why:
They're talking about SAT scores. In Georgia a full two-thirds of students take it. That's one of the highest rates in the country... in many states, the ACT reigns supreme and a much smaller proportion of students take the SAT. I think the low is North Dakota, where only 6% of their students take it. But most states fall well below Georgia in percentages.

and in many of those states, the students taking it are generally the better students -- above-average upper-middle class students from good schools, good homes, etc. -- those who tend to do well. In Georgia, in the absolute best case, 25% of those taking it are by definition below average. And it could be even worse, that's best scenario. So Georgia has many more low achievers skewing it downward.

the only way you can legitimately compare schools/districts is by national achievement tests or some other standard test that every student takes. You can't leave out a large subset of students. You're not making legit comparisons otherwise.

And no, I'm not in education, nor do i have any association with it. I am from one of those other states that supposedly whips Georgia's butt in SAT scores. I just know the full story & know the comparison is meaningless.

[sprtsluvr8]

"southern schools do not compare positively to many northeastern schools even in the best districts.... hard to put your finger on why. Southerners are just behind the ball on education in general... lots of opportunities for the educated to have other careers than teaching, perhaps as well." (quote from earlier post)

I have a good idea why this perception exists...and it's not due to the south being "behind the ball on education" but because of the standards used to measure the value of schools and school systems. I'm not going to go on a rant about education reform, but being a teacher in Georgia I'm confident that a good school that will fit your needs can be found in any school system and the teachers are certainly as qualified and dedicated as anywhere else. Every system, whether N.C. or GA or wherever, has at least one or more high performing schools.

I grew up in the Winston-Salem area of N.C. and I've also lived in Georgia (Atlanta) for 15 years. If you want big-city amenities you'll want to choose Georgia and live near Atlanta...E. Cobb being the area you've already mentioned and it is a nice section of town. The reason I moved to Atlanta was to have more entertainment and recreation options that weren't offered in N.C. and only are truly found in a larger city. N.C. has 3 metro areas that do offer many big-city opportunities, but none of them are on the level of Atlanta.

I love N.C. and it has some great places to live - Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad (Greensboro/Winston-Salem) are all metro areas of over 1 million. All around those cities are smaller towns, some of them suburban but many still have that "small town feel" like a friendly southern town. I think as far as outdoor recreation, N.C. has more to offer than GA...although Atlanta is in a great spot at the foot of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, and Asheville is only 3 hours away (another great N.C. city).

Unless you decide to live in the hillbilly backwoods of either state, you won't find the stereotypical southern attitudes or prejudices. Of course they do exist, but only about as much as anywhere else in the U.S. That ignorant uneducated image of southerners that abounds in other regions of the U.S. is pretty much gone with the wind. Politically I would say that N.C. is more progressive than GA, but the Atlanta area is more progressive than N.C. Both states are traditionally democrat but have leaned much more right/red in the past few elections. Good luck with your decision.

[Philagirl]

One thing about the Research Triangle Area (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill)... The traffic can be horrendous. I went to college there, and although the traffic is no where near as bad as Atlanta, the amount of traffic for an area with no really large metro area totally caught me off guard. If you narrow it down to the Research Triangle, drive around during rush hour before you decide what neighborhood to purchase your home in.