Relocating to from california to atlanta (Roswell, Alpharetta: apartment complexes, to rent, low crime)

[Jamaica71]

We currently live in Los Angeles, CA, my family and I are planning to move to Atlanta, GA in January 09; we are in our late 30s'...we have a young child and a teenager. I am legal secretary, and my husband is an optical technician. Can someone recommend the best area to live in to raise our children, what are some of the best suburban areas...apartment areas...how are the school....what is the job market really like, in our fields? Your feed back is very much appreciated!!!

[DAP443]

The best schools are in the suburbs, like Roswell and Alpharetta. Some good areas would be Midtown, Five Points, Druid Hills, Brookhaven, Buckhead, and many others (If you want to stay close to work). Schools are good there too. Are you working in downtown??

For the most part, the apartments should be in your price range. I'm not very familiar with them (I only visited Atlanta three times), but I will give you more info when I can.
The job market is somewhat iffy, but it should work out.

[JoanD'Arc]

Living in GA is a whole experience in a 1920's kind of way. There is ATL and then there is the rest of GA. One example: When my neighbor went to get her driver's license, she had to bring her MARRIAGE LICENSE to the DMV to prove she was entitled to use that name!!!

ARGGGGGGG! That's me running into the night screaming. Good luck.

PS: Stay on the main routes.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Jamaica71

We currently live in Los Angeles, CA, my family and I are planning to move to Atlanta, GA in January 09; we are in our late 30s'...we have a young child and a teenager. I am legal secretary, and my husband is an optical technician. Can someone recommend the best area to live in to raise our children, what are some of the best suburban areas...apartment areas...how are the school....what is the job market really like, in our fields? Your feed back is very much appreciated!!!

//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...eally-bad.html

What price range did you have in mind for housing? There are apartments in every part of metro Atlanta and ideally you should live near work as commuting can be difficult here.

Schools located in East Cobb County consistently score high on standardized testing>>>
//www.city-data.com/forum/searc...archid=9227418

Young families seem to be flourishing in the Dacula/Auburn area of Gwinnett. Good schools, moderately priced homes and a somewhat diverse, low crime area>>>
//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...la-buford.html

[bayarea-girl]

The job market is worse! Roswell & Alpharetta are really, really nice. If either one of you has a job before moving here you should be fine. It helps to know people here too. For raising a family and just a nice lifestyle this is the place to be. Just have a job otherwise you won't like this place at all.

Good luck to you!

[lastminutemom]

As others have said, please have a job before you come. Many of the decent apartment complexes are not willing to rent to people without jobs. Do you have family here?

I cannot begin to tell you enough to proceed very cautiously-- the job market is bad here and making it worse is the fact that people who were planning on retiring or leaving their jobs for other reasons aren't.

Even school systems and local governments are cutting back. If you have jobs where you are, stay put until the economy improves.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by JoanD'Arc

Living in GA is a whole experience in a 1920's kind of way. There is ATL and then there is the rest of GA. One example: When my neighbor went to get her driver's license, she had to bring her MARRIAGE LICENSE to the DMV to prove she was entitled to use that name!!!

ARGGGGGGG! That's me running into the night screaming. Good luck.

PS: Stay on the main routes.

Having legal documentation for a name change on something like your driver's license is standard practice. If I tried to get a license and claimed my new last name is Johnson, I could get licenses under several different names.

[jkjohnston]

I'm from L.A. originally. Rent/groceries/gas should be cheaper than L.A. The job market is very shaky here right now, as other people said, proceed with caution. Avoid Clayton County. As others said, East Cobb/Roswell/Alpharetta all have good school systems. It's hit or miss in Fulton/DeKalb. There's a school guide post on this forum that should help. Good luck.