PCS'ing to Fort Mcpherson soon, would like advice on where to live/school... (Atlanta: apartment)

[mrs_snarky_britches]

Hello and thanks for reading this.

As title states, we are awaiting orders to PCS to Fort Mcpherson. I've been perusing this forum for the past couple of days and have weeded out some of the areas I originally was looking into due to distance.

So here's the deal, we are looking at renting a house/townhouse (basically need 3 bedrooms and don't want an apartment), we can afford up to $1,500 a month.

I'm looking at the public schools in safer neighborhoods that aren't so far away from Fort Mcpherson like Cobb County is (what I understand from reading). I have two children with ADHD, one has Asperger's. Once we are settled I would like to finish my degree and plan on attending Georgia Tech college.

Was hoping that Druid Hills and the surrounding area wasn't too far from Fort Mcpherson? We have lived in San Diego for ten years so traffic doesn't bother me, yet I don't want to make my husband drive more then one hour to get to work.

Thanks for any advice, this forum is how we are determing where we will end up living. lol

[lastminutemom]

DeKalb special ed is the pits so I would avoid Druid Hills for that reason.

I hear great things about Fayette County's special ed. According to mapquest, Peachtree City is about a 45 minute drive away but I hope the experts can comment on this. Of course, it is further to Tech.

Can anyone comment on special ed in City of Atlanta schools, especially the Grady Cluster schools?

[jeffreda30238]

City of Atlanta schools are horrible...I knew a teacher who was employed with them and she stated that to me, so I believed her. My rule of thumb (when moving) is to look at the areas where the property taxes and values are higher...that is where "you get what you pay for" comes into play...those places normally have excellent school systems. Dekalb County School system may not be good, but Druid Hills area in also a different part of Dekalb. It's not like living on Memorial Dr. or Covington Highway. It is a nicer, pricier area of Dekalb County, so I would do a little research on the schools in that area and go from there....Fayette County is a good area, but with them letting 500+ teaching positions go, I'm not sure how that will affect their school system...definetly do your research and happy hunting! (btw..I am also a fellow soldier...I'm in Germany right now though..)

[manasia]

Originally Posted by mrs_snarky_britches

Hello and thanks for reading this.

As title states, we are awaiting orders to PCS to Fort Mcpherson. I've been perusing this forum for the past couple of days and have weeded out some of the areas I originally was looking into due to distance.

So here's the deal, we are looking at renting a house/townhouse (basically need 3 bedrooms and don't want an apartment), we can afford up to $1,500 a month.

I'm looking at the public schools in safer neighborhoods that aren't so far away from Fort Mcpherson like Cobb County is (what I understand from reading). I have two children with ADHD, one has Asperger's. Once we are settled I would like to finish my degree and plan on attending Georgia Tech college.

Was hoping that Druid Hills and the surrounding area wasn't too far from Fort Mcpherson? We have lived in San Diego for ten years so traffic doesn't bother me, yet I don't want to make my husband drive more then one hour to get to work.

Thanks for any advice, this forum is how we are determing where we will end up living. lol

Hello Mrs. Snaky, if you are not worried about a drive, I would consider Cobb County, along the Mableton, Vinings and Smyrna area. They are pretty central and right off of I285. That way you can have highway access to get to work at 7:30am.

As far as fort Mc Goes. Ft. Gilem has the commissary, and better shoppette. I stayed on Air Force Bases, so Ft. Mac and Ft. Gilem are like third world countries to me :-). But afterr a year here, Ft. Gilem has grew on me, I work out there and buy my grocery from there.