Teacher looking to relocate to Atlanta area

[idnew]

Ok. I would like to have space between my house and my neighbors, but not so much that I never see them. A nice front or backyard, room enough for a deck. Suburban. Are you familiar with Metuchen, Avon, Somerset, New Jersey? How about Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives)? I am looking for a modern single family home - the newer the better.

[BobKovacs]

I grew up in Avenel, so I'm very familiar with Metuchen. Your best bet for replicating Metuchen would likely be the City of Decatur, but you're not going to find all that much in the $250-300k range- especially if you're looking for a newer home.

If you want to get the most bang for your buck and you want suburban, newer homes, you should look out toward Cherokee County. It's a bit "out there", but you'll get a killer house for $250k, and they're still building schools to accomodate the growth. They laid off a bunch of teaching assistants/para-pros this year, and also cut a bunch of job-sharing teachers, but overall, the school system there will be seeing growth in the near future.

[idnew]

I'll start there! Thank you so much!!!

[blessings123]

I am looking for a suburban feel I live in NY and want a much slower pace. I would like to be close to the airport to make travel easier.
I am more concernedafter reading all of the entires about getting a job. I have two kids and wonder if I am able to make it in ATL.

[StPaulEastSider]

Blessings123...

What is your field? I have been haunting these boards for several months now and it seems to me they are not exaggerating on the job market, statistically the unemployment rate is about two points higher in Atlanta versus where I currently live, the Twin Cities.

Secondly, transportation/commuting is a nightmare, rush hour commutes taking 2-3x longer than normal in some cases.

Can you make it with two kids? That's all relative... what do you consider to be 'making it', what is your source of income, if you are a single mom, do you get child support?

My husband is planning to transfer to ATL with his current employer, I am starting an online business, laying down the foundations and launching it before we make the move a year from now, we are planning to lowball our housing expenses by doing the urban pioneer thingy... buying in an inner-city neighborhood on the verge (we hope) of renewal and planning to sit tight over the longterm. So, through a variety of strategies, we plan to make our dreams to return 'home' to Atlanta a reality...

[DoveDiva]

The previous posters are really not trying to be funny. The education market is BAD here. Yes, you're saying you plan on moving next year, but quite frankly the powers that be are already saying the budget will be worse next year.

We have ONE (1) special education position open at my school. Normally? Very difficult to fill. Now? Within 2 days of the position being posted, my principal received 80 applications. One applicant even came to the school and dropped off an additional packet listing her credentials.

It's even worse with elementary education. My honest suggestion to you is to figure out where you can get your foot in the door and then consider where to live...b/c the highly desirable areas such as the City of Decatur, North Fulton, Cobb, etc are very difficult to break into during a normal school year, and it's even more difficult now. It would be useless to set your sights on living in a certain area when you find the nearest job is 20-30 miles away.

Good luck.

[RDawg]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

The days of showing up in Atlanta and getting a job in any school district you want are long gone- now, you've got to take what you can get (if you can get anything). If you were a HS math or science teacher, I'd say you've got a chance, but elementary teachers are a dime a dozen, and many are getting cut loose right now.

Those days might be gone, but they'll be back. It'll be rough until the hiring for the 10-11 school year around here. That's why I'm heading west. The idea is to find the places where nobody wants to teach and then go there.

[antiquesmountainapache]

Please listen to all of the posters who have written facts about the job market.