most kid-friendly: Va-Hi, Candler Park, Lake Claire? (Atlanta, Decatur: for sale, crime)

[LisaTH]

We're moving to ATL and have narrowed down interests in Va-Highland, Candler Park and Lake Claire. We would like a ngbd. where our school-age kids can "run-around" / walk to a park or small shop without worrying about their safety so much. Can anyone comment on differences b/w these three neighborhoods for school-age kids to have some freedom and where there are lots of other kids to play with, etc.? Does Candler Park get sketchy once close to streets like Sterling and toward L5P?

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by LisaTH

We're moving to ATL and have narrowed down interests in Va-Highland, Candler Park and Lake Claire. We would like a ngbd. where our school-age kids can "run-around" / walk to a park or small shop without worrying about their safety so much. Can anyone comment on differences b/w these three neighborhoods for school-age kids to have some freedom and where there are lots of other kids to play with, etc.? Does Candler Park get sketchy once close to streets like Sterling and toward L5P?

All three sound like good choices, as there are kid-friendly parks located in all three neighborhoods (my personal favorite is John Howell Park on Virginia Ave. in Va-Hi Atlanta-Midtown.com | Guide to Midtown Parks | Howell Park | Virginia-Highland).
To address your ? re: the sketchiness of CP...no, not IMO; although there might be a bit more nuisance crime closer to L5P (car break-ins, et al), I would not feel any particular concern for your kids outside the norm.
Of the three, Va-Hi covers the largest area, and the feel of the neighborhood runs the gamut from 'urban residential' to downright suburban. Candler Park overall has a denser, more urban feel to it (I love the little pockets of shops and restaurants that you encounter on McLendon on the way out to Lake Claire), while Lake Claire feels more uniformly suburban.
All three are great choices IMHO.

[frances125]

City of Decatur (the next community east of Lake Claire) fits your bill too. My kids are free range a good bit. My oldest (7th grade) congregates with friends downtown every Friday, and all of my kids have been walking with friends to school on their own since second grade. Decatur has it's own police force, and they are very on the ball and respond very quickly to any incident that comes along. It also has an independent school system that isn't drug down into all this mess that is going on in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County school systems. All the schools are part of the Safe Routes to School Program and are very serious about encouraging students to walk/bike to school rather than ride in a vehicle. Most neighborhoods are within walking distance of a park, and many are in walking distance of a pool. We used to live near Candler Park, and.. while it is a truly great neighborhood, we feel that Decatur is a little safer and more supportive of free roaming kids. L5P is fun, and we still go there a good bit, but it jas always made me a little nervous to think of unsupervised kids being anywhere near there.

Keep in mind that there is a lot of metro ATL that calls itself Decatur but is not the City of Decatur. There are nice areas that fit this description, but there are also some pretty abysmal areas south of Memorial that call themselves Decatur. Just make sure that you are in the Decatur city limits.

That being said... among the choices you gave..... for free range kids, I'd recommend Lake Claire first then Candler Park and then Va High. All three are great neighborhoods though and would be good places to raise a family, but that is the order I'd put them in as far as appropriateness for free roaming kids.

[plessthanpointohfive]

LisaTH - I live in Candler Park with my husband and 8 year old son. As far as I'm concerned Candler Park and Lake Claire are nearly indistinguishable for what they offer. Both neighborhoods feed into Mary Lin elementary (with a small portion of each going into Springdale Park ES, also a good school).

While I love VaHi also I think it's less conducive to that whole "let your kids run around" thing. Maybe not. It certainly has a different vibe...a bit more yuppie where as CP/LC are more hippie. But both neighborhoods have elements of yuppie and hippie.

As for "running around"...my son has friends next door and in a few of the houses on the street behind us. We recently got him a pre-paid cell phone so we allow him to walk to his friend's house by himself and then call us to let us know he got there. He's also allowed to play at the park without adult supervision so long as he's with at least one other friend and he has his cell phone on him (he is only allowed to call mom, dad, and the grandparents on the phone...we have strict rules about it).

As the weather continues to get nicer I'd have no problem letting him and his friend walk down to Candler Park market without an adult.

Of course, I won't let him walk to Little 5 AT LEAST until he's in middle school (there are places he could go - Zestos, Crystal Blue, Aurora Coffee, Savage Pizza, and a few others). There's just too much grown up activity there but during daylight hours I really wouldn't be concerned for his safety.

It's really been this year (third grade) that we've started to let out the apron strings. Little by little with the idea we'd tighten them back up if he shows lack of maturity to handle it.

[LisaTH]

Thank you all for your replies. Here are a few specific questions for both Decatur persons and for p < .05:

1) We were hesitant on Decatur only b/c it seems to add 10+ minutes (?) to commutes west. Also, we hope to be at Paideia school -- are there other Paideia kids in the Oakhurst/Winona neighborhoods? Just looking for some (not all) overlap in school/neighborhood.

2) Is the walk across College Ave. to the square safe?

3) Re: CP, do families often tend to move out when their kids are in middle/high school? There are ALOT of houses for sale it seems.

4) Looks like we are now possibly more interested in CP, Lake Claire, and maybe Oakhurst/Winona...less so VA-Hi if it is so congested and "public"/yuppie (more than the others anyway).

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by LisaTH

Thank you all for your replies. Here are a few specific questions for both Decatur persons and for p < .05:

1) We were hesitant on Decatur only b/c it seems to add 10+ minutes (?) to commutes west. Also, we hope to be at Paideia school -- are there other Paideia kids in the Oakhurst/Winona neighborhoods? Just looking for some (not all) overlap in school/neighborhood.

2) Is the walk across College Ave. to the square safe?

3) Re: CP, do families often tend to move out when their kids are in middle/high school? There are ALOT of houses for sale it seems.

4) Looks like we are now possibly more interested in CP, Lake Claire, and maybe Oakhurst/Winona...less so VA-Hi if it is so congested and "public"/yuppie (more than the others anyway).

1) Paideia is an easy commute from Decatur, as it is in adjacent Druid Hills. I would think it no more than a 10 minute commute from anywhere in Decatur.

2) Yes, absolutely.

3) The middle (Inman) and high school (Grady) that serve CP are generally well-regarded.

4)Once you are out of Va-Hi's Business District (mainly along N. Highland), its neighborhoods are just as quiet as those of the others you list.

[plessthanpointohfive]

I'll just add on to LD's responses:

1) Paideia is an easy commute from Decatur, as it is in adjacent Druid Hills. I would think it no more than a 10 minute commute from anywhere in Decatur.

FROM P<0.05: It would be a pretty easy commute. However, may I ask why not send your kids to public school? In CP/LC you'd be in the minority sending your children to private. Most CP/LP families go public because the whole shot from ES to HS for these neighborhoods is good. Paideia is certainly an excellent school, but Mary Lin is probably just as good. Additionally, your childs friends from the neighborhood will most likely be at Mary Lin.

I know I am pushing public. But I know some people move from areas where public school is just never an option if you any ability to pay for private (like in DC or New Orleans). So they move here without understanding that the public schools can actually be quite excellent here. So, as a private school grad and former outsider myself, I just wanted to make it clear that the public schools that serve CP/LC (as well as Decatur but I know less about Decatur schools other than their great rep) are very excellent and are highly attended.


2) Yes, absolutely.

FROM P<0.05: I'm a runner and it's < 3 miles from my house to the Decatur Square. I run all along Dekalb/College on PATH and sidewalks. I have an 8 mile loop that goes up E Ponce to Commerce and then back to CP along PATH on College/Dekalb. It's a great route. You can get around most anyplace in City of Decatur on foot.

3) The middle (Inman) and high school (Grady) that serve CP are generally well-regarded.

FROM P<0.05: From what I can see most people send their kids to Mary Lin and Inman Middle. When it comes to Grady there are the contingent of parent who are uncomfortable sending their kids there because that's when they get exposed to kids who are not like them (ie, from poor uneducated families with a lack of parental involvement, etc. I won't go as far and say race is a factor because CP/LC is pretty diverse and so is Mary Lin and Inman...it's more classist than racist, I'd say). But it seems to me that contingent who get anxious about Grady is growing smaller every year. I am certainly sending my child to Grady (btw - for some profiling purposes I'll let you know I work at CDC as a statistician and my husband is a professor). All of my neighbors are sending their kids to Grady, as well (that's a total of 12 kids on one block). The educational opportunities at Grady are great - Henry W. Grady High School | Communications and Journalism (http://srt5.atlantapublicschools.us/17602012892610720/site/default.asp - broken link) and Henry W. Grady High School (http://www.gradyhighschool.org/acad/acad.html - broken link) . Check out CINS (CINS Home) which is Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools for more info.



4)Once you are out of Va-Hi's Business District (mainly along N. Highland), its neighborhoods are just as quiet as those of the others you list.

FROM P<0.05: Yes, I agree. But it is a bit more yuppie so I'd say a slight vibe difference is all there is...but it's a great family neighborhood. The vibe thing is just personal pref.

[LisaTH]

Thanks for all the helpful answers! We're coming to visit soon and are now better informed for how to spend that time.

Re: p < .05's public vs. private school debate....I appreciate all the pluses of good public schools and the downsides of private schools (some far more than other's). Mostly boils down to a dislike of standardized testing /competetive approach to school performance in good public schools, interest in individualized learning styles/teaching approach, encouragement of critical & creative thinking skills, emphasis on whole child being a good citizen (beyond academics). Perhaps the public schools there do all this, but I don't imagine to the same extent as a progressive ed. private school is able. And, yes, I know the exposure to kids of different classes you get in public school is invaluable. The debate could go on.

Great to hear about the running route -- a plus.

Okay, one more question...Good indoor lap pools near Decatur / CP?

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by LisaTH

Okay, one more question...Good indoor lap pools near Decatur / CP?

YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta - Decatur-Dekalb Family YMCA Home Page

[aries4118]

Great posts, Pless and Lovin.