Best neighborhood(s) in Athens (Atlanta, Savannah: middle-class, transplants, to rent)

[GirlsRUs]

Recommendations for the best family neighborhoods in Athens?

1. budget- $1,300
2. looking to rent a home (4bd, 2 bth, large yard) before we buy.
3. employ status - husband got job relocation offer in Franklin Springs.
4. 3 kids. I'm a stay-at-home mom.
5. suburban/ urban - both
6. public transit - a non-issue w/ us.
7. demographics - very important to us: Green, lush enviornment, good outdoorsy feel. Walk-able town, hiking trials. Upper- middle class neighborhood desired. Best neighborhood in Athens for our buck. Desire mostly white community. Excellent public schools a must.

Please advise. We need to make a quickish decision!

We have settled on Athens, but WHICH neighborhood would suit us?

[GirlsRUs]

just thinkin... are there fireflys/ lightening bugs in Athens?

We like horses & country, is there any of that in a neighboring Athens community? Not too hick though, more of an upper-scale feel.

[GirlsRUs]

Anyone? Anyone?

I googled fireflys, & see that they do exist in GA. So nevermind that question.

If anyone could give me their 2 cents on good middle to upper class family neighborhoods (maybe horse property) in Athens, that meet my criteria I'd be much obliged.

Please assist

[GirlsRUs]

Wow. 2 days and no response hunh? I gave very detailed info to work with too!

Either this board is not very active, or not very friendly.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by GirlsRUs

Wow. 2 days and no response hunh? I gave very detailed info to work with too!

Either this board is not very active, or not very friendly.

I suspect most of us don't know that much about Athens.

[Mattie]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I suspect most of us don't know that much about Athens.

^^^ This. My initial impressions of Athens are based on the area around UGA. Lots of older homes around. There is newer construction in Watkinsville nearby, but I can't say I was impressed by what I saw. I do have a friend living there, and according to her the schools are far better than what Athens city schools offer.

[GirlsRUs]

I wasn't under the impression that Athens was THAT small town for people to not be familiar with it. The University is there, for goodness sake Must be someone out there who knows Athens.... this is like pulling teeth!

I have never been given so little (none!) info about a city on citydataforum. This is crazy. Usually, ppl jump right in with friendly recommendations/ thoughts/ and musings about cities. This board is not helpful AT ALL. Good lord.

Maybe I was mistaken that someone would actually live in Athens, and be familiar with the surroundings.

Nevermind, this is way too much to ask for, apparently.

[rcsteiner]

Just keep in mind that people here are volunteers, and that while Athens is a somewhat important city in Georgia because of the university, the fact remains that most participants here live in the Atlanta metro, and many of us are transplants who are learning our local area but know very little about Athens except what we see taking daytrips to that area.

I've seen it a few times and been to one concert at the 40 Watt Club. Otherwise, I wouldn't know it from Savannah.

Also, City Data has a search function. I assume you've used this?

[hal2814]

I lived in the Athens area for 14 years and I really don't know what to tell you. I think you haven't gotten many responses because you're probably not going to like what you're going to hear. What you're asking for doesn't exist in Athens, specifically the "mostly white" and "Excellent public schools a must" parts.

For a quick rundown of public schools, there are 4 middle schools in the Athens-Clarke school district. Clarke Middle is 30% white, Hilsman is 29%, Coile is 7%, and Burney-Harris-Lyons is 10%. My wife worked at Coile for 7 years and there no way I'd ever ever send my kids to school there. From parents I know with kids in public school in Clarke, the other 3 aren't much better. There are elementary and high schools I'd absolutely send my kids to in Clarke, but their middle schools are catastrophically bad. If you're willing to private school for those years you can find what you're looking for in Athens on what's referred to as "the east side" as long as you stick to elementary schools that feed into Hilsman instead of Coile.

You can live just outside of Clarke County and get a better public school situation. Oconee is the most popular choice. You'd certainly get your mostly white and excellent public schools but at the expense of turning a somewhat-long commute to Franklin Springs into a downright-brutal one. Jackson, Jefferson City, and Commerce City are also popular choices for white middle-class families in that area but none are ideal for a commute to Franklin Springs.

That leaves us with Madison County. Excellent schools? No. Mostly white? Absolutely. You could look in Danielsville or Ila. You'd be 15 minutes from Athens and 15 minutes from Franklin Springs and you can find the rest of what you're looking for.

[GirlsRUs]

Originally Posted by hal2814

I lived in the Athens area for 14 years and I really don't know what to tell you. I think you haven't gotten many responses because you're probably not going to like what you're going to hear. What you're asking for doesn't exist in Athens, specifically the "mostly white" and "Excellent public schools a must" parts.

For a quick rundown of public schools, there are 4 middle schools in the Athens-Clarke school district. Clarke Middle is 30% white, Hilsman is 29%, Coile is 7%, and Burney-Harris-Lyons is 10%. My wife worked at Coile for 7 years and there no way I'd ever ever send my kids to school there. From parents I know with kids in public school in Clarke, the other 3 aren't much better. There are elementary and high schools I'd absolutely send my kids to in Clarke, but their middle schools are catastrophically bad. If you're willing to private school for those years you can find what you're looking for in Athens on what's referred to as "the east side" as long as you stick to elementary schools that feed into Hilsman instead of Coile.

You can live just outside of Clarke County and get a better public school situation. Oconee is the most popular choice. You'd certainly get your mostly white and excellent public schools but at the expense of turning a somewhat-long commute to Franklin Springs into a downright-brutal one. Jackson, Jefferson City, and Commerce City are also popular choices for white middle-class families in that area but none are ideal for a commute to Franklin Springs.

That leaves us with Madison County. Excellent schools? No. Mostly white? Absolutely. You could look in Danielsville or Ila. You'd be 15 minutes from Athens and 15 minutes from Franklin Springs and you can find the rest of what you're looking for.

You seem to be familiar w/ Athens, and Franklin Springs. What would the commute be like from say, Flowery Branch into Franklin Springs? (in minutes)