What is Dallas GA like? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: real estate, rent, crime)

[Xzy3000]

Like the title mentions, I am wondering what Dallas ga is like, I am a young male and in my mid 20s and I like that homes there are big and cheaper than Atlanta and its surroundings, one thing I am concerned about being a Latino is how much racism there might be. Anyone living there have any insight into what Dallas is like?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Xzy3000

Like the title mentions, I am wondering what Dallas ga is like, I am a young male and in my mid 20s and I like that homes there are big and cheaper than Atlanta and its surroundings, one thing I am concerned about being a Latino is how much racism there might be. Anyone living there have any insight into what Dallas is like?

As the largest incorporated municipality in and site of the seat of government for Paulding County; Dallas is a conservative outer-suburban/exurban area.

The population in the Dallas, GA area and in surrounding Paulding County continues to be predominantly white, though the area’s minority population has been growing rapidly in recent years, particularly in the part of county in and around Hiram, which is located in the east/southeastern part of the county near the Cobb county line.

Paulding County’s minority population has been growing so rapidly to the point that white students now make up only about 29 percent of the student body at Hiram High School.

The northern part of the area with a Dallas mailing address (including and particularly in the attendance zone that is anchored by North Paulding High School) remains predominantly white, though apparently less so than in the recent past.

Meanwhile, the area in and around Dallas proper (in the central part of Paulding County) has also featured a rapidly growing minority population in recent years.

As of 2019, whites made up about a little under 58 percent of the population of Dallas proper, with racial and ethnic minorities making up just over 42 percent of the area’s population.

The area’s demographic changes seem to be even apparent at Paulding County High School where whites now make up only about just over 51 percent of the student body population (minorities make up about 49 percent of the student body population at PCHS).

The Dallas area and surrounding Paulding County is and remains predominantly white and conservative. But the area’s minority population (including blacks and Hispanics) has been growing rapidly in recent years.

[sedimenjerry]

What B2R said.
It's definitely growing and will likely become more diverse in the future.
What's your budget? There are definitely better places in the metro for a mid 20s Latino

[Xzy3000]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

What B2R said.
It's definitely growing and will likely become more diverse in the future.
What's your budget? There are definitely better places in the metro for a mid 20s Latino

Well I think around $1200 a month or so for a mortgage, but I could probably go up a bit higher if I really like a home, what other cities have big homes that are relatively affordable like Dallas that might be a bit closer to ATL?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Xzy3000

Well I think around $1200 a month or so for a mortgage, but I could probably go up a bit higher if I really like a home, what other cities have big homes that are relatively affordable like Dallas that might be a bit closer to ATL?

Keep in mind that Dallas (and all of Paulding County) is part of the roughly 29-county Atlanta metropolitan area.

The potential for racism could be anywhere, including in a county like Paulding which (not unlike many areas in Georgia, the South and in much of the U.S.) had a reputation for not necessarily being the most inviting for people of color in the not-too-distant past.

And there are some areas that may continue to be not necessarily the most inviting and/or accepting of people of color as one gets farther out in the county away from Atlanta.

But the eastern half of Paulding County (including much of the area with a Dallas mailing address, but particularly including the southeastern part of the county with Hiram and Douglasville addresses) has come a very long way and continues to move forward very fast.

The part of Paulding County with Hiram and Douglasville mailing addresses particularly seem to attract many minority families, including and particularly African-American families, but also many Hispanic newcomers as well.

The Dallas area seems to attract many minorities, too, as evidenced by the growing number of minority students in the Paulding County High School attendance zone that appear to have that educational facility on the verge of being a ‘majority-minority’ school where racial and ethnic minorities make up a majority of the school’s population.

If you like a home there and are thinking of purchasing it, do your research into the surrounding area that the home is located in.

Try and visit the area in person before making a commitment to purchase and see if the home is located in an area that you would feel comfortable living in.

But overall, the continuing growth of Paulding County has the area continuing to trend towards a more diverse population.

... With racial and ethnic minorities having gone from being only about 5 percent of Paulding County’s population in 1990 to more than 31 percent of the population as of 2019.

[sedimenjerry]

Originally Posted by Xzy3000

Well I think around $1200 a month or so for a mortgage, but I could probably go up a bit higher if I really like a home, what other cities have big homes that are relatively affordable like Dallas that might be a bit closer to ATL?

I'm not as familiar with housing costs since I rent and I know it can be dependent on your down payment.
The thing about Dallas/Paulding county is it's just not that close to anything. Somewhere in Gwinnett might not be much closer to downtown Atlanta, but it'd be quicker to Sandy Springs, Buckhead, Roswell/Alpharetta would be quick to get to. The downtowns of Norcross and Duluth have quite a bit going on. Lawrenceville is redeveloping quite a bit of its downtown. In Dallas, it seems like there are just fewer socializing options.
Now, you can find a lot of cheap housing in Gwinnett but parts of it aren't so nice and have crime issues but there are plenty of good spots too. Plus the NE corridor is definitely diverse and I think Gwinnett has the highest share of hispanics in GA. Dallas/Paulding county is improving like B2R said, but that community already exists in Gwinnett.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

I'm not as familiar with housing costs since I rent and I know it can be dependent on your down payment.
The thing about Dallas/Paulding county is it's just not that close to anything. Somewhere in Gwinnett might not be much closer to downtown Atlanta, but it'd be quicker to Sandy Springs, Buckhead, Roswell/Alpharetta would be quick to get to. The downtowns of Norcross and Duluth have quite a bit going on. Lawrenceville is redeveloping quite a bit of its downtown. In Dallas, it seems like there are just fewer socializing options.
Now, you can find a lot of cheap housing in Gwinnett but parts of it aren't so nice and have crime issues but there are plenty of good spots too. Plus the NE corridor is definitely diverse and I think Gwinnett has the highest share of hispanics in GA. Dallas/Paulding county is improving like B2R said, but that community already exists in Gwinnett.

It takes me about an hour and a half to get to Dallas from Alpharetta. Just painful enough that I don’t want to do it often. Only around 37 or so miles but cross country all the way.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

I'm not as familiar with housing costs since I rent and I know it can be dependent on your down payment.
The thing about Dallas/Paulding county is it's just not that close to anything. Somewhere in Gwinnett might not be much closer to downtown Atlanta, but it'd be quicker to Sandy Springs, Buckhead, Roswell/Alpharetta would be quick to get to. The downtowns of Norcross and Duluth have quite a bit going on. Lawrenceville is redeveloping quite a bit of its downtown. In Dallas, it seems like there are just fewer socializing options.
Now, you can find a lot of cheap housing in Gwinnett but parts of it aren't so nice and have crime issues but there are plenty of good spots too. Plus the NE corridor is definitely diverse and I think Gwinnett has the highest share of hispanics in GA. Dallas/Paulding county is improving like B2R said, but that community already exists in Gwinnett.

sedimenjerry raises an excellent and important point that Dallas/Paulding County is basically just a quiet bedroom community with not much more than residential development.

Paulding County (including Dallas) is a really good place to live if one is seeking a very quiet outer-suburban/exurban lifestyle in an area that very often is more likely to feature lower real estate prices than in more desirable areas closer to the core of metro Atlanta might be likely to feature.

If one might be seeking to live closer to a socially active area, Paulding County likely would not be the best place to move to.

But if one is seeking a lifestyle of total piece and quiet, Paulding County is a good place to consider.

[peterkhoury]

Does Dallas Ga have any rural areas left? Seems as if it's getting harder & Harder to find a small home in
the "country"

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by peterkhoury

Does Dallas Ga have any rural areas left? Seems as if it's getting harder & Harder to find a small home in
the "country"

The west side of Dallas will have what you are looking for.