Looking for A New Home (Atlanta, Oconee: insurance, crime rate, unemployment)

[sexxxydiva]

Hello Everyone,

This is my very first post. My name is Valencia from Hawthorne, CA. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I am now a 36 year old single mother of two girls ages 5 and 7. My reason for joining this community is simple. I'm looking for a new home and here is what I'm looking for:

First of all, I am an African-American woman, so I need to move to a city where there is little to no rascism. I've heard that the KKK is stationed in GA, but I don't believe it.

Next, I want a safe and friendly community where I can raise my girls without having to duck and dodge bullets every time I leave my house. I also want them in a good school district where the teacher are interested in more than a paycheck.

Lastly, I want to move to an area where the job opportunities are.

So, Atlanta seems to offer all of these features and much more. My only concern is their crime rate. While it isn't ranked number one, I have heard that the crime rate is high.

Being from Los Angeles, I've seen far too much. I want to give my girls a better life than I had, so I want to move away from this hell hole. I just want to make sure that I don't move to a city with the same problems that I face here.

So any suggestions or ideas would be of so much help to me. I plan on moving sometime next summer, so I said I better get started now.

Thanks for all of your input.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by sexxxydiva

First of all, I am an African-American woman, so I need to move to a city where there is little to no rascism.

You may have a hard time finding that place on the planet Earth. As long as you find a city with humans living in it, there will be prejudice and racism. Yes, some places have it more than others, but it exists everywhere whether it be white-on-black or black-vs-white or any other. Larger cities sometimes show less of it due to the variety of people living there than smaller rural towns may, but it still shows it's head. Even in Atlanta.

Originally Posted by sexxxydiva

Next, I want a safe and friendly community where I can raise my girls without having to duck and dodge bullets every time I leave my house. I also want them in a good school district where the teacher are interested in more than a paycheck. Lastly, I want to move to an area where the job opportunities are. So, Atlanta seems to offer all of these features and much more. My only concern is their crime rate. While it isn't ranked number one, I have heard that the crime rate is high.

Atlanta does have a high crime rate, but not every neighborhood is a place where you "duck bullets". There are plenty of decent neighborhoods with decent schools, but with no actual budget listed in terms of dollar amount, folks won't be able to pinpoint those areas for you yet.

Atlanta was not immune to the recession. It is NOT the "land of milk and honey" that some people for some reason around North America tell people it is regarding jobs. There are people here who have been looking for jobs for months. If you do not have a job lined up before you move here, then you should at least have a year's living expenses saved up that will cover rent, food, utilities, insurance, etc while you look.

Originally Posted by sexxxydiva

Being from Los Angeles, I've seen far too much. I want to give my girls a better life than I had, so I want to move away from this hell hole. I just want to make sure that I don't move to a city with the same problems that I face here.

You should be specific as to what "hell hole-ish" things you saw that you are trying to avoid. Atlanta has gangs. Atlanta has traffic that isn't quite as bad as L.A., but very bad regardless. Atlanta has smog alert days, too. We certainly do have some of the same things L.A. has, but then in ways we are different as well - lots more trees, no earthquakes, four distinct seasons... Maybe if you detail more specifically what things you lived around in L.A. that you want to avoid here, that would help as well.

You are technically asking about Atlanta but I'm leaving this in the Georgia room, because there may be other options in the State for you that folks can go over once you provide some more details on budget, things you definitely want, want to avoid, etc.

[whitmans77]

The biggest thing to know is what field you are in, that will dictate what cities are better than others . Being from Georgia (Augusta specifically) all my life I can say that is definitely a nice place to live and raise a family. Just need to know a few more details of what you are looking for will definitely help

[montyburns]

I would like to point out that what AtlantaGreg said is true. Atlanta has it's good and bad areas. The bad areas can be similar to those in Los Angeles; so can the good areas.
Why not move to a different area of Los Angeles?
I understand it is more expensive than Atlanta, but if that is the reason, why Atlanta? Why not a different cheaper city?
If we knew what specifically is drawing you to Atlanta, and what specifically is pushing you away from Los Angeles, we'd be able to help more.

[keeshonder]

Right now the area in Ga with the lowest unemployment is Oconee County, just outside of Athens. Athens still has the lowest unemployment of the major metropolitan areas. As for jobs, as mentioned before it depends upon your field of work. The Athens area is extremely diverse because of the presence of the University of Georgia. There are 5 or 6 counties in the area around Athens (which is actually much smaller physically than the L.A. area, counties here aren't nearly as large as in California). You should check out the ratings and reviews of the various school systems.

[MoreCowbell]

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