Atlantans -- neighborhood questions

[Flaxbee]

My husband and I are thinking of moving back into the Atlanta area; we lived there once before in 1999/2000 in Dunwoody in an apartment complex that I despised. We're hoping to buy a small house with a yard that would keep three kitties happy, possibly a fixer-upper (but not toooo much of a fixer upper - something that can be lived in while being fixed-up) in a good neighborhood but the Atlanta area is just so HUGE that I don't know where to start.

I don't know where either of us will be working (my husband often has contracts that allow him to work from home and I'll just look for work within a decent commute distance), so that isn't a consideration at this point. Right now we're in western NC and drive down into Atlanta on 23/85 (boy that area has grown!!) - what is the scuttlebut on Gainesville/Buford/Duluth? What about areas closer into the heart of the city? What about areas along 75?

Anyone have any opinions? Any suggestions are appreciated; I feel overwhelmed right now and don't know where to start looking.

[BlackCoffeeSound]

1. 2 cents

I lived in Georgia for 27 years. Some "up and coming" places where you can still get a hell of a deal are East Atlanta and maybe East Point. If cost isn't an issue, go straight to downtown Decatur. Wonderful houses there, beautiful and old and a very progressive town to boot. If I could pick anywhere in Atlanta to live, Decatur would be it. Check it out.

[newyawker99]

31. Hi BlackCoffeeSound!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Solly Mack]

2. NOT Gainesville

I lived in Gainesville for 17 years. It's grown over the years. It's got some pretty scenery. There's always the lake. Not too far from places like Helen.

Lot of racism in Gainesville, though they try hard to conceal it. Lot of right wing ignorance there as well. That they don't try hard to conceal.

3 churches on every corner. Hell, one church, the dewberry baptists churches, got mad at each other over a preacher and split into 2 churches (Dewberry 1 & Dewberry 2)

One Catholic Church, one Lutheran, one 7th Day Adventist, one Mormon,
One Presby. Multiple methodists (and one large one) and Green Street Baptists is "the" Baptist church...and all that implies. A boatload of baptists churches, naturally.

They also have this bunch of uber fundies, and I do mean UBER fundies, that went from a shack in a nasty neighborhood to this huge multiplex in a matter of years. Members sign over their homes, boats...anything and everything...to the church. They are located on McEver Highway now, heading toward Oakwood. Scary bunch of critters.

and then your assorted Pentecostals and assemblies of gods.

If you had been a teen in your formative years, growing up in Gainesville, you would understand the concentration on the churches.

Back to the racism: Don't let the surface fool you. Hall county is chock full of racists. Gainesville likes to pride itself on being different from other cities within Hall County. Don't fall for it.

Gainesville is the home of a rising star within the Democratic Party. His name is Ashley Bell. He spoke at the Democratic Convention. I remember him when he was a child. The African-American community is a strong one. It's also a redeeming factor about Gainesville. As is it's strong and growing Mexican community. There's also a well established Vietnamese community.

Don't let that fool you...it's still a divided city. The majority of whites literally live on the "other side of the tracks." And I mean "literally."

Classism is a big deal in Gainesville as well.

Drugs are everywhere in Hall county..also in nearby Jackson, Dawson, and Forsyth. They'll tell you otherwise but don't believe it. Meth is huge in this area.

Lots of restaurants. Homes going up everyday. Moderately priced homes in well established communities. Lake homes. New subdivisions everywhere. Shopping's not great but it's not horrible either. They have many shops just not a huge variety/types. Roads greatly improved.

Now to the chicken plants...the smell of a blood truck will cause you to puke. A blood truck is just that- a truck filled with chicken blood going for disposal. You'll know the first time you smell one. LOTS of chicken plants in Gainesville. So many they have a chicken statue that goes on tour. I kid you not.

Road Atlanta is right there in Chestnut Mtn. If you like racing.

To be fair, they did put a dent in the Klan and their activities. However, it's still got the Klan.

I could write a book on why not to live in Gainesville. :)

[Flaxbee]

3. ugh, OK I'm convinced... no Gainesville!

I think I'll check out Decatur, though...

[Solly Mack]

5. You'll be glad you did

:)

[Flaxbee]

4. meant to ask -- any good lake communities?

I don't want to be in the middle of a gazillion new track homes, though. More interested in older, established neighborhoods...

[Solly Mack]

6. Buford/Gainesville have lake communities :o)

Try Buford though. Lot of new homes around Lake Lanier though you can find older, more secluded, homes from time to time.


Might look into Flowery Branch, it's still Hall county but right next to Buford. I'd look there..somewhere between Buford and Flowery Branch.
Mind you, tourists come in droves through Buford and Flowery Branch.

You can find homes on the lake that are sitting off to themsleves and off the beaten track...but with paved roads :)


Across & Over around Cartersville you can find lake living ( Lake Altoona). (I-75)

Up near Helen in White County as well. Just above Hall County but more into the mountains. Beautiful area. But that's more river living (Chattahoochee)

[Flaxbee]

7. my cats would like living near "all tuna" (ha ha)

thanks for the other suggestions.. I'll check out Lake Altoona and the Helen area. My husband, years ago, lived on Lake Murray (I think that's it) in Columbia SC and longs to get back close to a lake or river...

[jukes]

17. flax!

:hi:

you've got Cobb County: Marietta & Kennesaw townships along I-75 toward Allatoona. "snobb" county, i call it. "east marietta" is so *very*... Cobb Co refused to co-operate w/ marta, the atlanta rail system. put their own bus routes up, loosely choreagraphed to Marta (keeps *them* in the city, darling! otherwise they'd just take a train out to loot Tara!) Kennesaw is the place that answered Oak Grove, IL, by *requiring* every citizen to own a gun!

Bartow County next stop northwest along the lake (cartersville is co. seat) nice if you can afford some land, 5+ acres. c'ville is nothing special.

more northerly along I-575 is Henry County. Woodstock is a fair little town nearest in, Canton is the co. seat & further out. better than Bartow, esp if you can afford 5+.

*EVERYWHERE* in suburban/rural GA you'll find more fundie churches than gas-stations. everywhere outside the "perimeter" road, you'll find klan if you poke under the rocks. racism isn't always overt, but it isn't hidden-in-shame, either.

there used to be a nice "renovation" neighborhood called "cabbagetown" in the city; don't know if it's been mined out. if you PM "rubyduby in GA" she'll have better information; been here longer.

BTW, lake allatoona isn't that big a deal. crowded/noisy on the weekends w/ way too many jetskis. they drain it in the winter, so you have to drive over these huge "mudflats". pretty in the summer, though, & some nice parks.

[Flaxbee]

19. hey jukes!

thanks for the info, esp. on lake allatoona... would be a bummer to go over there expecting water & see nothin' but mud!

btw, Ivan's doing fine, sitting on my lap as I type. He's still a little testy, will bite on occasion but only if I've done a no-no, like touch his toes or tummy when he's in one of his 'moods'. The other two cats don't love him, barely tolerate him (he still sleeps out on his porch) but there's been no bloodshed yet.

[napi21]

16. I live in Flowery Branch, and we like it a lot.

We live about 5 mins from the Lake in an older subdivision. The houses arent hugh, but a decent size, and almost all of them are well kept, and reasonably priced. We do most of our shopping in Buford. Since we are about 5 mins from the Hall/Gwinett county line, it's just a close as going to Gainesville, and you can find almost any store you could want in Buford somewhere. Taxes are a little less in Hall than Gwinett too.

I read through all the posts so far, and I'm sure what the poster had to say about Gainesville is true, but I can honestly say, I have not seen any crime, drugs, or anything like that where we live. Maybe it's mostly in the City of Gainesville. We've lived here 4 1/2 years, and I've never smelled a blood truck either! Don't want to.

We are close to 985 and Peachtree Industrial, so it's easy to get almost anywhere.

I would recommend checking out South Hall County.

[bunkerbuster1]

8. The good news about Gwinnett:

90,000 of my fellow county residents voted for John Kerry.

the bad news about Gwinnett:

160,000 of my fellow county residents voted for **. And about one in ten of them has a goddamned W sticker on the back of their suburban hillybilly conveyance.

[Citizen Jane]

9. I live in Avondale Estates and love it!

We couldn't afford Decatur 10 years ago (didn't have the money to buy a house AND upgrade it to central air!) and moved into Avondale Estates instead. Avondale is getting more and more progressive and with it by the day. There are also several neighborhoods (like Forrest Hills) South of/between Avondale and Decatur which are GREAT places to find fixer-uppers.

If you can afford to be ITP (inside the perimeter) you should definitely go for it. The advantage of Avondale is we are in the process of revitalizing (think Decatur 15 years ago) and 5 minutes from I-285 and 5 minutes from Decatur.

And for those of you who know AE...it really has progressed--lots of mixed race couples, lots of kids, and lots of homosexual couples now!

PM me if you have questions about the Decatur-Avondale-Tucker-Stone Mountain Area! (I also know a few other neighborhoods in the greater Emory area!).

[MsTryska]

11. Plus Air America broadcasts fro Avondale Estates.

i tend to agree with others - i would look at in-town, because sadly outside the perimeter, it's not so much established housing - mostly tract homes.

the kind of place you are looking for i would suggest decatur, avondale estates and brookhaven also. virgina highlands and midtown too if you can afford it.

[RT Atlanta]

10. Brookhaven

Best bang for your buck in town - you're less than 4 miles from Buckhead working/shopping district, yet you pay unincorporated DeKalb Co. taxes (versus much higher City of Atlanta and Fulton Co. taxes in other areas that are inside the Perimeter). That's where I live and can't say enough good things about it. Also, the homes are still affordable and you can find the fixer-uppers there too.

[jukes]

18. you only pay

a *buck* for pu....

oops! never mind!

[tenshi816]

12. Avondale and Decatur and other Atlanta places to live

This is my first post as a DUer and I can't believe that I'm writing about places to live in Atlanta! Guess it's because Atlanta's something I know a fair bit about - I'll get around to commenting on something political eventually, maybe, one day.

I grew up in the Decatur/Avondale area (went to Midway Elementary and later Forrest Hills Elementary, both of which were feeder schools into Avondale High School). Happy times, when I ripped around absolutely everywhere on my bike, even on main roads like Columbia Drive, without the slightest fear of anything bad happening to me or my friends. In the 1980s, as a young adult, I rented a small house on Inman Drive, just off of Columbia Drive, which was across the street from the Presbyterian Seminary there (I'm assuming it's still in the same place), and it was a wonderful place to live. Most of the houses in the neighborhood were built just before the second world war, neither too large nor too small, most with fenced back yards. Mine had beautiful hardwood floors, a fireplace and finished attic and a large screened in porch - as most of them appeared to. Lots of trees, and not much traffic in the neighborhood (generally just residential, not "through" traffic). I loved living there, and am willing to bet the area hasn't changed much over the years. It was the kind of place that people tended to move into and put down roots. At the time, I knew several academics there because of the proximity to Agnes Scott College (and the not-too-bad commute to Emory University). It's also very convenient for MARTA (I used to commute to Georgia State University on MARTA). I haven't been back there since visiting some friends about 10 years ago, and it was all just the same then as it had been 10 years prior to that. I highly recommend the area.

If you want to spend more money and still get a place in an older established part of Atlanta (as opposed to the far flung suburbs), Morningside and Midtown are lovely. I also love the Virginia-Highland and Little Five Points areas, but they're not to everyone's taste - although I suspect that, like me, a lot of DUers would like it there. The words "vibrant" and "tolerant" and "very interesting" come to mind.

As far as suburbs go, if you must go there, I would recommend going north of Roswell, to Alpharetta. Just be aware that once you start moving out of the city very far in any direction, you will be heading deep into red territory, where you will find a seemingly endless number of churches and Shrub lovers, and your chances of finding intelligent debate will decrease for each mile you get away from Atlanta. It has been so in my experience, anyway.

When I was a teenager, my family moved to Lilburn, in Gwinnett County, and I graduated from high school there. It's an area that I recommend you AVOID like the plague! I can't stress this enough. I left as soon as I could and have only ever been back in recent years to visit an aunt and uncle who live there. I remember reading an article in either Time or Newsweek back in the late 80s that said that, at that time, Gwinnett County was the fastest growing county in the entire country, and I can believe it. It's nothing but fast food places, strip malls and rednecks as far as the eye can see, and traffic is an absolute nightmare. As far as I'm concerned, the entire county should have a big wall built around it, both to keep its residents in and to spare the rest of us from having to look at it.

I've lived in England since 1986, and now look at Atlanta almost from the perspective of a tourist because I'm only there for a 5 or 6 week visit every year or two. It has been interesting to me to note the changes since I left. Atlanta, the city (including Decatur, but NOT the entire metropolitan area, which includes the hell that is Cobb County) seems to me to have grown up a lot. Maybe I'm wrong, but race doesn't seem to be a big issue anymore (if I'm wrong about this, someone please correct me). Atlanta has become much more culturally diverse and tolerant, and as a result is now an all around better place than it used to be. Just my opinion, of course.

Hope all this is of some use to you.

Now, if anyone wants to know what it's like to live on the Yorkshire Moors in the north of England, just drop me a line.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi tenshi816!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[tenshi816]

15. Hi right back newyawker99

Thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking at DU for months but hadn't posted before until today. Now that I've dipped my toe in the water in this forum, I guess I'll have to jump all the way in!

DU is so addicting. It's the first thing I look at when I switch on my computer in the morning and I look in often throughout the day and into the evening (yes, I do have a life away from the computer, but I have a broken leg just now so I spend a lot time just sitting in front of the computer). Today was the first time I looked into the Georgia forum and it spurred me finally to contribute something.

Living where I do now (when I look out my living room window I see sheep on the moor), it felt good to write a long message about Atlanta. I may live 4000+ miles away, but it's still my hometown and if I can help someone else find something about it to love, I'll do what I can.

[newyawker99]

32. Yes, DU is addicting. I have been addicted to it

since 2001.


:hi:

[Flaxbee]

20. thanks very much, tenshi816

-- very helpful information! We're driving down to the Atlanta area this weekend to look around. My husband lived in the Virginia Highlands area for a while in the 80s with his ex-wife; they had a neat house there that I wish he'd hung on to! I'm conflicted about living in the more metropolitan area vs. the 'burbs... I'd like some space around me, 2-5 acres if possible and that's usually not possible in the city.

What took you to the Yorkshire Moors? I love London, and have spent some time in Cambridge, but never traveled north. From what I've read, the area is beautiful.

Welcome to DU! And don't feel the need to get political here if you don't want to... I've been here since 2001-2002 and usually hang out in the Lounge and some of the DU Groups. I go to LBN for news, and it's nice to have the perspective of liberals, but I post rather infrequently (only have a little under 2000 posts after three+ year). I've always been more of an observer rather than a participator when it comes to debates... and DU is great b/c you can be part of the community in almost any way you choose.

[Sparkle]

13. What are your thoughts on LIthonia, George? (anyone)

I visited there last summer and it seemed to be a nice place to live.

[Dulcinea]

21. Another vote for Decatur.

We actually live in unincorporated Dekalb w/ a Decatur mailing address, & love it! We live in an older neighborhood with good schools & easy access to downtown, & there's a good mix of families, singles, gay couples & ethnicities.

[Modem Butterfly]

22. We live in Smyrna, and we love it

We're very close in (I work in mid-town and it's a fifteen minute drive on surface streets from our house). Smyrna is right next to 285 and has a reputation of being really down-at-the-heels, especially compared to its neighbors, Marietta and Vinings. What that means is that we're ethnically diverse (lots of Hispanic immigrants, African-Americans, and now Vietnamese and SE Asian immigrants). What that also means is that there's a lot of home bargains to be had.

The Smyrna city leaders and doing everything they can to revitalize Smyrna, which means that there are some big, beautiful new homes going up for relatively little money. They're sinking a lot of money into services, like the library and the Public Rec building, which sponsors all sorts of athletic teams and classes (no pool yet, but you can take yoga and tae bo and bastketball and on and on and on). The library is great for such a small town. There's ample shopping at Cumberland mall, which is a connection point for CCT to get into the city (Cobb County Transit goes to the Arts Center, where it connects with MARTA). There's a number of businesses that are located in this area and it's relatively easy to find work and housing near each other (a huge plus, IMHO). The crime rate is extremely low, but parts of town still have a high "ugliness" factor, again, meaning the COL is relatively low.

Fifteen minutes to town, twenty to the airport, twenty to Dunwoody. Sigh. If only I could get to the Dekalb Farmer's Market that quick, Smyrna would be pert near perfect.

[Citizen Jane]

23. DeKalb Farmer's Market

.6 miles from downtown Avondale Estates...one of the things we love about our location!

[Modem Butterfly]

24. Yeah, yeah, rub it in some more!

:)

At least we're close to Harry's. Also, I have a ten minute commute. Did I mention that? Are you jealous yet? Huh? How about now? Huh? Huh?

;)

[Citizen Jane]

25. Actually, I've heard lots of good things about Smyrna...

And, of course, you are a lot closer to places like Bacchanalia than we are! Not to mention Whole Foods...

I work at Emory so my commute is 15-20 minutes depending on how I cut through Decatur and whether or not I am dropping the little one at daycare.

:hi:

[Flaxbee]

26. OK, I've checked out Decatur on realtor.com and I'm suspicious..

it looks like there are many really, really nice homes in the $150-200K range, and that seems very inexpensive for any area so close to a major city like Atlanta.

Is there something I should know, like certain homes are near a paper mill or is the area still really that reasonable?

[Citizen Jane]

27. City of Decatur vs. Unincorporated Decatur probably

There is a difference, but both are nice. City of Decatur is experiencing a lot of renewal and homes there tend to be a bit more expensive (though 150-200 doesn't sound out of line for smaller homes on the edges of the city limits). Unincorporated Decatur is a large area stretching from the city proper up to the North and East (bounded by Emory University on the west in places). Some of these areas tend to be older ranch style homes which people are buying and remodeling.

There are also lots of new homes being built.

However, I just checked some listings and the listings for houses right in the city of Decatur were a bit higher (and also for houses that were pretty large). If you have questions about specific addresses feel free to PM or email me.

But, no paper mills. Just some areas which are closer to areas which have not been revived yet OR are just older homes which could use some remodeling on the interiors.

You might find this link useful:

http://www.hometownlocator.com/City/Decatur-Georgia.cfm

I think the zip codes should give you the clue. 30030 is the city of Decatur and 30032, etc. are DeKalb County/Unincorporated Decatur.

Hope that helps!

[RebelOne]

28. I live in Woodstock, just northwest of Atlanta

and next door to Marietta. I love it here. it used to be a small town when I moved here in 1989, but it has really boomed since then. Only problem is that it's just about a100% red area. Very few Democrats.

[Southern Dem 2005]

29. Umm, Marietta

although in Cobb Co. is where I live. Great neighborhodd and schools. Drawback is that it is a huge Republican bastion.

[tekvenus]

30. Marietta

I live in Marietta and Cobb County is trending back to the Democrats as lots of the UltraRed migrate west and north to Paulding and Cherokee and beyond.

COBB COUNTY DEMOCRATS
WE'RE EVERYWHERE...AND WE LOOK JUST LIKE YOU!

[newyawker99]

33. Hi tekvenus!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: