East Atlanta & other areas for young lesbian family? (Decatur: real estate, condo)

[sarab28]

My partner & I currently live in the Atlanta area (near Decatur) and want to move closer intown. We are a young lesbian couple that plans to start a family in the next couple of years. Our current area, while seemingly accepting, is far from what we expected. We simply would not feel comfortable or safe raising a family here. We plan to sell our house next year and find a more suitable neighborhood. So for now we're investigating intown areas and I'm hoping maybe I can get some feedback here.

Per the sticky, here's our criteria:
1. Budget - $150Kish
2. House/Condo/Townhome? - House
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) - we both work downtown
4. Children(public school vs. private) - plan to have children in the near future. Public schools are important & we're interested in charter school options.
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - urban
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? - Yes
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. - Diverse, very ***** friendly, liberal, good mix of people but with plenty of other young families, kid friendly.

We like areas like Cabbagetown, some parts of Reynoldstown, Ormewood Park, and have been told to check out East Atlanta as well. We'd like a small house (2-3 bedrooms), and preferably in a walkable community. Our main criteria is safety - both garden variety violent crime and our safety as a lesbian couple w/ kids in the future. I would love to hear from other GLBT families in the area & about which neighborhoods would work best.

[ASB84]

Inman Park would probably fit what you are looking for, but you aren't going to be able to find a house in your budget range. You might want to check out Grant Park also.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by sarab28

We like areas like Cabbagetown, some parts of Reynoldstown, Ormewood Park, and have been told to check out East Atlanta as well. We'd like a small house (2-3 bedrooms), and preferably in a walkable community. Our main criteria is safety - both garden variety violent crime and our safety as a lesbian couple w/ kids in the future. I would love to hear from other GLBT families in the area & about which neighborhoods would work best.

I think you might be able to make that happen in Ormewood Park. I was just poking around and saw this great house on Woodland.

We know several gay couples who live over there, and went to a wedding there last spring. There were a lot of people from the neighborhood and it has a very nice vibe.

One of the couples we know has two kids and they use the charter school. They say they are pleased.

[kirkwoodhipster]

Hey there... I think you should check out Kirkwood. It has a very large lesbian population and is in the midst of a complete resurgence that is nearing full circle, despite the recession. Also, Toomer Elem. is really coming around and neighbors are working hard to make it similar to Mary Lin.
The nieghborhood was first "discovered" by a lesbo couple in the 90s, and they ended up starting a real estate company that specializes in Kirkwood. Check it out! It's urban, walkable, and within your price range. Also, very little crime! These two are at 150k and walking distance to Downtown Kirkwood:

2090 Hosea L Williams Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30317 MLS# 4135275 - Zillow

134 Clifton St SE # 0, Atlanta, GA 30317 MLS# 03010176 - Zillow

2090 Hosea L Williams Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30317 MLS# 4135275 - Zillow

[gumboula]

I second Kirkwood. If you are interested in charter schools, East Atlanta would give you easier access to Imagine Wesley on Confederate Ave. Burgess Peterson Academy is the regular school that serves East Atlanta and it is making progress (although a few steps behind Toomer in Kirkwood). I can put you in touch with someone who has a child there and could give you some direct information. You would feel completely comfortable raising a child in a lesbian household in either neighborhood (and would in no way be the only ones). The upside of Kirkwood is that it is zoned for Grady High School versus East Atlanta being zoned to Southside/Maynard Jackson. That is looking long-term though. And both are zoned to the same middle school. Although there is talk of trying to make Toomer a k-8 school.

[From_Pitt_to_ATL]

My partner and I (gay male Dads to a 4-year-old son) are also looking at relocating to Atlanta and are basically looking for the same things. I'm curious as to why you didn't like Decatur. We've heard nothing but great things but now your comments have given me pause. Our budget is a bit bigger, we could do up to around $300K. We would LOVE to live around other gay (male or female-led) families and just gay-friendly families in general. We're also looking for safe and walkable and good public schools would be a fantastic plus. Is Mary Lin on par with the repuation of the Decatur city schools?

Thank you all so much.

[johnatl]

^"Near Decatur" can be the difference between night and day, trust me. If they were within the City Limits of Decatur, I would be completely shocked by their experience. Everything positive you have heard about Decatur is true.

[georgia dem]

Originally Posted by sarab28

My partner & I currently live in the Atlanta area (near Decatur) and want to move closer intown. We are a young lesbian couple that plans to start a family in the next couple of years. Our current area, while seemingly accepting, is far from what we expected. We simply would not feel comfortable or safe raising a family here. We plan to sell our house next year and find a more suitable neighborhood. So for now we're investigating intown areas and I'm hoping maybe I can get some feedback here.

Per the sticky, here's our criteria:
1. Budget - $150Kish
2. House/Condo/Townhome? - House
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home) - we both work downtown
4. Children(public school vs. private) - plan to have children in the near future. Public schools are important & we're interested in charter school options.
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two - urban
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not? - Yes
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood. - Diverse, very ***** friendly, liberal, good mix of people but with plenty of other young families, kid friendly.

We like areas like Cabbagetown, some parts of Reynoldstown, Ormewood Park, and have been told to check out East Atlanta as well. We'd like a small house (2-3 bedrooms), and preferably in a walkable community. Our main criteria is safety - both garden variety violent crime and our safety as a lesbian couple w/ kids in the future. I would love to hear from other GLBT families in the area & about which neighborhoods would work best.

I live in East Atlanta and have for 14 years, very close to EAV
we would love to have you and your partner in our comunity
There is crime here like any where and walking around at night is not a good idea. We have a good local security partol that has modest rates and has police offers on duty.
I have no children, mine is grown and living in another state, I live alone with my dogs.
Hope you check us out~

[George Chong]

Originally Posted by From_Pitt_to_ATL

My partner and I (gay male Dads to a 4-year-old son) are also looking at relocating to Atlanta and are basically looking for the same things. I'm curious as to why you didn't like Decatur. We've heard nothing but great things but now your comments have given me pause. Our budget is a bit bigger, we could do up to around $300K. We would LOVE to live around other gay (male or female-led) families and just gay-friendly families in general. We're also looking for safe and walkable and good public schools would be a fantastic plus. Is Mary Lin on par with the reputation of the Decatur city schools?

Thank you all so much.

I think the City of Decatur was omitted because of the OP's budget.

I think that Mary Lin is on par with the elementary schools of the City of Decatur.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by George Chong

...
I think that Mary Lin is on par with the elementary schools of the City of Decatur.

Agreed.