Work and live in Roswell - which area

[RedmondWA]

Hello again,

So much good information... I really appreciate the input from both of you. It looks like we will be moving sooner than I thought. We will be in the area well before Thanksgiving.

The school thing...My wife and I went to public schools, so I'm not so pretentious to think that private is the only way to go. We are in a private Christian school now, and my son really thrives there. He gets the attention that he "needs" and wants. So, whereas I'm sure that our children will not turn into blithering idiots because of public education, I'm hoping to find a "good" school with good teacher/student ratios, and with a good reputation for being student focussed. I've heard of too many stories about the focus on testing scores at the expense of individual children. Just a little FYI into my school conundrum...

Regarding location again, I guess we'll just stick with the immediate area of Roswell. Fortunately, it appears that our price range will allow us to choose from an assortment of neighborhoods. Home prices here are significantly higher, so even though I still think that paying 400-500K is ridiculous, the proceeds from our current home are an enabler. If we had to buy our current home at it's market value, we couldn't afford it . We paid $130K for a home in NE TN a few years ago and were very happy. Gone are the days....

I'll try to give an update regarding our decisions, and maybe I'll even be able to give assistance to some other transplant in the future.

My best to each of you...

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by RedmondWA

The school thing...My wife and I went to public schools, so I'm not so pretentious to think that private is the only way to go. We are in a private Christian school now, and my son really thrives there. He gets the attention that he "needs" and wants. So, whereas I'm sure that our children will not turn into blithering idiots because of public education, I'm hoping to find a "good" school with good teacher/student ratios, and with a good reputation for being student focussed. I've heard of too many stories about the focus on testing scores at the expense of individual children. Just a little FYI into my school conundrum...

I understand where you're coming from, and that's a reason I brought up the points I did. Any "top" North Fulton school district is going to have an emphasis on test scores over individual students. That's are still plenty of great teachers and kids can and do thrive there -- I know from my own kids' experiences that that's so -- but the way a school gets to the top of those lists is mainly test scores, and that's what the administration is concerned with. There are schools in Dunwoody, in Sandy Springs, and in other north metro areas that might be great choices for your kids, but you'll have to be clear in your mind about what you want and not let the voices of others get in your head about Kingsley or Chestnut or Dunwoody Springs or River Eves whatever not being one of the "top" or "most highly rated" schools around if it seems right for your kids. It may also be that a private Christian school is still the right answer for you (and if so Mt. Pisgah's right around the corner from CC of Roswell, and plenty of our friends and neighbors have kids there and are happy with it). Maybe it's worth buying less house and investing some of the equity from your current place in an education fund to help pay for it (or at least to keep that option open) -- not something any real estate agent's likely to recommend, but it could have merits, since it's no longer necessary to reinvest home sale proceeds within a certain time to avoid tax liability for it. I'm a strong advocate for public schools myself (and my wife's a former public school teacher), but our kids were in a secular private school for the first couple of years for a variety of reasons, including our perception that my son needed a bit more personal attention than even the best public school could provide. Getting to an appropriate accommodation of his needs is an ongoing challenge in any public school environment, but especially ones as performance-centered as those in North Fulton.

[RedmondWA]

I've been checking into private Christian schools too. My guess is that it will be difficult to get in mid year, so public or home school might be the only options regardless.

I think financially we'll be ok either way, but I do appreciate your idea about using home sale proceeds for school. I would actually prefer public school, but there are so many crazy things going on these days (at least from my conservative perspective). I would just like to be comfortable sending my children to school with the expectations that they will be educated intellectually, not politically or socially. My wife and I would prefer to the major influence on the last two areas of development. No guarantees with any school public or private I'm sure...

Mainly, I want an environment where my kids can just be kids.

By the way, I keep finding homes in Brookfield CC that I like. Would that commute be an absolute nightmare in your opinion? I did see a couple at CC of Roswell, but not that I liked as much. Commute could well decide...

Thanks again rackensack..

[ckws]

Just poking my nose in to say good luck with your decisions.
I actually grew up in HSB.
Loved every minute of it. I'm a mom of 3 young children now - and still in touch with others I grew up with! There is a very active social network in that development...lots of our family friends are still there and happy.
Again - happy house hunting!