Where would you live Smyrna or Decatur? (Atlanta, North Decatur: for sale, how much)

[applejuice]

As I am reading tons of threads I have somewhat narrowed it down to these two areas (for now) for somewhat affordable $300,000 home near downtown because that is where I may be working.

Can someone please tell me the pros and cons of each area? This is what I have so far:

Decatur: I gather that the city of Decatur has high city taxes because of the schools. I am considering private school so schools will only be important for resale. Unincorporated Decautr seems to be hit or miss?

Smyrna: Cobb taxes and you seem to get more for your money...but I may be looking at the wrong zipcodes or not so nice areas of Smyrna

Does anyone know of any good Christian private schools in any of these two areas?

Thanks for reading!

[lastminutemom]

In your price range, I would not live in Decatur outside of the city limits, unless you stumble on a bargain in the Emory area.

Do you have children yet? Do you realize that the best private schools in Atlanta run over $10,000 a year and the average ones probably start at 6,000 per student.

If I were going to use private school, I would pick Smyrna because of its access to both the Cobb and Buckhead private schools. However, I would make sure that I could really, truly afford private school. If there is any doubt, I would pick Decatur.

[IntownHomes247]

There are certainly areas in Decatur where you can find a home for under $300k. The neighborhoods around Medlock Park, for example, are just north of the City of Decatur so you'd pay unincorporated DeKalb taxes. These are not large homes, but you didn't mention the size home you need. You could also find a townhome in your price range either in the City of Decatur or in unincorporated DeKalb near Decatur.

I know nothing about Smyrna, so I can't offer insight on a comparison of the 2 neighborhoods, but Decatur is delightful.

PS, Decatur has higher taxes not only because of the schools but because of the high level of services. They have great parks -- an amazing number for the size of the city. And the city has frequent special events -- blue sky concerts on the square, annual festivals, etc.

[applejuice]

Thank you both for responding...

Lastminutemom thank you for responding...you are the "queen of school information" are there any Christian private school in Decatur that you recommend as a back up?

IntownHomes247 thank you for your insight into Decatur...any ideas how much the dreaded taxes on a property of $300,000 would be?

Thanks you all!!!

[cmtiger]

Decatur public schools are great. However, honestly, if you decide that you will definitely do private school, I would not spend the extra money on taxes for City of Decatur. I would estimate based on what I pay that you would pay about $5500 in property taxes on a $300K house. It would be hard to find a house for $300K in Decatur though - a townhouse would be easier. There are some very reasonable ones near Glenlake Park.

If I was doing private school in the Decatur area I would probably live in Medlock Park. It is a very safe but reasonably priced neighborhood (mostly 1940s ranches). It has a lovely park with a pool and it is convenient to a lot of things. Also, if you do end up doing public at some point the schools there are OK - not the best ever... but doable. Medlock Elementary and Shamrock Middle are coming along nicely after a stumble or two. Druid Hills is the high school.

Some good Christian schools that I know of are Intown Community School (convenient to Medlock - PCA based), Heritage Preparatory Academy (in Morningside, but not too far from Decatur - newer school - similar to Intown in philosophy but not PCA). Cathedral Academy on Flat Shoals Road is also supposed to be good.

There are a couple of Catholic schools in the area (St. Thomas More and Immaculate Heart of Mary) if you want to go that route.

Then there is alway the Friends School - but it's waaaay left and I get the feeling you want sth more conservative.

[netdragon]

You probably aren't looking in the right parts of Smyrna. $300k will get you a approx a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath house in Smyrna, depending on lot size.

The part of Smyrna you want to look at is bordered by Atlanta road, Concord Rd, and E-W connector and Cumberland Pkwy. I would start with Cooper Lake Rd and branch outward. Especially look at the area around King Springs, Cooper Lake Rd, Ridge Rd, N. Cooper Lake (off Concord), Camp Highland, and the area right around Smyrna's Market Village. You can look between Church and Concord as well, along with Spring St (which runs into Market Village). I would stay away from Windy Hill -- that area's going to take a while to turn around.

[lastminutemom]

CMTiger gave you a good list of schools. I will say that I hire mixed reviews about both those Catholic schools -- but have absolutely no personal experience with them.

Paideia is another highly regarded school nearby but not religious and very difficult to get into.

I agree with CM I wouldn't pay Decatur taxes if private school was were I was certain we were heading.

[applejuice]

Thanks everyone!

cmtiger thanks for the info...I checked the schools and they sound awesome! However, the hours are not very friendly for a working mom! No morning or afternoon programs except for Heritage but they start at 6th grade.

Intound247 thanks for the tip about Medlock area...it must be popular because there are only 4 homes for sale!

Lastminutemom as always thanks for your insight.

Anyhow, it is a good start and I appreciate everyones input!

[IntownHomes247]

Originally Posted by applejuice

Intown247 thanks for the tip about Medlock area...it must be popular because there are only 4 homes for sale!

It is popular because it's one of the most reasonably priced areas as close in as it is, but there are significantly more than 4 homes available in the area in for around $300k and under. Have your agent set up an FMLS gateway for you. She shouldn't use a neighborhood search since there's far too much variability in how agents enter neighborhood names to make it very useful. Rather, she should create a search for the entire 30033 zip code (and set the maximum price a bit higher than $300k since there's a lot of "wiggle room" in most houses out there right now).

Pretty much all of 30033 counts as "North Decatur." It has a Decatur address but is actually in unincorporated DeKalb county for lower taxes. From your FMLS gateway, you'll be able to see what the current owner paid for their previous year's property taxes. That's not always 100% accurate and not necessarily indicative of what you'd have to pay because of homestead and other exemptions that may or may not apply (both to the current owner and to you), but it will give you something to go on.

You'll want to drive the neighborhoods to see which is the best fit for you. It might not be Medlock. Medlock is one of the closest neighborhoods north of the City of Decatur but there are many nice residential neighborhoods throughout the 30033 zip code that would meet your price range.

Since you're concerned about schools, I suggest that if public schools are a possibility that you would like to consider then you should visit the various schools to get a feel for them (obviously that goes for the private schools too, but if you can find a public school you like it will save you a lot of money).

[SmyrnaVinings]

I'm partial to the Smyrna area. There is a lot to offer and is convenient to downtown. There are lots of great restaurants, shops, etc from the Vinings Jubilee to the Smyrna Market Village, West Village and One Ivy Walk. Cumberland Mall was redone last year and you can easily access 75 and 285.

Smyrna has pushed heavily on redevelopment over the last few years, but has also done a bond issuance for new parks and park improvements. You can also access the Silver Comet from variety of trail heads here or head over to the Chattahoochee River National Rec Park. Smyrna also does a great job with their festivals, with one about every month from April through October and the Community Center and Library are great.

There are a variety of private schools convenient to the area including Whitefield Academy, Lovett, Trinity, Pace Academy and Westminster.

Check out SmyrnaVinings.com for more lots of info on the area.