Aussie family moving to Atlanta... (Sandy Springs, Marietta: rent, houses, transfer to)

[ozzigal]

My husband has been offered a transfer to Atlanta and I don't know where to start!
We have 2 children ages 8 & 11 who have been schooled in the British curriculum.

We are not new to moving, having lived in various Asian countries and now Dubai for several years, but having never even visited USA the thought of moving there terrifies me! What if you all hate Aussies!!!

I've done a lot of googling but I just can't figure out the optimum area to live in. I will go over for a look see soon but until then i'd like to narrow it down a bit.

So, my husband will work in Marietta. My children will need good schools, possible private, taking into account they will have to change curriculum. My oldest has mild ADHD so would need some additional learning support.
Our housing budget is $2300/month for housevrental.
Any suggestions on areas to live, keeping the commute as short as possible?

Also, our utilities budget is $300/month, will this cover the utilities? And what exactly comes into the utilities category? Electricity, gas, water, cable?

Thanks for any assistance, I do appreciate your help.
Ozzigal

[mg83]

I love the Oz mentality. I wish I was from there

Welcome to the grand ol' USofA!

You'd probably be better off "in-town". Maybe it wouldn't be quite as big as a culture shock. Marietta is pretty... umm... ol' time Southern if you will. I mean, I think it's cute to walk around, the square has cute little shops.

The people with children on this forum could tell you much more than I can about the schools!

[BobKovacs]

Hate Aussies?? No....we love Aussies....they taste like chicken!

Marietta's location makes it fairly convenient to alot of different areas ranging from dense urban living to very rural areas. Do you have a preference one way or the other?

Your $2,300/month housing budget can rent you something very large, or even allow you to buy if you're so inclined. $300/month should cover electric, gas, water and sewer, but you'd have to kick in more for cable/satellite TV, internet and phone- those three alone can run you $150-200/month or so.

[ozzigal]

Having lived in urban houses with high fences surrounding for years, and now living in the desert, seriously rural areas creep me out! I think we'll be looking for somewhere not too densely populated but not rural either. I would like to see life next door!
We will be bringing 3 dogs as well. We're currently on a 15000 sq/ft plot that so give you an idea of the space we are used to.

Thanks for the help on utilites, I'll add the extras to the budget.

We've lived outside Oz for a while now, even braved India for 3 years so hopefully culture shock won't be a major problem.

And Aussies taste like chicken? Really? I thought we'd be a bit tougher...like crocodile?

[Augustmoon]

We are also relocating to Atlanta from Asia in the summer of 2008. I am currently looking at schooling options and have found a number of schools that offer the IBO programme which seems to cross over with the British curriculum ( however my kids are in primary so it may be different at secondary level )
Website is International Baccalaureate

Best of luck with the move.

[mg83]

IB = good.

[BobKovacs]

If you're looking for that kind of land, you're likely going to end up out in Cherokee County or parts of Cobb County, both of which would be great choices. We're up in Holly Springs in Cherokee, and there are a number of subdivisions out this way that would get you that size of lot. It's what I'd call "semi-rural"- newer subdivisions interspersed between existing farms, with a mix of older shops and homes and newer shops and amenities. The commute to Marietta would depend on where in Marietta hubby would be working, but could be as little as 30 minutes and as long as an hour, depending on what times he's commuting.

Here's the link to our subdivision, to give you an idea of the amenities.

Harmony on the Lakes: Holly Springs, Cherokee County, Georgia (broken link)

And while you're thinking Aussies would be tougher like crocodile, croc tastes like chicken, so my original comparision stands......lol.

[lastminutemom]

The only private IB school in ATL is the Atlanta International School which is in Buckhead. If that is the way you are leaning, you need to plan your housing accordingly and look at somewhere like Sandy Springs.