NY to ATL - relocating with young kids (Atlanta, Warner Robins: transplants, real estate market)
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The opportunity has arisen for us to relocate to GA. We want to be within an hour +/- drive from Atlanta. Prefer less dense neighborhoods/ smaller communities/ small community feel. I WFH, my spouse would go into Atlanta 1x a week.
We have a few requirements:
1) excellent public schools
2) diverse, welcoming community. Small town feel.
3) homes with over one acre of land (we need space)
4) strong sports programs (i have 3 boys, and we are looking for strong football, wrestling, and year round competitive club swim teams)
we would be moving down from a suburb of New York City. we would like to be in a liberal-leaning type of environment but this is not a hard and fast rule. We are a family of color and want to be and feel safe.
Don't mind more "rural" feeling areas... actually might prefer that.
Our research has only just begun and welcome all helpful insights and ideas.
Compared to the New York City metropolitan area, much of the Atlanta metropolitan area (particularly outside of the I-285 Perimeter loop highway) probably will tend to have a noticeably more rural-like feeling to it with the heavy vegetation and comparatively lower densities of development.
The challenge for you and your family is that the further away from the I-285 Perimeter that one gets, the more rural-feeling it generally will get. And the more rural-feeling it gets, the noticeably much more deeply conservative it gets.
As is much the case in most of the country, including in the greater American South, in a socially and culturally conservative Deep South/Southeastern state like Georgia, almost all exurban and rural areas lean extremely heavily conservative.
Though there are a relative handful of Democratic Party-controlled counties across rural South Georgia where African-Americans may be the majority of the population, the reality is that there just are not too many (if any) “liberal-leaning” exurban and rural areas in a deeply conservative Deep South state like Georgia.
So with your stated desire to live in a “liberal-leaning” area, you likely will not want to be in too exurban and/or rural of an area because the more exurban and/or rural an area is, the more deeply conservative an area in this part of the country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mamazaza
Our housing budget is 800k.
So far, we're looking at:
Buford
Bremen
Alpharetta
Roswell
Johns Creek
Duluth
We know next to nothing except what we read/ see online and are planning a visit over the December school holidays.
Thank you!
Along with Buford and Alpharetta, amenity-rich North/Northeast metro Atlanta suburban communities like Roswell, Johns Creek and Duluth may be good areas for you to target for relocation… Though, Roswell and Johns Creek very likely will present you with some of the same challenges that Alpharetta will offer with heavier suburban development, heavy traffic and a highly competitive housing market with notably limited inventories of updated and newer detached single-family housing in your price range.
While Duluth (with its extremely high level of racial and ethnic diversity and numerous metropolitan amenities) will be much more likely to have detached single-family homes for sale within your price range. Though, like Alpharetta, Roswell and Johns Creek; Duluth will also feature heavy traffic.
I would also recommend exploring Eagle's Landing Community, Newnan, and Peachtree City South of Atlanta. Also, not sure how you feel about private schools, but Woodward Academy has a robust athletic program for your boys.
Compared to the New York City metropolitan area, much of the Atlanta metropolitan area (particularly outside of the I-285 Perimeter loop highway) probably will tend to have a noticeably more rural-like feeling to it with the heavy vegetation and comparatively lower densities of development.
The challenge for you and your family is that the further away from the I-285 Perimeter that one gets, the more rural-feeling it generally will get. And the more rural-feeling it gets, the noticeably much more deeply conservative it gets.
As is much the case in most of the country, including in the greater American South, in a socially and culturally conservative Deep South/Southeastern state like Georgia, almost all exurban and rural areas lean extremely heavily conservative.
Though there are a relative handful of Democratic Party-controlled counties across rural South Georgia where African-Americans may be the majority of the population, the reality is that there just are not too many (if any) “liberal-leaning” exurban and rural areas in a deeply conservative Deep South state like Georgia.
So with your stated desire to live in a “liberal-leaning” area, you likely will not want to be in too exurban and/or rural of an area because the more exurban and/or rural an area is, the more deeply conservative an area in this part of the country.
Along with Buford and Alpharetta, amenity-rich North/Northeast metro Atlanta suburban communities like Roswell, Johns Creek and Duluth may be good areas for you to target for relocation… Though, Roswell and Johns Creek very likely will present you with some of the same challenges that Alpharetta will offer with heavier suburban development, heavy traffic and a highly competitive housing market with notably limited inventories of updated and newer detached single-family housing in your price range.
While Duluth (with its extremely high level of racial and ethnic diversity and numerous metropolitan amenities) will be much more likely to have detached single-family homes for sale within your price range. Though, like Alpharetta, Roswell and Johns Creek; Duluth will also feature heavy traffic.
This is incredibly helpful - thank you so much for the breakdown of the areas and for painting a picture of what things look and feel like. I will look into the towns you mentioned...and of course, as with all things, i know there will always be some trade off.
Liberal leaning and lots of space (land) for $800k cannot be found in the same place w/in 1 hour drive to downtown ATL...sorry.
Buford, Mill Creek school cluster area, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, are all Conservative areas.
Southside would be a better bet. Peachtree City is where I'd start if I were you...its close to a 50-50 split Dem to Pub.
thank you...and naturally there will always be some trade off. i'm guessing "space" will likely be it. although i would seriously prefer to not live on top of my neighbors.
I dont mind 50/50 political splits, i dont even mind right leaning communities. What I would like to steer clear of is deep red towns.
I will expand my search to the south side and will begin with Peachtree City
I am private school neutral, and spent half my schooling in private school the other half in public school.
We are Def looking at some private school options and appreciate your input there. I'll also check out these other towns. Peachtree City especially looks very promising.
Thank you very much!
If you do search for housing in the PTC (Peachtree City) area, just be sure to keep in mind that Starrs Mill High School has one of the strongest overall athletic programs in the state of Georgia.
Starrs Mill High School consistently competes directly with schools in resource-rich Northside suburban areas (like Gwinnett, Cobb, North Fulton and Forsyth counties) in the competitiveness of its entire athletic department.
But beyond the impressive competitiveness of the Starrs Mill High School athletic program as a whole, PTC (with its extremely low crime rates and significantly lower traffic congestion when compared to the Northside) has grown more diverse in recent years.
But with non-Hispanic whites still making up more than 73% of its population, PTC may not necessarily offer the highest level of diversity that you stated a preference for. Though, PTC is still far more racially and ethnically diverse now than it was 20+ years ago when the population in the city was 90% white.
South/Southwest metro Atlanta outer-suburban communities like Fayette County (PTC, Tyrone and Fayetteville) and Coweta County (Newnan) also can be really good areas to live if one needs to frequently access the world’s busiest airport (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) or wants to commute into and out of Downtown Atlanta via a relatively less congested I-85 roadway southwest of Atlanta.
If you do search for housing in the PTC (Peachtree City) area, just be sure to keep in mind that Starrs Mill High School has one of the strongest overall athletic programs in the state of Georgia.
Starrs Mill High School consistently competes directly with schools in resource-rich Northside suburban areas (like Gwinnett, Cobb, North Fulton and Forsyth counties) in the competitiveness of its entire athletic department.
But beyond the impressive competitiveness of the Starrs Mill High School athletic program as a whole, PTC (with its extremely low crime rates and significantly lower traffic congestion when compared to the Northside) has grown more diverse in recent years.
But with non-Hispanic whites still making up more than 73% of its population, PTC may not necessarily offer the highest level of diversity that you stated a preference for. Though, PTC is still far more racially and ethnically diverse now than it was 20+ years ago when the population in the city was 90% white.
South/Southwest metro Atlanta outer-suburban communities like Fayette County (PTC, Tyrone and Fayetteville) and Coweta County (Newnan) also can be really good areas to live if one needs to frequently access the world’s busiest airport (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) or wants to commute into and out of Downtown Atlanta via a relatively less congested I-85 roadway southwest of Atlanta.
I probably should also add that Sandy Creek High School (which is located in the Tyrone area of Fayette County just north of Peachtree City) also features some pretty strong athletic teams (particularly in football and basketball) and a ‘majority-minority’ student population in a relatively lower-density outer-suburban area in Northwest Fayette County.
(Racial and ethnic minorities currently make up more than 88% of the student population at Sandy Creek High School.)
And though its football program often seems to struggle, Fayette County High School (where racial and ethnic minorities make up about 90% of the student population) in Fayetteville also features an extensive overall athletics program and a strong academic environment.
Though, Starrs Mill High School (where racial and ethnic minorities currently make up about 30% of the student population) likely will feature the strongest overall athletic program in Fayette County.
Athens is a good option for someone who commutes to work at the University of Georgia, in the Athens metropolitan area, or in a neighboring area like Barrow County and can be okay for commuting to areas as far away as Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County when there are no delays caused by construction, weather or traffic incidents along Georgia Highway 316, which is currently in a years-long process of being converted to a freeway the entire distance between Lawrenceville and Athens.
Though one notable concern about Athens is that the schools of the Clarke County School District (which serves Athens-Clarke County) unfortunately don’t seem to enjoy the most robust academic ratings.
Meanwhile, the part of the Athens area that does enjoy the most robust academic ratings in Oconee County (which is served by the Oconee County School District, which is one of the best and absolute highest rated school systems in the state of Georgia) is a deeply conservative exurban community that does not appear to offer the high level of racial and ethnic diversity that the OP has stated a preference for.
Republican candidates routinely receive more than 65% of the vote in major elections in Oconee County where non-Hispanic whites currently make up 83% of the population.
Non-Hispanic whites also make up about 77% of the student population at North Oconee High School and more than 80% of the student population at Oconee County High School.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beach43ofus
Liberal leaning and lots of space (land) for $800k cannot be found in the same place w/in 1 hour drive to downtown ATL...sorry.
Buford, Mill Creek school cluster area, Alpharetta, Johns Creek, are all Conservative areas.
That’s an important point that finding an acre or more of land for $800k in a liberal-leaning area within an hour’s drive of Downtown Atlanta very likely is going to be very difficult.
Though, your comment about Buford, the Mill Creek HS cluster, Alpharetta and Johns Creek all being conservative areas raises another very important point, which is that those four suburban communities (along with much of the fast-growing affluent swath of the North Atlanta suburbs that runs through Cobb, North Fulton, South Forsyth and Gwinnett counties), while still leaning at least slightly conservative in many areas, are no longer the deeply conservative outer-suburban communities that they may have been known to be in the past.
The continued explosive growth of those Northside suburban communities (with a continuing boom in the population of racial and ethnic minorities and moderate, independent and progressive whites) has those areas and much of the Cobb County/North Fulton County/South Forsyth County/Gwinnett County-swath of the North Atlanta suburbs as a whole quickly trending more towards the center and the center-left side of the political spectrum.
There are some notable pockets of conservatism that continue to exist in Cobb, North Fulton, South Forsyth and Gwinnett counties, but the explosive growth in the population of minorities and non-deeply conservative whites in that area appears to have greatly diluted the historically deeply conservative political leanings of that affluent suburban Northern Crescent.
With racial and ethnic minorities now making up 73% of the student population at the brand-spanking-new Seckinger High School campus (which opened to relieve overcrowding at Mill Creek HS in 2022), 55% of the population of the City of Buford proper, 55% of the student population at Mill Creek High School, more than 46% of the population of Alpharetta proper, and more than 47% of the population of Johns Creek, the political situation in the area appears to be very fluid and trending leftwards towards a center and possibly even center-left position over the long term.
And with racial and ethnic minorities now making up about 68% of the entire population there, Gwinnett County looks as though it is likely to only continue drifting further to the left in its political makeup moving forward.
For the OP, the problem with the Northside suburbs (particularly in Alpharetta and Johns Creek and even at times around the Mall of Georgia area in unincorporated Buford) is not a deep conservative lean of the area, but is the worsening traffic congestion of the area as the area continues to experience explosive population and economic growth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beach43ofus
Southside would be a better bet. Peachtree City is where I'd start if I were you...its close to a 50-50 split Dem to Pub.
While Fayette County as a whole has trended noticeably less deeply conservative and Republican in recent years and appears to be rapidly moving towards becoming a 50-50 Democrat/Republican county with the explosive boom in the African-America population going on in the northern part of the county, Peachtree City itself (though while not nearly as deeply conservative as the area was before the Great Recession) continues to be controlled by conservative interests.
And with non-Hispanic whites continuing to make up 73% of Peachtree City’s population, and with conservative and Republican politicians continuing to dominate the political representation of the area, Peachtree City itself appears to still be noticeably more conservative than the aforementioned Seckinger HS/Mill Creek HS/Buford HS/Johns Creek/Alpharetta swath of the North metro Atlanta suburbs that either have already reached ‘majority-minority’ status or appear to be quickly moving towards ‘majority-minority’ status in the very near future.
The opportunity has arisen for us to relocate to GA. We want to be within an hour +/- drive from Atlanta. Prefer less dense neighborhoods/ smaller communities/ small community feel. I WFH, my spouse would go into Atlanta 1x a week.
We have a few requirements:
1) excellent public schools
2) diverse, welcoming community. Small town feel.
3) homes with over one acre of land (we need space)
4) strong sports programs (i have 3 boys, and we are looking for strong football, wrestling, and year round competitive club swim teams)
we would be moving down from a suburb of New York City. we would like to be in a liberal-leaning type of environment but this is not a hard and fast rule. We are a family of color and want to be and feel safe.
Don't mind more "rural" feeling areas... actually might prefer that.
Our research has only just begun and welcome all helpful insights and ideas.
Our housing budget is 800k.
So far, we're looking at:
Buford
Bremen
Alpharetta
Roswell
Johns Creek
Duluth
We know next to nothing except what we read/ see online and are planning a visit over the December school holidays.
Thank you!
Oh boy, more people from Long Island.
Quote:
Prefer less dense neighborhoods/ smaller communities/ small community feel
Basically the entire state of Georgia will be less densely populated than Long Island. You will have breathing room down here (and plenty of parking spaces), don't worry. Community can be harder to come by. For the most part, folks in the Atlanta metro don't know their neighbors as well as up north.
Quote:
1) excellent public schools
You will need to define what you mean by this. Generally speaking, metro Atlanta public schools systems do not rank very well on a national scale. Good schools do exist, but when you say 'excellent' you should probably say whether you mean a competitive school with a (comparatively) large focus on academics or simply a school without funding/behavior/crime/retention/graduation issues that will still teach the curriculum in a competent manner. This is Georgia and a school in a small enough town might only care about hiring quality athletic coaches rather than a decent calculus teacher.
Quote:
2) diverse, welcoming community. Small town feel.
You'll have to explain what you mean, I would advise you to be careful. Carrolton (27,000) has a larger population than Norcross (17,000), but I don't know anyone that would think that Norcross has a more of a 'small town feel' than Carrolton. Small town can mean sparsely populated and sparsely developed. Milton and McDonough both have similar populations and are relatively sparsely populated, but there is a world of difference between development and amenities.
Quote:
3) homes with over one acre of land (we need space)
I doubt you need an entire acre unless you have animals and/or motorized toys, but I won't judge. Land like that is widely available but you're going to pay a lot for it the closer you are to the metro area.
Quote:
4) strong sports programs (i have 3 boys, and we are looking for strong football, wrestling, and year round competitive club swim teams)
Swim team will be the tricky one. You can't walk down the street in Georgia without tripping over a football team.
Visiting is great, but you should also probably start calling up schools in these areas and collecting information and impressions about the districts they serve. My main concern is wanting an acre of land for 800k. That will probably put you in an exurb and Georgia exurbs are very different from northeast exurbs. You run the very real risk of absolute boredom from seeing the same people everyday everywhere you go and having to drive 20-30 minutes to the nearest shop that isn't a supermarket.
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