Any liberal areas in Johns Creek/Alpharetta? (Atlanta, Jasper: houses, neighborhoods)

[ludlow2]

We need to relocate to Atlanta area to care for an ailing parent and we have 7 & 11 year old kids. We're coming from NYC and would like the change of pace, but would hope to find a community that isn't ultra-conservative. We're eye'ing Chattahoochee HS zone. Can anyone rec'd neighborhoods/developments w/ houses under 500k where our kids could make friends & we wouldn't be seen as political outsiders if we still like Obama?

Many thanks for any tips.

[Ciarog]

I'm a libertarian socialist. Therefore, wherever I happen to be standing at the moment (Jasper Georgia right now) is a liberal area.

At least it will be until I remember the Democrats are in charge now and I start calling myself a paleoconservative again.

[RainyRainyDay]

I still like Obama and I live in East Cobb (a very conservative area). I don't think you'll find anything resembling a "liberal area" in Johns Creek/Alpharetta. You just have to look at the voting patterns. That area is Republican by a solid majority. People will be polite and you may be able to have a happy life there, but as liberals you'll notice you're in the minority.

Do you remember during the 2008 election campaigning, how the Democrats were very concerned about negative press about Michelle Obama, suggesting she was strident, radical, etc? Around the height of that, I was at coffee hour after church one Sunday, and someone complimented the cookies. The person who baked them said they were actually a recipe of Laura Bush, or said to be, and she wondered if the current presidential candidates wives made cookies. Somebody said "Oh, I'm sure Cindy McCain doesn't bake. She is the Chairman of the Board of her family business and very involved with business affairs and charity work." Everyone nodded and I said "Michelle Obama probably doesn't have much time for baking, either." Another woman said "What does she do?" There was silence and I said "You mean, job-wise?" The questioner and the rest of the groups of folk nodded, and someone said "I know nothing about the woman. Do you?" So I contributed "Uh, well she's a Harvard-trained lawyer, like her husband, and she worked in private practice for a while, and then went into public interest work. I believe her current job is Vice President of University of Chicago Hospitals, but she's taking a leave of absence from that, during the campaign at the moment."

Somebody responded "Goodness, how interesting. So she's quite an accomplished woman too. I had no idea. Well I guess you're right, she probably doesn't spend a lot of time in the kitchen either."

Well, that turned into a bit of a long story, but the point I'm trying to make is that over in East Cobb (maybe a bit more conservative than Johns Creek/Alpharetta, but not hugely more), at the height of publicity about the Obamas, people just knew nothing about them, probably because the idea of considering voting for the Democratic candidate would be so foreign to these voters, it really didn't matter what kind of person he or she might be.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by ludlow2

We need to relocate to Atlanta area to care for an ailing parent and we have 7 & 11 year old kids. We're coming from NYC and would like the change of pace, but would hope to find a community that isn't ultra-conservative. We're eye'ing Chattahoochee HS zone. Can anyone rec'd neighborhoods/developments w/ houses under 500k where our kids could make friends & we wouldn't be seen as political outsiders if we still like Obama?

Many thanks for any tips.

If you are looking for a more liberal area, with good schools and housing under 500K...there are plenty of other options to choose from in the Atlanta metro area.

Go to this link, follow the directions, and then make another post on this thread with the requested information:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...ead-first.html

[jln69]

Cambridge is assigned to Chattahoochee. Great neighorhood off Sargent Road. Lexington off Sargent is nice also. Dunmoor and Tuxford are options but with the opening of Johns Creek HS there was a shift so I'm not really sure where all the neighobrhoods ended up.

Does it have to be Chattahoochee? Northview and Johns Creek High Schools are in the same area and are just as good. There isn't really a difference. It will make your house hunting trip easier plus since your children are younger there could be another shift which might leave your neighobrhood at another school by the time they get there. Something to think about.

[Tresninas]

You just need to move next door to me.

I live in Northview School District. Quite a few of our friends here are liberals, but I think that's because we seek them out. If you want to be in a sea of liberals, Johns Creek isn't the place for you.

But I'm pretty far to the left, and I have had absolutely no problems fitting in here. And I've found plenty of people just like myself.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by jln69

Cambridge is assigned to Chattahoochee. Great neighorhood off Sargent Road. Lexington off Sargent is nice also. Dunmoor and Tuxford are options but with the opening of Johns Creek HS there was a shift so I'm not really sure where all the neighobrhoods ended up.

Does it have to be Chattahoochee? Northview and Johns Creek High Schools are in the same area and are just as good. There isn't really a difference. It will make your house hunting trip easier plus since your children are younger there could be another shift which might leave your neighobrhood at another school by the time they get there. Something to think about.

Yep...especially since I think they are starting to realize that they may have drawn the Chattahoochee zone too small after redistricting for Johns Creek High School. The population of Chattahoochee is turning out to be smaller than the other schools--and the square mile area of its zone is already the smallest.

[noah]

I would submit that many of these people would have the same reaction if they were a republican. And those that are interested and take the time to know the candidates don't usually vote based on what kind of person they are. I think those that don't pay as much attention day to day however would be more likely to be swayed by the individual person.

When you feel strongly one way or the other its hard to see the other side but there are times when we find someone really likeable but deep down completely disagree with some of their policy beliefs.

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

at the height of publicity about the Obamas, people just knew nothing about them, probably because the idea of considering voting for the Democratic candidate would be so foreign to these voters, it really didn't matter what kind of person he or she might be.

[RainyRainyDay]

This is off topic, so I hope we don't get into a big sub-thread about it, but I want to respond a little.

Originally Posted by noah

I would submit that many of these people would have the same reaction if they were a republican.

I guess my story didn't make it clear enough that from the nods and uh-huhs, everyone in the group of around 10 people I was describing, was fully aware of the basic facts about Cindy McCain, while not one knew the equivalent info about Michelle Obama. You can submit that this was a complete non-typical sample of East Cobbers, if you like.

And those that are interested and take the time to know the candidates don't usually vote based on what kind of person they are. I think those that don't pay as much attention day to day however would be more likely to be swayed by the individual person.

When you feel strongly one way or the other its hard to see the other side but there are times when we find someone really likeable but deep down completely disagree with some of their policy beliefs.

Certainly, I have no problem with the rest of your post.

The point of my post was to provide a catchy anecdotal example of how the majority of folks in my part of East Cobb aren't so much actively hostile to liberals as just unaware because they move in a pretty monolithically conservative culture where liberal ideas and values (and, secondarily, personalities) just don't ever come up, because they've been dismissed a priori. When my daughter was a middle schooler and topics like family political views started to be discussed around the lunch table in the cafeteria, she found that almost all of her fellows thought that her family's Democratic leanings were outlandish. It was as if we were members of the Flat Earth Society, or something. Other kids found it just weird that we could have views that "everyone" knows are simply wrong.

I suspect that a similar situation may prevail in at least parts of NYC, except the boot would be on the other foot. So NYC liberals looking for a "liberal area" in the Atlanta suburbs could easily find themselves feeling fishes out of water, depending on the location they chose.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Any liberal areas in Johns Creek/Alpharetta?

No. (try Dekalb county, maybe Clayton, Henry, or the City of Atlanta)