DH may be hired at a company in Atlanta very soon. We're in New England, so this would be a huge move for us. I'm pretty much on board but want to know more about the area:
- What are good family friendly areas to live?
- Are there any places to avoid?
- What are good hospitals, especially for children & for ob/gyn?
- (I hate to ask but it's on my mind this week) what are areas not affected by flooding?
- What recommendations do you have for meeting other parents? Are there any networks, online groups, community centers (e.g. YMCA), etc?
- What are nice places to get memberships or take the kids? I'm thinking the Aquarium is probably high on the list - please share other fun spots!
- Any other other advice to share?
TIA!
Re: Atlanta newbie: questions about the area
family friendly areas to live - Decatur is very family friendly. we live in-town so I'm not familiar with any areas outside the perimeter (OTP, lingo you'll soon know), but lots of others here can answer that.
hospitals - Northside Hospital is the baby birthing capital of the world and Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) Scottish Rite is right across the street. CHOA also has an in-town location on the Emory campus called Eggleston (which is where we go since we are nearby)
meeting other parents - this board is great fro that, there is also citymomma website that has an atlanta group and then our neighborhood has several playgroups that get together weekly and then my YMCA has also been great for this.
memberships - zoo atlanta is the best deal in town, georgia aquarium (worlds largest), Imagine It museum, lots of bouncy house places, lots of parks and playgrounds (we have 5 parks within walking distance of our house and then Piedmont Park in mid-town is a short drive), various storytimes, center for puppetry arts, fernbank, yellow river game ranch, gymboree (and similar type places), lots of music classes...basically there is LOTS to do!
- What are good family friendly areas to live?
With Atlanta, you have your pick. We live in Sandy Springs and are so happy as its convenient to so many things.....highway's, hospitals, other areas like Buckhead, Brookhaven, Lenox, Marietta, Roswell, Alpharetta and has good schools. I think any realtor can help you, just depends on your lifestyle....do you want a smaller older intown home, larger home out in burbs, something inbetween, etc. I will say, I spend alot of time in Roswell lately, they have great parks and a fantastic Parks and Rec group. Alpharetta is nice also as is Dunwoody. But really, there are too many to list.
- Are there any places to avoid?
I would look at schools and crime statistics. Times are tough so I think petty crime is up generally in most areas though. Personally, I hate driving and the highway, so we avoided living way out in the burbs even though we could get a newer house...but that is me. We had to have a garage which limited the intown houses we could afford, so we ended up here in Sandy Springs. I know others who would say for what we paid for our house, they would rather be further out in a newer homes.
- What are good hospitals, especially for children & for ob/gyn?
Too many to mention! Northside delivers more babies than any other in the US, so its the biggest and its good, but there are others equally as good according to an OB/GYN friend of mine. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has multiple locations, Sandy Springs/Emory area and I think Downtown....EXCELLENT FACILITIES. We are lucky so many great hospitals. North Fulton is a smaller hospital and from my experience with my dad fantastic and its also gotten great reviews from friends who delivered there.
- (I hate to ask but it's on my mind this week) what are areas not affected by flooding?
The rain we had this week so SO much SO fast I don't think this is a predictable thing...now avoid low lying areas or homes on a creek is what we did. our house sits on a hill and the basement has a sump pump and the foundation was treated to try to avoid water. We did well, but the house 2 down from me had 8 inches of water in the basement.....so really depends on the house. The roads were very much affected all over the place.
- What recommendations do you have for meeting other parents?
Preschool, church if you are into that, Mom's Club, Meetup.com are my suggestions.Also some nieghborhoods are more organized than others. ou might ask if they have any groups when you are looking at houses.
What are nice places to get memberships or take the kids? I'm thinking the Aquarium is probably high on the list - please share other fun spots! - Any other other advice to share?
Zoo Atlanta! Best deal in town and easy and free parking. I don't like the Aquarium, for me too much of a pain to get there and park. And parking is not cheap. LOVE the Zoo! History center I think would be good also for older kids.
Good luck....this area has SO much to offer its overwhelming.
East Point is a hidden gem. We're 10 minutes from downtown and inside the Perimeter. A brand new charter school will be opening next fall for K-8. We have a great small-town feel with lots of parks and very affordable housing. We're also less than 5 miles from the airport! EP is right on the MARTA line and will have super-close access to the Beltline once it's completed.
North Gwinnett and North Cobb counties are pretty family friendly if you are looking for outside the perimeter (OTP). Acworth, Alpharetta, marietta, lawrenceville, roswell, sandy springs, dacula, peachtree corners, and grayson are good bets. The schools in these areas are generally pretty good as well. If you are looking to stay closer to town there are hit and miss pockets of good neighborhoods all over including Decatur, and johns creek.
Northside hospital is pretty popular for babies/obgyn. Popular places for kids include the zoo. (But I wouldn't want to live near the zoo.)
Your best bet is to just drive around and get a feel for what you like about certain areas of town. Housing is cheaper outside the city. Once you get inside the perimeter the costs go up a lot. But you will also have to factor in the horrible Atlanta traffic. We rarely get the crazy weather that has been all over the news, so I wouldn't let that deter you.
Looks like you already have great advice. Yes - let us know where your DH will work and people can tell you better areas. You can easily add a 2-hour drive if you work/live different areas of town.
Welcome!
You'll find that Atlanta (and some of its residents) are somewhat divided between "ITP" (inside the Perimeter) and "OTP" (outside the Perimeter). The Perimeter is our 285 circular highway. I live in Dunwoody/Sandy Springs (just north of the city) and we love it and it is VERY family friendly, has some great schools, and it JUST barely OTP. There are certainly family friendly areas intown, but we have generally found that good schools are harder to find and homes are more $$. Honestly, I would live near where you or you DH works. Traffic is really bad its important to live near your work if possible.
As mentioned, Northside Hospital I think delivers the most babies in the county, and there are plenty of great docs nearby.
I'm not quite a parent yet (expecting), but have lived in Atlanta my whole life, so that's my two cents.
Thank you thank you everyone!!! This advice is golden, thank you!!!
DH's job will I think be over near Dobbins AFB, kind of near Marietta & Smyrna. Also we just have one car (though that might have to change!) so walkability is pretty important. Also we don't mind older or smaller houses - being from MA, I've grown up in them!
Thank you everyone again, I'm googling like crazy all of the places mentioned!
you'll have to get another car. atlanta on the whole just isn't "walkable"... it's not a city like that. if he's near dobbins, i'd look in marietta/east cobb or smyrna/vinings. compared to the east cost cities, most of atlanta will feel very suburban, even in popular parts of town.l you could also do midtown for a more urban feel and he could reverse commute. our reverse here isn't bad... not like a lot of cities where both ways are tough.
i'd stay away from decatur or anything on the east side. commute nightmare!
with your husband's work location, you might want to look into Smyrna/Vinings/East Cobb/Mableton.
Ditto this. If he doesn't mind a slightly longer commute, check out Kennesaw and Acworth.
I second the Smyrna/Vinings/East Cobb/Mableton areas. East Cobb is going to have the best schools of these, but you will also pay more for the houses there. Marietta Square or the Market Village area of Smyrna are both good places. There would be some things to walk to but you will still need a second car. Market Village has concerts on the green throughout the summer and there are a few restaurants, shops, etc. A big grocery store is under construction right now as well. I think that is still the Nickajack elementary school and lots of my neighbors really like that elementary school.
I go to Piedmont hospital which is another top rated hospital in the area. I don't think that it has been mentioned yet. We do have quite a few great hospitals - Piedmont, Northside and the Emory hospitals are all great for Ob/Gyn services.