Hate to butt in on a conversation here but my husband and I may be
moving to atlanta from pittsburgh next summer. What are the best
school districts to live and/or teach in? I believe his office will be
in northern atlanta.
Thanks

Sorry to be a little late to this conversation. I'm a Gwinnett County
resident. Been living here for 12 years since moving from Boston.

IMO...

Georgia strengths: Beautiful, geographically diverse state. Fairly good
infrastructure, reasonably good state government (not intent on ruling every
aspect of it's citizens lives). Four seasons of weather. Low cost of living.
Friendly population, welcoming to outsiders. Great topology includes farmland,
rolling hills, sea coast, mountains, woodlands, swamps, lakes, rivers, national
forrests. Ample boating opportunities across the state. With the rare
exception of small tornadoes, pretty safe from natural disasters. You can fly
to most of the U.S. from Atlanta in 3 hours or less, usually for not much
money. Friendly to the 2nd Amendment. Best financial support in the nation
for in-state college attendance (directly funded by the lottery...the money
doesn't disappear into the general budget).

Georgia weaknesses: Spotty educational system. Strong in some areas
(Gwinnett, Cobb, other northern 'burb counties), very weak in others (Dekalb
county, Fulton county/Atlanta, and some of the rural counties). It's hot in
the summer. When we aren't in a drought, it will rain a lot. The city of
Atlanta is politically corrupt. For example, the single biggest economic
entity in the Southeastern U.S. is the airport, and it is privately owned by
the city. Can you take a guess who owns all of the concessions at the airport?
If you said "friends and family of the last three mayors," you'd be correct.
A Dekalb county sherriff was assassinated by his predecssor a few of years ago.
The Fulton county sherriff is long overdue for indictment. The previous
Atlanta police chief was qualified for the position because she had, prior to
becoming chief of police, been the mayor's driver. She was the very definition
of a puppet. But a loyal one...she's now in charge of security at the airport.
They let kids drive too young at 16, and it shows; every spring, a fair number
of them have to be scraped of a road or a tree.

North Georgia is a great place to raise a family if you want the suburban life
style. Atlanta will leave most experienced city-folk wanting for more culture,
night-life, and general excitement. It's not bad, but it's not NY, Chicago,
San Fran, etc.

Having grown up in New Jersey, then lived in Mass for 10 years, I will not
voluntarily leave Georgia for those locales, unless it's via round trip ticket.


-- Rich Stern
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