Have lived in Hotlanta the whole time... about 26yrs.
Lived in the city for 19yrs (Buckhead 10yrs, Vinings 9yrs). Delta went bankrupt, we moved south to save cash... big regret... loved the in-town diversity of thought/vibe.
Having said that, we moved to a lake house on Lake Redwine in Newnan (325 acre private lake... electric motor only pontoon boats, swimming, paddle boards, fishing, etc.). We greatly enjoy lake living, but took a while to make peace with the much more singular thought process of living "in the south". (Looked at lake houses in PTC but couldn't see paying top dollar for a lake house when your not allowed to actually use the lake! Want to cut down some trees to actually see the lake?... Fuhgetaboutit!) Also, there is a marina, so you can have a boat even if you don't have a lake house... I think about $40/mo.
Our daughter went to private schools in-town, but we have been very surprised and happy with the public schools in Newnan. Brooks elementary and Madras middle REACH programs have been every bit as good as our in-town private experience. She is starting Newnan HS this fall in the gifted STEM program. The key seems to be to get your kids in the gifted programs... REACH in elementary/middle and STEM in high school.
The traffic situation is the last good artery left in ATL. 12mins to I85... 35mins from driveway to employee lot... 40 mins to our friends in Vinings... 45mins to mid-town/va highlands/buckhead. (We go into the city 3 or 4 times/mo.)
Good luck...
P.s. Love to go to shops/restaurants in PTC, but don't care for the "police state/stepford wife" feel there.
I keed... sort of...
