Alpharetta Community

Hi again Fiona!

I moved in to Alpharetta about 8 years ago from Miami Fla. We lived there for about 4 of those years, now we live in Woodstock. I have to say that I really loved living there (Alpharetta), i found it to be very open and welcoming, mostly I think because there are a lot of relocated families living there. You have a lot of people from all over the country and the world. And because of the same reason the comunity is very organized in the sense of networking, reaching out and so forth.Is a great place for moms. There is an organization called Moms Club which was an amazing source for me to connect and be part of that community. I also think is a very diverse community, I don't know about percentage, but I found people from all races and creeds. I am latin and comming from Mia, I was afraid I wouldn't find the same flavor, which of course I didn't, but I always felt very welcomed and I met some very great friends from South America and all over the world. There is a fair amount of balck families as well as white and latin and oriental, is a very balanced community.Also churches are a big place to met people and connect. You have a great mall within Apharetta and great restaurants as well. The place definately is suburbian USA, but also has a sort of a cosmopolitan flair and you definately get a taste of Southern hospitality.
I'll give you the web site for the Moms club and also the church I belong to.We drive there,is a non denominational church, called North Point Comunity Church. I don't know what is your back ground and maybe I am way out of line here, but just in case, is a great place, with awesome enviroments for adults and specially for children, very welcoming place and eventhough is a big church, somehow you find your place there.Of course there a lot more churches and from all denominations.
Anyway, if I can be of anymore help, please don't hesitate to contact me.
www.momsclub.org and www.northpoint.org

A.

Hi Fiona!

We just moved to Alpharetta from downtown Chicago. We actually chose Alpharetta because it seems to be made up of people from all over, so it's not full of locals who can seem a bit more closed off. We're closing on our house and moving in soon, so we're not in our new neighborhood just yet, but our neighbors have already been so welcoming! We're not African American, but our new neighbors two doors down are. There are also Indian families and Asians too. I really think it would be a great place for your family, too!

Fiona,
Alpharetta has a good mix of ethnic backgrounds and diversity. Being in the South, i cannot say there isn't ANY racist as you knnow, but we have come a long way from the Old South.

Things that are cool about the town is it's one of the oldest in the Fulton County, Roswell is the sister city to Alpharetta. The Mall and shopping are close by and there is a bunch of folks who will welcome you with open arms. I think they may focus more on your New York accent than your ethnic background.

LOTS of good schools in teh Alpharetta area. Manning Oaks is one that comes to mind. Another is Alpharetta Elementary. My children did not go to these schools, but I have heard positive things about both of them.

If you choose to move just a scant 12 miles south of Alpharetta, I live in Roswell. The schools here I can tell you more about. Roswell North is a Georgia School of Excellence, Crabapple Middle and Roswell High are as well. These three schools my children have attended during their childhoods and they received an excellent education thru them.

Some history about the area of Roswell. Sherman marched thru the town on the last leg of the Civil War and destroyed the cotton mill being ran under teh French flag. He forgot to bust open the kegs of indigo and the women of Roswell, just pulled the kegs out of Vickery creek and went back to work. They had families to feed. Sherman also used the Presbyterian church as a stable for his horses, but didn;'t burn any of the homes or churches on his march to the sea.

The Chattahoochee River hosts many parks along its shores. And there is the Chattahoochee Nature Center to learn about the wild life and ecology along the river. Other little thingys are just waiting for you and family to discover. :o)

I hope this helps in your dicision to move South. I am B., I hope to meet you someday.

HTH,
B.
deaffmommie

Hi Fiona,

It's L. again (from your other post). I just read this one where you mention your race. It's funny I'm reading this now since I literally just got back (a couple of hours ago) from showing houses to a very nice African American family...in Alpharetta.

I understand your concern. Although I'm not African American, I moved here from Los Angeles when my daughter was 6 months old. My husband had asked his business partner to relocate with us. His partner said "no way" since he is Hispanic and didn't want to go to the "south." I'm originally from NY and my husband is from New Jersey so we both grew up with diversity and wanted out kids to grow up that way too. We were concerned about moving to Atlanta since it is the south and not known for its tolerance. Granted, you can't see my minority status (we're jewish) since I'm white, but we are sensitive to this anyway. My husband's partner pointed this out to us (that you can't look at us and tell we're a minority). We grant him that but still feel strongly about having our kids grow up with people from all backgrounds.

It is against the law for me to "steer" you since I'm a Realtor. However, I will say that I agree with the others who posted that Roswell is a slightly more diverse city/town than Alpharetta. However, there are more and more people from all backgrounds moving here all the time. In fact, white people are in the minority for my clients. I have worked with more African American, Indian, Asian, Iranian, South American, South African, African people than I've probably worked with that are white. I actually had never really thought about that until now but it seems to be true. Wierdly enough, I haven't worked with many jewish people, huh?

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about the racism so much. You will tend to make friends with the right kind of people as we all do.

As the others pointed out in their posts...Alpharetta is a great place to live. Many parks, great shopping, amazing recreational activities for the children and it's growing and getting better all the time. You really can't want for anything in this town! The schools are top notch, many houses of worship (the one that other mom posted is very well known and people love it), it's a clean and pleasant environment. It's also very well located for countless day trips. You won't be bored and will definitely make lots of friends, that's guaranteed!

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me. You can visit my web site for my contact info at www.lisachasin.com.

Good luck!