[ale] Heya folks! Any suggestions for a geek moving to/near, Atlanta?

[Daniel Howard]

> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 19:26:34 -0700
> From: "Brian Schenken" <brian.schenken at gmail.com>
> Subject: [ale] Heya folks! Any suggestions for a geek moving to/near
> 	Atlanta?
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm wondering if you locals might recommend areas that a geeky family
> should (or shouldn't) consider settling down in.  Proximity to a Fry's
> is a consideration - so Duluth sounds kewl.  My wife and I are gamers
> (kids aren't old enough yet), so an area with an active LAN community
> would be awesome....  Of course good schools and activities for the
> kids are important.
> 
Hi Brian,

I'd look for homes near the best schools since you have kids and stay 
intown to avoid traffic and be able to sell your home at a significant 
profit when you retire or change jobs.  Any of the north atlanta public 
elementary schools (Morris Brandon, Sarah Smith, Warren Jackson) are 
basically like a free private school, and you'll save yourself $14,000 
per year tuition per kid. Brandon is completely Linux now, and is where 
my daughter goes, but I understand Sarah Smith is headed that way. 
Morningside Elementary is also converted to Linux and an excellent 
school, but huge (over 1000 students).  Each of the Linux schools have a 
2:1 student to PC ratio in the classrooms, and since they're running 
Linux now, it just works, and as a result, they've really integrated 
technology into the instruction so that the kids spend a lot more time 
developing content instead of working the mechanics of things like 
creative writing.  The above elementary schools feed either Sutton 
Middle School or Inman Middle school, probably the two best in Atlanta 
(Sutton usually wins the annual Math Counts competition of middle 
schools held at Ga Tech, e.g.).  By the time your kids get to high 
school, North Atlanta (whose new principal also wants to switch to 
Linux) should be a viable option as well as the demographics and quality 
there are rapidly changing, but at this time most of the parents whose 
kids attended the north atlanta elementary schools switch them to 
private school either in middle school or no later than high school.

Best elementary school in Dekalb is Vanderlyn Elementary, they were 
second in the state last year on standardized test scores.  Don't know 
much about the middle school it feeds into, tho'.

You'll either pay a lot more for the home, or get a smaller one, but 
proximity to work intown and excellent schools makes it worth it in my 
opinion, and with the Beltline project, you'll be able to walk/bike 
anywhere inside the perimeter (I-285) using mass transit and the new 
system they've proposed.  But your kids will thank you for the rest of 
their lives if you get them near a great school.

HTH,
Daniel

-- 
Daniel Howard
President and CEO
Georgia Open Source Education Foundation