Tucker

The 1,680-foot-tall Stone Mountain attracts four million visitors every year, but the surrounding city of Stone Mountain has an identity beyond the park. Part of the Atlanta metro, Stone Mountain offers a distinct lifestyle from the metropolis 20 miles to the west. “Living in downtown Atlanta my adult life, you don’t say ‘Hi’ to people walking down the street,” says Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta Realtor Katherine Meers, who grew up in Stone Mountain and lives in the city today. “People in Stone Mountain know each other if they’re active in the community.” Residents of Stone Mountain can spend their time exploring the sprawling tourist attraction with which it shares a name. They can just as easily catch concerts in the quaint downtown or gather for weekly grill-outs at the local parks. Stone Mountain Park isn’t just one of the top recreation options in the city; it's one of the most visited in the state. Outdoor enthusiasts can hike its 15 miles of trails, including the path to the top of the mountain. Others may ride the cable car to the top, saving their energy for the rock walls or miniature golf course. For more than 50 years, Stone Mountain’s surface has borne carvings of three Confederate figures: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The mountain was even used for Ku Klux Klan rituals in the 20th century. Demonstrators against and in support of the Confederate carvings have flocked to Stone Mountain on multiple occasions. Though the community has a controversial past, Meers says residents today work to create a new identity. “A lot of why this community has become so close-knit is to paint a different perception.” A major festival comes to Stone Mountain Park nearly every month of the year. For example, thousands of visitors come in October to listen to bagpipes, eat Scottish food and celebrate Scottish culture at the 50-year-old Stone Mountain Highland Games. Since 1983, laser light shows have been beamed onto the side of the mountain on select nights, creating the equivalent of a 5,500-inch TV screen. Locals show up far in advance to claim a spot for Tunes by the Tracks, a weekly outdoor concert series along Main Street. Main Street is the spot to sample local food and drink. The 185-year-old city’s downtown is an amalgamation of brick, wood and stone storefronts. Inside are a mix of small establishments that include Outrun Brewing Co., The Vibrary Wine & Bookbar and Pi-bytes dessert shop. Cherokee Rose is one of the most popular dining spots in Stone Mountain, Meers says. The barbecue restaurant and bar maintains a casual atmosphere, with musicians playing throughout the week. Shopping centers along Memorial Drive contain supermarkets, department stores and a Walmart. Stone Mountain’s 45,000 homes are primarily single-family detached houses. Older ranch homes and bungalows surround the downtown, but houses are largely in subdivisions. There, ranch homes, split-levels and colonial-inspired modern traditional designs are common. Houses are often perched along winding streets under clusters of pines. The median sales price is $270,000, though prices for move-in-ready homes range from the low $200,000s to the high $700,000s. Stone Mountain is part of the DeKalb Country School District. Students attending public school can progress through the pipeline of Stone Mountain Elementary School, Stone Mountain Middle School and Stone Mountain High School. Niche gives all three schools grades of C-minus. Kids at Stone Mountain Middle School with high enough test scores can join its STEM program. Students may attend one of the nearby charter or private schools, such as B-rated Georgia Fugees Academy Charter School 10 miles away. Residents primarily get around by car. Interstate 285, which encircles the Atlanta metro, runs through the city. One downside of Stone Mountain is it’s further from Atlanta than many DeKalb County communities. Residents spend an average of 34 minutes commuting to work, according to Census data. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, is 28 miles away.

On the edge of Gwinnett and Dekalb counties, Pittsburg is an unincorporated community within Tucker, Georgia. Less than 20 miles northeast of Downtown Atlanta, this family-oriented community enjoys a relaxed pace of life. "The people who've been here a long time are close-knit. In my neighborhood, everybody knows everybody. Twenty-six of us just went on a cruise together," says Lucy Newton, resident of the area since 1969 and Realtor at Realty Associates of Atlanta. "There's a lot of people who've moved into the area more recently, so it's not as close-knit at first, but they get there after a while." "The area has great parks," Newton says. "And we've got the beautiful Heritage Golf Course right there at our disposal." Heritage Golf Links is a public course with 27 championship holes. The largest park in the neighborhood is Lucky Shoals Park, which has tennis and basketball courts, a playground, walking trails and a community recreation center. Children cool off during Georgia's hot summers at the splash pad at Graves Park. The park also has a sand volleyball pit, soccer pitch, playground and dog park. Residents head to Main Street in Tucker for community events, dining and shopping. Each May, locals gather downtown for the Tucker Day event. "It's a real fun thing they do. They've got bands playing, all kinds of craft things going on and they close down Main Street. That's the big thing that everyone goes to," Newton says. Tucker Cruise-In is another popular event. On the second Saturday of each month from April to September, residents come out to see antique and imported cars and motorcycles on display. Thursdays from April through October bring the Tucker Farmers Market, offering a variety of fresh produce and local vendors at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. "Downtown Tucker is getting some quaint shops," says Newton, who recommends checking out Wine & Whimseys. "It's an adorable shop. The owner is wonderful as far as her knowledge of wine is concerned, and there are great gifts there." Restaurants along Main Street include Matthews Cafeteria, which has served the community since 1955. This family-run old-school restaurant serves Southern comfort food like barbecue ribs, chicken and dumplings, country fried steak and sweet tea. The Varsity, off Jimmy Carter Boulevard, is another popular spot. This 1950s-themed local chain serves chili dogs, onion rings and local favorites like its frosted orange drink. For groceries, residents can visit the Walmart Neighborhood Market off Tucker Norcross Road. Pittsburg has a variety of midcentury modern homes, ranches and split-levels built in the 1950s and 60s. These homes usually cost between $400,000 and $500,000 and often sit on half-acre lots dotted with mature oaks and maples common to the area. There's also a sprinkling of more recently built single-family new traditional homes and townhouses. "The values of homes have skyrocketed," Newton says. "There's not a lot of development happening. There's been a few subdivisions added, but many people are renovating existing homes. They're talking down walls, opening them up and modernizing them." Students in Pittsburgh attending the Dekalb County School District may begin at Pleasantdale Elementary School, which has a C-minus rating from Niche. Students may go on to attend C-plus-rated Henderson Middle School and B-plus-rated Lakeside High School. Lakeside High School offers several academic programs for students to improve their college readiness, including the AP Capstone program, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and dual enrollment. Pittsburg provides proximity to city amenities, as well as some elbow room from its hectic pace. "It's the first layer of suburbia coming from Atlanta," says Allen Breland, Realtor with Virtual Properties Realty. Pittsburg is just 2 miles from Tom Moreland Interchange, better known as "Spaghetti Junction." These crisscrossing strands of highway at the intersection of Interstates 85 and 285 take locals to Buckhead's upscale shopping centers or Downtown Atlanta's nightlife. "It's close to the main thoroughfare. The roads can be hectic over there, but you can get anywhere. You can be in downtown Atlanta in 20 minutes," Breland says.