Hi! I just noticed this thread and wanted to chime in.
I'm a Georgia girl born and raised, and I currently live in a northeast part of metro Atlanta. I know that other Atlantans on GC may disagree with me but, IMO, Atlanta is not a Southern city by any means. It's very diverse, and I as a native Georgian find myself in the minority most of the time. For example, at a birthday party last Saturday, I was the only person -- out of 35 people -- who was originally from Georgia. Everyone else was from South Florida, New York or Ohio.
Like any city, Atlanta has its good parts and its bad parts. Some of the more rundown areas of intown Atlanta are undergoing "gentrification" right now and there are some really cool neighborhoods springing up there.
You asked about schools... Some county school systems are better than others, but I'm not really thrilled with any of the ones in our area. I have a 16 month old daughter and she'll probably attend private school unless our education system does a 180 in the next 4 years.
To me, the best part of Atlanta is the entertainment aspect. The new aquarium, the Braves/Falcons/Thrashers, several concert venues, the Fox Theater, Fernbank Museum, and the thousands of restaurants and night spots are just a few of the things that make Atlanta fun. If you're young and single, it's a great place to be because there's never a lack of things to do. However, unless you've got a really good income and can afford to live in one of the nicer areas (i.e., nicer school districts), then I wouldn't recommend it for families. Honestly, if my husband's job wasn't so specialized, we wouldn't still be here.
I hope my little review of Atlanta doesn't come off as being too negative, and that I was able to give you some good info.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
dzrose93