Suwanee or Kennesaw?? Pls Help a Mom :) (Atlanta, North Atlanta: to rent, homeowners association)

[prosefamily6]

I have been reading post after post here, LOL

We are moving from Charleston, SC this month to GA, we have only been in Charleston for a yr and a half, we are from Dallas, TX.

So far after speaking to a ton of moms on GA moms sites and doing a ton of reading and checking out home prices, etc... (we are looking at areas this w/e to see it first hand). It seems like maybe I have narrowed it down to Suwanee and Kennesaw.

Would you be able to tell me which area it is that would be considered the top notch public schools, top notch, higher end group of neighbors, neighborhoods (and I don't mean it has to be just by price, but by quality people). The people I talk to in Suwanee say it's incredible, so do the one's who talk about Kennesaw, what is the diff between the two or are they mainly the same?

We want to rent for a yr to make sure we like the area we choose, but I would like to get it right of course the first time around since we have children.

We are not a party crowd, very family oriented, schools are super important, diversity is fine as long as it's the upper class type (no rappers of any race if you know what I mean), LOL

If you have ever been to SC, we are looking for an area that would be like the Mt Pleasant or Daniel Isl of SC.

Thank you so much in advance,
Stef

[OhioNative]

Based on your post, I would recommend the Forsyth side of Suwanee (it's the 30024 zip code but not in the city limits) or the Riverside/North Gwinnett school district, mostly in the actual Suwanee city limits (on the Gwinnett side of the river), also 30024, with a small portion of 30518. The Morningview area of Suwanee (priced about $230000 to 450000) is also nice, though not as expensive as the other areas I mentioned, and has a very strict homeowners association - it feeds into Suwanee elementary which also ranks high in the latest Georgia school report card from the Georgia Public Policy Commission. Suwanee has great parks, including a new downtown/town center park area and an 8 mile greenway. Suwanee was just voted the #10 place to live in the US by Money Magazine. I don't have any info on Kennesaw as I have never been there - hopefully someone else can provide you with further info on that area.

[prosefamily6]

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

We are in our 30's, have 4 kiddos and a dog.
We are looking for a young family friendly neighborhood with kiddos galore. Someplace where we can go bike riding/walking, take the dog out and kids are outdoors and so are their families.

I am not wanting any area where everyone is hiding inside and you never meet your neighbors and/or no children. My kiddos are used to having kids all over the neighborhood to play with.

I have just found from our past homes that the newer homes seem to attract the younger families with kiddos.
Is this true of Suwanee as well?

[OhioNative]

My experience with Morningview (where I live) is that there a lots of kids and lots of them playing outside. I am not sure about other areas, but I think that you will find most of North Atlanta (including Suwanee, Kennesaw, Alpharetta, etc) to be kid friendly, as most people are in their 30s or 40s with kids.

[lastminutemom]

Where will your jobs be?

This should play a big part in your decision making process...

you can find nice subdiivsions in all areas of ATlanta, so try to find a manageable commute.

On many discussion boards, the members are all people like you -- new to an area.

here, there are newcomers and there are oldtimers and we are good at giving good advice.

Be worried about the commute -- it can have a nasty impact on quality of life.

[prosefamily6]

He is a Project Manager of an electrical company that builds high rise condos. He will be all over the Atlanta area so it really won't matter. We are from Dallas, TX so the commute we will be pretty used to anyway.

He won't have a set place, like an office, that will be our home. He will over see all the projects going on.

[esuri]

Well, I can tell you about kennesaw. I have lived here for more that 10 years. I like it. But I am moving out of Kennesaw because of job reasons. Kennesaw is rated among Top 10 cities to raise families according to Family Circle Magazine, Aug 2007 edition. Actually, my neighborhood is great for people with kids. It's called Legacy Park. It has several sub-divisions inside it. So, you can choose houses from 200's to close to a Million dollar home.

I am familiar with Suwanee too and have quite a few friends who live there. As far as comparing Suwanee to Kennesaw…...They both rate about equal. All I can say is....Suwanne is up 85 and Kennesaw is up 75. 
I think they are very close in comparison, in terms of schools, neighborhoods, traffic, shopping etc.