Gwinnett vs. Douglas vs. Newton County Crime (taxes, financed)

[ATLTJL]

Move to wil311's house if you want to be surrounded by myopic fools who make gross exaggerations about entire counties.

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by Genxor

We are interested in hearing the local residents, or area opinions, on overall crime in these 3 counties, as we will be moving to 1 of the three in January 2012. Maybe.
Our realtor has all but insisted we should be in Gwinnett. But after expanding our home search and leaving no stone unturned, we added Douglas and Newton for home / price / proximity to retail or restaurants we frequent and nothing else.
Today we were advised that Douglas County is a much higher crime area, Newton lesser so , but that she would gladly show us homes in the two areas only after we had discounted the Gwinnett homes.
But after my brief crime search online ( through crime mapping and other sites ) in the last 7 days Gwinnett had 241 crimes, Douglas 60 crimes, and Newton 41 crimes.
Do the statistics of crimes vs. population steer our realtor , or is it maybe a personal filter - " Oh , you don't want to live there ." ??
She has us concerned about the entire Atlanta area.
Thanks !

Cliff notes version:

Gwinnett has 850,000 plus KNOWN residents...the others? se habla? Further out, nice....closer in, not so much....

Newton: Growing....rural moving to city....meth heads moving further away, murders and hijinx moving in...verdict? Still pretty nice....forecast? Clouds on the horizon....the ones escaping DeKalb make up the recent moves....hopefully they don't plan to shoot their sherriff to death anytime soon like DeKalb did...it's one thing for nobody's like you and me zippy to get clipped....it's a whole nutha' problem when it's the sherriff....christ, who IS safe.....

Douglas: Similar to Newton except Cletus and the gang are holding their own...read, they shoot back.....nice, rural area.....

Bottom line: Gwinnett, Douglas, Newton......

Traffic to anywhere from these is abysmal....just like it is for the rest of us...it's a wash...

Restaurants? Why does ANYONE ask this question....trust me, the strip malls within any of these 3 counties will have the same lackluster fare as the others....complete with oodles of mediocre chain restaurants accented by more mexican fast-food restaurants than one could ever need or hope for.....most should consist of a subway or similar dry-bread offering, la parilla or la whatever complete with frozen entrees warmed up with greasy chips all for around $10....with drink!!!....asian dry cleaner...perhaps hindu......and 40% vacancy......bon appetit.

The entire city is consumed to about 90% of chains and small restaurants...you won't go hungry and you won't be overwhelmed.....

Good luck....

[ATLTJL]

Restaurants? Why does ANYONE ask this question....trust me, the strip malls within any of these 3 counties will have the same lackluster fare as the others....

I can't speak to Newnan or Douglas counties, but I beg to differ on Gwinnett.

Perhaps if you are in Lawrenceville or Snellville the offering may be mediocre (maybe they're great, I don't know, I'm not familiar with them), but I can assure you that a lot of Gwinnett county has excellent dining choices.

Sure, there may not be any trendy restaurants by Bob Amick named after numerals or whoever the current fashionable Atlanta restauranteur offering up $14 tapas plates is.....

But there are lots of great options. I can't go through them all, but just a tiny sampling:

Lucianos on Sugarloaf in Duluth is some the tastiest Italian food I have ever had, in my entire life.

Mojitos in downtown Norcross serves authentic Cuban food that is literally all cooked by a little old Cuban lady in the kitchen while her daughter and son-in-law perform music and serve tables in the dining area.

Park Cafe in downtown Duluth is in a historic house and serves food off a limited but often updated and changing menu and every dish is prepared to absolute perfection by an expert chef.

You'll get the same exact shrimp & grits at Marlow's on Sugarloaf as you will at Marlow's on Peachtree.

The coconut soup at Thai Diner in Discover Mills is incredible.

Rexall Drugs serves up authentic old time drug store grease-burgers at it's actual drug store grill in Duluth.

I'm not a Korean or Vietnamese expert, but there are probably literally hundreds of local restaurants offering Korean barbecue, Vietnamese Pho, hot pots, and just about every authentic dish you can imagine. I'm sure at least some of them are excellent and equal to the ethnic fare on Buford Highway south of 285.

Of course, the chain restaurants are represented as well. However, it's not just Applebee's and Chili's like people often like to say. Higher quality chains like Outback, P.F. Chang's, Macaroni Grill, etc. are also represented.

I don't know why people try to say the suburbs don't have good restaurants. Maybe not all of them do, but the Duluth/Norcross part of Gwinnett most certainly does.

There are so many things you could legitimately say the suburbs don't have, like adequate night life or good theatrical performances....but you really can't say there are no good restaurants in Gwinnett. You may just not know where to look.

[comkeeyn]

Hi

I am planning to buy a unit in this area.
5341 RIVA RIDGE Lane. It is in Gwinnett.

What do you all think. It is asking for $45K.

[ATLTJL]

To live in, or rent out as an investment property?

To be honest, I probably wouldn't live in that area. I lived near there more than 10 years ago, and even then it was starting to go downhill. In the 2 years I lived there, my bank closed its branch closest to me, the closest Publix became a Mercado de Pueblo, and the only new business to open up was a 24 hour laundromat. That was 10 years ago....I don't know if it has gotten any worse, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't gotten any better.

So if you're looking for a place to live, I'd say a big no.

But, if you are looking for an investment property to rent out, I'd say it's a very good price and I would imagine you'd be able to get at least $800 per month for it, probably more.

Since I'm familiar with that area, I've been thinking about getting an investment property, too. The only problem is I think you'd really reduce your odds of being able to rent out if you don't speak Spanish. I'm not saying that to be judgemental, it's just become a highly Hispanic area, and I figure a lot of people looking to rent would rather deal with landlords that they can communicate with.

If there's nothing major wrong with the house, though, you certainly can't beat that price. I'd scoop it up, I just wouldn't live in it.

[SW30303]

Originally Posted by comkeeyn

Hi

I am planning to buy a unit in this area.
5341 RIVA RIDGE Lane. It is in Gwinnett.

What do you all think. It is asking for $45K.

Just curious, have you ever been in Atlanta or Gwinnett?

I would visit the area and see what you think. At that price, you could still lose a lot of money if you plan to keep the house short term. Are you able to take some loss in owning property? - I would not go by price alone no matter what. I would get an agent to help me buy in a new area. I guess you plan to rent it?

[hotboi]

Originally Posted by Genxor

We are interested in hearing the local residents, or area opinions, on overall crime in these 3 counties, as we will be moving to 1 of the three in January 2012. Maybe.
Our realtor has all but insisted we should be in Gwinnett. But after expanding our home search and leaving no stone unturned, we added Douglas and Newton for home / price / proximity to retail or restaurants we frequent and nothing else.
Today we were advised that Douglas County is a much higher crime area, Newton lesser so , but that she would gladly show us homes in the two areas only after we had discounted the Gwinnett homes.
But after my brief crime search online ( through crime mapping and other sites ) in the last 7 days Gwinnett had 241 crimes, Douglas 60 crimes, and Newton 41 crimes.
Do the statistics of crimes vs. population steer our realtor , or is it maybe a personal filter - " Oh , you don't want to live there ." ??
She has us concerned about the entire Atlanta area.
Thanks !

If you are going to live in Gwinnett, live in Duluth, in particular the 30097 zip code if your budget allows you to. Excellent schools and lots of house for your money.

[ATLTJL]

If you are going to live in Gwinnett, live in Duluth, in particular the 30097 zip code if your budget allows you to. Excellent schools and lots of house for your money.

I definitely agree with this!

I would, however, also consider Suwanee if distance from Atlanta is not an issue.

[LivingForTheWeekend]

Originally Posted by jazzcat22

What makes Cobb more desirable than Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, or Cherokee?

Welcome to Lawrenceville. LivingfortheWeekend! Wait until you see the great Friday night concerts they have in the summer---and the Fourth of July celebration!

Hi Jazzcat. Sorry I am so late responding. I haven't been on the City Data Forum in a bit. Thank you for the welcome. I am so looking forward to the summer! I didn't know there were Friday night concerts or a 4th of July celebration, but if it is anything like the New Year's celebration then I know it will be fun. We had the best time New Year's Eve in downtown Lawrenceville. I was really impressed!

[AdelaidefromLondon]

We live in another area of the USA though we have lived in Atlanta twice for six years and seven years with my husbands career. This makes me a familiar outsider looking in. We own a home on small acreage in Cobb County which we now rent and a vacation house in Lake Norris in Gwinnett County where we visit about ten long weekends and three one week periods per year.
Snellville and Gwinnett County are WONDERFUL!!!
In southern Gwinnett County you will find that people tend to buy a house and stay put for life so you do not play musical chairs neighbors like you do in many areas of the metro. It is a FABULOUS blend of native Atlanta people and newcomers, alot of people from NY live there and there is a sizable population from the UK and Ireland as well for some reason. I think alot of them work somewhere near there. The new popular Synagogue, Temple Beth David, in Snellville is also bringing nice people from all over the metro as it grows.
It is normal in some areas of the metro if you stay in your house for three years you will have almost none of the same neighbors you started with and that is not the norm in Gwinnett County. It can be an extreme nicety to have this stability in a metro area known for ever-changing neighbors!
From the south end of Cobb County there are two very convenient ways to get into Atlanta.
If you ride through south Cobb County you will be ASTOUNDED at the number of houses being built NOW in the middle of this housing bust and repo crisis. Many are very serious upscale homes along the Snellville/Lithonia (Gwinnett County/DeKalb County) line. In our neighborhood we have two new homes under construction and a pilot who bought and gutted a house and spent more on the new kitchen than he paid for the house and it is not even on the lakefront.
Snellville itself and the areas south to the county line have much construction going on now. Go see it and you be the judge. And as for crime in our Gwinnett County neighborhood people leave jet ski's and expensive bicycles in open garages, even people who are seasonal residents!!! The proof is in what you SEE not what realtors or others tell you.
You made a wise choice in Gwinnett County.