Your thoughts on living in Sugar Hill (Atlanta, Lawrenceville: real estate, for sale)

[LeeH]

Our family is inter-racial,myself white,wife black,we have 3 boys.We live in diverse LA.We are considering moving to Sugar Hill as a home we saw was affordable.What is the good and bad of living there?Lately I hear nothing good only bad schools,crime,illegals,etc.Is this true?We have visited the house and the location is close to Suwanee off Satelite.Is this a safer area than the bad side of Sugar Hill if there is one.Thx

[geog-fanatic]

Hello,

I'm not certain there is an actual bad side to Sugar Hill. There are a few (very few) small pockets that are not as desirable, but most areas are very safe. Actually, I would consider any area directly off Satellite more in the Suwanee or Buford area instead of Sugar Hill, which is more nestled around Peachtree Industrial and Hwy 20. In any case, I believe that the Satellite area in Suwanee is primarily safe with nice and newer subdivisions.

I do not think an inter-racial family will have a problem in this area. My neighborhood is very diverse and includes several inter-racial families, and everyone appears to get along well. The schools in this area may not be considered the absolute best in metro Atlanta, but they are still well above average and produce many high-achieving students.

[LeeH]

Thx for your response geo..the home is actually in a pocket of newer homes right off old suwanee rd and buford hwy if you are familiar.I did look at the Sugarloaf area of Centex homes off exit 109 which were nice but over my price range but perhaps I should wait until I can afford that area.

[geog-fanatic]

Ok. Now I have a better idea of the area where you are looking. I do not know very much about the newer neighborhoods going in near Old Suwanee and Buford Hwy, but I have heard some stories about drug/meth problems and illegal resident issues in some of the older neighborhoods near that intersection. I, too, might feel a little hesitant to purchase there, based on past history.

Yes, the subdivisions near Exit 109 at Sugarloaf are quite expensive, but you can still find a few good deals in Sugar Hill, especially in the neighborhoods along Suwanee Dam Rd, above Hwy 20/Cumming Hwy. Based on information from people I know that live in this area, these communities are very safe, family oriented, and diverse. Another plus is that they are much closer to Lake Lanier. You would also still be close enough to Suwanee to enjoy the new park and many walking areas.

Good luck with your decision.

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Our family is inter-racial,myself white,wife black,we have 3 boys.We live in diverse LA.We are considering moving to Sugar Hill as a home we saw was affordable.What is the good and bad of living there?Lately I hear nothing good only bad schools,crime,illegals,etc.Is this true?We have visited the house and the location is close to Suwanee off Satelite.Is this a safer area than the bad side of Sugar Hill if there is one.Thx

I don't think that the area around Old Suwanee would be bad. You are almost in Suwanee in that area, and just north of Morningview. It's not the most upscale area, but not bad. There is a small Hispanic area just north of there, including a small apartment complex, but I have never heard about anything shady going on over there. However, for the same price, you could probably get something in a better area for about the same price range, such as Avonlea Crossing, Canterbury Square, or Morningside subdivisions, unless you are looking at one of the older homes in the Old Suwanee area- what is your price range?

[LeeH]

Thx for responses.We came out and saw a great house on craigslist listed at 269,now down to 259,and I believe we can get for even less.It was hard to tell if there were any bad areas around as it it is basically just the newer pocket of homes built in 2004 by Eric Chafin.On the price we just arent sure if the bottom of the market has hit yet but our main concern is safety of the area plus good opportunitys for the boys to utilize all the surrounding sports parks i nthat area as well as Suwanee.The school I believe is Level Creek middle school with a supposedly a new high school being built next year.Also the home has a unfinished basement.I am not familiar with the areas you mentioned.Our best friends live on the other side of Atlanta and they only said to make sure the area is no where close to the Pleasant hill exit off the 85 as it has a bad reputation but this area seems way north of that.

[ellar]

If you are talking about the area near Buford Highway and Lawrenceville Suwanee road near Suwanee town park, it is very safe. I lived near there, and I am a safety freak! I had a lot of friends that lived in Ruby Forest subdivision, which is right by there. They all had kids and never had a problem. I also subscribed to ScanGwinnett to keep track of crimes, and the main arrests for crimes were DUIs.

[LeeH]

Thx ellar and Ohio..to ellar the home is off Old Suwanee rd and buford hwy not Lawrenceville..to Ohio thx for email as well,I guess we are just caught up in how nice the home is..I will check into those better areas you sent me.

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Thx ellar and Ohio..to ellar the home is off Old Suwanee rd and buford hwy not Lawrenceville..to Ohio thx for email as well,I guess we are just caught up in how nice the home is..I will check into those better areas you sent me.

Hope your search goes well. The other areas that I highlighted may not be better, but the web site that I sent you may help you to expand your search and look at all the options. My wife and I are obsessed with looking every few days to see what homes are for sale, as we really need a bigger house. As far as the declining real estate market, it really hasn't seemed to hit Suwanee as much as some areas (and really the area that you are considering might as well be Suwanee), because the growth here has not been driven by speculation, but rather by people actually wanting to move to this area - it was just listed the # 10 best place to live by Money Magazine. In my subdivision of over 1000 homes, we really don't have that many more houses for sale than usual, and most homes have sold relatively quickly - one house on the corner of my street sold in 3 or 4 days, and another sold in 3 weeks. I have only noticed 1 or 2 houses that took a little longer to sell. BTW, there are plenty of biracial and African American families in the area, so that should not be an issue. Also, referencing ellar's post, the area to which you are referring is just north of the Buford Hwy and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Rd. intersection.

[LeeH]

Thx.What city do you live in?I just pulled up some listings for Morningview and the price for a decent home of 4bed/basement seems to be in the low to mid 300.s of which is higher than Sugar but appears to be in a more quality area.If price issues havent changed much it sounds like even if we wanted to present a lowball offer on the Sugar home it probably would not be considered if that is still a up and coming area.It is a tough decision,thx for your honest opinions.