working in Lawerenceville - Where to live? (Atlanta, Lawrenceville: transplants, neighborhoods)

[pamelahquinn]

My husband recently took a job in Lawrenceville, so we will be relocating to GA. We are looking for suggestions on where to consider living. Our interests are strong schools, diversity, reasonable commute (within 30 minutes), and a neighborhood with amenities. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - thanks!

[Steven2149]

There are lots of options for you. You could look at any of the schools in the area, but you may just want to ride around to get a feel of what feels best for you. You could look at most of the schools... Brookwood, South, Central, Dacula, Mill Creek, Grayson... really about all of the school clusters in the county are within 30 minutes of Lawrenceville. You could get a little more rural by looking at places outside the county, such as Jackson County, Walton County. Probably the most popular schools in the area are Grayson and Brookwood. Lot's of options.... if you aren't familiar, you will want to talk to a realtor. Hope that helps.

[sj73]

If your husband is working in downtown Lawrenceville, I would suggest you look at some resales in neighborhoods surrounding the downtown square (Hanarry Estates, Carriage Station and others). Your husband will be able to walk to work and you will be able to walk to all of the great events they have on the revitalized square throughout the year. There are also great restaurants on the square.

There are also other great neighborhoods near Discover Mills on Duluth Highway and more rural developments along Sweetgum Road, Alcovy Road, Grayson Highway and other areas in the Dacula High district.

[jxu66]

I would recommend either Peachtree ridge or North Gwinnett school districts on the other side of I-85 (mainly 30097, 30024 zipcode). Mason, Parsons of Peachtree Ridge, Riverside, Suwanee of North Gwinnett school districts are outstanding elementary schools.

One more thing. Just make sure that the school is within North Gwinnett school district, not one of those new school districts. There is big rezone going on in Gwinnett.

There was an article in ajc regarding rezoning in Gwinnett school. More than a couple of parents were upset since their kids cannot go to Riverside elementary school.

Proposed Gwinnett school redistricting spurs grumblings | ajc.com (broken link)

[flynurse33]

Gwinnett County Schools are pretty much Superior to any neighboring. This can be documented by all of the transplants into Gwinnett from outlying areas. Yes, pretty large schools, and even when I grew up going to this school system all of my life, I still would never live INSIDE of Lawrenceville area. Try Buford for Dacula. They are within the 30 min. or less drive time (depending on the specifics of job vs. address), but those are great areas to live and be close to Lawrenceville.

[pamelahquinn]

Thanks for the input. Do you think the schools are stronger in Gwinett than in South Forsyth? Are there areas of Forsyth that we might consider within a reasonable commute to Lawrenceville?

[jxu66]

It really depends where is exact Lawrenceville you are talking about. Lawrenceville is very large area. But in general, for going to Lawrenceville, it is much longer commuting than from Sugarloaf area. South Forsyth is newly developing area and it still has a lot of single lane roads (so it may take 30 minutes just get out of your subdivisions :-)). As far as schools consider, those schools are similiar rated to North Gwinnett/Peachtree Ridge school districts. Also, South Forsyth is a lot less diversity than North Gwinnett/Peachtree Ridge area if diversity is a concern for you.

[Twinkletoes]

I highly recommend Suwanee. It has been rated as one of the top places to live in the U.S. You would be in the Peachtree Ridge H.S. district. It is a fairly new school with an excellent reputation.

Suwanee is considered an upscale area, but there are subdivisions in all price ranges. There is a town park, a seasonal farmer's market, a good library, places to eat, get a haircut, get ice cream, etc. There is plenty of shopping nearby, including two malls. It is very family-friendly and safe. People of many different nationalities live in the area - Atlanta has a lot of international business. Kids are very accepting because it's "normal" to them to see all kinds of people.