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Let me start by saying I'm a long time reader of the forums but never had the courage to jump in and join the discussion, but I decided to give it a go. Love reading some of the posts, development news and reading some of the history of Atlanta and the suburbs. That settled, let me begin.
Was wondering what opinions are here of the Western Suburbs...by that meaning places like Austell, Powder Springs, Dallas, Douglasville, Hiram, Lithia Springs, Villa Rica. When I read opinions and news here, it seems a lot of times the aforementioned suburbs are a lot of times left out of the discussions. My guess would be that some of these places are not really represented here as far as residents from these areas. It's either that or I guess there's not much going on here to justify any kind of discussion. As an almost lifelong resident of the Douglasville area, I hope to change that a bit.
So I guess that's where I'll springboard off of. In the opinions of the movers and shakers here, what are the western 'burbs biggest opportunity, challenges, best assets, good things going for it for the future etc.
Honestly, it seems like to me they seem to be their own world when it comes to the rest of the Metro. Douglasville in particular has been sort of a wild card when it comes to development, or lack there of. We grew and developed slower than the rest of the Metro, and when we exploded in the late 90s and early 00's it seemed like we would join our gang of 10 (the other metro counties), then the crash hit, and once again it seems like while the rest of the metro is recovering and back on track again, we seem to be stuck in the mud. Is that a symptom of our local government, or lack of draw from market forces?
I eagerly await the responses if for only an outsider's look at the West side could better, what we are doing right. And finally, glad once again to join.
Let me start by saying I'm a long time reader of the forums but never had the courage to jump in and join the discussion, but I decided to give it a go. Love reading some of the posts, development news and reading some of the history of Atlanta and the suburbs. That settled, let me begin.
Was wondering what opinions are here of the Western Suburbs...by that meaning places like Austell, Powder Springs, Dallas, Douglasville, Hiram, Lithia Springs, Villa Rica. When I read opinions and news here, it seems a lot of times the aforementioned suburbs are a lot of times left out of the discussions. My guess would be that some of these places are not really represented here as far as residents from these areas. It's either that or I guess there's not much going on here to justify any kind of discussion. As an almost lifelong resident of the Douglasville area, I hope to change that a bit.
So I guess that's where I'll springboard off of. In the opinions of the movers and shakers here, what are the western 'burbs biggest opportunity, challenges, best assets, good things going for it for the future etc.
Honestly, it seems like to me they seem to be their own world when it comes to the rest of the Metro. Douglasville in particular has been sort of a wild card when it comes to development, or lack there of. We grew and developed slower than the rest of the Metro, and when we exploded in the late 90s and early 00's it seemed like we would join our gang of 10 (the other metro counties), then the crash hit, and once again it seems like while the rest of the metro is recovering and back on track again, we seem to be stuck in the mud. Is that a symptom of our local government, or lack of draw from market forces?
I eagerly await the responses if for only an outsider's look at the West side could better, what we are doing right. And finally, glad once again to join.
I'm not really sure why the Western Suburbs aren't as relevant as the Northern, Eastern, and Southern ones. I guess it's because of the lack of development and job centers there. I actually considered moving to Douglasville, but many of the nicer developments were in rural areas and far from retail. The city itself is nice though. (Also I've heard people say it was a very conservative area, is this true?)
It something I've noticed as well. We will soon be relocating and have narrowed our decision to a top preference of the Tributary neighborhood in Douglasville. It seems that some areas of the metro just fly under the radar...which could be a good thing. OTP-West homes are the least expensive I've seen.
I'm due to spend more time there, but I've read that its a conservative town that is slowly progressing into more diversity. This piques my interest.
The city itself is nice though. (Also I've heard people say it was a very conservative area, is this true?)
It's semi true. The more rural areas of the county that are south and west of Douglasville tend to be really conservative, but places in and around the city are moving more left in voting patterns, eastern portions of the county are there too. Douglasville has had a shift in demographics (which let me put this out there now, I absolutely adore). Very diverse population here, majority minority, but not one group overwhelms any other. We are a very tight community and we all look out for one another, one of the reasons that I have stayed here so long. Nationally the majority here by a slim margin voted for Obama when years before it was a solid republican county, and while it still is locally, that is starting to change with a mix on the city council, the school board and county board of commissioners.
As far as job centers, I think Douglasville is starting to change that. In particular if anyone hasn't ridden down the Thornton Rd corridor to the Riverside Pkwy corridor and seen the unimaginable growth with Google and a host of other major distribution centers moving here, it is worth seeing.
It something I've noticed as well. We will soon be relocating and have narrowed our decision to a top preference of the Tributary neighborhood in Douglasville. It seems that some areas of the metro just fly under the radar...which could be a good thing. OTP-West homes are the least expensive I've seen.
I'm due to spend more time there, but I've read that it's a conservative town that is slowly progressing into more diversity. This piques my interest
Tributary is an exceptional neighborhood here, one of the most original ones we have that isn't a cookie cutter, every house the same type subdivision. You're going to like it.
I think more people would do well to at least take a look out here and see what we have. Some of the corridors here like the Chapel Hill Rd corridor look like their northern 'burbs counterparts in places like Milton and Johns Creek. We have a regional mall that rivals ones up on the northside maybe lacking just a few of the normal options. The one criticism of Douglasville that is 100% valid was the lack of planning and foresight that went into planning the infrastructure around the mall areas. We are still paying a heavy price for it. As someone who lives near the GA Hwy 5/ Douglas Blvd intersection, it really is the bane of all residents here. No matter what is done to try and put a band aid on it for the time being, it is always congested and a nightmare.
Like I explained, hopefully now that I am brave enough to join the conversation, maybe Douglasville and Douglas County and by proxy the rest of the Western Suburbs will get included in a lot of these discussions. I honestly just think it was lack of representation of anyone on the board. I kind of like on the one hand that we have been sort of cocooned from a lot of the problems that other suburbs and areas have faced which hopefully means that we can learn from them and not repeat them. But we'll see.
Tributary is an exceptional neighborhood here, one of the most original ones we have that isn't a cookie cutter, every house the same type subdivision. You're going to like it.
I think more people would do well to at least take a look out here and see what we have. Some of the corridors here like the Chapel Hill Rd corridor look like their northern 'burbs counterparts in places like Milton and Johns Creek. We have a regional mall that rivals ones up on the northside maybe lacking just a few of the normal options. The one criticism of Douglasville that is 100% valid was the lack of planning and foresight that went into planning the infrastructure around the mall areas. We are still paying a heavy price for it. As someone who lives near the GA Hwy 5/ Douglas Blvd intersection, it really is the bane of all residents here. No matter what is done to try and put a band aid on it for the time being, it is always congested and a nightmare.
Like I explained, hopefully now that I am brave enough to join the conversation, maybe Douglasville and Douglas County and by proxy the rest of the Western Suburbs will get included in a lot of these discussions. I honestly just think it was lack of representation of anyone on the board. I kind of like on the one hand that we have been sort of cocooned from a lot of the problems that other suburbs and areas have faced which hopefully means that we can learn from them and not repeat them. But we'll see.
I love the character of the homes in that neighborhood. Some remind me of New Orleans. What other West suburbs would you recommend?
You may not want to talk it up too-too much. I've seen first hand what happens when people discover what you love about an area. Droves of individuals swoop in, drive up home prices, and ruin traffic...among other things
...sometimes the attention we desire for our favorite towns can completely diminish what makes it so special to us
I'm not really sure why the Western Suburbs aren't as relevant as the Northern, Eastern, and Southern ones. I guess it's because of the lack of development and job centers there. I actually considered moving to Douglasville, but many of the nicer developments were in rural areas and far from retail. The city itself is nice though. (Also I've heard people say it was a very conservative area, is this true?)
The lack of a direct route to some of them has kept development down...Paulding has no interstate access and no convenient highway into or out of it. It's a decent place and a bit unspoiled in some areas, but that can be good or bad.
Douglasville is pretty nice and has tripled in population over that past couple of decades. It was a well-kept secret for many years, but I think the secret is out now. I wouldn't say it's any more conservative than most other Atlanta burbs.
You've actually raised a great question and truth be told... I don't really know.
I have never had a particularly strong opinion, good or bad, of that area. I know some people don't like living on the west side of cities in general, because the commutes into the sun both ways can be quite unbearable at times. I don't think that is enough to explain this though. You are right. It is a very quiet corridor generally speaking. It isn't even that far from Downtown you hit some fairly exurban-ruralish areas. Sweetwater Creek State Park is a nice nearby asset I think many overlook. It is a sizable park close to be so close to town.
From a development theory stand point I can think of two things that go against the area that can be contributing factors.
1) Everyone at some point talks about leap frog development. It isn't perfect and people do shift around a bit, but often people are more likely to buy into an area further out of town along the same outward line from downtown as where they live. For example my parents at one point in time lived in Decatur. Their first instinct was to look in Gwinnett down US29 or 78 when they got their first house.
The reason this is significant is in the early days of the city the Westside was the least developed or populated area. Many areas ITP on the westside are sparsely developed and a few places not developed at all. In the early days the rail road tracks were barriers. They built downtown on the northeast quadrant of the 3-way rail junction. They built many crossings to the south and extended more of the CBD development to the south. To the west there were few crossings There weren't pre-existing roads in that direction in the early days and it was closer to the indian frontier, where as to the north, east, and South were more developed cities, mills, and trading relationships. The westside because a thin narrow industrial area that lines the railroad tracks and for the most part the only people that lives to the west were smaller neighborhoods catering to the mill workers and there were a few smaller neighborhoods of what use to be considered vacation homes away from the busier parts of town. This is also why the city's largest cemetary is out in that direction. I have alot of relatives buried in Westview.
By today's standards it is only a 5 minute drive past the mill-oriented neighborhoods into an area that use to be forested. I think it was only fairly recently that the well to do black neighborhoods started to pop up in this area. I think it largely happened, because it was cheap open land in an area of town that they could make into their own. This was really a product of the late 50s and 60s. Before then much development didn't exist going too far west, even intown.
So there weren't many people living there for very long to keep leap frogging out and there is not much economic demand for commerce to grow towards to the more rural and sparsely populated Alabama in the past.
Even today there are more logistics companies interested in locating to the Northwest, Northeast or South of town. Northeast is so they can access a rapidly growing corridor through the Carolina's, the South to access Florida (a huge economy) and the Port, and the Northwest to reach out towards the Industrial Midwest and quicker access to inbound coal supplies before rail bottlenecks.
If you get a chance google old maps of Atlanta, especially the ones that show the development from a bird's eye view. In the early 1900s and the late 1800s there just wasn't much growing west.
2) From a more practical modern point of view it is harder for you guys to reach Midtown, Buckhead, Perimeter, and some of the other major employment centers. Private office space in southern Downtown are not doing well, where as the rent rates are booming in Midtown and Buckhead. The problem is employers are drifting north, because they are trying to access the northside -before- all of the freeway merges onto the connector (it is truly 3 freeways into 1). This is because of an unfinished freeway network, for better and for worse. If we had more of a typical 50s era freeway network similar to Dallas, Houston, or Columbus Ohio we would have maintained better access Downtown, Downtown office rents would be more stable and the West, East, and Southern Portions of town wouldn't have to battle northward on the connector to access many of those jobs. If we kept more of the development centered Downtown, I think other parts of town wouldn't be as strongly built as the northside, but would be far better off. The bottleneck that is the connector really made development a bit wonky in this town.
What you do have good access to is Fulton Industrial, the Airport, and Cumberland/Galleria. The only flaw is there are many areas equally nice, equally cheap, and closer to each of those job centers to live in than Douglasville or Villa Rica.
I feel fairly confident my points in 1 and 2 above play a part, but I don't think it accounts for the entirety of why it is so quiet in that direction.
I don't know much about the west side of town. All I can really say is based on conjecture and observations on few and far between visits.
When I first moved to Atlanta in 1996, Douglasville seemed to be about as close as you could get to Alabama (literally and figuratively) in the metro. Nice, large homes for cheap...but also lots of Confederate flag waving rednecks.
As was mentioned, it really seemed like it was taking off in the late 90s/early 2000s during the real estate boom. When people were buying up whatever they could find, the western burbs offered some really affordable deals. As the rest of the metro continued on its way to sophistication, that area just seemed to lag. You don't really meet too many people that live out there these days. When I do make any stops there, it seems like it's become almost 100% African American. You don't hear about it being an African American haven like Lithonia or Cascade, but that's sure what it looks like around Stonecrest Mall.
That made me think that it's one of the suburbs that has been affected by white flight into the city and it has absorbed some of the poverty that used to be contained in the city. I'm not sure if that's really what has happened, but that's what it looks like.
Whatever is happening out there, it's pretty under the radar. You just don't hear a peep about any of the western burbs elsewhere in the metro.
I'll throw in another deterrent to living west of Atlanta, especially if you commute into downtown/midtown/Buckhead.... Sunshine commuting. Driving towards the sunrise in the AM and sunset in the PM is a real phenomenon. I experienced this commuting east/west on 285 north.
I think the southwest to west corridor (between 20 and 85) is largely underdeveloped until you get down to about Newnan. Living in Peachtree City from 1999 to 2006, I noticed not much development occurring, except for Newnan. Until their shopping district west of 85 was built, we would take the lengthy drive into Arbor Place Mall.
If you consider the transplants from outside of GA, they most always choose to live in the northern corridors... Likely due to the shopping, amenities and population densities.
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