European family moving to Atlanta (Duluth, Suwanee: apartment, renting, credit check)

[spania]

Also I have realized that in South Duluth, the rent is much more lower than in John Creek or Suwanee.
A 4bed single house is 1800$ in JC or Suwanee....but only 1300$ in Duluth South.

Is there any relevant reason??

Thank you in advance.

[ChefRamsey]

The schools in Johns Creek/Alpharetta/Suwanee/Forsyth are much, much, much better than South Duluth.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by spania

Also I have realized that in South Duluth, the rent is much more lower than in John Creek or Suwanee.
A 4bed single house is 1800$ in JC or Suwanee....but only 1300$ in Duluth South.

Is there any relevant reason??

Thank you in advance.

It is related to schools, and aging apartment complexes near Gwinnett Place Mall.

The whole area use to go to Duluth High, then they later added Peachtree Ridge. When they did a bulk of the apartments and townhomes were zoned to Duluth. The apartments tend to attract lower socioeconomic classes, than the single family homes. The change made a higher proportion of the population from apartments, than before. Some people stayed, some moved north.

It is still a decent area, but not as nice and doesn't have the momentum Peachtree Ridge does. If you move into Duluth... I would look at the Elementary school boundaries carefully. Areas with fewer apartments, especially further west are much nicer...than closer to the mall/I-85.

I wouldn't be afraid to live there at all... I would just visit the neighborhood, see who lives there, and look into the details of the elementary school.

Suwanee and north Johns Creek is also considerably newer. Newer homes here tend to be bigger and nicer. Older neighborhoods tend to have larger lots and more trees.

Mosquitos are common... and -occasional- snakes are common in neighborhoods that back up undeveloped spaces and woods. Not usually a big problem though.

[ATLTJL]

The schools in Johns Creek/Alpharetta/Suwanee/Forsyth are a bit better than South Duluth.

Went ahead and fixed that for ya!

Duluth High School is still considered very good. It's just not quite as top tier as Johns Creek schools, but it's not that far behind Peachtree Ridge and is still much better than most metro schools.

How long that remains the case in light of the redistricting cwkimbro pointed out, remains to be seen.

If an area has much lower rent, it's because it's not within the city limits of Duluth. That means it does not have the city services, most notably, the protection of the Duluth police department, which is top notch. That's why once you cross over into the city limits of Duluth it becomes much safer than unincorporated Gwinnett county. This is most likely why you see the reduction in rent, unless you are seeing areas that are districted for another school not as good as Duluth High.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Went ahead and fixed that for ya!

Duluth High School is still considered very good. It's just not quite as top tier as Johns Creek schools, but it's not that far behind Peachtree Ridge and is still much better than most metro schools.

How long that remains the case in light of the redistricting cwkimbro pointed out, remains to be seen.

If an area has much lower rent, it's because it's not within the city limits of Duluth. That means it does not have the city services, most notably, the protection of the Duluth police department, which is top notch. That's why once you cross over into the city limits of Duluth it becomes much safer than unincorporated Gwinnett county. This is most likely why you see the reduction in rent, unless you are seeing areas that are districted for another school not as good as Duluth High.

I'd go a step further. I'd say the caliber of students from many of the neighborhoods in Duluth is equal to those in Suwanee and Johns Creek.

It is the added people from apartments that are more transient to the area and lower income that pull averages down. The success of other students remains very high. Just stay further west.

But that is also why I stress looking at the statistics on elementary schools, since some are overloaded with apartments and some aren't.

Oh and one last thing....important

I don't think you're looking at this area, but just in case. Avoid any "duluth" zip code that is east of I-85. They are districted to Meadowcreek high or Berkmar High and have had more problems in the past.

Than again... you have a few years before you need to worry about schools

[jbloggs]

I would suggest Johns Creek or even Alpharetta if you don't mind the commute, But Johns creek is right there in the middle. Access to great schools, I-85/GA400/141, Gwinette Mall or North Pointe Mall, tons of great new shopping strips on 141, Parks, short distance to Lake Lanier & north GA Mountains.

House prices are still low, foreclosures available at great prices if you search. You could probably own a house within the range you are willing to pay for rent.

[BlackAttack30314]

All these are not very diverse areas. What if the lady wants a diverse area to live?

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by BlackAttack30314

All these are not very diverse areas. What if the lady wants a diverse area to live?

Man, you really need to OTP more. Increasingly, it is hard to find really good schools that aren't diverse.

All of these schools are VERY diverse in some degree or another.

Unless perhaps the only way you want to measure diversity is simply counting black people. The Gwinnett Schools mentioned are just about as diverse as you can get.

Johns Creek and Northview do have fewer african americans and hispanics, but they have a booming Asian population...as does Duluth and parts of western Lawrenceville and Lilburn.

Duluth High school student body:

white: 24.8%
black: 23.2%
asian: 21.1%
hispanic: 26.3%
2 or more: 4%

Duluth High School, Duluth GA School Profile, Ranking, and Reviews - SchoolDigger.com

Peachtree Ridge High school student body:

white: 36.2%
black: 23.0%
asian: 25.4%
hispanic: 12.5%
2 or more: 2.8%

Peachtree Ridge High School, Suwanee GA School Profile, Ranking, and Reviews - SchoolDigger.com

Johns Creek High school student body:

white: 63.9%
black: 7.8%
asian: 19.2%
hispanic: 6.0%
other: 3.0%

Johns Creek High School, Johns Creek GA School Profile, Ranking, and Reviews - SchoolDigger.com

Northview High school student body:

white: 46.7%
black: 6.8%
asian: 40.1%
hispanic: 3.6%


Northview High School, Duluth GA School Profile, Ranking, and Reviews - SchoolDigger.com

[ATLTJL]

There's no such thing as a more diverse school than Duluth High. It's more or less split into quarters. You show me any intown school with similar numbers. You can't. You're idea of diversity is whacked.

[CMMom]

Gotta agree with ATLJL and cwkimbro. "Diverse" is not code for "majority African-American," although many posters on this board use the word that way. "Diverse" means a mixture of groups, and Gwinnett County is extremely diverse.