Gwinnett County vs. Cobb County (Atlanta, Smyrna: apartment complexes, house, employment)

[ahope1980]

I apologize if this has been posted before but I was wanting some advice. Our family is strongly considering relocating to Atlanta from Nashville in the next few months. He doesn't have a job yet, so we won't make any decisions until we know where his job is located but I wanted to get a general idea. We have two small children so we are looking for a great education with a low cost of living as well. Traffic will be important, but if he got a job downtown which area would be best? I would love to know specific cities/areas of town as well. Thanks for all the help!

[Lone Star Rooster]

Both places have very nice areas, and both have some less-desirable neighborhoods. My overall preference would be Cobb County, it seems to be more "established" with a wider range of housing stock. Neither is what I would call great if you're commuting to downtown, however the closer-in areas of Cobb (closer to I-285) strike me as nicer than the closer-in areas of Gwinnett (the way I remember it, the closer-in areas of Gwinnett are more industrial while the closer-in areas of Cobb are more residential). Plus, Cobb has amenities like the Silver Comet Trail, and neat small-town areas like Symrna that aren't a bad commute into the city.

[cqholt]

Six one way, half dozen the other.
Both counties have heavily congested freeways and offer diverse areas.

[ahope1980]

Thanks so much! So is Smyrna a good city in Cobb? Housing prices seem to be pretty low there. I am afraid to move too far North b/c I hear traffic is a nightmare.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ahope1980

Thanks so much! So is Smyrna a good city in Cobb? Housing prices seem to be pretty low there. I am afraid to move too far North b/c I hear traffic is a nightmare.

Personally don't know about schools in Smyrna, but I have a co-worker that bought a house 3 years ago. Now he has kids that are about to enter school and wants to move to Decatur because he believes the schools aren't good. Best school system in metro Atlanta is Decatur city schools, but homes are expensive.

[Woodstock_Woody]

The eastern part of Cobb County has the best public schools in the state. Also, it's not a bad drive to the major employment centers: Terrell Mill/Delk to I-75, Riverside to I-285, Johnsons Ferry/Abernathy to GA-400.

Smyrna has some good elementary schools, but unfortunately, the middle and high schools aren't the best. Gwinnett is further out and is more of a patchwork county. I know the Suwanee area is very well regarded, but again, it's way out there.

[ahope1980]

That's good to know. I noticed some great prices in Suwanee as well but we don't want to be too far out. I have heard great things about Decatur as well. I thought I was reading that Gwinnett county wasn't so bad on traffic but maybe I was wrong. I know it will depend on where he works, but I just wanted to get an idea of the area.

[arjay57]

They are about neck and neck. I might personally give Cobb a slight edge but that is totally subjective.

[ahope1980]

Thanks so much. I guess we don't really know where to start in our potential house search. We have heard traffic is a nightmare, so we don't want to live too far out. Those seemed to be the best school systems on the surface.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by ahope1980

Thanks so much. I guess we don't really know where to start in our potential house search. We have heard traffic is a nightmare, so we don't want to live too far out. Those seemed to be the best school systems on the surface.

Truth be told you really need some idea of where you're going to work. More of the areas newer high paying jobs are increasingly on our northside and over half the metro area is to the north outside of I-285, The perimeter. The way we've dealt with out traffic woes was to encourage more job growth in the core suburbs, so fewer people have to commute into town from the popular areas.

The nicest area traditionally would have to be east Cobb, but it is pricier.

The benefit of Cobb is they have an edge city called Cumberland Galleria at I-285 and I-75.

The biggest edge city and largest area of employment in the city is the Perimeter Center at Ga 400 & I-75.

East Cobb is well positioned for commuters to go to these two places, so property values stay higher.

Gwinnett's benefit is that the city grew slightly more eastward too. The I-85 corridor and the GA 400 and areas in between are full of high paying jobs new to the area. They tend to be engineering friendly companies that need a high value office and a high value light industrial component to them. Gwinnett provides that. The west side of Gwinnett along the Chattahoochee tends to be really nice for people wanting to access these two corridors and Peachtree Corners. This tends to be where many people in Suwanee work.

Many people also, like the suburban areas in the south central part of the county. Parkview and Brookwood school districts. They are quiet suburban bedroom communities.

The areas along I-85 when you first center the county tend to be more run down and are full of a large concentration of old apartment complexes.

Cobb has some rough areas along I-75 as well. I also know the Southern part of Cobb outside of vinings hasn't done as well. I'm sure other posters can give you the rundown where the nice and bad areas of south cobb and Smyrna area better than I can.