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We are relocating to Georgia from Florida d/t my husband accepting a new job. He will be working in Roswell Exit 7 off of 400. I am finding some great information on Cumming and Forsyth County and finding some beautiful homes in Canton, Cherokee County but haven't researched the area yet.
I would love information on both areas here is what is important to us:
1. First and foremost are schools. We have 3 children ages 19,14, and 10 (High School Freshman, and 5th grade). Finding schools with excellent test scores and school grades are very important to us. We are moving from an A+ school district and 5 star school with an excellent High School. I'm more concerned with Middle School and High School.
2. Shopping: I love Super Target, Walmart, Publix, and BJ's or Sam's Club (we don't have Costco here in Florida but if they are like BJ's then I'm sure I will love them too). I am not a Shopaholic nor do I require trendy shops but I do enjoy craft stores, Marshall's, Home Goods, Ross, Bath and Body Works and more Family type shops. Trader Joes is a plus as well.
3. Community. I am looking for something that has recreational sports for the kids, my daughter likes dance, singing, acting, and is interested in taking horseback riding lessons. I am looking for pumpkin patches, farmer's markets, flea markets, and activities such as those for weekends and holidays.
We found a few homes in Bridgemill so any advice on that community would be appreciated!
Thank you so much for any information you can give me...the Internet is filled with information overload but I find the best information comes from experience and those that "live" it. I have made one online friend that has been a tremendous help to me with the Cumming information so any Canton peeps please chime in or anyone that has lived in one and moved to the other would be great as well!
From the information that you have given, it sounds like Cumming and Forsyth County would likely be a much better fit for you than Canton and Cherokee County.
Bridgemill is a very high-quality residential development in Canton that feeds into a highly-rated middle school in Freedom Middle School.
But the high school that Freedom Middle School feeds into in Cherokee High School in Canton, while fairly good, is not necessarily as highly-rated or as highly-regarded as the schools in Forsyth County are, particularly in the feeder zones for Lambert, South Forsyth and West Forsyth high schools.
Also, most of your favorite big-box retail stores that you named can be found in the Cumming area at the major junction of GA Highways 400 & 20 in the Cumming Marketplace and Cumming Town Center retail developments just east of GA 400 along Market Place Blvd just north off of GA 20.
In particular, Super Target, Walmart, BJ's, Ross and Home Goods along with Michael's (which is known for arts & crafts) can be found in the one single large shopping area east off of GA 400 and north off of GA 20 along Market Place Blvd.
Publix can be found in 2 locations very-nearby to the major GA 400/GA 20 junction, just to the west of GA 400 at/near the intersection of GA 20 and GA 9, and about just over a mile-and-a-half to the east of the Cumming Marketplace shopping area at the intersection of GA 20 and Samples Road.
Bath and Body Works can be found one exit south (or about 4 miles away) on GA 400 in the new The Avenue at Forsyth retail development at the corner of GA 400 & GA 141 (Bath and Body Works can also be found in nearby Buford inside of the Mall of Georgia which is referenced below).
Costco, Marshall's and Sam's Club can be found about 13 miles to the east on GA 20 in the very-major shopping area near the mega-large Mall of Georgia, which itself is the largest regional shopping mall in the state of Georgia and one of the largest regional shopping malls on the Eastern Seaboard.
Trader Joe's, while not being in the immediate vicinity of either Canton in Northwest Metro Atlanta or Cumming in North/Northeast Metro Atlanta, is not too terribly far away from the Cumming area with 2 relatively nearby locations:
...The nearest Trader Joe's location is about 17-18 miles away from the major shopping area at the GA 400/GA 20 jct down the GA 141 in the Forum on Peachtree shopping area in the Peachtree Corners/Norcross area of Gwinnett County;
If you're looking at houses in Bridgemill in Canton in Cherokee County, then you should definitely be looking for a home in the upscale Windermere development in Cumming in Southeast Forsyth County which is located only about 4 miles away from the major shopping area at GA 400 and GA 20 (and is located only about 10 miles away from the even larger shopping area at the Mall of Georgia east on GA 20 which will become easier to get to from Cumming once the state completes the widening of GA 20 from east of Cumming to west of Buford in a couple years which it has finally started working on).
Like Bridgemill in Canton, Windermere is a strong golf-swim-tennis community but is located on kind of a hilltop area (or series of hilltops and ridges) near Lake Lanier in an area of schools in Forsyth County that are stronger than the area of schools that Bridgemill is located in the feeder zone for Cherokee High School.
Cumming is also more closely located near and is a shorter commute to and from where your husband will be working near GA 400 and GA 140 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.
With many more nearby shopping options, better schools and a shorter commute, Cumming and Forsyth County is most likely where you should be focusing your housing search, particularly in the feeder zone for Lambert and South Forsyth High Schools, which is where you should start your home search.
Last edited by Born 2 Roll; 08-08-2013 at 11:29 PM..
From the information that you have given, it sounds like Cumming and Forsyth County would likely be a much better fit for you than Canton and Cherokee County.
Bridgemill is a very high-quality residential development in Canton that feeds into a highly-rated middle school in Freedom Middle School.
But the high school that Freedom Middle School feeds into in Cherokee High School in Canton, while fairly good, is not necessarily as highly-rated or as highly-regarded as the schools in Forsyth County are, particularly in the feeder zones for Lambert, South Forsyth and West Forsyth high schools.
Also, most of your favorite big-box retail stores that you named can be found in the Cumming area at the major junction of GA Highways 400 & 20 in the Cumming Marketplace and Cumming Town Center retail developments just east of GA 400 along Market Place Blvd just north off of GA 20.
In particular, Super Target, Walmart, BJ's, Ross and Home Goods along with Michael's (which is known for arts & crafts) can be found in the one single large shopping area east off of GA 400 and north off of GA 20 along Market Place Blvd.
Publix can be found in 2 locations very-nearby to the major GA 400/GA 20 junction, just to the west of GA 400 at/near the intersection of GA 20 and GA 9, and about just over a mile-and-a-half to the east of the Cumming Marketplace shopping area at the intersection of GA 20 and Samples Road.
Bath and Body Works can be found one exit south (or about 4 miles away) on GA 400 in the new The Avenue at Forsyth retail development at the corner of GA 400 & GA 141 (Bath and Body Works can also be found in nearby Buford inside of the Mall of Georgia which is referenced below).
Costco, Marshall's and Sam's Club can be found about 13 miles to the east on GA 20 in the very-major shopping area near the mega-large Mall of Georgia, which itself is the largest regional shopping mall in the state of Georgia and one of the largest regional shopping malls on the Eastern Seaboard.
Trader Joe's, while not being in the immediate vicinity of either Canton in Northwest Metro Atlanta or Cumming in North/Northeast Metro Atlanta, is not too terribly far away from the Cumming area with 2 relatively nearby locations:
...The nearest Trader Joe's location is about 17-18 miles away from the major shopping area at the GA 400/GA 20 jct down the GA 141 in the Forum on Peachtree shopping area in the Peachtree Corners/Norcross area of Gwinnett County;
If you're looking at houses in Bridgemill in Canton in Cherokee County, then you should definitely be looking for a home in the upscale Windermere development in Cumming in Southeast Forsyth County which is located only about 4 miles away from the major shopping area at GA 400 and GA 20 (and is located only about 10 miles away from the even larger shopping area at the Mall of Georgia east on GA 20 which will become easier to get to from Cumming once the state completes the widening of GA 20 from east of Cumming to west of Buford in a couple years which it has finally started working on).
Like Bridgemill in Canton, Windermere is a strong golf-swim-tennis community but is located on kind of a hilltop area (or series of hilltops and ridges) near Lake Lanier in an area of schools in Forsyth County that are stronger than the area of schools that Bridgemill is located in the feeder zone for Cherokee High School.
Cumming is also more closely located near and is a shorter commute to and from where your husband will be working near GA 400 and GA 140 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.
With many more nearby shopping options, better schools and a shorter commute, Cumming and Forsyth County is most likely where you should be focusing your housing search, particularly in the feeder zone for Lambert and South Forsyth High Schools, which is where you should start your home search.
Thank you so very much for your informative and in depth reply! I appreciate your feedback more than you know. I will definitely look in those suggested areas and share this information with my husband. I meant to include the price range of our housing budget to max at about $350,000 I know sometimes you can get a $400,000 home for lower if it's been on the market long enough and you negotiate properly We found a "steal" of a home in Bridgemill and that is why I asked the question.
Thank you all so much and if anyone has more advice/information on the areas please let me know!
I'm not sure I would want to commute from S. Forsyth (we live here) to Roswell. I had to meet my husband in Roswell Thursday morning and at 7:45 GA400 was a parking lot. I managed to cross over 400 and took Highway 9 all the way in which seemed much better but still had some congestion.
For the price range you are looking, check out Three Chimneys neighborhood. Amazing people, community and schools. We have everything you are looking for between exits 13 and 14 as was suggested by prior poster.
The commute from Canton to Roswell can be tough if you work normal hours. About the only route between the two is 140, and it's a two lane route that gets pretty jammed up once the school buses start rolling. If you were to look more toward the east end of Cherokee County you'd do better, and avoid some of the traffic while still being close to the shopping in Alpharetta or up on 20.
Like everyone has recommended, I think Cumming, Forsyth County is where you want to be at. Just in the last two years, Forsyth county's population has grown from $175k to $188k within 2 years, which is the 6th fastest growing county in the nation. Per capital income is $35k with a median household of $88k which makes this county the 19th wealthiest county in the nation.
I break down Forsyth County into two categories: standard vs premium housing assets. The premium housing assets are all of Lambert HS cluster, South Forsyth HS cluster, and West Forsyth HS (Vickery Middle School ) cluster. I consider the standard housing assets as North Forsyth, Central Forsyth, and West Forsyth (Liberty Middle School) cluster. The home appreciation in the Premium Forsyth area has accelerated over the Standard Forsyth in the last year as i had expected.
That being said, working at Roswell you need to be close to 400 where the Avenue shopping center is located which is a very good location. The area you want to search is South Forsyth HS cluster (Piney Grove Middle) and West Forsyth HS cluster (Vickery Creek). Prices have gone up a lot in these areas, but with a $350,000 budget, you should still be able to find a nice home in a good neighborhood. Hope this information helps your search.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kristy2671
We are relocating to Georgia from Florida d/t my husband accepting a new job. He will be working in Roswell Exit 7 off of 400. I am finding some great information on Cumming and Forsyth County and finding some beautiful homes in Canton, Cherokee County but haven't researched the area yet.
I would love information on both areas here is what is important to us:
1. First and foremost are schools. We have 3 children ages 19,14, and 10 (High School Freshman, and 5th grade). Finding schools with excellent test scores and school grades are very important to us. We are moving from an A+ school district and 5 star school with an excellent High School. I'm more concerned with Middle School and High School.
2. Shopping: I love Super Target, Walmart, Publix, and BJ's or Sam's Club (we don't have Costco here in Florida but if they are like BJ's then I'm sure I will love them too). I am not a Shopaholic nor do I require trendy shops but I do enjoy craft stores, Marshall's, Home Goods, Ross, Bath and Body Works and more Family type shops. Trader Joes is a plus as well.
3. Community. I am looking for something that has recreational sports for the kids, my daughter likes dance, singing, acting, and is interested in taking horseback riding lessons. I am looking for pumpkin patches, farmer's markets, flea markets, and activities such as those for weekends and holidays.
We found a few homes in Bridgemill so any advice on that community would be appreciated!
Thank you so much for any information you can give me...the Internet is filled with information overload but I find the best information comes from experience and those that "live" it. I have made one online friend that has been a tremendous help to me with the Cumming information so any Canton peeps please chime in or anyone that has lived in one and moved to the other would be great as well!
Last edited by Johns Creek Broker; 08-11-2013 at 07:35 AM..
Bath and Body Works can be found one exit south (or about 4 miles away) on GA 400 in the new The Avenue at Forsyth retail development at the corner of GA 400 & GA 141 (Bath and Body Works can also be found in nearby Buford inside of the Mall of Georgia which is referenced below).
FYI, The Avenues is now renamed The Collection. (Why the name was changed, I don't know.)
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We found a "steal" of a home in Bridgemill and that is why I asked the question. 
