Suwanee, John's Creek or Duluth? (Atlanta, Savannah: real estate market, rentals, house)

[Alicia64]

You all have been so helpful -- I really appreciate it. I don't mean to belabor the point, but I'm not at all familiar with Atlanta.

My husband will be working on Satellite in Duluth.

We have two 10 year old boys and I homeschool them so we're not concerned about schools, but we do hope to find a great pool community. We all love to swim. They don't do competitive yet. At this point it's just for fun, but if it's hot we usually want to be in a pool. (We're coming from VA, but started in CA.)

My husband loves taking the boys and the dog to the river here in VA and hiking around. So nature would be a good thing!

We are not snooty people. We're hoping to find friendly, down-to-earth neighbors.

House-wise we'd like a four bedroom, 2.5 bath. At this point in my life I'd like granite counter tops and a decent bathroom. We'd like to rent and not pay higher than $1900. If that's possible.

Also, we have a really fancy Good Will that I love to visit. Is there anything like it near these communities?

I know my husband would like to avoid a commute over 20 mins. if possible.

At this point, I'm trying to decide between Suwanee, John's Creek or Duluth itself.

I would love any feedback and thank you!

Alley

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

My husband will be working on Satellite in Duluth.

I know my husband would like to avoid a commute over 20 mins. if possible.

At this point, I'm trying to decide between Suwanee, John's Creek or Duluth itself.

Johns Creek to Duluth is likely to go beyond a 20 minute commute; any time the commute involves crossing the Chattahoochee, its going to dramatically increase the drive time given that there's only 3 nearby crossings ["nearby" being a relative term]. Your best bets will probably be Duluth or Suwanee.

[Alicia64]

Originally Posted by DJDeadParrot

Johns Creek to Duluth is likely to go beyond a 20 minute commute; any time the commute involves crossing the Chattahoochee, its going to dramatically increase the drive time given that there's only 3 nearby crossings ["nearby" being a relative term]. Your best bets will probably be Duluth or Suwanee.

Great info. -- thank you!

I'd love to hear the benefits of Duluth vs. Suwanee.

Thanks again everyone!

Alley

[Born 2 Roll]

DJDeadParrot makes an excellent point about the length of your husband's likely rush hour commute.

Unless you live immediately near (like within one or two miles) where your husband will be working, a commute of 20 minutes or less may not necessarily be completely probable in that area of town (Northeast Metro Atlanta in Gwinnett County in and near the I-85 Northeast Corridor) which frequently experiences some of the worst rush hour/peak hour congestion in the entire Atlanta metro region.

Many of the major routes in that area (particularly Pleasant Hill Road, GA Hwy 120, Satellite Boulevard and even Old Peachtree Road and Sugarloaf Parkway) are prone to experience traffic congestion that ranges from very-heavy to severe to even gridlock because of the combination of the heavy amount of development (residential, commercial and light-industrial development) in the area and the very-heavy amount of commuter traffic that is trying to get to I-85 during morning rush hour and away from I-85 during evening rush hour.

While the expectation of a rush hour commute of 20 minutes or less may not necessarily be the most-probable in that heavily-developed and heavily-congested part of the Atlanta metro region, the expectation of a rush hour commute of 30-40 minutes or less may be somewhat more reasonable if your family locates relatively close to where your husband will be working (within no more than 10 miles or less).

There are many swim communities within that area, the most notable being the manned-security gated swim-golf-tennis community of TPC Sugarloaf, which while having a well-deserved reputation for having high-priced mansions, also has had some more affordable home prices in recent years during the depths of the economic downturn with some home prices in TPC Sugarloaf dropping as low as into the $300k's before the recent pick-up in the Atlanta real estate market over the past year or so.

I'm not saying that it is a definite possibility (because it likely is not at this point), but it may be worth it just to look and see if you might be able to find a rental home in your price range in TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth.

Also check directly across the road (Sugarloaf Parkway) to see if you might be able to find a high-quality rental home in your price range in the gated community of "Stonebrier at Sugarloaf" in Duluth which is a quality swim-tennis community directly across the road from the famous TPC Sugarloaf gated golf course community.

You can also check in the swim and swim-tennis communities located along Old Peachtree Road between Sugarloaf Parkway and Satellite Boulevard in Duluth where you may be more-likely to find something to rent in your price range like the Haven at Sugarloaf Ridge (swim-only), Parsons Plantation, Berkshire at Sugarloaf, Belmont at Sugarloaf, Ashmore (swim-only), and Olde Savannah Square.


You could also check to see if you could find a rental home in your price range in swim/tennis communities along and off of GA 120 in Duluth like Willowstone (gated), Hampton Place and Bentwood at Sugarloaf.

The aforementioned swim and swim-tennis communities are recommended because they have the swimming facilities that you are interested in and because they are likely extremely-close to where your husband will be working on Satellite Boulevard in Duluth, potentially making for a very-short commute to and from work, something which commuters place a great premium upon in the land of the challenging rush hour commute in the Atlanta region.

[ATLTJL]

Johns Creek will be the most challenging budget because North Fulton has the best schools in the city, and rentals are at a premium. You can look into it, but what you find may not fit what you're looking for.

I have to say that it's true that crossing the river introduces a challenge to commuting. However, Fulton to Gwinnett is a reverse commute. Most people live in Gwinnett and commute to Fulton for work, so your husband would be going opposite traffic. Of course, there's always the potential for traffic to get backed up in any direction.

I think between I-85 and Peachtree Industrial is your best bet. I'm not sure about 120, but Sugarloaf and McGinnis Ferry stay relatively manageable, even during rush hours, in this section of town. Once you get on the other side of I-85 or over the river on McGinnis Ferry, forget about it. But in West Gwinnett, it's generally not terrible.

You should relatively easily find what you are looking for in this part of town. In fact, your choices should be wide. I don't know if it really matters much whether you choose Duluth or Suwanee because most people aren't even that sure where one ends and the other begins (Sugarloaf Parkway is the line of separation).

If you can find a rental in TPC Sugarloaf for $1900, come live in my house and I'll go rent it!

[brook2ga]

I live in Suwanee and the drive to Satellite in Duluth rarely takes me over 20 min. It all depends on the exact location. There are many swim neighborhoods in Suwanee and there are some with rentals in your price range. I would think Stonebrier would be over your budget; some communities may not allow rentals at all.

[vince217]

How about MorningView subdivision in Suwanee? Easy access to satellite boulevard, and it has a great swimming pool / amenities.

there are lots of swim communities in Duluth and Suwanee close to Satellite Blvd, and I am sure you will find one within budget.

[Alicia64]

Thank you everyone! My husband will be in Duluth at the end of this week and will be looking at homes in Suwanee.

If you know of any great places to eat in Duluth or Suwanee, he's all ears! I'm a vegetarian so I'm sure he'd love any awesome burger places you know about.

Thanks again!

Alley

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by vince217

How about MorningView subdivision in Suwanee? Easy access to satellite boulevard, and it has a great swimming pool / amenities.

there are lots of swim communities in Duluth and Suwanee close to Satellite Blvd, and I am sure you will find one within budget.

Yes, I'll second Morningview. The back entrance of the subdivision exits onto Satellite (but it's still tucked away), and you can also take a short cut to the Mall of Georgia and be there in 8-10 minutes. Five minutes to Suwanee Town Center. Great Suwanee trail system.

[bananapie]

My husband works in Alpharetta very close to windward parkway and we live in johns creek. Omg I love here.. it takes 20 min I guess in rush hour to get the work but I love johns creek It is close to everywhere.. I mean it is in the middle so you don't think when you are gonna do an activity in another city for its mileage.We relocated from chicago and We loved so far.. the weather is son nice.. Currently renting and thinking buy next year around this area.schools are very good.