Opinions on 2 Metro Atlanta (or outside of Metro ATL) Areas (Lawrenceville: crime, houses)

[medallo1]

Hello all. First I would like to thank the members fof this board and the people who run it. Since I first moved here in Sept., through now where I am fully moved, house in NJ sold and wife is down here, this site has helped me allot in looking for a place to settle down, so Thanks!

Now to my question or request for your opinions. What are your thoughts in respect to Property value (do you think they will go up/down in coming years), schools, crime and friendliness of people in the following 2 areas: Dallas/Hiram and L'Ville/Dacula?

I currently work in Vinings and live in Bethlehem, my commute is about 1hr and 10 min each way. I can live with the hour long commute (this is norm in NJ), I only do it 4x a week and am in office early, so leave no later than 4pm daily (3pm on Friday if I am in that day). I picked these 2 areas as they are 1 in my price range (160-180k) for a 3br +basement or 4 br+ house and 2 seem nice from my drives through. I heard schools are way better in Gwinnett, but I would love to hear what everyone else has to say on these 2. As far as I am concerned, the commute will be mroe or less the same with each, so now it is a matter of safety and schooling that my wife and I are thinking.

All opinions appreciated!!! Thanks again!

Regards,

Orskan

[LovinDecatur]

My gut feeling is that Dallas/Hiram is going to be the more stable of the two areas over the next two decades.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

My personal opinion is that Hiram is your best bet. Why do I say this? First of all, Hiram is slightly more affordable than Dacula. Schools in Hiram are better than they are in Lawrenceville. It'd probably be best to find an older home (say ten year old home) in the East Paulding school district that fits your range. It's somewhat better than the Hiram school district, though Hiram is not that bad. You also would have a quicker commute to Vinings, by simply going to 278, then hopping on Richard Sailors Pkwy to Powder Springs Road to the East West Connector. You can then take the East West Connector to Vinings. Or, you could take Highway 92 to Macland Road to Powder Springs Road to the East West Connector.

You'd probably be looking at only a thirty five to forty minute commute, a commute time roughly half of what you're currently experiencing, and probably a minimum of twenty minutes less than what you would have with Lawrenceville or Dacula.

Gwinnett Schools are overrated. Given that so many of the students in Gwinnett are foreign students, or children of illegal aliens, or illegal aliens themselves, the quality of the district has severely declined over the past ten years. While Dacula still has good schools, given trends, within ten years that may not be the case. Lawrenceville area schools, in my opinion, are on their last leg of being decent, and will probably become much worse within the next five years given trends.

My best advice: Find a home either in the East Paulding MS district, or the Marie Moses Middle School district. I'd reccommend the former, as its closer to shopping and to employment.

Others may disagree. I'd also like to mention that I do think that Dacula is probably the most stable area of Gwinnett County, and it, property values, and schools may buck the trends for much of the rest of Gwinnett County.

Good luck.

[atlantagreg30127]

I'll toss in a 3rd option: West Cobb.

I agree with some that Gwinnett can be overrated. I know people who live in Gwinnett and overall they DO like it, but there are still plenty of complaints. Overcrowing in schools being the number 1, but traffic, rising crime in some areas, and lack of any real transit options are there as well. The last part might be solved over time and more and more residents in that area though would probably vote MARTA in if given the chance again, so chances are years from now the Doraville station route will be extended into Gwinnett.

Hiram (Paulding County). l live near the Paulding line in West Cobb and work right on the line and most of my coworkers live in Paulding. NONE of them like the school system there. From the way kids are graded to lack of real graded homework, to administrators that seem just "duh" - I hear stories that make my mouth drop every day, and from several people. Especially in the high school areas. Hiram traffic is growing at a steady clip, too - LOTS of folks moving out that way, and you have to be cafeful, because if you browse the paulding.com boards, you'll see some complaints about some not-so-well-built homes out in that area. Personally, I would not buy in Paudling but that's me.

West Cobb give you access to some better schools, and is also growing at a steady clip so home values will go up over time. I live in Powder Springs and would recommend the area just about 3-5 miles North of the Powder Springs town limits, as parts of Powder Springs are "in transition" now (some areas ok, some going bad, etc). You would be closer to Vinings, near some good schools, and have access to good shopping (Avenues of West Cobb, etc).

Just my opinion.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I'll toss in a 3rd option: West Cobb.

I agree with some that Gwinnett can be overrated. I know people who live in Gwinnett and overall they DO like it, but there are still plenty of complaints. Overcrowing in schools being the number 1, but traffic, rising crime in some areas, and lack of any real transit options are there as well. The last part might be solved over time and more and more residents in that area though would probably vote MARTA in if given the chance again, so chances are years from now the Doraville station route will be extended into Gwinnett.

Hiram (Paulding County). l live near the Paulding line in West Cobb and work right on the line and most of my coworkers live in Paulding. NONE of them like the school system there. From the way kids are graded to lack of real graded homework, to administrators that seem just "duh" - I hear stories that make my mouth drop every day, and from several people. Especially in the high school areas. Hiram traffic is growing at a steady clip, too - LOTS of folks moving out that way, and you have to be cafeful, because if you browse the paulding.com boards, you'll see some complaints about some not-so-well-built homes out in that area. Personally, I would not buy in Paudling but that's me.

West Cobb give you access to some better schools, and is also growing at a steady clip so home values will go up over time. I live in Powder Springs and would recommend the area just about 3-5 miles North of the Powder Springs town limits, as parts of Powder Springs are "in transition" now (some areas ok, some going bad, etc). You would be closer to Vinings, near some good schools, and have access to good shopping (Avenues of West Cobb, etc).

Just my opinion.

So Greg, are you saying that you would recommend areas in West Cobb north of Dallas Highway? If so, is there much in that area that is affordable? I know that Paulding is more affordable that the Dallas Highway/West Cobb area. Plus, the East Paulding district is right beside the area you are mentioning. They have a lot of nice homes in the area.

Are you saying that teachers in Paulding County do not give grades for assignments? Is this elementary, middle, or high?

[medallo1]

Thanks for the responses. I have looked at some West Cobb houses, but there are not many subdivisions in my price range that I would like to move into.

I encourage anyone else to chime in and thanks to those who have given their thoughts!

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Scraper Enthusiast

So Greg, are you saying that you would recommend areas in West Cobb north of Dallas Highway? If so, is there much in that area that is affordable? I know that Paulding is more affordable that the Dallas Highway/West Cobb area. Plus, the East Paulding district is right beside the area you are mentioning. They have a lot of nice homes in the area.

Are you saying that teachers in Paulding County do not give grades for assignments? Is this elementary, middle, or high?

Once you are about 2.5 miles north of the Powder Springs area, there are numerous subdivisions that folks like (ask your realtor about those in West Cobb). Now, how many of those are "affordable" is relative to what you can afford. I doubt you'll find any in the $150k range though - maybe $225k ranges and up. This area is starting to grow rapidly and you can find stuff from the low 200s to over one million dollars now.

Regarding home quality. I do know that on other boards you hear folks occasionally complain about home construction quality in Paulding. It's a rapidly growing area. Georgia has *extremely* lax builder's laws compared to other places, so if you're not careful you can get whacked with a poor quality home. A lot of areas out that way are also on septic tanks and not sewer systems (an issue for some). There are fewer main roads out that way as well, so traffic along the busiest areas (hwy 278/92, etc) get VERY congested.

My coworker has already left for the weekend (I'm at work) and I can't remember what the grading system is called where her kids go to school in Paulding, but basically, I do remember her saying that homework essentially doesn't really count toward their grades - test and projects do, but everyday school work and home work do not, if I'm right. She's not happy with the school system there at all (and she's a very practical person), and has told me she has known people who have moved just so their kids could transfer to the Cobb system. That's about all I can say right now since she isn't here, but in essence while her kids "learn", apparently a number of folks out in Paulding aren't thrilled with the way the schools do things or the administrators, so some are switching to Cobb.