Duluth residents, how is the city to you? (Atlanta, Blue Ridge: college, income)

[ShenardL]

Originally Posted by Phil P

Hi all, I have a job offer which will be located in Duluth GA. Career wise it's likely the right move, about a 20% bump up in salary to around 100K. I'm a single 26 year old guy who's been in Colorado between Colorado Springs and Denver my whole life. On one hand it would be exciting to see something new; Atlanta appears to have a lot of outdoor options, weather looks good (I like summer and humidity), the city metrics look good in this area between safety, COL, politics... Also it looks like Atlanta would have a significantly better dating scene than Denver or COS just in regards to M:F ratio for young guys. Duluth looks interesting, the restaurant choices look neat, the area looks clean, though a little bit suburbiaish. Is Duluth a decent spot for a younger person? I'm not looking for a downtown party scene, but I wouldn't necessarily want to live somewhere like Woodland Park CO where it's a predominantly older / retiree destination.

On the other hand though one of my issues with Denver was how big the city was, I like COS's size better and the quicker ability to get outside. Atlanta traffic really does scare me. How bad is traffic going from NE Atlanta out into the public land / forests / open space, going further north or to the east? Is the traffic mostly going into / around the city or is it all over the Atlanta area that it gets clogged?

Duluth / Peachtree Corners that area is nice for a single guy. You'll be close to both downtown Norcross and Duluth where there are a lot of nice little restaurants and also nearby Koreatown on Pleasant Hill road with a lot of delicious Korean food. As for the traffic, going north won't be an issue for the most part (there can be some traffic going into Buford on I-85 for the Mall of Georgia exit). Going into the city will be fine besides the rush hour times.

[Citykid3785]

Duluth is a nice suburb with good schools and parks, affordable, and with a hip little downtown (albeit super small). There is a huge Korean population.

85 is the worst interstate to commute on IMHO, but between COVID and reverse commuting it should be bad. Getting to the mountains and lake lanier is easy, but at 25-30 miles outside of midtown, you're starting to get a bit removed from the core. It should be noted vs the west in general, the east and specifically ATL has bear constant semi traffic, so even with less commuters you will always have to deal with about 3x the semi traffic you are used to.

But with no roots and at age 26.....I wouldnt move to Duluth. Perhaps midtown, sandy springs, Brookhaven, chamber, doralville?

[bigup]

Duluth's a nice place to live if you don't need easy access to Midtown/Downtown. As for outdoor access, you can make a relatively traffic-free escape to the foothills and mountains up I985 or 19. There are good spots for hiking, etc. anywhere from about 1hr (Amicalola Falls) to 2.5hrs north (Cohutta Wilderness), depending on how much solitude you prefer.

[Phil P]

Awesome, thanks so much for the replies all! Yeah, there's a tradeoff between closeness to activities and closeness to outdoor rec. I'd say I'd use both roughly equally. For the time being, outdoor rec might be better till COVID is done and things are more open...

I guess the site is actually in Suwanee. They also have a location in Duluth, but that's not where my office would be. Good to hear reverse commuting isn't as bad. In Denver is was about equal traffic into the core as it was out to the burbs / "tech center". How about biking, is there many bike lanes or is that not as much a thing down there?

[Citykid3785]

Originally Posted by Phil P

Awesome, thanks so much for the replies all! Yeah, there's a tradeoff between closeness to activities and closeness to outdoor rec. I'd say I'd use both roughly equally. For the time being, outdoor rec might be better till COVID is done and things are more open...

I guess the site is actually in Suwanee. They also have a location in Duluth, but that's not where my office would be. Good to hear reverse commuting isn't as bad. In Denver is was about equal traffic into the core as it was out to the burbs / "tech center". How about biking, is there many bike lanes or is that not as much a thing down there?

in general the south is about 20 years behind on bike lanes. On top of that, it's hilly here. I moved here from the twin cities, which much like denver is flat and also full of outdoor enthusiasts. We are decent with thinking trails, bit bike trails sadly not so much

[sedimenjerry]

There are bike lanes on some roads like Sugarloaf Pkwy, but I would not recommend them. They aren't used a whole lot and drivers are often doing 55-60 (in a 45) with little regard for one extra white line on the right side. In Atlanta or close to the cores of some of the towns you may have better luck. There are some bike paths in use. The Big Creek Greenway is in Roswell and Alpharetta and they're working on connecting it to the other Greenway in Forsyth County. It's very popular with bikers as it's mostly flat (follows a creek bed). Also has good mountain biking at the southern end (the beginner trail has kicked my butt).

I'm just a couple years older and also single so I get the need to not be in a completely isolated suburban environment (although COVID has made it tough to meet people regardless of location). Duluth has put a lot of work into their downtown but it still seems like a place to hang out when you already know people. Like you, I don't really care for the full downtown experience of going to clubs and I am past the point of wanting to drink til 2 am in a city every weekend. But I do like going out for a few drinks, eating some nice food, enjoying park spaces, etc. Where I grew up (Snellville) is almost all families with the local sports bar being filled with nothing but 50+ year olds (no offense to anyone that age). The only other options for my friends home during college were places like Chilis or Applebees. That is definitely not where I want to spend my 20s. Duluth definitely has more options than that.

If you want more a mix between city life and suburban life, Sandy Springs could be a good option (unless you have extreme student loans or something, you can afford pretty much anywhere in Atlanta). In normal traffic, it would have an easy reverse commute to Gwinnett and pretty much an easy commute in the evening (except in Sandy Springs). Plenty of bars and restaurants and attractions. Easy access to the city when you want it. Close to a major job center (Perimeter Center) and very wealthy areas of the metro so it should stay stable and not decline. Easy access to the rest of the metro, easy access to the parks along the Chattahoochee, easy access to 400 NB to head up into the mountains (they're not the Rockies, but I still love them).

I also say take a look at Alpharetta. It would largely be a reverse commute as most commute from Gwinnett County (like Suwanee and Duluth). I'll be driving to Suwanee tomorrow morning just east of 85 and it'll take me about 30 minutes. It's all side roads. Some 2 lanes, some 4. Has a lot of different options in the Avalon which is a newish development. They've also done a lot of work to their downtown area which I love and they're in the process of connecting it to Avalon so it's one continuous area. In addition to the Greenway I already mentioned, Alpharetta is also planning the Alpha Loop. It honestly might not be that impressive to someone coming from Colorado, but it's definitely not typical for metro Atlanta, especially outside of the city of Atlanta. There's also a lot of nice places in Roswell off Canton St. You have your bigger attractions like Topgolf, Main Event, and an amphitheater. Still close to the Chattahoochee and right off 400 so easy drive north into the mtns. Alpharetta itself has become a job destination and is one of the best suburbs in the metro area.

[Phil P]

It's amazing how many options there are around, thanks again for giving color! I think either way having work on the edge sounds preferable to having it in the center. I can either reverse commute down to activities after work or reverse up to work and back. It does look like there's a bike trail near to work, but the paths do seem to be more scenic than functional. This must all be really new development through this whole area around I 85 as there is so many new apartments and homes on Zillow.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by Phil P

Hi all, I have a job offer which will be located in Duluth GA. Career wise it's likely the right move, about a 20% bump up in salary to around 100K. I'm a single 26 year old guy who's been in Colorado between Colorado Springs and Denver my whole life. On one hand it would be exciting to see something new; Atlanta appears to have a lot of outdoor options, weather looks good (I like summer and humidity), the city metrics look good in this area between safety, COL, politics... Also it looks like Atlanta would have a significantly better dating scene than Denver or COS just in regards to M:F ratio for young guys. Duluth looks interesting, the restaurant choices look neat, the area looks clean, though a little bit suburbiaish. Is Duluth a decent spot for a younger person? I'm not looking for a downtown party scene, but I wouldn't necessarily want to live somewhere like Woodland Park CO where it's a predominantly older / retiree destination.

On the other hand though one of my issues with Denver was how big the city was, I like COS's size better and the quicker ability to get outside. Atlanta traffic really does scare me. How bad is traffic going from NE Atlanta out into the public land / forests / open space, going further north or to the east? Is the traffic mostly going into / around the city or is it all over the Atlanta area that it gets clogged?

I’d say if your single try out Chamblee/Peachtree Corners/Dunwoody or Sandy Springs. Me and my Wife stayed in Chamblee right off 285 and I would commute to Duluth every week for work around 11:00am. It would take me about 25 minutes majority Of the time to get to work. Guess it depends on what time you have to go to work. I’d assume rush hour would be a pain on going 85 N. But me and my Wife loved living in Chamblee. One of the best locations in the metro imo.

[Otakumaster]

Originally Posted by Phil P

Hi all, I have a job offer which will be located in Duluth GA. Career wise it's likely the right move, about a 20% bump up in salary to around 100K. I'm a single 26 year old guy who's been in Colorado between Colorado Springs and Denver my whole life. On one hand it would be exciting to see something new; Atlanta appears to have a lot of outdoor options, weather looks good (I like summer and humidity), the city metrics look good in this area between safety, COL, politics... Also it looks like Atlanta would have a significantly better dating scene than Denver or COS just in regards to M:F ratio for young guys. Duluth looks interesting, the restaurant choices look neat, the area looks clean, though a little bit suburbiaish. Is Duluth a decent spot for a younger person? I'm not looking for a downtown party scene, but I wouldn't necessarily want to live somewhere like Woodland Park CO where it's a predominantly older / retiree destination.

On the other hand though one of my issues with Denver was how big the city was, I like COS's size better and the quicker ability to get outside. Atlanta traffic really does scare me. How bad is traffic going from NE Atlanta out into the public land / forests / open space, going further north or to the east? Is the traffic mostly going into / around the city or is it all over the Atlanta area that it gets clogged?

Duluth is not where you want to live as a 26 year old. You would want to commute in which would be reverse a commute so traffic should be smooth.

[hbianco467]

is there a drive in movie near and a skating ring? I'm looking to move there from yuma arizona