Dekalb-inization of Gwinnett? (Redan, Dunwoody, Tucker: estate, big house, high crime)

[catlvr]

I have lived in Gwinnett County for 17 years and have seen it change dramatically. It is becoming so congested, schools are terribly overcrowded, gangs are in EVERY school cluster, and crime has gone through the roof in the past few years. It didn't used to be this way. I recently heard someone refer to this change as the Dekalb-inization of Gwinnett.

Any thoughts on this?

[wxjay]

Why does it have to be "Dekalb-inization"? How about just a negative side effect of growing populations? Growth of an area has its positives and negatives you know. Perhaps there should be more concentration on law enforcement and police and less on using silly terms to blame what is happening.

[LovinDecatur]

Such a term suggests DeKalb's problems far outweigh Gwinnett's...I don't see that at all. Much of DeKalb (particularly the neighborhoods to the north and west) is quite stable and desirable. It's not to say that DeKalb is not without its' 'issues', but its' proximity to the city center give it an edge over Gwinnett...there is a lot of gentrification activity in DeKalb that you're just not seeing in Gwinnett.
Gwinnett has a much deeper hole to dig out of than DeKalb IMO.

[blackrabbit]

Originally Posted by catlvr

I have lived in Gwinnett County for 17 years and have seen it change dramatically. It is becoming so congested, schools are terribly overcrowded, gangs are in EVERY school cluster, and crime has gone through the roof in the past few years. It didn't used to be this way. I recently heard someone refer to this change as the Dekalb-inization of Gwinnett.

Any thoughts on this?

If Gwinnett was becoming like Dekalb then houses would be going up in value, schools would be getting better and crime would be getting lower so I think you have got everything back to front.

[Ghanley]

With the exception of Decatur and Dunwoody, the rest of Dekalb has declined in the past 25 years. The schools are horrible!!!! Stone Mountain, Redan, Lithonia...gone downhill in the past 20 years. Gwinnett Schools (Brookwood, Parkview, North) are still tops in the state. That being said, Gwinnett has changed a lot in the past 10 years. More people are moving to these areas that care about getting a big house or a good football team and have no interest in their childs education.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Ghanley

With the exception of Decatur and Dunwoody, the rest of Dekalb has declined in the past 25 years. The schools are horrible!!!! Stone Mountain, Redan, Lithonia...gone downhill in the past 20 years. Gwinnett Schools (Brookwood, Parkview, North) are still tops in the state. That being said, Gwinnett has changed a lot in the past 10 years. More people are moving to these areas that care about getting a big house or a good football team and have no interest in their childs education.

What about:

Brookhaven
Druid Hills
Oak Grove
Toco Hills
Tucker
Avondale Estates
LaVista Park

All DeKalb suburbs, and all much improved over 20 years ago.

[Ghanley]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

What about:

Brookhaven
Druid Hills
Oak Grove
Toco Hills
Tucker
Avondale Estates
LaVista Park

All DeKalb suburbs, and all much improved over 20 years ago.

I stand corrected!! Those have become very nice areas. If I lived there, I would still send my kids to private school, however. I hope the same improvement happens in Gwinnett, too!

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Ghanley

I stand corrected!! Those have become very nice areas. If I lived there, I would still send my kids to private school, however. I hope the same improvement happens in Gwinnett, too!

With 1.6 MM projected to arrive in the metro area in the next 10 years, I think you can probably count on it...especially if MARTA is voted in.

[OhioNative]

There are still some nice areas of Gwinnett, particularly from on the west side of I-85 from Sugarloaf north. Other areas are obviously on the decline.

[sj73]

My guess is, the people that are commenting about negative things regarding Gwinnett, don't live in Gwinnett. I live in Gwinnett and have several friends that live in DeKalb. According to the DeKalb County friends, DeKalb still has way too many poor quality schools, high crime and they wish they never ended up there. They want to sell their homes, but they can't.

Gwinnett's homicide RECORD was 41 in 2007. DeKalbs homicide rate at last count for 2007 was over 80 and that WASN'T even a record.

Based on my familiarity with Gwinnett and comments from DeKalb residents themselves, Gwinnett is still a better place to raise a family. Just thought I would chime in.