Alpharetta vs. Dacula ?? (transplants, for sale, low crime)

[betterlifeplease]

Hi There!

Please tell me some pros and cons about both Alpharetta and Dacula.
Or feel free to expound on your area (Alpharetta or Dacula).
Crime, traffic, lot types and sizes, quiet vs. noisy, schools, areas to
avoid, housing costs, anything is welcome.

Many thanks for your input.

[Shagbark Hickory]

I will give it a try having lived in both areas.

Alpharetta - A bit overpriced and overdeveloped for a suburban edge city IMHO.
Too many cops and speed traps and anti-business hassles. Bad drivers, bad roads and lack of adequate infrastructure (remnants of fulton county maintenance) but improving. Lots of transplants from out of state end up in alpharetta. They fall in love with it's beauty and strip malls. Good if you like golf. Slightly better for commuting to atlanta.

Dacula - More affordable, lots of unsold housing in all price ranges from modest ranches to large european style chateaus(possibly a negative if you need to sell) good schools and lots of new schools on the way too, gwinnett county roads, water, more affordable taxes and utilities. Close to the mall of georgia. Lots of unspoiled natural splendor. Close proximity to I-85 means easy to get out of town. Dacula is not an incorporated city like alpharetta although county resources like police and fire have been ok.

[jeblevins]

I would agree with Shagbark. I also have lived in both and currently am on my second house in Dacula. We love the mixture of amenities with a country flair thrown in. It is still very convenient to major roads, but secluded at the same time. We live by 2 awesome parks and the kids (6 and 11) love the schools here. On a related topic, one of our houses is for sale (if you decide Dacula is the way to go). Good luck!

[PotterGeek]

Don't know much about Alpharetta but we relocated to Dacula last fall and love it here...

[betterlifeplease]

Thank you to you all for the helpful comments. We are looking for land (green and trees) and safety (low crime). We are more focused on "location, location, location" than anything else, as we realize we can remodel a structure, but not the location. It's hard for us as we don't know the area well. So I am very thankful for your comments. Feel free to keep them coming!

[mmenomen]

Most of the Alpharetta area (North Fulton) has a better "reputation" of having well performing public schools, but the ones in Dacula are pretty good, too. This comment is aimed at test score averages and not other factors which come into play. You can check out the different schools by location at Great Schools - GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community for more details. If you are interested in private schools, you have a better selection in the Alpharetta area in general than you would Dacula, however, Gwinnett does have some decent private schools, too.

Visiting both areas will provide even more details for you than what has been given here, but the info above is pretty accurate.