Duluth from Dayton-any insight would be appreciated (Atlanta, Roswell: real estate, crime)

[northern pat]

Hello,

Looks like we may be caught in the NCR move from Dayton to the Duluth area. Trying to find out some info on the area but it isn't easy. Even the chamber of commerce charges for relocation info which probably glosses over any real issues of concern.

Currently in a neighborhood of around $150K homes surrounded by $300K up to $1.5 million with lovely, green rural countyside within 1-2 miles from home, so we are in a great school district and extremely safe and nice neighborhood with a great buffer of the more expensive homes.

Any thoughts on what areas around Duluth may be comparable? Commuting up to 45 minutes or so is not an issue as we want our homelife to be as rat-race free as possible, so Duluth central may not fit the bill as far as housing or setting. A safe, rural area is more to our liking with maybe even homes with wells and septic as water concerns us with the Atlanta area.

Also concerned about crime stats (which I can look up if anyone suggests certain areas) and especially concerned about the Atlanta metro area's water shortage issue. We have plenty of water up here in very, green Dayton and the water thing really concerns us. Is it any better this year than in the past?

And, is it really much cooler or less humid if we go Northeast toward the mountains than in the general Duluth area?

Any input is appreciated. THANKS!

[BobKovacs]

If you're looking for rural, look north along the 85 corridor- places like Braselton come to mind. You can also look out along 316 toward Athens. I can't comment directly on the schools in those areas, but greatschools.net is a good place to start in that regard.

I wouldn't stress over the water issue- while it's definitely something that needs to be addressed, now that development has cooled off substantially and isn't likely to go back to the breakneck pace it was previously, there's some breathing room. The whole thing was way overblown in 2007, was barely mentioned in 2008, and now we've got enough rain so far this year that no one's even thinking about it.

I don't think you'll find a huge difference in temperature/humidity as you head north from Duluth- the elevation doesn't change enough to make that big of a difference. We live 35 miles north of Atlanta up 75, and we're typically only 2-3 degrees different from downtown at the most.

[johnatl]

Yeah, the water thing is way overblown, especially in the Northern media.

The drought is over. We need to plan for the future, but water is the least of your worries.

Welcome to ATL!

[noah]

Atlanta metro is also very green, we actually get more rain then Seattle in inches so the landscape is quite green.

Originally Posted by northern pat

We have plenty of water up here in very, green Dayton and the water thing really concerns us.

[lauraliz]

We may also be moving from Dayton with NCR. I've been researching the suburbs a little bit and am unsure where we would go. I have 3 children so schools are very important. I've heard good things about Roswell, Lawrenceville, Alpharetta, Suwanee, and Buford. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[BobKovacs]

While 85 isn't exactly a cup of tea when it comes to commute, I can't imagine trying to get to Duluth from Alpharetta, Roswell, or anyplace else that requires an eastbound commute to Duluth. There's not a decent high-capacity road that connects those cities, and all of the 2 and 4-lane roads like 140, 120, etc., are a traffic nightmare during rush hour (and sometimes even during non-rush times).

I teach nights at Gwinnett Tech in Lawrenceville (near Duluth) and live in Cherokee County (east of Roswell). My normal drive using those 2 and 4-lane roads is about 45-55 minutes in the evenings. I had to go to the school for a 9am meeting one day, and left my house at 6:45, figuring I'd get there in plenty of time to have breakfast and hang out prior to the meeting. Instead, I pulled into the parking lot at 8:55. From what I've heard, it wasn't that the commute was bad on that particular day- it's apparently like that every day.

[northern pat]

Any thoughts about Gainesville? It appears to be about a 35-40 minute commute/.

[northern pat]

Originally Posted by northern pat

Any thoughts about Gainesville? It appears to be about a 35-40 minute commute/.

Oops, nevermind, just read a few things about Gainesville that make it less than ideal.

However, I do have a general question. Any areas N or NE or E of Duluth where the communities have areas that houses have at least an acre of land up to 5 acres? I've seen some nice homes on real estate pages but they all seem to be on quarter acres or less.

[lauraliz]

Wow. . . that's crazy! Which suburbs with a better commute to Duluth would you reccommend?

[lastminutemom]

Tell us what your budget for housing is, what kind (ie size,) of house you are looking for, and what your expectaiton for schools (if applicable) is and we can probably give you better guidance.