Quote:
Originally Posted by bayarea-girl
I've heard a lot about Gwinnett County could any one give some information about cities and living experience there?
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I lived in Gwinnett County and currently lived in San Francisco. Our neighborhood in Duluth was much more diverse than San Francisco. Where we live in SF is all white or Chinese. In Duluth we had neighbors from all over the world. My street had a guy from New York,a Jewish woman from Florida,a Vietnamese family,a Jamaican family,some Indian families,a couple from China both teaching at Emory,a Puerto Rican family,a Mexican family,a mixed white & black couple,a couple black families,a few white families and lots of Koreans buying in whenever there was a house for sale. In Gwinnett the neighbors were very friendly,in SF no one talks to anyone.
In Gwinnett I can get the international feel of my current San Francisco lifestyle much better than intown areas like Decatur with not so good freeway access. For example in SF I may head over to Nijiya Japanese market in Japantown for sashimi quality fish. In Gwinnett the place to go is Super H. Even if I lived intown I would still have to make the drive to Duluth to shop here. Super H market in Duluth easily surpasses any available asian market in the Bay area. Think of Super H as a Korean version of 99 Ranch and Whole Foods combined. Just awesome. Avoid it on the weekends unless you go very early since it is super crowded. Suppose I want some authentic Carne Asada. In SF I will head down to Mission St. for good Mexican food. In Gwinnett, El Tacazo,the place across from Berkmar high school is better and more authentic than most SF Mission places. Note,I am talking about purely authentic,everybody speaking Spanish Mexican food,not Taco Mac or yuppie taco place of the month from Atlanta magazine. I could go on&on, soul food or Jamaican on Herrington Rd,Columbian at Atlantic seafood on Pleasant Hill Rd,Cajun seafood on Jimmy Carter etc.,etc. Also in Gwinnett you have a straight 20 min. drive down the 85 or Buford highway to access the international area of Buford highway. Notable highlights include Hong Kong Supermarket,Penang for Malaysian,China Delight for Cantonese seafood & dim sum. In contrast, from Candler Park it will be a shorter but crowded drive up Clairmont to get to this area. SF has a much greater volume of restaurants. For example,I will have maybe 50 different choices for dim sum instead of 6 but at least the international aspect is available in parts of the Atlanta area. There is also a much greater Korean presence in Gwinnett than in SF.
Gwinnett also has its own action including the new Gwinnett Center.
Gwinnett County Convention and Visitors Bureau (http://www.gcvb.org/static/index.cfm?contentID=97 - broken link)
Here is info on Gwinnett soccer.
A soccer-crazed county in the Wiki Guide to Gwinnett (http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki&WikiID=5815 - broken link)
About GSA
Here is some info on downtown Norcross.
Norcross (http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki&WikiID=3530 - broken link)
More info on stuff to do in Gwinnett.
101 Things Every Gwinnettian Should Do (http://www.wikigwinnett.com/content.cfm?Action=wiki&WikiID=4184 - broken link)
There is no Berlin Wall around the different counties. I lived in Duluth and frequently drove to places like Return to Eden organic foods and Phoenix and Dragon Books in Atlanta. I went to the Saturday morning Kung Fu class they used to have in Inman Park and at 8:00 am on Saturday it only took 25 minutes to get there. You can get a very nice house for a lower price and still enjoy everything the Atlanta area offers.
My suggestions are:
1)Parsons elementary in Suwanee. This area has become very international. They just opened up Lotte Assi Plaza,Korean oriented mall just down the road from here. The best part of Parsons is the fantastic,supportive administration. Here are some previous comments about this area:
Quote:
Originally Posted by capoeira
I would look in Suwanee specifically in the Parsons elementary district. I prefer this to Roswell.
1)Suwanee has a better network of roads like Sugarloaf Parkway. Roswell has too many unimproved two lane roads. Even if you work at home you can be prisoner of your house between 4pm to 6pm due to the gridlock outside your subdivision. There are only 3 ways to cross the Chattahoochee River to get to Roswell so traffic is a nightmare in that area.
2)Suwanee has better access to the diversity of Atlanta on the weekends. You are a straight ride down the 85 to anywhere in the city. There are also alternative routes available.
3)Suwanee has easy access to the 316. Athens is a great town to visit on the weekends.
4)Suwanee is very family friendly. Lots of kids summer programs. Check out Bunten Road park in Duluth and the Suwanee Sports academy. Discover Mills is a great kid friendly mall.
5)Gwinnett has a very well defined curriculum and I prefer it over the other school systems.
Academic Knowledge & Skills - Academic Knowledge & Skills (AKS) (http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/aks.nsf - broken link)
Roswell has its advantages too. It is very scenic. Be sure to check out the playground by the river.
Azalea Park Playground
You don't have to live intown in Atlanta(unless you work there). Even the suburbs have cool stores too,like the Natural Marketplace in East Cobb.
Natural Marketplace (http://www.naturalmarketplace.net/about/ - broken link) |
Other ideas for Gwinnett are the Simpson elementary area and the Camp Creek elementary area. Both are "10" rated schools. Simpson is actually the highest scoring school in Gwinnett. It has the easiest access to Buckhead and the 285 via the 141.
Camp Creek is in Lilburn. In this area you can get a nice almost 3000 sq. ft. house on a large lot for 300,000. It has convenient access to the DeKalb area via the 78 freeway(about 25 min non rush hour). This area is very quiet and has little major retail. Most people find it boring but some people are looking for a quieter area.
My other suggestion is the area of East Cobb with good schools. It is a very pleasant and safe area.