Snellville??? (Atlanta, Alpharetta, Lawrenceville: real estate, apartment complexes, renters)

[AliasSpiff]

Hi everyone.. I, like many others are contemplating a move to Atlanta. Me, from Chattanooga.. Before I get started, let me see if I can answer all of your questions...

1. Budget, I make about 30-32k a year, so I'd like to keep my budget around 1300 for all expenses, cable, rent, elec etc..
2. I'm going to have to rent, preferrably from a private individual, and not a complex.
3. I have a job which I will be transferring with.
4. No kids to speak of, so.. not an issue at this time.
5. I'm up for anything.
6. On days I don't want to drive, access to Marta would be nice, but not necessary.
7. I am looking at the Snellville area...

I guess my first question would be, if adhering to a budget, can I live in Snellville, make the same if not more, and keep my expenses where I need to be?

How safe is Snellville? Hood? Hillbilly?

As for work, I am a server, amongst other things, @ Bonefish Grill... which is why I want to move there.. long story short, I want to become a manager, but my boss isn't able to meet my needs...

Other than that, I'd love to know what people think of Snellville.. or if I should stick with Alpharetta, or Buford?? Race isn't an issue for me, but I am sure it can be for others.. so, if it matters, I'm white.

Thanks in advance.

[cwkimbro]

Snelleville is 5% hood wannabe 35% hillbilly and 60% straight up suburban. There is a decent amount of retail shopping, and restaurants nearby. Many people from the eastern and central parts of Gwinnett use those retail areas.

MARTA is pretty much out of the question. The closest link is the new Q BRT in Stone Mountain. So you would need to drive to down US 78 and take the BRT or drive down memorial drive and go to the Kensington MARTA station near Memorial Drive and 285.

Cost of living are not high, but it is primarily a single family home area and mostly families with children. If you want to find a cheaper place and be near MARTA (closer to town), but still be able to drive to Snelleville you could look near stone mountain, but that will lengthen a commute to Snelleville. That area is also more black, but you said that wasn't an issue.

Another option you might consider, and I am hoping other posters can pick up here, there might be cheaper + less family-only areas closer to Lawrenceville. There are more apartment complexes, duplexes, and probably rental homes.

Alpharetta, Buford, and Snelleville are all nice places and mostly single family oriented suburban.

The differences... Snelleville is probably has a little more hillbilly/jacked up truck pride. Alpharetta has a little bit more wealth and you would probably want to look at a new apartment complex. Buford is probably the least developed of the three, but several years back they built a HUGE mall (Mall of Georgia),so there was an explosion of retail growth, but the suburban home building is not done in this area. There is alot undeveloped land, single family neighborhoods, and new developments all in one. Buford's point of pride is also being really close to Lake Lanier.

All three have no or weak MARTA connections. I think Alpharetta has a bus route. I'm not sure about the details. All three also have commuter buses to downtown, but that is only helpful if you are working 9-5 downtown.

All three areas are relatively safe, but I would lock your doors as most people suffer from crimes of opportunity (unlocked door with GPS in front seat stolen, etc..).

[Iconographer]

There are several threads about Snellville (scroll down) including this one:

//www.city-data.com/forum/atlan...nellville.html

[ericsonga]

I live around 5 minutes from that particular Bonefish. It's a nice, quiet, relatively affluent area. I'm really not sure what you are interested in renting. It's going to be hard to find a house to rent in that price range, with good proximity to The Avenue. There is very very little multifamily housing in the area. You might want to try closer to Pleasant Hill, as there are mucho apartments there. But be careful. Some are quite sketch.

[elvez]

Stay in Chattanooga. It is a much cooler and progressive city these days.

[AliasSpiff]

Hahahha you weren't born and raised here..

[MySnellvilleBlog]

...but the first reply you received was pretty darn accurate - except I'm not sure I agree with "hillbilly/jacked up truck pride" (however, I just realized I have two neighbors with jacked up mud boggin' trucks!) lol

If you'll be working at Bonefish Grill at The Avenue, I would suggest finding something pretty close to there. I'm sure there are a lot of homes for rent right across Scenic Highway, if you look down Webb Gin House and Old Snellville Highway. There is a brand new park nearby called Alexander Park that I'm sure you would enjoy. It has miles of trails.

Or, try in Lawrenceville for easier traffic.

There are some duplexes IN Snellville that rent for about $700 that are fairly decent. They are located on Highpoint Rd and there are a few more on Springdale Road. What is important to consider is what TIME of day you would need to drive back and forth from Bonefish to one of these duplexes - because during rush hour, Scenic Highway can be incredibly busy. This might not be an issue for you, because probably during rush hour, you'd be working. There's some crime issues around those duplexes (in part, I think because the duplexes are low priced) BUT - Snellville Police protection is proactive and excellent.

I agree about MARTA. Whenever we want to use it, we drive to a station and park, then use it to get downtown. We don't do that often, however.

If you want to learn more about Snellville, check out Snellville's website at Snellville.org and see my blog I've been running for 5 years: MySnellvilleBlog.com

You might also want to check out the Facebook fan page/group for MySnellvilleBlog Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/FBMSB - broken link)
You'll find a lot of Snellville people and they'll be happy to answer your questions and give you more advice.

Darla

[SURFERGIRL1]

Snellville and Lawrenceville are like many other cities, you have your good and questionable parts.

I have lived in Georgia 5 years(1yr in Alpharetta & 4 yrs in Lawrenceville). Do not assume anything about the people of Snellville & Lawrenceville! I have met many Snellville & Lawrenceville citizens that own their own businesses.

I live down the street from The Avenue(Bonefish Grill). In my subdivision, I found out my neighbors own (gas stations, fast food restaurants, cell phone stores etc..) If you saw them, you would not have a clue that they are wealthy.

I forgot to mention, in this same area(Snellville, Lawrenceville) a couple of pop stars have homes.

Hope this helps! By the way, check out Grayson!

[AdelaidefromLondon]

Thank you for pointing out that three pop stars have homes in Snellville. It is actually five. Two young ones and a middle aged one and two older rockers. One of the old is around town in an odd color not off the showroom paint scheme Range Rover and isabout Snellville in an a Magnum PI type car in another color. These posts are old and it is very interesintg that Snellville has weathered this recession and housing bust better than ANY OTHER AREA OF ATLANTA! AT affluent Governors Walk a home recently sold for FULL PRICE and another one is being finished as a part time home by a wealthy couple from NYC. There is STILL new upscale construction on acreage going on in south Gwinnett near the Dekalb line which is something you do not see anywhere else in town. We own a weekend lake house in south Gwinnett which we have had for 20 years and I see the neighbors get better and better around it and until the bust the houses being built around us were three times better than the ones there already. Recently a Pharmacist moved next door to us and he educated me on how many celebs have houses in Gwinnett. There is also an old TV star and a successful Nashville songwriter. I think it is the live and let live and unpretentious attitude of even the well heeled of the area that attracts like kinds.

[peachstatehomegal]

There's lots of rentals available in the Snellville area - trust me, I've had lots of renters looking! Of course, there's also home buying going on as well. You should be able to find something that fits your budget in a single family home.

Nope, no MARTA in Gwinnett - they do have GRTA, which heads downtown as well. And it's not all that far to a MARTA station either.

Find a good real estate agent that's familiar with the area and they'll be able to help you out with different areas and housing options.

I've been here in Snellville for 12 years (Georgia all my life) and it's home to me