Is Cumming Perceived as low class or substandard? (Atlanta, Alpharetta: to buy, schools)

[OhioNative]

Most people I know in that area say they live in "South Forsyth" (unless of course they live in "North Forsyth").

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Especially since I went to a bank in downtown Cumming and a guy in line was spitting his gross tobacco juice into an empty water bottle he was holding and nobody else seemed to even notice.

I remember when Cobb and Gwinnett were like that.

Forsyth will change too.

[sportsterjohn]

Who gives a rats ass what a bunch of snooty aholes think?

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by sportsterjohn

Who gives a rats ass what a bunch of snooty aholes think?

Yeah, plus it wasn't that long ago that Alpharetta was yahoo-ville itself.

[Bobcat2012]

Parts of Alpharetta are in Forsyth County too. Personally I am a big fan of the Cumming area-- I love being close to Lake Lanier, love The Avenues, and am a big fan of the proximity to Roswell and Buford.

[FLMommy07]

Originally Posted by sportsterjohn

who gives a rats ass what a bunch of snooty aholes think?

lol...

[ATL Golfer]

Originally Posted by OhioNative

Yeah, plus it wasn't that long ago that Alpharetta was yahoo-ville itself.

When did that change?

[ATLTJL]

I remember when Cobb and Gwinnett were like that.

Excellent point.

I remember visiting Gwinnett Place around 1990 and my friend and I totally made fun of how redneck everybody was. And we were from Alabama, so we certainly knew what redneck looked and sounded like.

Who would have thought that 20 years later it would have up and come, and then fallen into the state that it's in now. If Cumming is lucky enough to see the kind of growth Gwinnett has, I hope they are smart enough to manage it better.

[workaholics]

Here's my opinion, just take it with a grain of salt. I really don't like Forsyth county that much. There's a lot of natural beauty and I'm sure a lot of nice people, but there's a few things that bother me about it.

1) No real sense of community. The county is basically just a collection of subdivisions linked together by two lane roads. To me there's no real cohesion. People seem unattached from their community. It's just a place to live.

2) Traffic is horrible. The county is still trying to catch up with its massive growth and that creates a lot of congestion on the roadways. The infrastructure just hasn't caught up with its current size.

3) it's one of the most Republican counties in the state. Some people might see this as a plus, but I think even a loyal Republican would find the cultish devotion to the GOP here a bit disturbing. It's the epitome of the "I got mine and screw everyone else" brand of conservatism that I just can't stand and it seems like any other political viewpoints get shut out.

4) Zoning is weird. Old and new are just mishmashed together and to me it creates a bizarre aesthetic.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by PAV85

Just relocated to GA. from up North and I bought a really nice house on the south side of Cumming. However, as my wife and I were browsing around some of the shops this weekend (in Alpharetta), we engaged some folks in conversation telling them that we were going to live in Cumming. And quite interesting were their responses, which was evident through their facial expressions. Because once we mentioned Cumming, several of the shop owners looked at us with a degree of disapproval or disgust. The latter term might be too strong, but it was more dissatisfaction.

Is Cumming looked upon as a substandard area? Granted the roadways may not be as manicured as Alpharetta or Milton, but we were told that many people are moving here. We can see obvious signs of this through the new construction. Also, the property taxes are lower here.

...Generally, Cumming is not considered what one would call a "substandard area" as Cumming and Forsyth County are considered to be one of the most affluent areas in the Atlanta region and in the state of Georgia as a whole.

Forsyth County, most of which is generally unincorporated Cumming, is also generally considered to be one of the most affluent up-and-coming suburban areas in the entire nation.

Though, as some other posters have mentioned, Forsyth County may have a history of extreme racism up through the late 1980's, but much of that history and past legacy of extreme racism has steadily given way to Forsyth County becoming increasingly consistently known as an outer suburban county of increasing wealth and affluence.

Ironically, despite the history of extreme racism, Forsyth County is also in the early stages of becoming known for a steadily-increasing level of diversity, something that is remarkable to many given the county's history and past legacy of extreme racism.

There is no doubt that Forsyth County's extremely advantageous location in the rolling foothills and low mountains of the extreme Southern Appalachians next to the popular (and crucial) Lake Lanier, as well as the construction of Georgia 400 north out of Atlanta, have also greatly helped to advance the county from a past of self-imposed isolation to a promising future as a prosperous and affluent suburban district of an increasingly cosmopolitan Atlanta region.

For many onlookers and observers, particularly those in Metro Atlanta's conspicuous land spectulation and real estate development community, the fast-rising Forsyth is the next mega-big thing on the Northside of Metro Atlanta ("mega-big" meaning continued development and population growth possibly on the massive scale of closer-in mega Northside suburbs Cobb, North Fulton and Gwinnett counties, economy permitting).

Someone from a community that is enjoying the type of peaking growth, success and popularity that Alpharetta is currently enjoying may look down their noses at Cumming and Forsyth which while very prosperous has not yet necessarily reached the more advanced level of prosperity that Alpharetta and North Fulton are enjoying.

If anything, if you are experiencing derisive looks from people in Alpharetta when you mention Cumming, it is likely a case of Alpharetta community pride going awry at the expense of a Cumming which is currently further behind an Alpharetta in terms of affluent reputation, but most certainly not quality-of-life on most accounts (except for gridlocked rush hour commutes on Highways 400, 141 and 20).

Otherwise, there is nothing "substandard" about the current state of Cumming or Forsyth as the county is definitely headed in a positive direction with very good schools that are making continued improvement, slowly but steadily increasing diversity, a rising level of prosperity, natural beauty, a great location and a promising future.