Alpharetta Questions (Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Duluth: crime, big house, employment)

[tdr74]

I wanted to follow-up on one of my previous threads. After seeing the possible commute time from Alpharetta to Suwanee (our first choice on a place to live), we may be reconsidering Alpharetta. I know the schools are great and it's a great suburb. One of my main concerns is that it is less family-friendly than Suwanee. Maybe the Town Center is just swaying me more than it should. Also, I would rather not live in an area that's too uppity, for lack of a better word. We won't have family nearby so we would like a very friendly town where we can make friends easily and raise our kids. We currently live in Franklin, TN and absolutely love it here. If anyone can compare Alpharetta to Franklin that would be really helpful. Our budget is 250-300. Also, are the taxes significantly higher in Alpharetta compared to Suwanee? Thanks!

[ATLTJL]

Two suggestions: Johns Creek and Milton.

Everybody I know from Brentwood has settled in Johns Creek. Is Brentwood too uppity for you? When I say people I know from Brentwood, I mean people who grew up there in the 80s, when it wasn't quite as uppity as it is today. Johns Creek splits the difference between Alpharetta and Suwanee nicely. You get the North Fulton schools and a family friendly environment that is close to Alpharetta, but you're also not far from Suwanee. It's pretty win-win (if you can afford it).

Another option is Milton. That's further away from Suwanee than Alpharetta, but it reminds me of the old Brentwood with it's large houses on good plots of land sprinkled in with still functioning horse farms. It's also pricey.

[tdr74]

Thanks for the suggestion ATLTJL. I would actually say Brentwood is a little too uppity for me, but that is current Brentwood and maybe not 80s Brentwood. I think the biggest difference between Brentwood and Franklin to me is that people seem to be a little more materialistic in Brentwood. We just aren't that kind of people at all. Trust me I know you can find that anywhere, so I know you can't totally avoid it but somewhere where it's not common would be ideal.

[Born 2 Roll]

Just to be clear, are you and/or your husband going to be working in Alpharetta, or are you and/or your husband going to be working in Suwanee?

[tdr74]

Thanks for the question. I will be working in Alpharetta and my wife is a stay-at-home mom.

[ATLTJL]

I know what you mean. I lived in Brentwood in the early 80s and went to Scales elementary school. We had the classic American set-up where our backyard butted up to the neighbors' backyards and all the neighborhood kids played together. We rode bikes, played in the Little Harpeth River, ran around the neighborhood, and rode horses at the Brass Lantern. The most famous person on our street was T.G. Sheppard, and he had the "big house." All the others were, more or less, modest.

I was amazed when I went back to the old neighborhood 10 years later. Our houses were still there, but instead of being surrounded by empty fields and roads that were barely above dirt roads, there were what appeared to be multi-million dollar estates everywhere. I can only imagine that the town naturally became a bit more uppity when that happened.

Johns Creek still isn't there. It's nice, to be sure, and there are some very nice gated golf course communities. But there are also plenty of "normal" neighborhoods, and it's not BMWs and Mercedes everywhere you look. It's mainly just people with decent paying jobs who want their kids to go to good schools.

At least, that's what I see. I live in Duluth, but I'm right on the border and I go to Johns Creek all the time to do shopping, eat out, etc. The high school kids that I see around seem nice enough and aren't obnoxious money kids. I'm sure they are around, but it doesn't seem like they dominate the town.

I don't think you would find it too uppity. It's also not like Johns Creek and Suwanee and Duluth are completely separated. The cities sort of merge into each other and if you aren't paying attention, it isn't always easy to know when you've crossed from one into another (Johns Creek is separated from Duluth and Suwanee by the Chattahoochee River, but it's not like you cross a suspension bridge to cross it....blink and you miss it!) Johns Creek was only incorporated in 2006, and prior to that, most of it used Duluth for its mailing address (some of it used Alpharetta). Much of it still shares the same zip code. If you ask some of the people who have lived there long enough where they live, many of them still just say they live in Duluth.

[tdr74]

That is a perfect description and your description of 80s Brentwood is how I feel about Franklin now. We have tons of friends in the neighborhood and my wife has playdates with the other kids all the time. We take walks almost every pretty night. The people with decent paying jobs who want their kids to go to good schools is a description of us for sure.

I have heard about Johns Creek but got the impression it was closer to modern Brentwood. Maybe I'm wrong on that though and should reconsider.

[dblackga]

Originally Posted by tdr74

I wanted to follow-up on one of my previous threads. After seeing the possible commute time from Alpharetta to Suwanee (our first choice on a place to live), we may be reconsidering Alpharetta. I know the schools are great and it's a great suburb. One of my main concerns is that it is less family-friendly than Suwanee. Maybe the Town Center is just swaying me more than it should. Also, I would rather not live in an area that's too uppity, for lack of a better word. We won't have family nearby so we would like a very friendly town where we can make friends easily and raise our kids. We currently live in Franklin, TN and absolutely love it here. If anyone can compare Alpharetta to Franklin that would be really helpful. Our budget is 250-300. Also, are the taxes significantly higher in Alpharetta compared to Suwanee? Thanks!

I'd rank Alpharetta and Suwanee about equally as far as family friendliness - good schools, active communities. Alpharetta was a small town waaaay out in the country 25 years ago -- like Franklin was back then -- and the metropolitan area grew in that direction. Suwanee is about where Alpharetta was 10-15 years ago, but growing pretty darn fast as Atlanta reaches further north. Suwanee traffic can be problematic, although improvements are constantly being made -- it can take a little time for infrastructure to catch up with population drift. If you're looking at a regular commute to Lawrenceville, Suwanee has a slight advantage.

The taxes are very similar, perhaps slightly lower in Gwinnett, but not enough to sway a decision.

If you're interested in an active community and you have a child, you might want to take long, hard look at neighborhoods with swim/tennis clubs. They also tend to be a bit more social.

[ATLTJL]

One thing, also, to know about Johns Creek is it has a larger economic base than Suwanee.

Therefore, it does have more shopping and corporate headquarters. It's also a bit more educated and international. Whether you want to call that a good thing or a bad thing, is your call.

Suwanee, I would say, is the complete epitome of family friendliness. You can still occasionally detect a bit of a southern twang in the accents of some of the people you meet there. The old southern feel has pretty much evacuated Johns Creek for a more modern feel. Of course, the downside of Suwanee comes in the form of fewer amenities and more strip mall styled chain shopping. I think the dining options in Suwanee are quite lame aside from some ethnic cuisine and a couple of the places downtown, but maybe you don't care so much about restaurants.

Of course, as I said, the cities more or less merge into each other. So it's not like one side of the line is one way and the other is another. It's more of a gradual change.

If I had kids in school and a commute to Alpharetta....I'd probably lean a little towards Johns Creek. But it's really a case of you can't lose either way.

PS - I get why you are enamored with downtown Suwanee. They did it right, there is always something going on there and they even have a piece of the Berlin wall on display right now....very cool. Johns Creek has no proper downtown to speak of.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by tdr74

Thanks for the question. I will be working in Alpharetta and my wife is a stay-at-home mom.

Then if you are going to be working in Alpharetta you should definitely start your search for a home in the Alpharetta area near where you will be working.

Like ATLTJL recommended, Johns Creek and Milton are excellent places to look that will be relatively close to where you will be working in the Alpharetta area.

You should your search for a home close to where you will be working in Alpharetta because the rush hour commutes in Metro Atlanta can be quite the bear at times.

Also, the schools range from between great-to-excellent, the crime is generally low and there are LOTS and LOTS of amenities (shopping, dining, etc) in the aforementioned areas in, around and near Alpharetta that have been recommended.

I know that you have become quite enamored with the Suwanee Town Center area, which is understandable as Suwanee is a great area in its own right.

But when it comes to being located relatively very-close to your place of employment in a metro region where rush hour commutes can often be extremely challenging at times, Alpharetta and North Fulton County (Johns Creek and Milton) cannot be beat in terms of being a very-high quality area with excellent schools, lots and lots and lots of shopping close to where you will be working.

You likely won't find anyplace quite like Franklin, TN in the suburbs of North Metro Atlanta as the demographic makeup, population, geography, etc, is substantially different between a much-smaller metro region like Nashville (just under 2 million residents) and a much-larger metro region like Atlanta (just over 6 million residents).

But you will likely find Alpharetta to be to your liking as a great area in the highly-desired northern suburbs of North Metro Atlanta.