Moving to Dacula, GA from Indianapolis, IN-Advice?

[gahiker]

Originally Posted by Danimarie0802

My family and I have made the decision to move to GA in July 2015. We have been doing our research for the past year trying to narrow down what area will suit our family the best.
We have some friends and family in GA and have been down a few times in the past 6 months narrowing down the suburbs.
Friends and family are located in the Alpharetta area, which I think is lovely but noticing a little more pricey.I have narrowed down Gwinnett county as I have discovered its a very diverse area with good schools. We really loved the feel of Dacula, a little rural, but also convenient to shopping, eating, etc. I felt the area was very scenic with alot of nice golf clubs and parks. Beautiful subdivisions.

Here is some more detail...

Family of 5, husband is biracial, I am Caucasian we have 3 kids. Ages 14 (will be starting HS very athletic), 9 and 7. Public school is fine.
Husband can transfer, but I will need to start a new job.
Plan to rent a home at first, but would love to buy.
Rent budget: 1500/mo max, and buying budet, I hope to be around 250k.
Prefer to not be in traffic 3 hrs out of the day.

We want to be in a diverse suburban area, with good schools. Family oriented, love to meet new people, we are 34 and 35.
I do have a possible connection for a job in Alpharetta, but afraid this may make for a bad commute?? However it would not be rush hr time, more like 10-6, so maybe a little.

We love Atlanta, but def want to be outside of it in the burbs! I find I keep coming back to Dacula. It was a toss up between Dacula, Buford, or Lawrenceville. Im finding the reviews I get from Lawrenceville are not that great.
Any feedback on Dacula, lifestyle, schools, living etc would be so appreciated!

I am from Indianapolis (Carmel). Initially when moving here I found Alparetta to be more like Carmel. It is pricey but the worst part are the property taxes. My family chose Dacula because it is similar to
Fishers, IN. Not as pricey as Alpharetta. It has a nice mix of homes, shopping at Mall of Georgia and easy access most of the time into the city of Atlanta. I jump on 316 to 85 south. I live in a house that is just as nice as the ones in Alpharetta but was half the money. Property taxes are at least half. I also have easy access to the colleges (Georgia Gwinnett and UGA-Athens). Dacula is a very nice place to live and I do not miss Carmel or the cold weather of the north!

[atlantamoi]

I also grew up in Carmel. The Hamilton Mill area in Dacula where my parents now live does remind me a bit of Carmel (in the suburban bubble, nice swimming pools, safer feel than closer to Atlanta). I'd happily live up there if I didn't work downtown. No way I'd ever consider a commute like that. I find it interesting how racially diverse the street is where my parents live since it's so far north of the big city.

[Danimarie0802]

Great to know! How long have you lived in Dacula? I also feel the same with the feel of the area, does remind me of certain suburbs here like Fishers. Would u mind sharing what neighborhood you live in? Yes the homes are beautiful, and the prices even better. We will have to rent at first, just want to make sure we love the area. We will be looking for a home to rent in the area come June, because we want to be down there and settled before school starts. You will have to let me know if you see any!

Thanks!!

[gahiker]

Originally Posted by Danimarie0802

Great to know! How long have you lived in Dacula? I also feel the same with the feel of the area, does remind me of certain suburbs here like Fishers. Would u mind sharing what neighborhood you live in? Yes the homes are beautiful, and the prices even better. We will have to rent at first, just want to make sure we love the area. We will be looking for a home to rent in the area come June, because we want to be down there and settled before school starts. You will have to let me know if you see any!

Thanks!!

I live in Wolf Creek. It is racially diverse. Probably more so than Alpharetta. There is a big private Christian school here (Hebron Baptist). Lots of parents in my neighborhood send their kids there. However, mine go to public school. On a side note: there have been many foreclosures in the Atlanta market in recent years. I believe this may still be somewhat true. However, some of these tract builders (Ryland, Pulte, ect...) are building new homes and pricing the far above the median home price. For example, down the street from me Arcadia homes is building new construction for 100k more than a resale in our neighborhood. I simply do not understand it. When interest rates increase (as they always do) it will be far more difficult to sell these "new" homes because then they will be "resales". All so interesting.

[OCChick]

My family moved to GA from Southern California. Definitely Gwinnett has a very good school system and very diverse. We are renting at the moment in Suwannee but building a house in Dacula. The place that we are renting is less than a mile from my work. We chose the area near my work while getting familiar with the area. I work of a Software company and we are hiring Sales People. If you have a Sales experience let me know.

[Jarvisteam]

It's worth noting for future visitors that there's really 2 parts of Dacula. The part that pretty much has to use 316 to travel and primarily in the Dacula School District. Then there's other parts that are closer to the mall of Georgia. Most notably this is where Hamilton Mill is located, one of the largest neighborhoods in Gwinnett (if not the largest).