Moving back to Atlanta - Snellville vs. "East Cobb" (Sandy Springs: house, to buy)

[SportyMom05]

My husband and I are moving back to Atlanta area from Michigan. We are trying to decide the best area to look for a home. We have two small kids and want to move to an area that great schools and is also well diverse. So far we have narrowed it down to the Brookwood School district in Snellville, GA and the "East Cobb" area. We are leaning more towards the Snellville/Lilburn area (seemed like there was less traffic). My husband will be working downtown so wondering if the commute from Snellville is super bad? I will be working from home so don't really have to worry about commute.

Basically, what area would you recommend we should check out that has great schools and "easy" commute to downtown area?

[sedimenjerry]

I live in the Brookwood area (graduated from there years back). Currently I commute to the Cumberland area and I usually head towards downtown on 85 in the morning and then head up 75 right there at midtown so my commute is pretty close to a downtown commute except for the last few miles. If it's a typical 8-4 or 9-5 schedule traffic will be rough. My commute isn't too bad but I don't have to show up to work til 10. Really it's not that bad if you can shift your hours to only deal with the edges of rush hour.

East Cobb can really vary for commute. I wouldn't want to deal with OTP 75 but I think ITP 75 is better than 85. 85 has a lot of extra traffic from 400 and that can cause a lot of problems. East Cobb homes (like Snellville) can also be pretty far from the freeway.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by SportyMom05

My husband and I are moving back to Atlanta area from Michigan. We are trying to decide the best area to look for a home. We have two small kids and want to move to an area that great schools and is also well diverse. So far we have narrowed it down to the Brookwood School district in Snellville, GA and the "East Cobb" area. We are leaning more towards the Snellville/Lilburn area (seemed like there was less traffic). My husband will be working downtown so wondering if the commute from Snellville is super bad? I will be working from home so don't really have to worry about commute.

Basically, what area would you recommend we should check out that has great schools and "easy" commute to downtown area?

Both the Brookwood HS feeder zone/cluster and the East Cobb area (the feeder zone/clusters of Walton, Pope, Lassiter, Sprayberry and Wheeler high schools) are excellent areas in which to look for a home because of the exceptional quality of the public schools in both of those areas.


(...Both the Brookwood and East Cobb areas are considered to be two of the most highly-regarded areas of public schools in the entire Southeastern U.S.)

Most of the East Cobb area is considered to be one of the easier rush hour commutes to and from Downtown Atlanta by Atlanta metro area/region standards, though an East Cobb-Downtown Atlanta rush hour commute is definitely not without its challenges, particularly for those rush hour commuters who have to use the Georgia 400 roadway each weekday.

(...Though one of the positive things about a potential East Cobb-Downtown rush hour commute is that on really bad traffic days (many of which are to come with the severely-flawed I-285/GA 400 interchange about to undergo a massive reconstruction over the next several years) one can drive to the Sandy Springs MARTA Station and use MARTA Heavy Rail Transit for the I-85/GA 400 part of their commute to and from Downtown Atlanta.)

The Brookwood HS feeder zone/cluster in the Snellville area of Gwinnett County is probably a little farther away from Downtown Atlanta than East Cobb and a Snellville-Downtown Atlanta rush hour commute has its own unique challenges via the heavily-used routes of I-85 Northeast/Pleasant Hill Road/Ronald Reagan Parkway, US 29 Lawrenceville Highway and US 78 Stone Mountain Freeway/Stone Mountain Highway.

[Ant131531]

In all honesty, I'm not a fan of the Snellville area these days....the schools aren't what they used to be.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

In all honesty, I'm not a fan of the Snellville area these days....the schools aren't what they used to be.

Because of a combination of demographic changes and leapfrogging development patterns, the schools in the South Gwinnett and Shiloh clusters (areas which both also have Snellville mailing addresses) have experienced some increasing challenges in recent years.

But the schools in the Brookwood cluster are still recognized as being some of the absolute best public schools in both the state of Georgia and in the entire Southeastern U.S.

(...Per-capita incomes seem to be higher in the Brookwood cluster than they are in the South Gwinnett and Shiloh clusters.)

[sedimenjerry]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Because of a combination of demographic changes and leapfrogging development patterns, the schools in the South Gwinnett and Shiloh clusters (areas which both also have Snellville mailing addresses) have experienced some increasing challenges in recent years.

But the schools in the Brookwood cluster are still recognized as being some of the absolute best public schools in both the state of Georgia and in the entire Southeastern U.S.

(...Per-capita incomes seem to be higher in the Brookwood cluster than they are in the South Gwinnett and Shiloh clusters.)

Yes. Brookwood is still excellent. I had heard Shiloh was well esteemed back in the 80s or so but that has seemed to change.

[PTC Dad]

Brookwood High School still ranks very high (#18 in the State according to schooldigger) which is outstanding considering about 30% of the kids at Brookwood are now on free and reduced lunch. In the year 2000 only 2% of the students at Brookwoood were on free and reduced lunch. Walton, Pope, and Lassiter rank higher, but have significantly less economic and cultural diversity than Brookwood. The East Cobb schools are also much smaller than Brookwood (around 2,000 students vs. over 3,400 at Brookwood). Besides this, home prices have appreciated more in East Cobb than they have in Snellville. From a long term perspective, you would probably do better on a resale in East Cobb, but you'll have to pay significantly more up front to buy a house in the top school districts in East Cobb. Another option if you choose Snellville, is the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology. It's a magnet school and is the highest rated school in the State and one of the top schools in the nation.

[Fubarbundy]

Wonder if OP can afford Decatur, since one spouse is working downtown?

Their kids are still small, so won't need the best high schools awhile yet...

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by SportyMom05

My husband and I are moving back to Atlanta area from Michigan. We are trying to decide the best area to look for a home. We have two small kids and want to move to an area that great schools and is also well diverse. So far we have narrowed it down to the Brookwood School district in Snellville, GA and the "East Cobb" area. We are leaning more towards the Snellville/Lilburn area (seemed like there was less traffic). My husband will be working downtown so wondering if the commute from Snellville is super bad? I will be working from home so don't really have to worry about commute.

Basically, what area would you recommend we should check out that has great schools and "easy" commute to downtown area?

Sounds like you're limiting your choices too much based on the past. Metro Atlanta changes a lot every year.

Have you looked at West Cobb or Marietta, for instance? Both areas are probably a lot more diverse now than you remember.

Marietta High in Marietta and then in West Cobb: McEachern and Hillgrove including Varner Elementary, Kemp Elementary, Still Elementary all becoming relatively diverse. There's also Harrison High which is 2nd only to Walton but diversity will be a sort of future thing for it, I guess.

I'd focus your search in West Cobb to approximately between Macedonia Rd and Dallas Hwy for greatest diversity and around Polk St in Marietta.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by netdragon

...Harrison High which is 2nd only to Walton ...

In Harrison's dreams!

Uh, as if.