Douglasville vs. Suwanee- Comparisons Please? (Atlanta, Lawrenceville: transplants, chapel, houses)

[elanmom]

Ok, we have just about decided on Suwanee as the spot to relocate to and then read some posts about Douglasville that interested me
Can anyone give me some analogies or comparisons of the 2?
Are schools in both equally as good? How about diversity? Shopping?
Is one more upscale than the other? Traffic?
Home prices seem to be lower in Douglasville, but I only looked briefly.
Is it sleepy compared to Suwanee?
We are coming from Monmouth County, NJ. We are used to typical suburban life. I now work in NYC but will be working from home when we move.
Thanks!

[jeweloflight]

Originally Posted by elanmom

Ok, we have just about decided on Suwanee as the spot to relocate to and then read some posts about Douglasville that interested me
Can anyone give me some analogies or comparisons of the 2?
Are schools in both equally as good? How about diversity? Shopping?
Is one more upscale than the other? Traffic?
Home prices seem to be lower in Douglasville, but I only looked briefly.
Is it sleepy compared to Suwanee?
We are coming from Monmouth County, NJ. We are used to typical suburban life. I now work in NYC but will be working from home when we move.
Thanks!

Douglasville is quite sleepy compared to Suwanee. Douglasville is smaller and has a very "rural" feel. It's about 40-45 minutes from the city depending on traffic. There's also not a lot there, and the areas surrounding it are not really thriving, unless you consider a new super wal-mart a big deal. There's one mall in that area (Arbor Place) where everybody goes shopping. I used to live near there and will never move back.

Suwanee, on the other hand is in Gwinnett County which is THE most diverse county in the Atlanta area. An array of ethic restaurants, businesses and residences are there. If you don't know, the south is full of strip malls, malls, and chain stores; that just seems to be the way it is unfortunetly. If you go a little closer into town, you can find nice boutiques and unique little places with character. Like Decatur, Buckhead, East Atlanta, some parts of Midtown and Vinings. Gwinnett County also has some of the best schools here, is very family oriented, and always growing. Lots of parks, and communities with playgrounds, pools, and school activities. Suwanee is surrounded by other thriving communities like Duluth, Lawrenceville, Dacula and Buford. You have three malls in that area alone: Mall of Georgia, with your mainstream shops like Bloomingdales and Nordstroms. And all around that mall you have Cosco, TJMaxx, Wal-mart, restaurants, banks, post offices, anything you need. Then there's Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, which is not as spectacular as Mall of Georgia, or as new, but can still serve good purposes. Also Discover Mills mall is very nice, located closer to Suwanee, with a huge movie theater and an acrobatics trampoline for kids, a pottery shop where they can learn to make and paint their own pottery, and the whole mall is an outlet, so there's good bargains.

Now, about the traffic. Douglasville definetly has less traffic, but the quality of life is so much better in Suwanee. If you are working from home, this shouldn't be a huge deal. If you live in the zone of the school you choose, it still shouldn't be so bad. Home prices are a bit higher in Gwinnett than Douglasville too, but what a difference on the return in your investment! Believe me, it will pay off. Suwanee, also is about a 40 minute drive into Atlanta, with no traffic that is. Gwinnett traffic though, is just bad in general. To get to Suwanee coming from Atlanta, you have to go straight up 85N. 85N is a busy highway because there are so many communities off of it. But then again we have the worst traffic in the nation, second only to L.A.

The great thing about the way Atlanta and surrounding areas are built though, when they build a suburban community, they not only build houses, but everything else you need. You could live in your community and never leave it, because everything you need is right there. If you want to come into the city for theater, museums, art festivals, concerts, (and Gwinnett has their own arena for that if you perfer) you can do it.

Hope this helps. Good luck. I used to live in Gwinnett County, so if you have more questions, just post them.

[elanmom]

Thanks for your reply. Have to cover all the bases, but it sounds like Gwinnett has all we need !

How about Catholic Churches? I have a 2nd grader and it looks like she wont be finishing out the school year to make her communion here. I guess the kids go to whatever church is nearest to their home or school as religious ed. students.

any advice?
thanks all!

[FLPL75]

elanmom
jeweloflight posted some great information.
I am also from NJ
We looked at Douglasville. I did find it very rural, there were some really nice subdivisions but once you are outside them rural. I also didn't think my husband would want to drive East into Atlanta each morning with the sun in his eyes and also have to drive home under the same conditions.
Adding "sun delay traffic"(which is what they call it here in Fla) to the "famous" Atlanta traffic,which by the way is the first thing people will tell you when you mention Atlanta, would not make for a "happy hubby".
We decided to build in Cumming,and should be moving up there in Feb, that whole area up there is really nice.
Also from what I have read on the boards, there seems to be quite a few "Jersery transplants" in that area.
Best of luck with the move
Karla

[jeweloflight]

Originally Posted by elanmom

Thanks for your reply. Have to cover all the bases, but it sounds like Gwinnett has all we need !

How about Catholic Churches? I have a 2nd grader and it looks like she wont be finishing out the school year to make her communion here. I guess the kids go to whatever church is nearest to their home or school as religious ed. students.

any advice?
thanks all!

Not really sure about catholic churches in Gwinnett, I'm sure there are plenty. After all, this is the south, the Bible belt, if there's one thing you'll have absolutely no trouble finding, it's churches!

[jxu66]

I know there is Notre Dame Academy (PreK-8) near downtown Duluth.
Check out archatl dot com.

[Tdiddy0027]

Let me give you some more info on Douglasville. It is actually about 20 miles from Atlanta and takes about 25-35 minutes to get to Atlanta. It's definitely more rural that Suweanee but that's just because it didn't get eaten up by Gwinnett. Douglasville also has a really good mall. Arbor place mall there has a lot of really good shopping. The area is growing a lot so be sure to check it out.

[elanmom]

You Have Been Very Helpful.

Elanmom

[DoveDiva]

Here's the perspective of Douglasville from someone who actually lives here, lol.

Douglasville is a city with a small town feel that's close enough to the city (ATL) so you don't feel like you are in Mayberry. It's about 25 miles away from the ATL city limits, and it takes about 25-35 minutes to get into the city. Typical chains are here--Target, Walmart, Publix, etc. LOTS of GREAT small restaurants such as Gumbeaux's, Alpine Steakhouse, etc. Becoming more diverse--an African meat market, a Caribbean bakery and ice cream store, etc. have recently opened.

Arbor Place Mall is here, which is decent for your shopping if you are used to suburbia. The city has lots of festivals and events that are well attended. The schools are okay...I guess. The best feeder pattern in my opinion is the Chapel Hill feeder pattern.

Hope this helps

[Georgia Peach73]

will someone give me adviceon henry county (locut grove). i ammovingfrom the sunhine state and i am intersted in learning facts and information about henry county. i havelooked at a community called heron bay country and golf club. thanks!