Suwanee commute - how long realistically? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: apartment, lease, home)

[Lisloi]

Hi there - we're currently weighing a job offer. Husband would be working in the Sandy Springs area. We'd like to live in North Gwinnett (son is special needs and Gwinnett seems to be the best district for him) and are seriously considering the Suwanee area or possibly Sugar Hill.

According to Google maps, the commute is only about 21 minutes but I know that doesn't take rush hour traffic into consideration.

Can someone tell me what kind of commute time my husband would realistically be looking at from the North Gwinnett area to Sandy Springs?

Are there back roads that would lessen the commute?

Thanks in advance!!

[wxjay]

If his work hours are 9-5, plan on 1 hour minimum. The ride down I-85 and then across I-285 are two of the worst traffic areas in metro Atlanta. It'll probably be worse coming home too.

[Lisloi]

Darn - I was afraid of that! What if he leaves for work around 7:00 AM. Would that help things?

Are there back roads that people use or are they jam packed as well?

[CMMom]

I don't know how it is before 7:00, but yesterday I drove from Dunwoody up I-85 to Lawrenceville at 10 AM, and southbound was STILL absolutely packed! I didn't see any accidents, but who knows?

Where did you hear that Gwinnett Special Ed. was the best? I don't know if I totally believe that. I work with quite a few special ed. kids in Gwinnett, and their system doesn't seem spectacular to me (other than the Buice Center for Preschoolers; that seems pretty good in terms of early intervention). Have you looked into North Fulton as an alternative?

The backroads would include Peachtree Industrial and Buford Highway. I don't know much about how they are in the morning, but P'tree Industrial, at least, seems pretty packed in the afternoon.

[Lisloi]

Hi CM Mom - I belong to a few autism web sites and have been putting out feelers for a few weeks now. There are some Fulton county parents out there that have had some real problems with the way their kids were treated by that particular school system. It seems to be the majority opinion out there is that Gwinnett is best for autism in the early years (this may be different for middle school and high school aged kids). My son is preschool age now so we are looking at the Buice school. If there are parents out there with autistic kids from Fulton county with good experiences I'd love to hear from them.

As far as the commute goes, I guess we are looking at one hour minimum in the mornings. How bad for the evening commute? An hour and a half? That's alot of time to be in the car. And with the price of gas these days...hay...ay...ay.

Suwanee/Sugar Hill seem to be such great areas for families and for schools. Might just have to bite the bullet...

[wxjay]

Lisloi - please be sure to look around. I know that you said you are concerned about special needs schools, but there are other districts with these services that could help you and make the quality of life for you, your husband, and your son much better than having to have one of you sit in a car for 2.5 - 3 hours per day.

[CMMom]

Gwinnett does have a strong Spectrum group, and I know that they are very active as far as activities for the kids, etc... I just don't know as much about Fulton or DeKalb b/c I work in Lawrenceville. It's worth putting some feelers out before committing to a really bad commute like that. Why don't you start a separate thread about services for kids on the spectrum in Fulton/Sandy Springs and see what responses you get?

[pgirl07]

I can tell you that I took the back roads from the Sandy Springs area up to North Gwinnett last Saturday (thinking it would be safer and faster than the interstate because every time I get on we have to come to a complete stop for some reason) and it took about an hour and I honestly didn't like driving on Buford Hwy! I took the interstate back and it took at least 30 minutes. I can only imagine it would be much worse on the weekends. That's pretty far out...... Good luck.

[Smokipenelope]

I lived in North Gwinnett and worked in Sandy Springs, taking back roads and the interstate was pretty much the same - commute ranged from 45 minutes (rare) to an hour and fifteen minutes (more common), which included a mix of Peachtree Industrial, Spalding, Mount Vernon to Hammond Drive. It was rough enough that I transferred an apartment lease to get out of it.

[lastminutemom]

Where on the spectrum is your child?

Could you live in Norcross (Peachtree Corners to be specific) and have access to Buice? I have a friend in Norcross whose child is on the spectrum and she has been mostly pleased with the services her child has received at Mason Elementary. Norcross would be a much better commute. You could go down Spaulding Road over to Roswell Road.

One thing to consider, is that if you plan on living there a while, is that Gwinnett isn't so good for older kids with special needs (at least what I am hearing) especially those whose disabilities may cause them to act out.