Transferring to Duluth (Atlanta, Alpharetta, Lawrenceville: best cities, foreclosures, to buy) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

lauraliz · 07-06-2009, 12:21 PM

My husband is being transferred to Duluth and we are trying to figure out where to live. This website has been great! I've gotten alot of great information from you guys. I definitely appreciate your insight. Pretty much we've narrowed our search down to Suwanee, Buford, Dacula, and Johns Creek. From what I can tell online they all seem like good family oriented places to live in. We're planning on visiting later this month to check them out. I'm looking for some information on parts to stay away from. I've heard there's pockets of "bad" parts in each city and I'm wondering where these parts are.

jhtrico1850 · 07-06-2009, 04:02 PM

I'm not sure if there is a bad part about Suwanee, besides the blight that is the Starship on the Suwanee exit...

Welcome to Suwanee, Georgia

Check out the website. We made top 10 best cities to live in Money 2007 Best Cities

All I know about Suwanee is Suwanee Dam Road//Lawrenceville Highway (same road, different names) and Buford Highway and PeachTree Industrial intersect it, both relatively important streets as well. Simple layout for a town and easy navigation to most amenities.

All are close to the malls as well.

Tresninas · 07-06-2009, 05:08 PM

There are no bad parts of Johns Creek, either. Though if you want to keep your commute to a minimum, stay toward the side east of Medlock Bridge Road. Also, the expansion of McGinnis Ferry Road won't be completed now until 2011 -- I would avoid any subdivisions right off McGinnis Ferry Road. The schools in Johns Creek are wonderful.

lauraliz · 07-06-2009, 05:27 PM

I have seen that article in Money. Suwanee is at the top of our list. I have heard from message boards that traffic around town is awful, especially on weekends. I know traffic is horrible for the commute, but is it bad all the time?

aacole · 07-06-2009, 08:15 PM

John's Creek isn't very good for traffic either. We were visiting the Whole Foods there. That particular one is amazing.

jhtrico1850 · 07-06-2009, 09:25 PM

I live by North Gwinnett and I've never had trouble going to the Wal-Mart in less than 10 minutes. Then again, I live on Suwanee Damn Road. Peachtree Industrial can be annoying sometimes but that's about it. I'm not sure how that is to be described as AWFUL? The commute, I guess you mean from the suburbs to the core of Atlanta. I'm not sure why you would want to go to Atlanta anyway

, but yes, Atlanta's highway ranks badly in terms of traffic, but I never use it so I don't care. You'll have the same problem with all 4 places, so this might not be the region for you.

The towns are all close together. I have a feeling you'll have less of a sense of grass greener on the other sideism if you took a road trip around Gwinnett for these cities

I think there is an "outdoor mall" of TJMAXX+Ross+Rack Room or something in Johns Creek, about 10m from my place that is nice.

And if I'm not mistaken, Buford is where the Mall of Georgia is. The core mall area itself is nice, but it's a little rough around the edges. Lots of foreclosures and overdevelopment and stuff. You'll probably get over the novelty of being that close to the mall eventually if you decide to move there.

aacole · 07-06-2009, 11:08 PM

Don't go anywhere near the Mall of Georgia in November/December. I'm sure you could leave your car in traffic on Buford Dr., shop, and come back and no cars would have moved.

ericsonga · 07-07-2009, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aacole

Don't go anywhere near the Mall of Georgia in November/December. I'm sure you could leave your car in traffic on Buford Dr., shop, and come back and no cars would have moved.

I completely agree. I did all of my Christmas shopping without going anywhere near Buford, and I live about 20 minutes away. It turns into a mad house.

ccr4tigers · 07-07-2009, 08:46 AM

I have not experienced any crazy traffic in Suwanee. Of course it can be busy...but compared to other areas near Atlanta....it is nothing. I LOVE Suwanee. We just moved here about a month ago and people are so friendly and everything is so, so convenient. My husband commutes to Norcross, and his drive is only about 30 minutes, 45 at the worst. That sounds like a lot, but really that is not bad in Atlanta, and of course Duluth is closer. I like Johns Creek but to me it is harder to get to since it is farther from the highway.

Also, I don't know if you have kids, but the North Gwinnett High School cluster (Gwinnett County Schools organizes itself by clusters) is one of the very best. So, good for the kids and for resale.

Another thing to think about is that Suwanee is in the middle of a huge master plan to create even more green space and a greater sense of community....aka, over the next 15 years they are spending millions to improve the city....so that is something to think about when you look to buy a house.

At any rate, I wouldn't worry about the traffic, it really isn't that bad unless you are driving into Atlanta itself during rush....which you aren't.

anadyr21 · 07-07-2009, 12:23 PM

All of those areas would be fine if your husband is working in Duluth. The trick is, what time of day does he plan on commuting? There are specific times of day and specific pockets that you absolutely want to avoid during rush hour. To me, there are pockets of Duluth (on the Gwinnett side towards I-85) that are a bit less desirable, but not necessarily "heck no, I won't live there". This, of course, is all relative. John's Creek is very desirable, but there's not much to do. You have to go to Alpharetta, Suwanee, Norcross, etc to find things to do. The Suwanee Town Center has a lot going on, especially during the summer. The Forum in Norcross, has a nice outdoor shopping area. The Fulton side of Duluth isn't terrible either.