You Have To Choose: Peachtree City or Peachtree Corners? (Atlanta: legal, shop)

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Both, to me, have some pretty big downsides that would discourage me from moving to either.

Peachtree City and the surrounding countryside is really a beautiful place. The golf cart trails go through the forest and it's possible to live car-free much of the time, which is kind of a rarity outside older town centers. The problem is it's almost all upper middle class whites. You can tell who is the work crew and who is a resident by skin color. And there's much less of a shared sense of community between those two classes of people.

Contrast that with Peachtree Corners— you've got so many different backgrounds there, and while there is an "upper crust" like Peachtree City, there's more of a shared sense of community and seems to be more economic and social mobility. But 141, those horrible huge highways and all of the clear cutting for huge shopping centers, the built environment is the definition of suburban hell.

Now, if somebody could find a way to build something like Peachtree City that would be workable for people of different income levels and cultural backgrounds, with more small retail spaces and small houses for people starting out, that might really be something special.

Good commentary.

You still must vote, bryant. You have to choose...!

[ShenardL]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Both, to me, have some pretty big downsides that would discourage me from moving to either.

Peachtree City and the surrounding countryside is really a beautiful place. The golf cart trails go through the forest and it's possible to live car-free much of the time, which is kind of a rarity outside older town centers. The problem is it's almost all upper middle class whites. You can tell who is the work crew and who is a resident by skin color. And there's much less of a shared sense of community between those two classes of people.

Contrast that with Peachtree Corners— you've got so many different backgrounds there, and while there is an "upper crust" like Peachtree City, there's more of a shared sense of community and seems to be more economic and social mobility. But 141, those horrible huge highways and all of the clear cutting for huge shopping centers, the built environment is the definition of suburban hell.

Now, if somebody could find a way to build something like Peachtree City that would be workable for people of different income levels and cultural backgrounds, with more small retail spaces and small houses for people starting out, that might really be something special.

The forum: https://goo.gl/maps/EAgdH8QZFcHE6hjx6

The town center across the street: https://www.peachtreecornersga.gov/visitors/town-center

You're on the border of Downtown Norcross: https://goo.gl/maps/dbJY9aVmjqq9zyzZ7

I like Peachtree Corners, it's a nice centralized location. You're just south of Johns Creek, few miles away from Sandy Springs to the west and Duluth to the east. If you want to go to Buckhead you can get there in 10 minutes. You're also close to the Doraville Marta station. Norcross High School isn't the best but a lot of athletes playing in pro sports leagues came out of there. You also have a top private school right across the street. You also have a lot of office buildings in technology park.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Both, to me, have some pretty big downsides that would discourage me from moving to either.

Peachtree City and the surrounding countryside is really a beautiful place. The golf cart trails go through the forest and it's possible to live car-free much of the time, which is kind of a rarity outside older town centers. The problem is it's almost all upper middle class whites. You can tell who is the work crew and who is a resident by skin color. And there's much less of a shared sense of community between those two classes of people.

Contrast that with Peachtree Corners— you've got so many different backgrounds there, and while there is an "upper crust" like Peachtree City, there's more of a shared sense of community and seems to be more economic and social mobility. But 141, those horrible huge highways and all of the clear cutting for huge shopping centers, the built environment is the definition of suburban hell.

Now, if somebody could find a way to build something like Peachtree City that would be workable for people of different income levels and cultural backgrounds, with more small retail spaces and small houses for people starting out, that might really be something special.

Those are all some really good points, including about how very built-up the Peachtree Corners area has become.

But in Peachtree Corners’ defense, while P’tree Corners obviously does not have the planned layout and controlled development environment that P’tree City has with the parks and lakes and golf cart trails, P’tree Corners does at least have a multi-purpose path/bike lane along the busy aforementioned Georgia State Route 141 corridor.

Peachtree Corners also has a not-insignificant amount of green space along the Chattahoochee River, including sizable plots of undisturbed forest land that back up to the river banks like the Medlock Bridge unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and Simpsonwood Park.

That’s not to mention the banks of the Chattahoochee River itself, which is protected from heavy development by a thick buffer of more mature trees.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

The forum: https://goo.gl/maps/EAgdH8QZFcHE6hjx6

The town center across the street: https://www.peachtreecornersga.gov/visitors/town-center

You're on the border of Downtown Norcross: https://goo.gl/maps/dbJY9aVmjqq9zyzZ7

I like Peachtree Corners, it's a nice centralized location. You're just south of Johns Creek, few miles away from Sandy Springs to the west and Duluth to the east. If you want to go to Buckhead you can get there in 10 minutes. You're also close to the Doraville Marta station. Norcross High School isn't the best but a lot of athletes playing in pro sports leagues came out of there. You also have a top private school right across the street. You also have a lot of office buildings in technology park.

Those are all excellent points about Peachtree Corners.

Though I will comment that Norcross High School is actually a really good school.

Norcross High School has a very good IB (International Baccalaureate) program, and annually sends many students (on both academic and athletic scholarships) to some of the most notable colleges and universities in the Southeast and around the nation.

NHS also generally gets much financial support (in the form of constant meaningful donations from friends and alumni and sponsorships from area businesses) from the Norcross/Peachtree Corners community, often with the help of the school’s non-profit fundraising arm, the Norcross High School Foundation for Excellence.

It’s just that the very high population of transient families and students in the Norcross attendance zone (including a very high population of ESL/English as a Second Language students) that are fostered by the extremely high amount of relatively affordable rental housing in the area acts as a significant pull on NHS’ academic scores when compared to other highly-rated public high schools in the Atlanta suburbs.

(About 65% of the students that attend Norcross High School qualify for free and reduced lunch, compared to only 11% of students at McIntosh High School and only 7% of students at Starr’s Mill High School in the Peachtree City area.)

Seeing that nearly two-thirds of its student population comes from lower-income families who qualify for free and reduced lunch, Norcross High School does an excellent job at educating its students and still keeping an above-average rating.

It should also be noted that the Norcross/Peachtree Corners area is home to the highly-regarded Paul Duke STEM High School that features a Math and Science-oriented upper-secondary/college preparatory curriculum.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

...

Norcross High School isn't the best but a lot of athletes playing in pro sports leagues came out of there.

...

Norcross High is an excellent school.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

Now, if somebody could find a way to build something like Peachtree City that would be workable for people of different income levels and cultural backgrounds, with more small retail spaces and small houses for people starting out, that might really be something special.

I agree that it sounds good on paper. However, how does a developer convince people to plunk down $1.5 million for a house when he's putting up $150K houses next door?

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I agree that it sounds good on paper. However, how does a developer convince people to plunk down $1.5 million for a house when he's putting up $150K houses next door?

The threat of costly litigation.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I agree that it sounds good on paper. However, how does a developer convince people to plunk down $1.5 million for a house when he's putting up $150K houses next door?

That’s an excellent thought-provoking question.

Maybe, just maybe, a developer potentially might could be able to sell million-dollar homes next to $150k starter homes by putting a high wall around the million-dollar neighborhood and letting residents and visitors only enter said million-dollar neighborhood through a very thick steel gate protected by security guards 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

Maybe, just maybe, wealthy people potentially just might purchase million-dollar homes in a neighborhood that is located next to a neighborhood of $150k starter homes if the neighborhood of million-dollar homes appears to be secure, gated and near lots of very high-quality and very highly-desired amenities?

[Born 2 Roll]

Here is a link to a U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts page that shows the complete demographic profiles of the Peachtree City, Peachtree Corners and Norcross municipal jurisdictions side-by-side-by-side:

United States Census Bureau QuickFacts: Peachtree City city, Georgia; Peachtree Corners city, Georgia; Norcross city, Georgia

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Here is a link to a U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts page that shows the complete demographic profiles of the Peachtree City, Peachtree Corners and Norcross municipal jurisdictions side-by-side-by-side:

United States Census Bureau QuickFacts: Peachtree City city, Georgia; Peachtree Corners city, Georgia; Norcross city, Georgia

The fact that nearly 20% of PTC's population is 65 or older, and the fact that only 4% of the population is 5 years or younger, is what helps to fuel the perception that it feels like a retirement community.