Impressions and rankings of these Atlanta suburbs! (Alpharetta, Tucker: 2015, townhomes)

[Redlionjr]

So, me and my Wife are revisiting the idea of moving to Atlanta again due to my wife getting a job offer in the area. She'll be working from home but I'll be working in Duluth. We actually use to live in Atlanta for 2 years back in 2015-2017 and if we move I'll be going back to my job in Duluth. Back then we lived in Chamblee so even though I didn't live in Duluth because of my job I was familiar enough with general shopping options, schools, and commute time to the city. The only part of Duluth I'm not super familiar with is of course residential neighborhoods. Back then I didn't care to look in Duluth because we were satisfied with Chamblee. This go around, we'll be coming with 2 kids and Duluth on the surface seems like a nice enough suburb for raising a family but we want to explore other options as well specifically in Gwinnett County

So we've narrowed things down to these specific suburbs:

1) Duluth

2) Lawrenceville

3) Suwanee

4) Snellville

5) Lilburn

What's your impression of these burbs and where would you rank them and why? Thanks in advance

[Born 2 Roll]

I won’t rank the five Atlanta suburbs you listed, but I will comment that Suwanee is the most affluent and has the highest rated public schools of the five suburban communities you listed.

The socioeconomic environment in Suwanee (the entire Suwanee 30024 mailing area) ranges from upper class to upper middle class with some middle class and even some working class elements included.

The other four suburban communities you listed all are much more socioeconomically diverse and generally range from upper middle class to strongly working class with maybe some limited upper class elements present.

[testa50]

If you've got the housing budget, since you've got a job in Duluth I would say either Duluth or Sewanee are the obvious choices. I don't see a compelling reason to look at Snellville or Lilburn (longer commute). Lawrenceville offers historic downtown if that's important to you.

[sedimenjerry]

I remember seeing your posts a few years back. I ultimately ended up going from Atlanta to Houston (Richmond/Cinco Ranch) to Dallas (Allen) and now back to Atlanta (Alpharetta). Promise you're not trying to follow me

One of the difficult things about Georgia compared to Texas is a lot of the cities (particularly the suburbs) don't always line up with schools and the quality can vary from one side of a fairly small city to the other. Often the high school cluster is used to gauge the quality of an area instead of the actual city. Brookwood HS is Snellville but is considerably better compared to Shiloh HS and South Gwinnett HS despite all being "Snellville". Parkview HS is Lilburn but is better than Berkmar HS which is also Lilburn.

Anyway, it's tough to rank the areas without also getting into the schools. Duluth HS seems very mid-tier for Gwinnett. It's not the highest performing school but it's certainly not the worst. Peachtree Ridge HS is better and sits right between Duluth and Suwanee. It's a really solid area. Puts you close to work, close to the Gwinnett Arena (lot of concerts are there), close to downtown Duluth (which has really improved over the last several years), close to very family friendly Suwanee Town Center, and not that far from an on the rise downtown Lawrenceville.

As mentioned above, Parkview HS and Brookwood HS are two well performing schools. They won't be as close to work most likely but they're good areas. Well, actually if your work is closer to Gwinnett Place Mall, Brookwood wouldn't be that bad of a commute at all. I don't think downtown Lilburn or Snellville have as much to offer in terms of entertainment, however. I know they're working on it but they have a lot of catching up to do compared to Duluth or Suwanee.

Lawrenceville has Collins Hill HS and Central Gwinnett HS (and others that will just add time to your commute). Collins Hill isn't quite as good as it used to be (I think once upon a time the top in Gwinnett) but it's still alright. I would skip Central Gwinnett.

[ShenardL]

Originally Posted by sedimenjerry

I remember seeing your posts a few years back. I ultimately ended up going from Atlanta to Houston (Richmond/Cinco Ranch) to Dallas (Allen) and now back to Atlanta (Alpharetta). Promise you're not trying to follow me

One of the difficult things about Georgia compared to Texas is a lot of the cities (particularly the suburbs) don't always line up with schools and the quality can vary from one side of a fairly small city to the other. Often the high school cluster is used to gauge the quality of an area instead of the actual city. Brookwood HS is Snellville but is considerably better compared to Shiloh HS and South Gwinnett HS despite all being "Snellville". Parkview HS is Lilburn but is better than Berkmar HS which is also Lilburn.

Anyway, it's tough to rank the areas without also getting into the schools. Duluth HS seems very mid-tier for Gwinnett. It's not the highest performing school but it's certainly not the worst. Peachtree Ridge HS is better and sits right between Duluth and Suwanee. It's a really solid area. Puts you close to work, close to the Gwinnett Arena (lot of concerts are there), close to downtown Duluth (which has really improved over the last several years), close to very family friendly Suwanee Town Center, and not that far from an on the rise downtown Lawrenceville.

As mentioned above, Parkview HS and Brookwood HS are two well performing schools. They won't be as close to work most likely but they're good areas. Well, actually if your work is closer to Gwinnett Place Mall, Brookwood wouldn't be that bad of a commute at all. I don't think downtown Lilburn or Snellville have as much to offer in terms of entertainment, however. I know they're working on it but they have a lot of catching up to do compared to Duluth or Suwanee.

Lawrenceville has Collins Hill HS and Central Gwinnett HS (and others that will just add time to your commute). Collins Hill isn't quite as good as it used to be (I think once upon a time the top in Gwinnett) but it's still alright. I would skip Central Gwinnett.

Also, North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee is a high-performing school.

[sedimenjerry]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

Also, North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee is a high-performing school.

Can't believe I forgot to mention it
North Gwinnett HS is probably the best HS in Gwinnett at the moment and right there in Suwanee.

[Redlionjr]

Thanks for the info! Suwanee does seem nice but probably more than I want to spend now that I look more into it. Duluth and Lawrenceville are probably my top choices. Lawrenceville is a little further since the job is directly in Duluth but places of interest in Lawrenceville are mostly a 15-25 minute commute to work.

It takes me 45 mins sometimes to an hour to get home from work now so I'm good ether way as long as it's under 30 mins. As far as schools, my oldest child will be starting 1st grade this year so I'm not too concerned with the high schools rankings at the moment. We're so far from that stage things might change for the better or worst by the time they're starting high school. But trust me it's something to think about. I wouldn't want my children to end up in a school that's a complete dump.

[JMatl]

Welcome back, Redlionjr! Lawrenceville has changed for the better since you lived here, they just built a professional performance hall Downtown, there are quite a few new businesses and a boatload of new townhomes have been added. The place is actually becoming urbane! Your timing is great to be returning. The County Commission and the School Board are both majority Democratic as well, and by a wide margin.

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by JMatl

Welcome back, Redlionjr! Lawrenceville has changed for the better since you lived here, they just built a professional performance hall Downtown, there are quite a few new businesses and a boatload of new townhomes have been added. The place is actually becoming urbane! Your timing is great to be returning. The County Commission and the School Board are both majority Democratic as well, and by a wide margin.

That's really good to hear then. I was actually impressed with Downtown Lawrenceville the last time I was there. I totally stumbled on it by accident too. Only reason I was in Lawrenceville in the first place was due to a ticket I got in Gwinnett county and had to go to the courthouse to pay it off. This was back in 2016 so I can only imagine what progress it's made since then. Outside of that my only other interaction with Lawrenceville was some Seafood restaurant near Sugarloaf Mills.

That's one thing I liked about Atlanta suburbs in comparison to Houston burbs. You have these small old town squares/ historic downtowns that seem to be quickly urbanizing in a way.

[ShenardL]

Originally Posted by Redlionjr

That's really good to hear then. I was actually impressed with Downtown Lawrenceville the last time I was there. I totally stumbled on it by accident too. Only reason I was in Lawrenceville in the first place was due to a ticket I got in Gwinnett county and had to go to the courthouse to pay it off. This was back in 2016 so I can only imagine what progress it's made since then. Outside of that my only other interaction with Lawrenceville was some Seafood restaurant near Sugarloaf Mills.

That's one thing I liked about Atlanta suburbs in comparison to Houston burbs. You have these small old town squares/ historic downtowns that seem to be quickly urbanizing in a way.

Yes, just in Gwinnett County you have the historic downtowns of Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Lawrenceville, and others with the newer town centers in Peachtree Corners, Suwanee, Sugar Hill, Buford.