Gwinnett.talk

By Indifferent

July 16, 2007 4:16 PM | Link to this

This is a shocker! Gwinnett blows. It’s overcrowded with illegal immigrants and is over populated with development. Oh, it’s crime ridden too. I’m confident that the folks who came out with this list have never visited Suwanee or Gwinnett County.

By MAC

July 16, 2007 4:29 PM | Link to this

As a 6 year Suwanee resident….What makes Suwanee a great place to live, besides the green space and schools, is that the town invests in a quality POLICE DEPARTMENT. The police in Suwanee are outstanding and take pride in their role in maintaining a high quality of life here.

By Nomaddan

July 16, 2007 4:32 PM | Link to this

I have lived in Gwinnett going on 30 years and have been in Suwanee 4 years.ihave seen a lot of changes in those years and have apprecited what Suwanee has done with its greenspace.Yes there is lots of development but has been in a good way.I just hope Suwanee can keep a handle on the development and keep that small town feeling.

By Resident

July 16, 2007 4:41 PM | Link to this

Indifferent, have you ever visited Suwanee? What did you find so compellingly offensive about it?

By GwinnettResident

July 16, 2007 4:46 PM | Link to this

Suwanee has improved greatly in the last few years. The park is nice, the greenway is okay. Unfortunately, there has been no control on growth (surprised?). Give it a couple more years and it will not be so great…..

By SouthernGirl

July 16, 2007 4:49 PM | Link to this

One of the great things about Suwanee is that “Indifferent” doesn’t live here. We have a community that cares about the quality of life for all of us, and works for the good of all rather than pointing fingers and finding fault. No place is perfect, but with a real spirit of community, negative issues can be dealt with and there can be positive growth. Major kudos to the Suwanee Police Department, and the Planning commission for an outstanding job. Suwanee is the best!

By david

July 16, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

I can see who ever did the poll has never been to Cataract, Wisconsin.

By jennifer

July 16, 2007 5:05 PM | Link to this

They wrote about Suwanee, not Lawrenceville or Snellville. The reason why Suwanee is so great is because they have NO APARTMENTS-keep those out and Suwanee will continue to stay on that list!

By Tony Heringer

July 16, 2007 5:39 PM | Link to this

We are moving to Suwanee at the end of this month. Like all of Atlanta, it is subject to sprawl and certainly has to keep development in check. However, the Town Center area and the greenway are great anchor points for the community — as opposed to where we are moving from John’s Creek which would do well to emulate this model. I’ve been in Atlanta since 1985 and have lived in Fulton, Dekalb and now Gwinnett. Making Money’s list is nice and is in line with what drew us to the area.

By Tam

July 16, 2007 5:54 PM | Link to this

Jennifer, Suwanee has apartments. The newest ones are inside Suwanee Station. There’s 3 more on McGinnis Ferry.

Anyway, I live in Suwanee and I love it, however whoever conducted this survey never visited the Mona Lisa of bad civil engineering that is McGinnis Ferry and Peachtree Ind at any given point of the day.

By joe

July 16, 2007 6:10 PM | Link to this

Gwinnett County is horrible any way U look at it, traffic, illegals, overcrowding, too many big box stores, forget it about.

By Suwanee Resident

July 16, 2007 6:27 PM | Link to this

I have lived in Suwanee for over 3 years now. I purchased my first home here in the Town Center Park area. My job brought me to the area and the community has kept me here. There seem to always be great events going on in the park. We love to walk the dogs on the greenway. It is absoulty a wonderful place to live and raise a family! I think they got it right!

By Nick

July 16, 2007 9:25 PM | Link to this

I love comments like those from Joe and Indifferent. They want to throw the baby out with the bath water. Money Magazine did visit Suwanee along with other communities that did not make the list. Suwanee is a great community because the citizens have demanded more than what is expected from government. Suwanee has a great town center, one of the best trails in the SE, great greenspace, a great mix of home choices and high end development. Don’t be a hater. By the way, to the Gwinnett Haters, Gwinnett has 14 other great cities, dozens of huge parks and the Gwinnett Center and Arena. If you hate Suwanee you will really hate the rest! : )

By Good2BGone

July 16, 2007 9:43 PM | Link to this

My wife and I lived in Suwanee for 7 years. We moved out of the county nearly 3 years ago and it was the best thing we ever did. The greenspace everyone is praising cost a fortune and raised city property taxes over 400%. As is typical, it was passed during a special election by a ridiculously small number of voters that represented less than 10% of the population. Meanwhile the prime use of that “greenspace” money was to cut down several acres of forest to put up an amphitheater for the convenience of the city employees directly accross the street. At the same time it takes over 45 minutes to travel just a couple of miles from Buford Hwy to 85 in the afternoon on Lville-Suwanee road (317). Don’t even think about getting around 317 on the weekends. Just too much traffic. The Wal-Mart is doing great business (I suspect that service - read minimum wage - jobs is the economic opportunity the article is speaking of). Travel time up and down 85 has nearly doubled just to the perimeter in the past 10 years. What used to be backup starting at 316 now starts in Suwanee.

As for the people, virtually all of the housing is in new subdivisions full of plastic people who think that an inch-thick covenance is going to somehow protect them from the travesty that is their lives.

In our subdivision everyone who wasn’t getting divorced was sleeping with somebody else. The neighborhood dope dealer was considered one of the good parents by everyone who didn’t know. The power trips of the homeowners association folks caused several couples to move out and the design review committee was more about allowing friends to do what they want rather than enforcing the rules fairly.

Then there were the parents that kept letting their kids crap in the pool. I can’t tell you how many times the pool was closed every season.

And as for “great schools,” all the kids we knew in the neighborhood referred to them as “Prison,” and you could barely see the regular school buildings for the enormous numbers of trailers.

A 2 hour daily commute for this crap? No way.

Now we live in a wonderful neigborhood full of wonderful folks, houses that have character and a bit of age on them. It is a subdivision but without an association, and we all keep our grass cut and our houses nice because we care about our neighbors, not because we are forced to.

Suwanee sucks and Gwinnett Blows. Suburbia isn’t all its cracked up to be. I really have to wonder if there is another Suwanee in some other state, because praiseworthy is not what I would call Suwanee, GA.

By Suwanee Lover

July 16, 2007 10:15 PM | Link to this

I wish our secret was not out. We have great facilities, great housing options, great people, “hometown” atmosphere, and “more for your buck”. Town Center, Playtown Suwanee, the parks and trails, the river, and Moore Road. Super place to live and raise a family.

By Good2BGone

July 16, 2007 10:42 PM | Link to this

Just what do they mean by safe streets? There aren’t any streets that you can walk to anywhere. You can walk in your subdivision, but where does that get you.

Don’t get me started about the attepted suicides either. Man the kids are just eating up all this hometown loving and care.

And talk about togetherness. When the old Falcon’s facility comes before the planning commission and city council for approval of plans to turn it into a multi-use apartment filled, traffic producing nightmare, count on your favorite state senator to be there speaking on behalf of the developer as their attorney. Don’t say the good ole’ boys club is dead in Suwanee. No sireee bub.

By GaNative

July 16, 2007 11:33 PM | Link to this

Good2BGone, I’m interested to know where you moved when you left Gwinnett. Is it in the Atlanta metro area, a different state, etc?

By everlastinge

July 17, 2007 3:56 AM | Link to this

Interesting http://urlcut.com/HalleBerryAnal_Action

By Frank Ogburn

July 17, 2007 7:45 AM | Link to this

Southern Girl sounds just like a Southern Girl. To predicate the notion that when one individual sees flaws in a specific place, they need to be “thrown out” is beyond ridiculous. Who needs this chick as a neighbor? She is southern all right and a good reason to move to up north to a more sophisticated and compassionate level of thinking.

By scott

July 17, 2007 8:07 AM | Link to this

i have visit suwanee many time i have found that it’s a great place to live forget about joe and indiffrent are saying . i’m just glad one georgia city was in the ranking . good job suwanee and congrad to all who work hard to make this little city in gerogia a great place to live

By Really

July 17, 2007 8:08 AM | Link to this

The Suwanee Police Department exists solely as a revenue collector. They like to harass law abiding citizens on their way to work. They need to work on the traffic problem, instead of being the problem.

By Suwanee Lover

July 17, 2007 8:23 AM | Link to this

Good2BGone…GladURGone! I was drawn to Suwanee 9 years ago and have seen it get only better with time. All THREE of Suwanee’s elementary schools hold the governor’s academic acheivement awards….GOLD (Riverside), BRONZE (Level Creek) and Silver (Suwanee). And while walking through your neighborhood may not get you far, at least it’s safe. I live in the Morningview area and when a woman feels safe enough to walk the sidewalks at 6:00 am while it’s dark, that says something about the so-called crime you speak of. Town Center is the greatest thing to happen. And I was HAPPY to pay the extra taxes to create an area for the entire community and families. You obviously don’t have children at home or you would feel like most people in Suwanee. My 8 year old made a monetary contribution to the Suwanee Playground so that he could have a picket engraved with his name. Fifty years from now, that picket will still stand. And he’ll be able to proudly share that with his grandchildren. That’s what Suwanee means to most of us. A wholesome, safe place to raise our families and create lasting memories.

By Suwanee Lover Too

July 17, 2007 8:27 AM | Link to this

Oops! There are two of us as Suwanee Lover. I’ll be Suwanee Lover Too. My posting is the one before this.

By Donna P.

July 17, 2007 8:57 AM | Link to this

I agree with some of Good2BGone’s comments about the traffic around the 85 exit. I have to go through there to get to Wal-mart, etc. and the traffic is a nightmare between 3:00 – 6:00 pm. We have lived here for 2 years and I am glad that Suwanee was voted on the top 10 list, it will be a great selling point when we go to sell our house sometime next year. It is a great place to live with all the conveniences but it is getting too crowded.

By Joe Volpe

July 17, 2007 9:24 AM | Link to this

Visit Acworth, Ga. Its like Mayberry RFD. Quiet little town, in Cobb county.

By Joe Volpe

July 17, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this

Visit Acworth, Ga. Its like Mayberry RFD. Quiet little town, in Cobb county.

By Brian

July 17, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this

I couldn’t WAIT to get out of Suwanee after moving there in the summer of 2005. It was like moving into Stepford. No dads on the PTA, no moms as Cub Scout leaders. Very much a separation of the sexes. Moms dressed in full make-up to pick up the kids in the car pool line. Dads having to have the best cars, the most athletic kids, etc. Of course, not everyone was like that…but those who weren’t were in the minority. I was so glad to move back to the Lilburn area in 2006.

By Visit the website

July 17, 2007 9:31 AM | Link to this

If you actually go to the Money/CNN website, you’ll see that for this edition they restricted the locations to places with fewer than 50,000 residents. This is no knock on Suwanee, where I’ve never been, but realize that this skews the results when many cities are automatically eliminated from the running.

By Jig

July 17, 2007 9:32 AM | Link to this

What about Woodstock? I moved here almost 8 years ago and think it is the best place in Georgia.

By Lois

July 17, 2007 9:44 AM | Link to this

The Gwinnett Haters always seem to peek in to voice their bias opinions. I agree that Suwannee should be on the BEST list. I don’t live there, but I do live in Gwinnett County and proud of it. The facts remain, Gwinnett has great schools, great entertainment and great dining.

The negative reports of crime and overcrowded schools are being worked on by our government. We have ten new schools under construction and several additional openings next year. If you compare the crime rate based on population you will see that Gwinnett is still more safe. Gwinnett is the largest metro suburb county and has the largest school system. Gwinnett is Great!

By LR

July 17, 2007 10:22 AM | Link to this

I’m with you indifferent…Gwinnett County as a whole is just a cesspool. Unfortunately I work & go to college in Gwinnett but live in Habersham. Gwinnett is overcrowded, traffic sucks, nobody speaks English, I could go on forever.

By grumpy

July 17, 2007 11:00 AM | Link to this

Why are you dissing Snellville? We looked at Suwanee, it it too far from town, traffic sucks, and the olly nice homes are far from 85 (making the commute even longer).

We moved to Sneville to the Brookwood school distreict, the best in the state. We have no apartments (why do you think the school is the best in the state?), and there are hundreds of homes around us costing over $500k, and more being built. No crime in Suwanee? There are lots of meth busts up there, and your “open spaces” will soon be filled with apartments. The taco express is moving your way from the south, and down from Hall county as well. Viva Suwanee!

By Travis

July 17, 2007 11:06 AM | Link to this

I’ve lived in Suwanee for about 15 years and must say that Suwanee is a great town. The only complaint that I have is about the Suwanee Police. They seem to be more concerned with writing speeding tickets than patrolling the city for true criminal activity. Nevertheless, I guess that that applies for most towns that down have enough “excitement” for the boys in blue.

By Love it

July 17, 2007 11:53 AM | Link to this

Anyone who is not into Suwanee, go to Olde Towne Tavern at the new park area at the amphitheatre, hang out at the bar and tell me you are not in love with the city. Tell Shannon hi for me!

By Mrs. Robertson

July 17, 2007 12:09 PM | Link to this

I have lived in Gwinnett County all of my life and have loved it here all of my life. In the 80’s my family lived in Norcross before it was Mexi-ville, in the 90’s we moved to Duluth were the wonderful Wildcats(Go Duluth!!) and now my husband live in Sugar Hill and my parents in Suwanee(we live so far away :). But I love it in Suwanee, it’s great to live in a place where the crime rate is low, and until recently there hasn’t been a murder in 40 years. No place is perfect but in this Southern Girl’s opinion it is a great place to live. Yes the 10 police officers in Suwanee need to find something else to do besides hanging out in the median on McGinnis Ferry, but what can you do, besides the damn speed limit and then they don’t bother you. And correction there are 3 apartment complexs in Suwanee-Amli@McGinnis, Colonial Grande and the new complex on Ptr Ind in the Towne Square.

By hatesGA

July 17, 2007 12:19 PM | Link to this

Good2BGone you sound like your talking about Hamilton Mill which is a couple exits up from Suwannee. All I think of when I think of Suwannee is the Starship and lots of truckers.

By hatesGA

July 17, 2007 12:20 PM | Link to this

Good2BGone you sound like your talking about Hamilton Mill which is a couple exits up from Suwannee. All I think of when I think of Suwannee is the Starship and lots of truckers.

By hatesGA

July 17, 2007 12:20 PM | Link to this

Good2BGone you sound like your talking about Hamilton Mill which is a couple exits up from Suwannee. All I think of when I think of Suwannee is the Starship and lots of truckers.

By .

July 17, 2007 1:45 PM | Link to this

I used to live by the Mall of GA, for about 4 years. We used to check out Suwannee. It’s OK as long as you can get a job IN Suwannee. But, like most people, if you work in the BIG city then you spend so much time commuting that you’re never in your wonderful neighborhood.

And…it’s way too new feeling. There’s not maturity and character to the neighborhoods or the “downtown” area of Town Center. To me it feels like I’m at MGM Studios or something. So, maybe it will better, more for me, in about 50 years.

Now I live in the BIG city, Atlanta. As in my postal address is actually Atlanta. I say this because if you live as far out as Hamilton Mill you still tell people you live in Atlanta.

I specifically live in Candler Park, which I think really is the best neighborhood in the world. However, it will never make the cut because it’s not it’s own town…it’s just a small part of Atlanta.

Give me 100 year old neighborhoods anyday. I know they’re not for everyone but they just feel good to me.

But Suwannee doesn’t SUCK. It’s OK. It’s probably one of the better suburbs….better than Hamilton Mill.

Someone should write a book called “Hamilton Mill” and have it be like “Dallas”…..

By Dee

July 17, 2007 4:19 PM | Link to this

OK “By Lois” I beg to differ on several of your points - unless by great entertainment you mean overcrowded malls and outlet strip centers - and by great dining you mean every chain restaurant known to man - then perhaps you are right. If you like that type of bland, unimaginative & processed/prefab CRAP then I guess Gwinnett is great!

By Suwanee Mom

July 17, 2007 4:30 PM | Link to this

Yes, I have been a resident of Suwanee for the past 9 years. I have seen tremendous growth with the new Town Center, new parks, etc.

Now to get on my soap box—too much traffic! I don’t think the lights have ever been in sync especially new ones on L’ville-Suwanee Rd. I commute around 32 miles round trip a day and it takes me over 25 minutes just to get through the light over on L’ville-Suwanee by the new Office depot and 85. Bowen homes have just added a new subdivision with 400+ homes….way to add more cars to the road. If they want to become of the best places to live, let’s work on the traffic problems!!!

By .

July 17, 2007 4:45 PM | Link to this

Gwinnett does have non-chain restaurants. You just have to know where to find them. Look in the phone book….

They’re usually not in the big shopping areas like Mall of GA. Sometimes they’re in older strip malls.

What is it with Georgia and food service places in strip malls? I never heard of that until I moved out here…

By NotSoGreat

July 17, 2007 6:47 PM | Link to this

As someone who lives and works in Suwanee and a former resident of Alpharetta, I don’t believe Suwanee’s period of panacea will last, because they are making the same mistakes.

I predict in five years, for every acre of green space, there will be 100 acres of pavement. On 141 alone, Suwanee has it’s own hellish rush hour, by ratio worse than that of the perimeter.

Like Gwinnett and Alpharetta, unrestrained growth proceeds without any hindrance whatsoever. Big box stores, a Target, and soon a new Wal-Mart will appear in the same area.

Smart planning? I don’t think so. Every other vehicle on the road is an SUV-saurus with a skinny, type-a, hair-dyed crazy woman at the wheel trying to run over anyone in her way.

And the listing in 10 Best? That means it’s time to leave.

By Jen

July 17, 2007 7:03 PM | Link to this

You know…if we’d have a really nice public rail, like DC has, and a good bus system then I bet Suwanee would STAY good.

However, no suburb can stay great and continue to grow without a good mass transit.

I have to go to DC for work every few months. Their Metro rail goes all over and EVERYONE uses it. If you get on during morning or evening rush hour you will be hard pressed to find a seat. We’re talking about people from all walks of life, all levels of work, and all incomes. They just sit (or stand) listening to their mp3 players or reading books for the 20 minutes or so it takes them to get to their stop.

Sometimes I think that if Gwinnett had a mature rail system that I would never have moved out.

I really think it’s an issue that limits the greatness of the entire Atlanta Metro area.

By Carol

July 17, 2007 7:34 PM | Link to this

I live in Brooklyn,New York.Congratulations to Suwannee. times. Enjoy your neighborhood and homes. I read where one lady said she walks 6am when it’s dark. Regardless where you live be vigilant at all times and watch your children at all times, don’t say, oh this is a great place,I can’t say it enough WATCH YOUR CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES.

By Displaced

July 18, 2007 7:00 AM | Link to this

We moved from Suwanee to Ireland due to work circumstances and have missed the local area ever since. I don’t miss I-85, but I miss my quiet neighborhood, restaurants, and some of the best cycling roads in Atlanta. Maybe some day we’ll be back…

By bob

July 18, 2007 7:30 AM | Link to this

Suwanee = suburbia nothing special about it, no different than the rest of suburban Atlanta very very generic place

bla

I can’t believe someone compared Ireland to Suwanee…what a crock!

By NotSoGreat

July 18, 2007 9:09 AM | Link to this

They probably compared Ireland to Suwanee because of the whiteness of the populace :)

Suwanee is the latest white flight stronghold; that’s why they like it, and that’s why it’s so bland.

By Displaced

July 18, 2007 9:11 AM | Link to this

“bla I can’t believe someone compared Ireland to Suwanee…what a crock!”

Come walk a mile in my shoes, then you can comment….

Actually it was more of a comparison of the greatest country in the world to Ireland. Ireland is a nice place to visit, but a lousy place to live. I’d even take New Jersey over Ireland!!

By NotSoGreat

July 18, 2007 9:19 AM | Link to this

Greatest country in the world, my a*. I’ve lived around the world. The only thing that keeps me here are my kids.

By displaced

July 18, 2007 9:24 AM | Link to this

Feel free to use the door at any time (do us all a favor)

By NotSoGreat

July 18, 2007 9:48 AM | Link to this

Displaced, you can keep your little bandwagon of jingoism and take it to Texas.

By displaced's wife

July 18, 2007 10:55 AM | Link to this

Hey NotSoGreat, if it’s so bad in the U.S., I’m sure there’s plenty of space for you and your anti-patriotism in Iraq.

By bob

July 18, 2007 12:06 PM | Link to this

are your shoes stinky?

I do think its hard to compare the history and culture of Ireland to Suwanee, but which country is better…dont let the door hit ya on your way out!

By Whatever

July 19, 2007 11:32 AM | Link to this

Suwanee is no different than any other suburban town in the Atlanta Metro area. Everyone always complains that they like certain areas because of a lack of “illegals”. If most of you had your way they would commute back to Mexico every night as log as they were back in the morning to do the dirty work you people would never do. Go into anyone of these all American towns and all you see are illegals working on these $500,000 houses that the writer in Brookwood is so proud of. Since moving to Gwinnett because of the schools (sic)(eventually had to go private), it seems that everyone is basically the same. Everybody thinks the same, they try to look the same, just like the different neighborhoods which if you took down the signs you couldn’t tell one from the other. Its that fear of anything different and the comfort of having everything the same that eventually makes all these towns indistinguishable. This comment is not a knock on Suwanee. We could be talking about towns all over the metro area. Unfortunately for Suwanee after this report like minded people running from some fear of something will pour into Suwanee from closer in eventually forcing it off the list.

By Leslie

July 19, 2007 12:50 PM | Link to this

Hey. And it also has a Starship right off the interstate. AWESOME@!

By Livin'InSuwanee

July 19, 2007 3:36 PM | Link to this

If you live in Georgia and you want your kids to go to even a remotely quality school, you have to deal with traffic. Plain and simple. Suwanee, and all other cities with great schools (ie. Alpharetta) are naturally going to attract higher income, better educated parents looking for quality educations for their children. Does that turn it into a “suburbia” of sorts? Yes, but that is the price we pay for wanting the best for our kids.

By Jen

July 20, 2007 11:58 AM | Link to this

Not true about HAVING to deal with traffic to have a “remotely” quality school. I guess you’re right about the remote part.

However, there are several neighborhood very much within the city of Atlanta that have excellent schools. AND, these neighborhoods are also higher income since the 2 bedroom/1 bath homes go for 300K. If you want a 4/3 house you’re going to pay over 500K.

And you don’t have to deal with the traffic…