5 Reasons NOT to Move to Gwinnett County
Hi! I’m Tim Trevathan with Tim Trevathan Homes and Keller Williams Realty. If you saw my last video, I talked about 10 Reasons to Move to Gwinnett County. There is a lot to love about Gwinnett as many of my past clients have moved here and are raving about it! But, no place is perfect. So, today I’m going to tell you 5 reasons you may NOT want to move to Gwinnett County.
Some of these reasons you might be surprised about, so stick around til the end to find out! If you realize that these reasons are not so bad, then I’d love to talk with you about how to call Gwinnett County your home. Whether it’s a phone call, text, or e-mail, you can reach me however you want!
First, traffic. There’s no denying that living in Gwinnett County comes with traffic. Lots of traffic. This is especially true if you work a 9-5 and head into Atlanta in the morning and back home in the late afternoon with the thousands of other Gwinnett residents making the same commute.
I-85 runs through the heart of Gwinnett County. This is great for easy access to downtown, but also means that people who live north or west of Gwinnett and work in Atlanta pass through Gwinnett on their commute.
Thankfully, there are a lot of surface roads in Gwinnett and with some pre-planning, you may be able to avoid some of the worst traffic.
Compared to other metro areas like Los Angeles, we have nothing to complain about when it comes to traffic. But there is still lots of it and it is certainly something to be aware of if you are considering a move to Gwinnett County.
Second, suburban sprawl. All of that traffic comes with a lot of suburban sprawl. For many people, this is not a deal breaker. They enjoy the convenience of having a lot of shopping, dining, and recreation options just a few minutes away.
But, Gwinnett may not be for you if you would prefer wide open spaces. Developers have been in Gwinnett for decades with no signs of stopping any time soon. There are a few portions of Gwinnett that are still more rural looking and are a throwback to Gwinnett’s rural history, but those areas are few and far between and are slowly but surely being turned into neighborhoods and shopping centers as the owners decide to sell their land.
So, if having acreage is important to you or you love open, country roads, Gwinnett may not be the right fit for you and you may want to look past Gwinnett, perhaps in Walton, Barrow, or Jackson counties.
Third, transportation. In Gwinnett County, having your own vehicle is almost a necessity. Public transportation is lacking and there are only a handful of areas designed to be walkable live-work-play communities.
Gwinnett County Transit does offer bus service, but routes are primarily centered along the I-85 corridor and don’t run throughout the entire county.
Dedicated bike lanes are few and far between, and heavy traffic makes commuting by bike a potentially dangerous option, not to mention bikes are not allowed on the interstate.
If you are hoping to walk rather than drive when possible, you’ll want to look at homes in the Suwanee Town Center, downtown Duluth, downtown Norcross, and downtown Lawrenceville. Unless your job is also in those areas you won’t be able to walk to work, but you’ll be able to walk to several dining, entertainment, and recreation options.
However, in the rest of the county, you’ll need a car to go pretty much anywhere outside of your own neighborhood.
Fourth, schools. You may be asking “But Tim, on your last video you listed schools as a reason to move to Gwinnet. How can schools also be a reason not to move to Gwinnett?”. That is a great question and I’m glad you asked.
Most schools in Gwinnett are high performing and consistently get good reviews from parents, students, and teachers. But, the Gwinnett County School System is huge, with 83 elementary schools, 29 middle schools, and 23 high schools plus 7 specialty schools and an online campus.
The average enrollment in a Gwinnett County high school is around 3,000 students. That’s larger than some small towns! In the 2021-2022 school year, Gwinnett County Schools served more than 180,000 students, making it the 3rd largest transporter of students in the country and the 4th largest employer in Metro Atlanta.
So, in a system that large, it is not surprising that some schools aren’t as high performing as others. For context, Shiloh High School is the lowest ranked of the traditional high schools in Gwinnett. In 2022, it was ranked #231 in the entire state, still putting it in the highest 50% of schools which isn’t bad at all. But, in comparison, North Gwinnett is the top ranked traditional high school in Gwinnett and ranked #16 in the state.
Also, because the schools tend to be so large, sometimes it can be easy to get lost in the crowd. But, the size of the schools also come with some pretty amazing resources and well equipped schools.
Bottom line, if you plan to enroll your children in public school, do your own research on the schools in the areas where you are looking to see if they are a good fit for your family.
Fifth, affordability. Gwinnett County is not the cheapest place to live. If you have a large budget then yes, there are some wonderful options for you in Gwinnett County. But, if you are trying to get into a starter home, those have become increasingly expensive over the past 2 years in particular. If you are looking for the combination of move in ready and at a lower price point, you’ll probably want to look outside of Gwinnett County in one of the neighboring more rural counties.
If you are willing to put in some sweat equity or have the budget to pay for updates and repairs, you can still find some great homes in Gwinnett in the lower price ranges.
Many of the older areas in Gwinnett’s cities are undergoing a revitalization. On the one hand it is great for property values, but the downside is as the downtown areas develop, nearby homes become more expensive.
One tip for budget buyers in Gwinnett is to look for homes in unincorporated Gwinnett as those tend to be a little less expensive than homes inside city limits and come without the added expense of paying city taxes.
To wrap up, Gwinnett is a great place to live, but it isn’t for everyone. If it doesn’t sound like the place for you, stay tuned because I’ve got some videos on nearby counties in the works and coming your way soon!
