The city of Duluth, GA is an amazing small town with so much to offer. Between its super charming historic downtown with loads of shopping and restaurants, to its family friendly community feel, Duluth is a great place to call home. But we wouldn’t want you to be misled and think that this little town is perfect. So today we will share with you some of the pros and cons of living in the city of Duluth Georgia.
There are so many things to love about the city of Duluth, GA. But let’s be realistic. Every place you live is going to have a few things that you could live without. So, let’s jump right in and talk about some of those cons in Duluth as well as the many pros. Good news first!
Pro Number One – The Location.
Duluth is about 30 minutes north of Atlanta and is nestled between Johns Creek, Suwanee and Peachtree Corners. There are several major highways within a short distance to Duluth. You have Highway 400 which runs north and south, I-85 that also runs north and south and will take you directly to I-285. I-285 is the belt line that goes all the way around Atlanta. So, if you are interested in spending a day in downtown Atlanta, just hop on one of these major highways and you can be there in no time (unless of course you hit some Atlanta traffic – we’ll talk about that soon). There’s so much to do and see in downtown Atlanta including the Georgia aquarium, the Coca-Cola museum, taking in a Braves game, visiting Centennial Park, just to name a few! If being in the hustle and bustle of a big city is not your ideal way to spend your free time, you can always hop on I-85 and go north and be in the north Georgia mountains. You can spend the day hiking, tubing down a river, or just looking at the beautiful leaves in the fall.
Let’s now talk a little bit about our first con.
Con number one – The Traffic
If you’re planning to stay right around downtown Duluth, traffic will not be much of an issue for you. However, if you are traveling down to downtown Atlanta you will absolutely want to stay away from the major highways where afternoon traffic can begin around 3:00 PM and last until about 7 PM. Traffic gets congested on all the major highways running in and out of downtown Atlanta. But if you work from home or work close to Duluth, you should be OK! And, I know a lot of people who work in downtown Atlanta that just change their work hours to avoid the heavy traffic times.
Pro Number Two – The Schools
Duluth is located in Gwinnett county. Gwinnett County Public Schools is a highly rated, public school district. It has a little over 180,000 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 16 to 1. Some of the top schools in the city of Duluth include Harris Elementary School and River Trail Middle School, which both received a 9/10 on Greatschools.org. Northview Highschool also received a 9/10 and has won many awards, including a college success gold award for its track record in helping students enroll and succeed in college. Another great and unique thing about the Georgia public school system is that it offers a pre-K program. Now, this program is not limited to Duluth, but I still wanted to mention it. Georgia’s Pre-K Program is a lottery funded educational program for Georgia’s four year olds that is geared specifically for preparing children for Kindergarten. The school day can be long for some four-year-olds because it does run the typical school day hours. But on the flipside, it’s free! Who doesnt love free? Now, not only do you have great public school options, but you also have several private school options like Perimeter Christian School, Wesleyan and Mt. Pisgah Christian School. And there is also a very large homeschool community…so there really are many options for education in Duluth.
Con Number Two – No Greenway
There is not a greenway located in the city of Duluth, GA. If you’re not familiar with what a Greenway is, it is a shared-use path set aside for recreational use and is used by walkers, runners, bicyclists, skaters and hikers. I put this as a con simply because the surrounding areas of Johns Creek and Suwanee as well as several other cities nearby all have a greenway for the community to use. So, if a Greenway is super important to you for running, walking, and biking and you don’t want to drive outside of the city of Duluth, then that may be something for you to consider.
Pro Number Three – The Historic Downtown Duluth Area
Downtown Duluth is chock-full of charm, history and entertainment! From the beautiful craftsman style homes that line Main Street, the boutique shops that carry wonderful gifts and clothes to the restaurants for the foodie. This downtown does not disappoint. One of my favorite shops to visit is Personify which is an awesome boutique to find gifts and unique clothes and jewelry. I also love to get tacos at Pure Taqueria and visit Truck and Tap… But, if I’m looking for a fun atmosphere, a really good burger and a cold beer, Good Word Brewing is the place to be! The city of Duluth, GA also really knows how to bring its community together within the town green. There is always something going on… Duluth Art Festival, Flicks on the Bricks, Food Truck Friday, the Summer concert series, just to name a few…..They even have a Back to School Bubblepalooza. Now if that doesn’t get you excited about Duluth, I don’t know what will! I just love the community feel that the city of Duluth, GA offers.
Con Number Three – House Prices
Houses in the city of Duluth, GA can be pretty expensive, especially around the downtown area. The housing prices have changed quite a bit over the last few years as the market has changed. Buying a house in the city of Duluth used to be much more affordable. In 2017, just 5 years ago, the median sale price was $300,000. Today, however, the median sale price in Duluth is $500,000. I’d say that’s a pretty drastic jump! However, Duluth is still much more affordable in relation to many other suburbs in Atlanta. Neighboring Johns Creek has a median home price of $700,000! Yikes! So, overall, a home is still pretty affordable in Duluth.
So there you have it….what do you all think? Do the pros outweigh the cons for you? We have helped lots of clients move to the Duluth area and they seem to love it! Let us know what you think. We’d love to give you a tour!
