Back talking about one of my favorite places in all of Atlanta and that’s Duluth Ga. Today what we’re doing is I’m going to give you some Pros and Cons of Duluth Ga. Now I know I did one of this about 3 years ago but a lot has changed in 3 years. So you’re definitely going to want to take a look at these changes as we explore the Pros and Cons of living in Duluth Ga. Some things have changed for the good and other things not so much, which means you definitely want to consider these pros and cons if you’re looking to make that move here to Atlanta and specifically to Duluth Ga.
The first thing we’re going to start with is some stats so let me tell you about Duluth Georgua. Duluth Ga is located 28 Mi Northeast of Atlanta. Duluth Ga has a population of 32,000 people the population is made up of 36.9% White, 23.8% African-American, 23.1% Asian, 15.3% Hispanic or Latino and .9% other. As this stat shows Duluth Ga is a very diverse community. 55.3% of houses are owner occupied, the median household income is $ 88,915 and the medium home value is $495,000.
LR Burger and Town Green One of the first pros is the downtown area here in Duluth Ga. You’re going to absolutely love it. Right now, as I am writing this, I’m sitting on the town green. I’m right across from Truck and Tap and LR Burger, which LR Burger is new. Duluth has a lot of options when it comes to dining. Downtown Duluth Ga is kind of separated into two different sections. Parson’s Alley is on the northside and then their is Main Street and the town green on the southside. You can find a varitey of different options here when it comes to eating out. They offer barbecue with Dreamland Barbecue, a number of bars such as Truck n’ Tap as well as Good Word Brewing. This area was definitely created for the crowd that wants to get out have a good time.
In downtown Duluth Ga during the warmer months, you will find it packed with food trucks that come in to go along with live music and events. Duluth Ga offers a number of themed nights too such as a Vegas themed night, a circus themed night, mardi gras and more throughout the year. Duluth Ga, over the last few years, has seen an influx of younger people, especially with the availability of late night bar scene. This is ideal for singles, newly weds or those empty nesters just looking to get out on the town for a good time. Downtown Duluth is a great place to hang out.
Duluth Ga hosts quite a bit of festivals as well. There is the Fall Arts Festival that happens, a farmers markets that opens on weekends and Derby Day in downtown Duluth Ga just to name a few. In and around Thanksgiving and Christmas you can find Santa out and about as well as a snow areas, toboggan rides, inflatables, a maze and more. There are all kinds of really cool options and the great thing is its all free. There’s definitely a little bit for everybody in downtown Duluth Ga. Also in the south part of the downtown area you will find the Duluth library. The Duluth Ga library offers a lot of classes and other activities.
If you want to enjoy dining, desserts and more here is a list of additional offerings in downtown Duluth Ga: 6s Brewing, Break Coffee Roaster, The Chocolatiere, Crave Pie Studio, The Cream, Empanada House, Duluth Rexall Grill, Falling Rabbit, Gwen Tajz Wine Bar, Local on North, Maple Street Biscuit Company, Nacho Daddy, Noona Meat and Seafood, O4W Pizza, Pure Taqueria, Rock and Roll Sushi, Simply Done Donuts, Sweet Octopus and Tropic Bowls Cafe.
So it’s not just all about Downtown Duluth though, this is a really cool place to hang out and enjoy but there’s actually a ton to do all around the Duluth Ga area and even just outside of Duluth. Starting with the east side of Duluth Ga you can find the Gas South District which is home to the Gas South Arena, Gas South Convention Center and the Gas South Theater. These venues host world tours, trade shows, The Atlanta Gladiators ice hockey and Georgia Swarm professional lacrosse. In adddition they also hosts plays, ballets and more. Staying on this east side of Duluth Ga you can also find the Atlanta Ice Forum. Yes, believe it or not Atlanta and specifically Duluth Georgia has an indoor ice rink that hosts ice hockey leagues for kids and adults, figure skating, open skate times, camps and more. If golf is your sport then you have a public course option and a private course option. Your public course can be found at St Marlo’s Country Club and for a private course, which has hosted multiple PGA Tour events, you have TPC at Sugarloaf. If you want to go out to the movies there is a Studio Movie Grill in Duluth. And lastly near the downtown Duluth Ga you can visit the Southeast Train Museum. This is a fun place where kids and adults alike can walk around, in and go through restored trains. You can even play in train engines and learn all about trains as well as even go on a ride on a train.
Now to go along with things to do in Duluth Ga is pro number three and that’s the parks. There are a lot of park options in and around Duluth Ga and there’s a little something for everybody. When it comes to these parks if you like to be outdoors you got plenty of playground areas, dog parks, places to put in on the Chattahoochee River if you like the fish, kayak, canoe or just want to get in the water on hot Georgia days. There are a plethora of walking trails around some really cool places. One such place is McDaniels Farms Park found in Duluth Ga that is an old farmstead that they’ve now preserved. Here you will discover multiple hiking trails both paved and unpaved. It is easy to feel like you’re out and about in the the North Georgia Mountains.
Here are some additional Parks in Duluth Ga:
Butten Road Park is a 45 acre park that has baseball and softball fields soccer fields, tennis courts, a 3600 ft playground, walking and biking trails and a recreation center that has an indoor gym, office spaces, meeting spaces and aerobic rooms.
The Chattapoochee dog park is adjacent to Rogers Bridge Park. Here you will find both large and small dog parks. This area has gone through significant and major renovations
Rogers Brige Park is in it’s fininal stages of renovations. It will have a new playground area, a pedestrian foot bridge that now connects Rogers Bridge Park to John’s Creek’s Cauley Creek Park.
A few other parks are Church Street Park, Scott Hudgins, Taylor and WP Jones Park
Shorty Howell Park is another large Park in Duluth Ga with baseball and softball fields as well as pavilions, playgrounds and a lake.
McDaniel Farms Park this is personally one of my family’s favorite parks and has some great walking trails also has dog parks, a playground and you can also explore the old farmstead.
Pro number four for Duluth Ga are definitely the improvements they continue to make year over year. Duluth Ga city council is very proactive. They’re constantly doing things to improve the area whether it’s this downtown Duluth or just outside of this downtown area. They just have a very forward-thinking city council and it’s it’s great they’re constantly doing improvements in and around the area.
This next Pro of Duluth Ga is you have plenty of options to choose from for dining and shopping. You have Walmart, Target and plenty of grocery stores (Costco, Sam’s Club, Kroger, Publix, Aldi, H Mart, Lidl and more). On Pleasant Hill Road you will find a lot of options including one of the largest selections of Asian marts and resturants in Georgia.
But there is one drawback and that’s you don’t find a lot of high-end shopping in just one area like in Alpharetta for instance where you will find Avalon. If you are not familiar Avalon hosts a variety of shops where people can spend all day if they would like shopping. Just outside of Duluth Ga, in Lawrenceville, you have Sugarloaf Mills or in Buford you will find the Mall of Georgia. So there are some bigger places to shop and it’s close by to here but if you’re looking for it right here in Duluth Ga there’s not a lot of bulk shopping.
Con number two is the old bulk shopping area that used to be available 20 years ago and that is Gwinnett Mall. Why you ask is something that was available 20 years ago a con now. Well outside of a few stores still open, Gwinnett Mall is a ghost town that is still standing. The few stores there get some businesss but the area just looks terrible and is not well maintained. For years they’ve been trying to figure out what to do with it they even have talked about tearing it down and putting in an International Center. They may have finalized plans now but no movement seems to be happening in the area. This is the one eyesoar in Duluth that really needs to be fixed.
Con number three of the Duluth Ga area and definitely a big change from a few years ago is affordability. 3-5 years ago Duluth Ga was one of the most affordable and best buys of anywhere in metro Atlanta. In Duluth Ga 5 years ago the median sales price for a home was $280,000. And you could find a 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom home for that price in walking distance of downtown Duluth Ga. Today we’re looking at a median sales price of $495,000. In all of Georgia over the last 5 years we’ve had a 58% increase in home values but during that same time frame Duluth Ga homes have gone up 77%. The amount of money it costs to purchase a home in Duluth Georgia has increased tremendously over these last 5 years which has caused affordability to go down. So that’s definitely a negative here for living in Duluth Ga
Con number four for Duluth Ga is there are a lot of apartments here in Duluth Ga and a lot more either being built or that have just been finished. This sometimes can have a negative effect on home values though this doesn’t seem to be the case at the present. The real con comes with higher density housing comes more traffic. Traffic has definitely increased in the area. But a con to some can be a pro for others. For those looking for more affordable housing options in the area, these appartments are filling that gap.