Welcome to Strong Communities - Love Where You Live
Let's talk about the place we live, why we love it and how we can make it stronger.
My wife, Liz, and I moved to Georgia in 2000 from Wisconsin. She’s a native Badger and I’m a native Hoosier (Indiana) by birth but we’re both Purdue Boilermakers by the grace of God.
When we moved to Georgia in 2000, we were seeking better weather, more opportunities and a great place to start our family.
Settling in Gwinnett County, Georgia
In 2000, Gwinnett County was in the midst of a near two-decade housing and population boom - often cited as one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Gwinnett’s well-regarded schools, affordable housing options and strong economy made it a beacon for young professionals getting ready to start a family in the suburbs. It helped that Liz’s sister already lived in Gwinnett and she had other family in nearby Forsyth County.
Our first home we purchased shortly after the move was in unincorporated Suwanee in northern Gwinnett County. A large home in a great school district since we knew we’d be starting a family soon. However, we quickly realized the home and neighborhood weren’t exactly what we were looking for. We both wanted something that was more family oriented and an active neighborhood with a lot of young kids.
We found both a home and neighborhood we loved in the same school district in the Wild Timber subdivision in nearby Sugar Hill. We didn’t intentionally move inside the city when we first moved - at the time in 2003 when we were looking, Sugar Hill in and of itself offered nothing of consequence as a city. It had a park - EE Robinson. It had a 1970s era city hall in its “downtown” but downtown itself offered nothing to do. We purely selected our home because of school district and the active families in the neighborhood. Plus we loved the floor plan of the home.
So, where’s the community?
When we moved to Sugar Hill, our community consisted solely of our neighborhood. Our son would be born shortly after moving into Sugar Hill with a daughter to follow two years later. In discussions with other parents, few people felt a sense of community around anything other than their school district and/or neighborhood. Where were the broader community celebrations and third places where you felt more rooted in the place you called home? They didn’t exist - a common failing of the suburbs.
Building Community
Fast forward a few years as Sugar Hill planted its flag in plans for a “town center” in plans published in 2005 and 2008 calling for a true downtown experience of a mixing of uses that would bring residents, businesses, entertainment and restaurants in a walkable downtown. The downtown would be the focal point of community gatherings - offering an opportunity to meet the greater Sugar Hill community, building those bonds the same way that humans have for thousands of years prior to the invention of the automobile.
From Plans to Reality
With the opening of a new city hall, amphitheater and a re-envisioned main street, West Broad Street, through downtown in 2012, the city had moved from plan to reality. As a member of the Downtown Development Authority starting in 2011, little did I know how much community would be built in the coming decade as I moved from the Downtown Development Authority to being elected to Sugar Hill City Council in 2018.
Building a Strong Community - Love Where You Live
The purpose of this space is to explore all manners of building community, what that looks like and what Sugar Hill has done over the last decade. Plus, we’ll visit current topics and talk about the future. We’ll explore those topics through written word, podcasts and video from multiple contributors from the Sugar Hill community.
Do you “Love Where You Live”? Now, that doesn’t mean you love everything about where you live - it simply means you’re here to build community, build relationships and build a place you’re not only proud to call home but can’t wait to talk about it.
First, start by subscribing.
Second, got an idea you’d like us to explore or a question you’d like answered? Let us know!
Finally, if you’re adventurous and want to talk about why you “Love Where You Live” - I invite you to write an article or jump on a podcast to talk about your why.
With that, let’s explore!