[quote author="ck"]
[quote author="Panda "]I got one PM inquiry asking about the demographics of Duluth, GA and why i think this area will be a hot emerging area (Irvine 1997) in the next 5-10 years.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/snapshots/PL1374936.html
Swanee, which is a neighboring city of Duluth is one step below Duluth in city status. Think of Duluth as Irvine and Swanee as Aliso Viejo. You can see that the job growth is 81.41% from the past 8 years compared to 21% in Irvine. Add to that a 88% growth of upper middle class Korean and Chinese population in this area has the right formula in becoming the next hot emerging area.
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Have you spent a lot of time there, Panda? Is Duluth really similar to Irvine? Or maybe the question should be --- how is Gwinnett County compared to Orange County? When I was in the military one of my team members was from Gwinnett Cty, GA. He was a REAL redneck, like you see in movies. I can remember him talking about neighboring Forsyth County as well -- which the locals affectionately referred to as "For South" county.
When I look at the demographics of Duluth --- particularly as it relates to Asians --- while Duluth seems to have a higher Asian % than the Atlanta area as a whole, it is nowehere near what you find in Irvine, or Orange County for that matter. So when when you exit the Duluth city limits are you surrounded by crackers?
Contrast that with OC, where you have the significant Asian populations (and all the food and shopping that accompany it) in Irvine --- plus other huge Asian culture centers in Westminster, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa....etc. There really is nowhere like Southern California, and I know you know that. Sure it's imperfect --- but if this is the lifestyle you are looking for, there are really few substitutes.
I'm not trying to down Duluth, I'm just wondering aloud if that area is really all that much like OC. I'm sure it is a fine place....but just different. And the weather. Just saying. [/quote]
Hey CK. There is no question that I would prefer to live in Irvine over Duluth. Irvine and OC will always be a nicer area to live than Gwinnett County. CK, I know you are I like similar things when it comes to lifestyle, and Duluth is the most similar city I've seen that best follows the Irvine RE life cycle. My wife attended junior high and high school Irvine in the 90s and she tells me that Irvine was nice place to live, but nothing like the brand it is today. I asked her what she meant, and she said that since there were so many undeveloped land no one really knew how great Irvine would become. The 1990s real estate investors who had the vision of what Irvine would look like in 10-15 years profted handsomely from their investments. I see this same opportunity in Gwinnet county today. There are four new Asian shopping centers similar to Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center built just in the last ten years. The Korea town is new and vibrant. Job growth and population is growing, and higher income Asians are now just starting to flood into this area. Just like a any product cycle : (introduction, growth, maturity, decline.) I believe that Irvine is currently at the maturity stage of its cycle where as Duluth will soon enter its growth stage. CK, I know you are a value shopper like me, but in Irvine you have to pay BMW prices to buy a BMW. In Gwinett County, you can buy huge acre of land at Hyundai Accent Price which will eventually become a BMW within 7-10 years.
Personally, I am thinking that it would be great to have my primary residence in Irvine but rethinking of my strategy to expand my income RE investment portfolio in Gwinette County as i see a much bigger upside then investing in Irvine. As BKshopr has been preaching for years, the margins are no longer there in Irvine RE.