I don't know Atlanta. How far out are these suburbs?
About 15-30 miles depending on the town.
20-25 miles
15-20 miles, as the burro walks...
Several others have answered your question; 15 to 35 miles from Five Points (downtown Atlanta) is the approximate range. But the distance from downtown is pretty much a moot point; few in Gwinnett, and fewer still who have moved farther out, work or shop in downtown or midtown Atlanta. In fact, many rarely venture inside I-285 for any reason. Increasingly, metro Atlantans commute suburb-to-suburb. The more salient measurement is the distance of Gwinnett from the I-285 beltline: about 2 miles at the closest approach, 20-something at Gwinnett's farthest reaches.
Fascinating article, Beau; thanks for posting it. What's really mostly going on here is the continued explosive growth of the Atlanta metro area. What was rural 10 years ago is now exurban; what was exurban is now suburban; what was suburban is now urban. It's happening everywhere (particularly in the faster growing, and fortunately mostly "red" states), but it's especially startling in the Atlanta area. Wasn't it just yesterday that people questioned the sanity of the developers of Gwinnett Place Mall, so far out in the boonies?
I live in Cobb. I can drive to downtown Atlanta in about 20 minutes, in non-rush hours. I love Cobb county. Our area is safe and clean, and our city runs its own schools, which are outstanding.