Long commutes small price for folks seeking the quiet life

CUMMING - Sandra Pilbeam has a 30-minute, 15-mile commute each day, each way from her Forsyth County home to her Alpharetta office, and she considers herself lucky. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m just glad we don&#39;t live in Gwinnett County,&#39;&#39; she said, referring to one of the state&#39;s most notorious examples of suburban growth and heavy traffic. <br> <br> Pilbeam and her husband, Andrew, fled Atlanta seven years ago for the affordable housing and lack of congestion in Forsyth County, but now they see the big city creeping up Georgia 400 toward them. <br> <br> For the seventh straight year, Forsyth is among the 10 fastest-growing counties in the nation, placing third in 2001 according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. <br> <br> Henry and Paulding counties also made the top 10 list in 2001, each continuing an eight-year streak among the nation&#39;s fastest-growing counties. Douglas County, Colo., a suburb of Denver, was the country&#39;s fastest-growing county, and three Texas counties also made the list. <br> <br> Andrew Pilbeam says the growth is noticeable ``increased crime, increased traffic, increased noise, increased air pollution.&#39;&#39; But other residents say they&#39;re still better off. <br> <br> ``I just like it out here better, and the taxes are cheaper,&#39;&#39; said Jennifer Lamb, whose daily commute is about 80 minutes roundtrip. ``A house out here for $140,000 if you try to get a house in Atlanta for $140,000, you don&#39;t get the same as you would out here.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Apparently, that&#39;s not a well-kept secret. <br> <br> According to Census Bureau statistics, Forsyth&#39;s population has nearly doubled since 1994, from almost 57,000 to 110,296 last year. The county grew by 12.1 percent 11,889 new residents just since 2000. <br> <br> Henry, the sixth-fastest growing county, jumped by 11.1 percent 13,240 residents from 2000 to 2001, the bureau said. <br> <br> Paulding County was 10th fastest, adding 8,056 people, a 9.9 percent rate. <br> <br> When James Golden moved out of Gwinnett County in 1995, he took his family even further out all the way north to Pickens County, northwest of Forsyth County. He said it&#39;s a better area for raising children and a less stressful place to live even with his 80-minute, 48-mile commute each day to work in Norcross. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m working now on dividing that, on changing that,&#39;&#39; he said while filling up in Cumming on his way home. ``But then I would be working somewhere in this crazy area.&#39;&#39;