For years, Alpharetta has made regular appearances on lists of the fastest growing cities in the South, and it’s just getting started. Its revamped downtown district, which is known as the City Center, has become a walkable, family-friendly hub filled with restaurants and shops surrounding a central greenspace. The sprawling Avalon center–with a movie theater and 500,000 square feet of retail space–is also located nearby. Although it is part of the Atlanta metro area, it has a personality all its own.