Suwanee's housing stock is dominated by single-family subdivisions built largely from the 1980s onward, with newer master-planned and golf-course communities adding larger homes on generous lots. Traditional neighborhoods with brick-fronted two-story homes sit alongside newer construction, and the area around Suwanee Town Center includes townhomes and attached options for buyers seeking walkable, low-maintenance living. Communities such as The River Club offer golf-course living, while established subdivisions provide a wide range of lot sizes and styles. The mix of eras and price points reflects Suwanee's growth from a small railroad town into a sought-after Atlanta commuter suburb.

Suwanee's neighborhoods range from long-established subdivisions to newer planned communities. Shadowbrook at Town Center sits within walking distance of Suwanee Town Center's events and is zoned for the North Gwinnett cluster. The River Club is a golf-course community with larger estate-style homes, while Laurel Springs, Edinburgh, and Grand Cascades are among the well-known swim-tennis and country-club style subdivisions. Many communities feature amenities such as pools, tennis courts, and lake access, and the city's location along the Gwinnett–Forsyth line means some residents fall within Forsyth County Schools' Lambert cluster.

Suwanee's civic life revolves around Suwanee Town Center, a mixed-use district centered on a 10-acre park with an amphitheater, a fountain, and open green space. The park hosts concerts, free movie nights, and the Suwanee Farmers Market, while the annual Suwanee Day festival draws the community together. The city emphasizes walkability and open space, with trails connecting neighborhoods to parks and shopping. Dining and retail cluster near the Town Center and along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Buford Highway, giving residents a compact downtown feel within a suburban setting that remains closely tied to the broader Atlanta metro.

Suwanee public schools are part of Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), Georgia's largest school district, whose administrative offices are located in the city. Students are served by several well-known high school clusters, including North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge, and Collins Hill, each with associated middle and elementary schools. Because part of Suwanee lies within Forsyth County, some residents attend Forsyth County Schools and the Lambert cluster. The district's size brings a wide range of programs, academies, and extracurricular offerings, and the city's schools are a major factor in its reputation as a family-oriented Atlanta suburb.

Suwanee sits at the junction of Interstate 85 and Interstate 985, placing it about 30 miles from downtown Atlanta with direct freeway access both south toward the city and north toward Gainesville. State Route 316 in nearby Duluth provides a route toward Athens and the University of Georgia. The city has no MARTA rail station, but Gwinnett County Transit operates express commuter buses into Atlanta, and drivers can reach Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in roughly 40 miles. Local arterials such as Buford Highway and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard serve day-to-day travel within the city and its surrounding Gwinnett communities.

Parks and trails are central to life in Suwanee. George Pierce Park spans 304 acres with sports fields, playgrounds, picnic areas, a community recreation center, a senior center, and a pond. Sims Lake Park offers a lake, walking trails, and a shaded playground, while Suwanee Creek Park features an 18-hole disc golf course and serves as the trailhead for the Suwanee Creek Greenway, a wooded multi-use path with boardwalk segments that connects parks and neighborhoods. Suwanee Town Center Park anchors community events with its amphitheater, and the network of greenways ties much of the city together for walkers, runners, and cyclists.