What's so great about Paulding County? (Atlanta, Dallas: house, buy, movie theater)

[sj73]

I've heard that housing was affordable (mega-sized homes under 300K), but is that all that is great about Paulding County? Is there something to do there (dining, entertainment, arts)? Are their professional jobs? What makes the average 1.5 hour drive to downtown ATL worth it? I envision too many two-lane roads unable to handle the new population explosion.

I can't picture myself moving somewhere that I know I would have to put up with a VERY long commute if I'm going to have a professional job. Paulding seems more like a retirement area.

[gt6974a]

If you're working downtown, then Yes, Paulding is too far.

There's some decent WMA land to hunt on, ride horses, etc. If you're into antiquing you can check out some of the old town areas like Dallas, Hiram, etc. Has decent amount of restaurants, movie theatres, etc but everywhere else does as well.

Most people move to Paulding strictly for the cost of housing. Most of the newer population is around Dallas Highway(4 Lane) and 92 (in the process of becoming a 4 lane)

[atlantagreg30127]

I live in West Cobb. I work very close to home (rare). A few miles West you enter the Paulding area, and generally, it's made up of several groups of people..

1) Retirees

2) Blue collar workers who own their own businesses (plumbers, contruction, etc).

3) Stay-at-home mothers (married to #2 above).

There has been an explosion in the last couple of years of the mega-homes you talk about, and yes, they are huge in size - but many are poorly built. I seriously doubt many of them could withstand a strong windstorm or the weakest of tornadoes (F0), and they are not built to last a family a lifetime (well, maybe a dog's lifetime).

The main road from Atlanta going into and through Paulding is Thornton Road (Hwy 278), a 4-lane highway. During rush hour as you approach the intersection of 278 and Highway 92 (which runs North/South) traffic is usually backed up from 1-2 miles going Westbound, and as the area grows, it's only going to get worse. To my knowledge there are no proposals on the board to add any new main arteries into the city from Paulding. There is also no public transit at all, except for one "express" bus route that leaves Hiram in the morning into the city and is packed.

The Highway 278 area is where most of the action is - as far as some restaurants, and a TON of chain stores (Sam's Club, Movie theater, Home Depot, Target, clothing stores, Office Max, and a newly opened Best Buy and close to opening Circuit City). So if cookie cutter stucco shopping centers and chain stores are your thing, then there should be enough to keep you entertained in that area. There are no unique village type areas like Virginia Highlands, however.

There are plenty of people who live in Paulding that DO work in Atlanta, and if you're the type of person who really doesn't mind the 1+ hour commute each way every day, then fine. If you have a GOOD realtor, they may be able to find you an older, more well built home on some land for half the cost or less of what it could cost closer to the city. At least on weekends you'd have a quieter retreat. If the commute will irritate you - it's best to avoid that area if you work downtown.

[sj73]

Thanks for your reply.

[NorthmeetsSouth]

I live in West Cobb and my sister lives in Paulding. She loves it there. She got a lot more house for her money there than she would have in some of the other counties.
You sound like you don't already have a job, so why are you assuming you will work in the downtown area? Depending on your industry, there are plenty of jobs to be had in the surrounding counties. Most of the people I know here in West Cobb work in Cobb Cty. If you work in Cobb but want something more affordable then Paulding is an easy commute. It all depends on what you are looking for.