Thoughts on relocating east of Atlanta (Covington, Monroe: real estate, crime, house)

[freedogshere]

My wife and I could potentially be relocating east of Atlanta. The job would be in Covington. Looking at real estate and considering options. We are empty nesters in our 50’s and we like to stay active, travel and see the sights. We don’t party and are rarely “out in the streets” late. We think we may want to build as opposed to just buying our next home. Going with a Barndaminium seems intriguing. We are in the research phase right now but it’s always hard to get a feel for an area beyond the numbers. We’re looking for an area where crime isn’t a problem, has a downtown area with some restaurants and shopping but isn’t a metropolis. We’re willing to commute as much as 30-40 minutes for the right location but of course, shorter is better. We just looking for a little insight and/or suggestions on potential areas to consider. Any other advice would be welcome as well. Thinks in advance.

[DoubleZ OTP]

Originally Posted by freedogshere

My wife and I could potentially be relocating east of Atlanta. The job would be in Covington. Looking at real estate and considering options. We are empty nesters in our 50’s and we like to stay active, travel and see the sights. We don’t party and are rarely “out in the streets” late. We think we may want to build as opposed to just buying our next home. Going with a Barndaminium seems intriguing. We are in the research phase right now but it’s always hard to get a feel for an area beyond the numbers. We’re looking for an area where crime isn’t a problem, has a downtown area with some restaurants and shopping but isn’t a metropolis. We’re willing to commute as much as 30-40 minutes for the right location but of course, shorter is better. We just looking for a little insight and/or suggestions on potential areas to consider. Any other advice would be welcome as well. Thinks in advance.

I think anywhere between the eastside of Covington and Madison would work nicely for you and your wife. Look for some land near Covington, Social Circle, Rutledge, Madison, or maybe even Monroe.

Covington has the downtown area you're looking for. The area around the Covington Square has several restaurants and a few shops; it's quite popular. As far as I'm aware, crime is generally not a concern around the Covington Square and east of there.

Social Circle and Rutledge are nice and cute little towns as well, but they're much smaller and may lack some of the amenities you seek.

Madison and Monroe are in-between: not as small as Social Circle and Rutledge, but not quite as large or developed compared to Covington.


Another area you could look into is Lake Oconee in Greene County. It's a nice, essentially crime-free community, and it's quite popular with the empty-nester/55+/semi-retired/retired crowd. However, this area is probably a bit more suburban-feeling than you'd like (as it has no real downtown area), and it's most likely too far away from Covington (50 minutes or so).


All in all: my personal choice in this situation would be to build the barndominium on a lot to the east of Covington, not too far from Covington itself and maybe near Social Circle. Perhaps something like this lot (about 15 minutes from Covington, 10 minutes from Social Circle, and 5 minutes from I-20) could work well for you and your wife.

[testa50]

Spend a day driving out US 278 to get a feel for the towns from Covington to Madison. Madison is a more small town feel, while Covington is heavily suburbanized. Both are impressive downtowns for the south. In general, the US 278 corridor has one of the nicest strings of smaller towns and old downtowns in the state--Greensboro is also great, but it's beyond your range.

[Born 2 Roll]

While not being an area that you should consider living in and being an area that is even more heavily suburbanized than Covington; Conyers is an area that likely should also be on your list of areas to visit with numerous shops and restaurants in a walkable historic downtown village area in historic Olde Town Conyers.

Olde Town Conyers - Visit Conyers Georgia: OLDE TOWN CONYERS HISTORIC DISTRICT

[freedogshere]

Thanks for the assistance, we really appreciate it.

[hilltop180]

My mom lives in Washington(Wilks County)and you can buy a historic mansion for 200k there, but there isn't much to do. She also rents a small efficiency in Athens and she's over there quite a bit. I would consider an area like Social Circle, Monroe, Madison, or Greensboro. Greensboro and Madison are right on I-20 so you can get back to Atlanta within one hour. I have a friend that lives in Greensboro and he is involved with a lot of activity like tennis, pickleball, and boating so he enjoys it. There is a bit more in Madison than Greensboro, but I expect Greensboro will continue to grow. A friend of mine is the mayor of Winterville near Athens and they have created a pretty cool community. I have a house in west Atlanta and I've considered moving to the East area like you.