Have you visited Covington yet? We've lived there for 6 years and love it. It's really grown over the years and has become quite congested in some parts now. The only question I can answer is regarding the shopping. There is no real shopping in Covington. We have the usual Kmart, Walmart, Home Depot, etc... There is no mall but there are a few shopping centers mainly anchored by grocery stores...Publix, Kroger, Ingles, Food Depot. Stonecrest Mall is about 20 to 30 minutes away with traffic. You can also get to Atlanta in about 40 minutes with no traffic.
The cost of living here is not any higher than anywhere else in Georgia. It's certainly not as high as Florida. The rest of your questions really depends on too many factors for me to provide helpful answers.
property tax rates-
General Information Newton County Board of Commissioners - Related Links You can enter the addresses of homes you're interested in to get an idea of the taxes.
real estate prices-
Georgia Multiple Listing Service Just search for homes in Covington
utility costs- this really depends on the home you buy and what your consumption is. Natural gas in Georgia is deregulated. Electric is not. In Covington, depending on where you live, you may have to get electric service from an EMC instead of GA Power.
http://psc.state.ga.us has more info on utility service in the state. Water is provided by the county and there is a minimum charge of $15.00 for water service per month. So, even if you use less than the minimum amount of water, you will still be charged $15.00. If you use more, the amount goes up accordingly. Cable is provided by Charter. The county does not provide trash pick-up service. We either drop off our own trash at one of the landfills or pay private companies to pick up the trash.
homeowners insurance costs- again, too many variables here to provide a good answer. Plus rates vary from carrier to carrier. We pay $500 a year for one of our houses and close to $1000 a year for the other. You'll have to find a home you like and go from there.
Some more links.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
http://www.city-data.com/city/Covington-Georgia.html
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info on Covington Ga
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