Augusta - What am I missing? (Atlanta, Savannah: apartments, loft, house)

[amueller]

My wife and I are looking at moving to Augusta from outside Washington DC, but are wondering if we are missing something. I have always heard Augusta was a pretty nice place to live - Pretty great quality of life, plenty to do for th size city it is - but on 2 trip down to scout it out my wife isn't buying it and i am reserving judgement.
I would be working at SRS and we have found a house in Evans we like. We have friends that moved to Evans about 2 months ago and rave about it.

So sell me on Augusta - What are we missing? Traffic seems not much better than here in the DC suburbs at certain times, there doesn't seem to be much to do and there seems to be a lot of run down areas.

I really really want to like Augusta becasue the oppurtunity we have is a potential life changer, but are we really gaining much?

[nortonguy]

Well you can't just drive around Augusta. You have to get out of the car explore and walk around. Downtown would be a perfect place to walk around. First Friday a huge festival was last night. If you have friends who raved about Augusta. After moving here two months ago. Then you said your wife wasn't that impressed. All i can say is Augusta is not for everybody.

Check out the Augusta canal, Enterprise mill, Fort Discovery, Adventure Crossing, Savannah rapids pavillion, & Aqueduct Park.

[amueller]

My wife is in Augusta this weekend looking around with her mom...they went to the riverwalk today and said it was nice but there wasn't anything else around (restaurants etc). They checked out Thurmond Lake which was nice. My wife is a life long DC Metro resident and she isn;t sure what she would do with herself in Augusta.

Ours friends haven't had a chance to explore the fun stuff to much yet unfortunately. I think they like the change of pace and lifestyle more than anything.

I will suggest my wife check out the places you mentioned. Thanks!

[lilmusket]

Originally Posted by amueller

My wife is in Augusta this weekend looking around with her mom...they went to the riverwalk today and said it was nice but there wasn't anything else around (restaurants etc). They checked out Thurmond Lake which was nice. My wife is a life long DC Metro resident and she isn;t sure what she would do with herself in Augusta.

Ours friends haven't had a chance to explore the fun stuff to much yet unfortunately. I think they like the change of pace and lifestyle more than anything.

I will suggest my wife check out the places you mentioned. Thanks!

Few cities in the US are going to have the wealth of cultural attractions that DC does. Augusta is making progress, but its just not going to compare with DC where you have dozens of free museums, the kennedy Center for the performing arts, a world class zoo, etc. But for a medium sized city, Augusta does have a lot to offer, and the biggest selling point to me is the cost of living. You will be able to buy a lot more with less money in Augusta. The city is making efforts to get more ppl in the habit of going downtown. Believe me, it is much better now than it was 10 years ago, when downtown was a virtual ghost town. There is still a substantial amount of urban blight but there is less and less every year. For the first time in a long time the city has some progressive leadership. The local government used to be a joke, and unfortunately a lot of things got stalled because of a lack of visionary leadership. That has changed. Augusta is still very much a suburban city.. but there are efforts to create more urban density and get more ppl in downtown.
Just some things to come..
Possibility of a downtown baseball stadium
Renovation of Classic Miller Theater into a permanent performing arts venue
More downtown loft apartments and restaurants.
Some restaurants worth checking out downtown
White Elephant Cafe, 1102, Bees Knees, Blue Sky Kitchen
two great pizza places : Pizza Joint and mellow Muchroom.

[chevyguy]

You may have taken some wrong turns somewhere, or driven up Gordon Highway lol

Also, there is definately not a lack of places to eat that are easily within walking distance from Riverwalk. Beamies is right there, along with several others.

[lilmusket]

Originally Posted by chevyguy

You may have taken some wrong turns somewhere, or driven up Gordon Highway lol

Also, there is definately not a lack of places to eat that are easily within walking distance from Riverwalk. Beamies is right there, along with several others.

If we could get that darn levee torn down (its an anachronism now with three dams up river) we could have riverfront cafes like River St in Savannah.. in fact downtown Augusta could easily have its own approximation of River Street, but the levee keeps that from happening. I know there any many vocal community leaders arguing for the levee to be taken down in portions through downtown. Obviously it would stay infront of port Royal, the amphitheater and the Marriot, but elsewhere it would be taken down and Augusta could have a true riverfront. There actually used to be more restaurants along the Riverwalk years ago. I enjoyed The King George.. it's gone. Beamies is very good, btw, but I would definately like to see more down along the river. You'll find more restaurants on Broad Street, especially in the artists row area of upper Broad. Then you have institutions like Sunshine Bakery (only a lunch spot, but well worth it for German deli specialties), and Luigi's ( I guess the owners have given up on their threats to move out of downtown to Evans). La maison is probably going to be your most upscale restaurant downtown, most everything else is pretty casual and affordable. No, Augusta is not going to have a dining scene like Georgetown, but it continues to improve.. you just have to discover the hidden local places. Believe it or not, not everything in Augusta is a chain.. there are some very good local eateries serving local favorites... and generally, dining out in Augusta won't break the bank.

[Augustabuckeye]

I'd take a different slant on things...

Augusta is about 2-3 hours from two major cities (Atlanta/Charlotte) for cultural things, professional sports, high end shopping, entertainment. Its 2-3 hours from historic cities - Savanah and Charleston. Its 2-3 hours to numerous beaches (Hilton Head, Tybee Island, with Myrtle Beach just a little further away). Its 2-3 hours to the Smoky Mountains (North Georgia, North Carolina). Some interesting small towns fairly close by - Athens with the University of Ga, Asheville (Biltmore House), Greeneville, SC. Golf just about everywhere (Myrtle Beach has one of the highest concentration of golf courses in the world)

Slower pace of life, better weather most of the year (with the DC area one of the few places that can match the summer heat and humidity), and significantly lower cost of living.

Good luck

[amueller]

Thanks Every. I continue to say Augusta sounds great to me (Grew up in Rural Upstate NY) but my wife is a lifer from DC so it would be a huge change. Now to convinvce her it is worth it....

[lilmusket]

For a medium sized city, Augusta is a good choice, but it's just not going to offer the amenities of a larger metropolitan area like Washington, DC. If you are a big city person then you are probably not going to like living in any smaller city like Augusta. It's all a matter of personal tastes. Many people like Augusta because it is smaller and a bit slower paced.

[trinkit]

Originally Posted by amueller

Thanks Every. I continue to say Augusta sounds great to me (Grew up in Rural Upstate NY) but my wife is a lifer from DC so it would be a huge change. Now to convinvce her it is worth it....

What, exactly, is your wife going to be missing from DC?

The history? As a previous poster listed, there is plenty of it within a 2 hour drive of Augusta.

The shopping? Atlanta has what Augusta does not and it's a 2 hour drive.

The snow? Hmmmm.

The cultural activities? There are bounds of them all round.

Convince your wife? The people in Georgia/South Carolina (or the south, generally) are MUCH friendlier. If a person smiles at you here, they are NOT attempting to rob you -- but merely saying g'day.

I moved from a major metro area in the north and it has been the best move ever!

Good luck.

PS -- I believe you said you were going to working at SRS. THAT in and of itself will be a life changing experience -- but WELL worth it. Several of the people I work with at SRS live in Evans and love it.