Augusta? (Ideal: insurance, condo, house)

[LHBR702]

Hello! My husband and I are looking to relocate from NJ and one of the places we are considering is Georgia. I've been doing some research, but it's hard to know where to start. One of the reasons we want to leave the North is because housing costs here have become so inflated. What are housing costs like? Ideally it would be nice to be able to purchase a nice home for $150 or under, which has become impossible up here, even for a 1 bedroom condo! We are a young couple (late 20s/early 30s), we don't have children yet but we definitely plan to. We've begun to outgrow the "party" scene, but we'd still like to have lots of things to do and a good nightlife scene (sidewalk cafes, good shopping & restaurants, live music, dancing, etc., the occasional night out at a club) and we need a good job market. How about auto insurance and property taxes? Is traffic horrendous if you're commuting to the downtown area for work? Are their public transportation options? How's the weather? Also, what neighborhoods are a good choice? We are an interracial couple. I'm black, my husband is white. Is there any reason to think we'd feel out of place or uncomfortable walking down the street hand-in-hand? We don't want to live in a "black" neighborhood or a "white" neighborhood. We'd like to live in a safe, fairly quiet, child-friendly neighborhood with easy access to the "city", where there is a nice mixture of people of different races. Any info you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Would love to hear opinions on the pros/cons of living in Augusta. Thanks!!

[weisel]

Originally Posted by LHBR702

Hello! My husband and I are looking to relocate from NJ and one of the places we are considering is Georgia. I've been doing some research, but it's hard to know where to start. One of the reasons we want to leave the North is because housing costs here have become so inflated. What are housing costs like? Ideally it would be nice to be able to purchase a nice home for $150 or under, which has become impossible up here, even for a 1 bedroom condo! We are a young couple (late 20s/early 30s), we don't have children yet but we definitely plan to. We've begun to outgrow the "party" scene, but we'd still like to have lots of things to do and a good nightlife scene (sidewalk cafes, good shopping & restaurants, live music, dancing, etc., the occasional night out at a club) and we need a good job market. How about auto insurance and property taxes? Is traffic horrendous if you're commuting to the downtown area for work? Are their public transportation options? How's the weather? Also, what neighborhoods are a good choice? We are an interracial couple. I'm black, my husband is white. Is there any reason to think we'd feel out of place or uncomfortable walking down the street hand-in-hand? We don't want to live in a "black" neighborhood or a "white" neighborhood. We'd like to live in a safe, fairly quiet, child-friendly neighborhood with easy access to the "city", where there is a nice mixture of people of different races. Any info you can offer will be greatly appreciated. Would love to hear opinions on the pros/cons of living in Augusta. Thanks!!

You and your husband want have any problems in augusta its a big town lots of everything and shopping.Only problem is when the masters comes to town every year then the town will be super busy.Why don't you try realtor.com type in your price for a home and im sure you will find many homes.Very good town,hope this helps.

[Racelady88]

I live 20 miles away in Aiken, SC. You can buy a new 3/2 house here for the money you want to spend. A nice one.

The area is very racially mixed, so that will not be a problem. It is quite charmingly southern here.