Goodbye Minnesota, hello Georgia (in the future) (Atlanta, Dawson: crime, new home)

[MNtoocold]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm looking to escape the cold Minnesota Winters, and I've been looking at a variety of states. Let me be honest, Georgia is my current top pick. Other than me being a pasty-white Norwegian that will burn alive in the Georgia Summer sun, I don't see many negatives.

First and foremost, I love small towns, but I like city amenities like sewer, city water and high speed internet (where I live now my water is delivered ;(). I'm perfectly happy with a ruralish suburb, and in fact that might be my ideal. A country lifestyle, but 30-50 minutes from a metropolitan area for shopping/events/etc. I'm used to rural MN where we don't lock our doors nor cars; not sure if one can find that in Georgia.

I'm leaning towards the Northern portion of the state. Don't get me wrong, I love the Gulf, but I'd assume things get a little pricey there, and the temperatures of Northern GA during the Winter reminds me of Minnesota's Fall, which is my favorite time of the year here.

I'm a young guy in my twenties, and I'm looking to make this a permanent move, my new home base. I'd just like your opinions on places I should check out. I find that locals are far better at pointing out towns and communities than internet articles.

Rural life, city amenities, low to no crime, and affordable housing are all pluses. I know Atlanta is a nightmare for crime, so it'd be kind of good to know how far out that's extending these days as I've heard people commute for hours. I'd like to the best of my ability, move to a place that will avoid the urban expansion of Atlanta and the crime that follows it.

Thanks in advance!

[Stars&StripesForever]

Originally Posted by MNtoocold

Hi guys and gals,

I'm looking to escape the cold Minnesota Winters, and I've been looking at a variety of states. Let me be honest, Georgia is my current top pick. Other than me being a pasty-white Norwegian that will burn alive in the Georgia Summer sun, I don't see many negatives.

You simply have to prepare for the hot sun. Wear a hat and sun screen, and don't stay out too long. If you do, wear the sunscreen and hat. I'm very fair skinned myself, and I burn easily. It's not too bad, though.

First and foremost, I love small towns, but I like city amenities like sewer, city water and high speed internet (where I live now my water is delivered ;(). I'm perfectly happy with a ruralish suburb, and in fact that might be my ideal. A country lifestyle, but 30-50 minutes from a metropolitan area for shopping/events/etc. I'm used to rural MN where we don't lock our doors nor cars; not sure if one can find that in Georgia.

A ruralish suburb, hmm? Sounds like Coal Mountain in northern Forsyth County. It's more exurban, is close to the outlet mall and Cumming, including everything you need. Very safe community. Mountains are only about thirty minutes away in Dahlonega.

I'm leaning towards the Northern portion of the state. Don't get me wrong, I love the Gulf, but I'd assume things get a little pricey there, and the temperatures of Northern GA during the Winter reminds me of Minnesota's Fall, which is my favorite time of the year here.

There's no gulf in Georgia. We have the Atlantic Ocean. You can get to the gulf, but you have to go through Florida to get to it.

Temperatures in winter, especially in the northern suburbs, average around 47 degrees for a high in January. That's comparable to a Minnesota mid-November, perhaps. However, we have been known to have colder snaps where the temperature doesn't get out of the 30s for a couple weeks. Two years ago, we went about a week straight where we didn't break freezing.

I'm a young guy in my twenties, and I'm looking to make this a permanent move, my new home base. I'd just like your opinions on places I should check out. I find that locals are far better at pointing out towns and communities than internet articles.

You might want to consider these: They're mostly exurban, as the truly rural might be a bit of a drive to get to the general city amenities.

Coal Mountain (upper middle class)
Braselton (middle to upper middle class)
Free Home (middle to upper middle class)
Euharlee (lower middle to middle class)
Taylorsville (lower middle to middle class)

For a rural atmosphere, with a 30 minute or so drive to the suburbs, you might want to consider these towns:

Jasper: The first mountain city
Dawsonville

Rural life, city amenities, low to no crime, and affordable housing are all pluses. I know Atlanta is a nightmare for crime, so it'd be kind of good to know how far out that's extending these days as I've heard people commute for hours. I'd like to the best of my ability, move to a place that will avoid the urban expansion of Atlanta and the crime that follows it.

Thanks in advance!

Anywhere on the south side is iffy. On the north side, it's iffy too. However, the above communities sound like they might work for you. Of course, I'd visit and see which works for you. There may be others that fit your needs that others could chime in on.

[MNtoocold]

Wow, thank you so much for that information. I'm going to start looking all those places over.

And sorry, thanks for pointing out my error with the Gulf pleasantly, I've been looking at a lot of Southern States and the Gulf was a common theme.

Temperatures in winter, especially in the northern suburbs, average around 47 degrees for a high in January. That's comparable to a Minnesota mid-November, perhaps. However, we have been known to have colder snaps where the temperature doesn't get out of the 30s for a couple weeks. Two years ago, we went about a week straight where we didn't break freezing.

That's EXACTLY what I'm looking for. I live in the Northern portion of MN right now, along the Canadian border and it's substantially colder than Southern Minnesota. It's not uncommon for our mornings here to be -40F in January, the kind of cold that literally hurts and makes your car not want to work. That cold snap, I would still consider very pleasant.

I think exurban is what I'm looking for.

I really appreciate your post, thanks again.

[Matt Kim]

Keep going through Georgia until you get to the Gulf.

[MNtoocold]

Originally Posted by Matt Kim

Keep going through Georgia until you get to the Gulf.

Are you trying to say Northern Florida is better, or are you giving me a hard time for my error?

[Matt Kim]

I lived in Wisconsin. If you're going to move 1000 miles from home, why stop 20 or 100 miles from an ideal location?

[MNtoocold]

Originally Posted by Matt Kim

I lived in Wisconsin. If you're going to move 1000 miles from home, why stop 20 or 100 miles from an ideal location?

Good to know, maybe I will look into Northern Florida, if it's that nice! I know I can trust a Wisconsinite!

[Matt Kim]

Originally Posted by MNtoocold

Good to know, maybe I will look into Northern Florida, if it's that nice! I know I can trust a Wisconsinite!

Trust us to shove a football down the throats of a bunch of men who wear purple!

[MNtoocold]

Originally Posted by Matt Kim

Trust us to shove a football down the throats of a bunch of men who wear purple!

lol, I'm a packer backer, so I trust you even more!

[Brian_M]

Originally Posted by Matt Kim

I lived in Wisconsin. If you're going to move 1000 miles from home, why stop 20 or 100 miles from an ideal location?

Now that's ENTIRELY up to personal taste (I'm a MN Born, but WY raised pasty white boy in GA). If I were going to move into this region with unlimited choice, I'd be looking at very northern GA, very eastern TN, or very western NC ~ basically, in the mountains. The temps are cooler, humidity usually seems lower (granted, not going to be an issue if you're from MN, but it's always NICE to have lower humidity), and since I'm a motorcyclist, the roads are phenomenal.

In the 5 years I've lived in GA, I've been to the gulf 3 times on "vacation"... if my wife never makes me go back, that would be Perfectly acceptable to me.