Rabun County (Dillard: real estate, low crime, buying)

[pnc66]

We visited Black Rock Mountain SP last month for a week and I have to say that whole area is one of the prettiest I've ever seen. Maybe someday we can move out of Houston to Rabun County. You all who live there, count your blessings - it is so beautiful!!

I sincerely hope the developers don't ruin the beauty of the area and the folks moving in have respect for the land and the area. It just seemed like there are so many people moving in and buying up the land only to cut down the trees and put in high-dollar, exclusive subdivisions, that the "flavor" of the area is getting lost. I hope that my impression is wrong!

I had been told that the people hated outsiders and they weren't friendly. We didn't find that to be true at all. We chatted with the local shopkeepers and had a wonderful conversations with them, like with the lady who runs the soda fountain in the pharmacy in Dillard. I could sit and chat with her all day!

Honestly, everyone was very friendly to us except for those with Florida license plates while driving. I don't know if it was because the locals saw we were't from Florida or what the deal was. To the FL folks - slow down, take a chill, enjoy the scenery (I'm assuming that's why you're in Georgia, right?), and quit trying to run us down because we were "only" doing the speed limit. :-)

Anyway, the purpose of this post is to thank the residents of Rabun County for your wonderful hospitality and for an absolutely wonderful vacation! I hope to visit again next year!

Blessings,
pnc66

[irvm]

Originally Posted by pnc66

I sincerely hope the developers don't ruin the beauty of the area and the folks moving in have respect for the land and the area. It just seemed like there are so many people moving in and buying up the land only to cut down the trees and put in high-dollar, exclusive subdivisions, that the "flavor" of the area is getting lost. I hope that my impression is wrong!

Well, they pretty much have to do that, now that you can no longer see the beaches in Fla. because of the high-rises. Time to move on to some other scenic place and destroy that too.

[pnc66]

Originally Posted by irvm

Well, they pretty much have to do that, now that you can no longer see the beaches in Fla. because of the high-rises. Time to move on to some other scenic place and destroy that too.

They tend to do that here too.... move from the city to the country because of overcrowding, traffic, etc., and the first thing they do is try to turn the country into the city with chopping down the trees, putting in a a strip center every 500 feet (never mind that the other strip centers aren't even fully occupied yet!), and building exclusive subdivisions and golf courses (as if we need another one!) driving up the cost of real estate such that the locals can no longer afford to buy a house. What little scenery and quality of life we have is totally destroyed by these greedy bozos.

[irvm]

Originally Posted by pnc66

What little scenery and quality of life we have is totally destroyed by these greedy bozos.

I always had an appreciation for the way they did things in Santa Barbara:

"You'll need a building permit before you start"
"ok"
"We don't issue permits. Have a nice day."

[Swampmetaldown]

No doubt- the permitting department or zoning department, etc. is the only place any poor folk will have any leverage to protect thier land.
It's too late in places like Southwest Florida, but in smaller communities and counties people have to make sure area planners arent buddy buddy with local developers.

[juliehaley]

Rabun is BEAUTIFUL; I agree wholeheartedly!!! If any of you reading this haven't seen the area, it is my opinion you would enjoy a visit!
As for it being the "greedy bozos" fault that property values are so high in Rabun, isn't it Georgia Power who sets the prices for the land in that area - since you can only "lease" it from Georgia Power? That is all a little confusing to me, but it seems as though that aspect of property ownership should also help prevent the lake-front property from being too over-run and messed up by large developers.
Regardless, a little development, recreation, and commerce is good for the community; as long as they aren't overdeveloping to the extent that it is ruining the lakefront areas. So far in my visits to Rabun, it seems as though they are able to maintain their small-town atmosphere while offering enough commerce to make it a good draw for vacationing out-of-towners.
As far as the Floridians going too fast, this must not have been in the mountainous areas. No matter how fast you wish to go, you've gotta' take it slow on the curvy roads! :-) Thank you, pnc66 for letting everyone know about your positive experience on Lake Rabun - you've reminded me that I want to go visit again this summer!

[RedWhiteBlack]

I live in rabun county and i love it here, i agree its a great place for retiring or vacation but its really hard to find work for me personally. my parents live in tiger i live in clayton with my wife and daughter its a really nice area, very very low crime, awesome nice people. glad you all enjoy my beautiful area!