Best place for living in Georgia? (Atlanta, Rome: safest, moving to, housing)

[pmck94]

Hi all,

I have posted some threads here but I just want some more information.

I am 19 years old, currently on a path to become a journeyman HVAC technician. If all goes well, in about 4-5 years I will have my license. When I do get my license, I plan on moving to Georgia because of the following reasons: 1. I cant take the cold weather anymore. 2. steady work due to the heat (servicing AC units, etc) however, I want to go into commercial HVAC. 3. slowed down pace, Southern hospitality, and a much friendlier vibe.

I'm not a big party animal, in fact I'm generally quiet... pretty much a social extrovert and solitary introvert if that makes sense haha; it's not my scene. I prefer a city with a small town mix. probably between 10k - 20k people living in it. Of course, someplace affordable for somebody who is single (I plan on raising a family someday though).

I've been looking at Northern Georgia... actually someplace relative to Atlanta. Any nautical direction of that city is fine as long as it fits what I'm looking for


Are there any cities that fit my desires?

[toscgwsndiqz]

The 50 Safest Cities in Georgia

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by pmck94

Hi all,

I have posted some threads here but I just want some more information.

I am 19 years old, currently on a path to become a journeyman HVAC technician. If all goes well, in about 4-5 years I will have my license. When I do get my license, I plan on moving to Georgia because of the following reasons: 1. I cant take the cold weather anymore. 2. steady work due to the heat (servicing AC units, etc) however, I want to go into commercial HVAC. 3. slowed down pace, Southern hospitality, and a much friendlier vibe.

I'm not a big party animal, in fact I'm generally quiet... pretty much a social extrovert and solitary introvert if that makes sense haha; it's not my scene. I prefer a city with a small town mix. probably between 10k - 20k people living in it. Of course, someplace affordable for somebody who is single (I plan on raising a family someday though).

I've been looking at Northern Georgia... actually someplace relative to Atlanta. Any nautical direction of that city is fine as long as it fits what I'm looking for


Are there any cities that fit my desires?

Some places that immediately come to mind are some mountain and foothills towns relatively close to Atlanta like Dahlonega, Jasper, Dawsonville, Cartersville and Calhoun.

There's also other semi-rural/exurban towns like Carrollton, Rockmart, LaGrange and Rome.

If the economy was much-better I might recommend Dalton, which is traditionally a major manufacting center for the carpet industry and is located relatively close to Atlanta and very-close to Chattanooga which has quite a bit to do for a city of its size.

But Dalton has struggled mightily economically and continues to struggle mightily in the aftermath of one of the worst economic downturns in post-Great Depression U.S. history, so Dalton would be far from the best place to look right now.

There's also some smaller exurban/far-outer suburban cities and towns with slightly-better economies closer to Atlanta like Gainesville, Canton, Cumming, Dallas, Loganville, Covington and Dallas.

You said that it would be 4-5 years before you make a move so you've got time to gather much more information before coming to a final decision as to what direction you would ultimately like to take with your life.

Whatever you decide to do and wherever you decide to move, just make sure that you get hired to a decent-paying job first in whatever place you decide to move to before moving to any new city or town.

That's because the economy in the Atlanta area, in the state of Georgia and in many places throughout the U.S. continues to struggle to recover from a very steep and severe economic downturn in the late 2000's and early 2010's...a downturn in which we were lucky just to barely avoid going into another economic Great Depression.

[pmck94]

Very helpful site and advice thanks

[Drewplanner]

You might want to get somewhere on the Southside closer to the Fall Line where it gets 10 degrees hotter for no reason... but if you do end up in North Georgia near Atlanta - here are some cities that might fit your criteria:

Acworth, Flowery Branch, Canton, Woodstock, Thomaston (has a lovely downtown), Hampton, Madison, Winder - there are fewer and fewer cities in proximity to Atlanta that are small enough to meet the 10-20k range... Atlanta has a way of sucking everything around it into its urban area... some of the previously mentions towns might work too

If you want to get more demographic, crime, housing, and other types of data like that about the counties surrounding Atlanta - I recommend checking out the Metro Atlanta Equity Atlas.

[berkeleylake]

Good suggestions so far. Far out areas from Atlanta going towards the mountains are great and look like something that may interest you. NW GA - Acworth or Rome. NE GA Winder, Braselton, or Gainesville (general areas around Lake Lanier). Directly north of ATL are Dawsonville, Jasper or Dahlonega. When I mean far out, these outlying areas are about 50-70 miles from downtown Atlanta and are either exurban areas or part of the metro, or just outside the metro. These towns are in the foothills of the Appalachians and probably would be good for you to start in HVAC. I believe the demand for HVAC technicians would be strong just about anywhere in GA for that matter. Good luck in your decisions.

[pmck94]

Thanks for the replies!

I wouldn't mind living in a place with a good 50k people either. As of right now, I'm in a city with around 125K people living in it and it's just too much for me. I guess you could say I'm aiming for a small town feel with a big city vibe. It's hard to explain thoroughly, so, straightforwardly, I want a medium.

I understand it would be better for me to head on down there on a vacation or something to get a full feel for the state, however, I will rely on the locals and natives of GA to steer me to the place I will eventually call home.

If you would like more information, by all means ask.