Help! should I relocate from LA, CA to Braselton, GA??? (Atlanta: mortgage, home)

[JuliaHP]

Hi there! I just got back from vacation from Oakwood & Braselton GA, and my fiancee and I are faced with a huge dilemma. We currently live is Los Angeles in 550k average home with a $3,800 mortgage payment but we are seriously considering relocating to Braselton, GA to a $270k brand new gorgeous home with an estimated $1,800 mortgage payment. We make over 100k combined a year here in LA and we are barely getting by... and lets face it everything in LA is overpriced & the area we live in is not all that great! We have a 1 1/2 year old daughter & we want to do what's best for our family. I know that I would not make nearly as much money in GA but that is not as important to us me as having a better quality of life for my family & I. Can anyone please give me some advise???

[TakeAhike]

What did you think of the Braselton/Oakwood area?

bhs

[BobKovacs]

Well, Braselton is a great area, but have you considered what you'll do for work? It's not a short commute (time or mileage-wise) to most of the employment opportunties in Atlanta, and you may also find that your $100k/year gets reduced enough that your lower mortgage payment won't matter. Other than your mortgage, the cost of virtually everything else will remain the same.

[TheWalrus]

We moved pretty close to Braselton from Corona, CA about 6 months ago for many of the reasons you are looking to move. I can say that other than the adjusting to the summer weather, it has been a great move.

Everything here is not cheaper than L.A. Day to day living items such as food and clothing are going to be about the same, although you can hunt for bargains here as well as L.A. Utility bills are a pleasant change. Although the electric company has said they are raising rates next month, our utilities are about half what they were in L.A.

We have an 11 year old who we wanted to grow up in a better place. She likes it here and has adjusted to having fun in the woods & tolerating some more bugs. All in all, I would say go for it!