Anyone live in Athens? (Atlanta, Athens-Clarke County: housing, condos, rent)

[carmour1234]

I am heading to TN and GA tomorrow and would really love some feedback before I go.

We are looking for information on Athens, GA but can't find anything on the board.

I work online and my husband is a school counselor. We have a 2 year old and would like to find a safe afforable place to live (I know wouldn't we all).

We are vegetarians and Athens seems to be affordable and has a vegetarian restaraunt. It looks like a nice smaller town.

What do those who live there think?

We would like something that is walking/biking friendly.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[gimme it]

We don't live there, but we visited Athens this summer. We fell in love with this town. We've been to many college towns, but this one is one of the most charming with a great layout. The tree lined streets, the abundance of restaurants and coffee shopts, the gorgeous university in the middle of it all was lovely. The problem with Athens is that the public schools are not well regarded. If we were to move there we would send our child to Athens Academy, a private school. Watkinsville, the nearby town has supposedly great public schools and it's 10 minutes from Athens. However, for us, it lacked the charm of Athens.

[DisgustaSucks]

In my opinion, Athens is the best place to live in Georgia. It routinely ranks at the top of quality of life indexes for Georgia cities.
You can go 10 minutes out from downtown and be in the countryside.. and downtown Atlanta is only and hour away.. you get the best of both worlds in Athens.

[DisgustaSucks]

Athens is probably the most progressive city in Georgia.. with Decatur being a close second..
Being vegetarians, you will find many kindred spirits in Athens. Also, The Grit, on Prince Avenue.. is routinely listed as one of the top 10 vegetarian restaurants in the country. The live music scene is legendary.. Think REM, B52s, Widespread Panic, etc
In fact Micheal Stipe is still a resident and can be sen frequently at The Grit and other downtown haunts.

[equinox1]

I looked there for land a couple years ago and liked the town. The deal fell thru after I returned home and couldn't look again. Now I'm looking in the N GA hills because I couldn't find a development like Bent Tree near Athens, where I can leave for summers and have the house be safe.

[Ollie1946]

I live in Athens. You need to understand that we have 34,000 plus/minus students which makes traffic a challenge at times. We have bicycle lanes and no shortage of bicyclists getting hit by cars with several killed each year.

The public school system in the adjacent county, Oconee, is by far superior to Athens-Clarke County. However, housing out there is higher by far. There is much more to rent/buy in ACC.

If you are determined for ACC, then I recommend Winterville still in the county. It is a small village on the edge of the county which is virtually crime free. You could cycle out there without too much problem. You won't usually find a lot for sale though.

Athens is "progressive" to be sure. Unfortunately, the area attracts crime and there is no shortage of it. You be the judge by looking up the stats for yourself.

I think most who live here like it ok but are realistic about things. The metro area is growing. Wages are low. The two main employers are the University and Athens Regional Medical Center.

Acre for acre, the area is reasonably pleasant but it is far from perfect.

[Ollie1946]

p.s. we are in a drought which has put the area under severe water restrictions. so far we understand that it is likely to continue thru next summer and perhaps beyond.

don't come here expecting to buy a place with a lush yard and garden and figure you can keep it that way. there is something to be said for condos I suppose.

[Ollie1946]

oh, i just remembered about schools. there are private schools in the area in case you don't want to go the public route. there is a Montessori, a Catholic, a secular academy (very pricey), Prince Ave Christian School in Oconee County, Westminister Christian School in Oconee County, Athens Christian School in Athens-Clarke County. Athens-Christian and Prince Ave Christian have their own buses.

[carmour1234]

Thank you for the feedback. We just returned and really liked Athens and Chattanooga. We loved the Grit!

We are very interested in the Montessori school. Anyone know how that neighborhood is? We looked N of Prince but the houses were too expensive for us.

I would love something like this house-

Single Family Home - Athens, GA, 30605 - Realtor.com


It says it is the Hunters Ridge subdivision.

I wish I could turn around at look so more. I will do my research until I can return.

Casey

[ATLCOL1]

I lived in Athens for 4 years so if anyone needs any info I might be able to help!