Considering Move to Athens GA (Athens-Clarke County, Tybee Island: to live, beach, friendly)

[LowcountryMountaineer]

Hi, my wife and I are considering a move to Athens GA because it is closer to family and the coast.

Is it bike friendly?

Quickest route to beach?

What's winter like?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Canes2006Champs]

Originally Posted by LowcountryMountaineer

Hi, my wife and I are considering a move to Athens GA because it is closer to family and the coast.

Is it bike friendly?

Quickest route to beach?

What's winter like?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.

Well for starters you might try posting this in the Georgia forum. http://www.city-data.com/forum/georgia/

FWIW though I like Athens. Great music town.

[ellie]

Originally Posted by LowcountryMountaineer

Hi, my wife and I are considering a move to Athens GA because it is closer to family and the coast.

Is it bike friendly?

Quickest route to beach?

What's winter like?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.

Yes, it's somewhat bike friendly depending on where you decide to live and where you want to go. There are quite a few cycling groups who go out on long rides into the countryside. It's a little hilly in places and the traffic can be tricky, like most cities.

It will take you at least 4 - 5 hrs to get to a beach. I don't consider that very close. I'd head east to southeast. There are many to choose from.

Winters are pleasantly cold with lows in the 20's many nights and often warming into the 50's. That can vary by as much as ten degrees. It's sort of rainy and it doesn't snow every year.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by LowcountryMountaineer

Hi, my wife and I are considering a move to Athens GA because it is closer to family and the coast.

Is it bike friendly?

Quickest route to beach?

What's winter like?

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks.

Athens has a lot of of "sharrows," and most of the dedicated bicycle lanes are on wide arterial roads, but there are plenty of bicyclists around town, and drivers tolerate them for the most part. About the only time I've seen a driver get mean with a bicyclist is when the bicyclist has done something stupid. I should also note that I'm speaking primarily of Athens-Clarke County here, and I really don't know how well drivers and bicyclists would coexist in adjacent counties.

The quickest route to the beach depends on where you want to go. Generally, you're about a four- to six-hour drive from the beach, depending on your rate of speed and which beach you choose. You can take U.S. 78 east, I-20 east and U.S. 501 east to Myrtle Beach; U.S. 441 south, I-16 east, I-95 north and U.S. 278 east to Hilton Head Island; U.S. 441 south, I-16 east and U.S. 80 east to Tybee Island, U.S. 441 south and U.S. 341 south to St. Simon's Island; or U.S. 129 south, I-75 south, I-10 east and I-95 south to get to any of the Atlantic coast beaches in Florida.

Winter is sort of a half-winter in Athens. Most of the time the temperature will be too warm for snow, but still pretty chilly. The average high temperature during winter is in the 50s, and the average low temperature is in the 30s. Cold rain is the norm when there's precipitation, but there's typically one snow/ice event per winter on average, though some winters can have more than one, and some winters can have none at all. Most winter weather events are snow, but occasionally they can be ice. Most snowstorms drop 1" to 3", though 6"+ isn't unheard of.