Gainesville Ga (need honest reviews) (Atlanta, Lawrenceville: crime, home, safe area)

[Pureheart]

I'm from Texas born & raised and my fiancé who is from Gainsesville Ga, wants me to move there (make a living) this summer 2018. I have never been out of the state of Texas and extremely afraid to move to Ga. I have been doing extensive research and extremely mortified about what I have read. I have an eight year old son and I want the best for him. Which are some of the best school you all recommend? What can you all tell me about Gainesville Ga? Is the crime really that bad? Traffic here in Texas is an ease, at least where I live. I have read traffic is bad in Ga, and you have to drive fast in order to stay out of a wreck. Please tell me I am simply over thinking things, and that there is some shine on this beautiful place my fiancé praises over. I did visit the area for a few days and the sight is beautiful. I didn’t get to drive around the area, because I went into a cultural shock mode. My fiancé took me to Stone Mountain and Hellen’s Creek, which had me in awe the whole time. I didn’t experience anything bad while I was there, but visiting and actually living there can’t be of comparison. Thank you in advance for your honest response and for helping me make a final decision to move or not to move.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Pureheart

I'm from Texas born & raised and my fiancé who is from Gainsesville Ga, wants me to move there (make a living) this summer 2018. I have never been out of the state of Texas and extremely afraid to move to Ga. I have been doing extensive research and extremely mortified about what I have read. I have an eight year old son and I want the best for him. Which are some of the best school you all recommend? What can you all tell me about Gainesville Ga? Is the crime really that bad? Traffic here in Texas is an ease, at least where I live. I have read traffic is bad in Ga, and you have to drive fast in order to stay out of a wreck. Please tell me I am simply over thinking things, and that there is some shine on this beautiful place my fiancé praises over. I did visit the area for a few days and the sight is beautiful. I didn’t get to drive around the area, because I went into a cultural shock mode. My fiancé took me to Stone Mountain and Hellen’s Creek, which had me in awe the whole time. I didn’t experience anything bad while I was there, but visiting and actually living there can’t be of comparison. Thank you in advance for your honest response and for helping me make a final decision to move or not to move.

Don't be afraid.

I don't know what negative things that you might have read about Gainesville, but whatever it sounds like you have read it is probably not true.

Like any and everywhere else, Gainesville has crime, but Gainesville does not have the reputation of being a high-crime area. Gainesville for the most part is actually a pretty safe area.

The traffic in Georgia is known to flow at speeds that are well above posted speed limits, particularly in the Atlanta area. But the Gainesville area is not known for having traffic issues. Atlanta is the place with the traffic issues.

Gainesville is actually a great exurban city that is located about 55 miles northeast of Atlanta in the rising foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Lots of outdoor recreational activities can be found in the Gainesville area and environs courtesy of the shores of beautiful Lake Lanier (the primary water source for much of the Atlanta area...a water source which Gainesville sits on the shores of) and the scenic foothills and ranges of the nearby Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachian mountains region.

To put it in terms that you might better be able to relate to as a Texan, Gainesville (which is an exurban city about 55 miles northeast of Atlanta) compares loosely to an exurban city like Denton which is about just under 50 miles north-northwest of Dallas.

Both Gainesville, Georgia and Denton, Texas are growing exurban cities on and near large major water sources for their respective large major metro regions with growing public university apparatuses.

(...Gainesville, GA is located on the shores of Lake Lanier northeast of Atlanta while Denton, TX is located very near the shores of Lewisville Lake north-northwest of Dallas... Gainesville, GA is home to one of the primary campuses of the University of North Georgia system, Lanier Technical College and Brenau University while Denton, TX is home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University campuses.)

(...Also, Gainesville, GA is a very important center of (industrial, political, social and educational) activity for the exurban and rural Northeast Georgia mountains region much like Denton, TX seems to be a very important center of (industrial, educational and cultural activity) for the exurban and rural Northeast Texas region.)

Gainesville is an industrial city that is known as being "The Poultry Capital of the World" because of the very large number of poultry processing plants in the area.

The relatively large amount of industry in the area has led to Gainesville being one of the most powerful cities in both Georgia and Southeastern U.S. political circles (...both Georgia's current sitting governor (Nathan Deal) and sitting Lt. governor (Casey Cagle) have deep ties to the Gainesville area along with a host of other powerful Georgia politicos).

Gainesville, GA is also home to Gainesville High School which has a very strong and very proud sporting tradition, particularly in the sports of football, basketball and baseball, etc.

The educational quality at Gainesville High School and in the Gainesville City Schools system is good-to-okay, particularly if a child comes from a strong and stable home with college-educated parents... Though the school's and the school system's academic scores are adversely affected by the school's very large population of transient students.

Fairly good to above-average educational results can also be found throughout much of the surrounding Hall County school system as well as in the much more urban and suburban facilities and environs of the neighboring Gwinnett County... While way above-average educational results can be found in the more highly affluent facilities and environs of the neighboring Forsyth County school system.

The weather of the Gainesville, GA area is still considered to be very warm and mild for the North American continent, but it probably will be noticeably cooler compared to many parts of Texas.

The culture of the area will be largely Blue Ridge/Southern Appalachian Foothills and some Piedmont/Southeastern Upcountry.

The nearby Blue Ridge/Southern Appalachian mountains region to the north and the very fast-growing and increasingly cosmopolitan and nationally/internationally influential nearby Atlanta metro area/region to the southwest will be major (dominant) cultural, social and political influences on the area.

Living in Gainesville in Northeast Georgia, you will have the advantage of living in an exurban area with a small-town like culture that is only about a few miles away from a very big major city/metro of international influence in Atlanta. Atlanta is the site of the world's busiest airport (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) so you will be able to fly wherever you want (including to and from Texas) whenever you want.

If you like following and watching football and other athletics in Texas, then you will love them in Gainesville and Northeast Georgia which is in the very heart of SEC and ACC football country.

High schools in Gainesville and Hall County and in nearby areas (like Forsyth and Gwinnett counties) field many SEC-caliber football programs and SEC/ACC-caliber athletic programs. There is tons of athletic talent in the area.

Overall, you should adjust well to and probably will eventually love living in Northeast Georgia. Texans seem to adjust to living in North Georgia really well because of the common thread of both Georgia and Texas being very important Sunbelt states.

I've got friends from Texas that have loved and continue to love living in Georgia... And you more than likely will love living in Georgia as well.

[Androcles]

Gainesville is nice. I like it much better than Lawrenceville where I used to live. The crime really isn’t bad but if you don’t want to take any chances you could live in Flowery Branch, just south of Gainesville. One of the top 10 safest towns in Georgia. Try not to get involved in anything further south of there. That’s when you encounter the horrible driving and all day long rush hour traffic. Stone Mountain and Atlanta are good for occasional visits but you should try to do most things in Hall county or other areas sufficiently far from ATL if you want peace and sanity. At least that’s how I feel, but if you were mortified at what you heard, sounds like you’ll agree. Georgia is very beautiful and pleasant overall though.

[illtaketwoplease]

Could someone familiar with the Gainesville area comment on the town of Cleveland or other smaller towns north (but not too far out) of Gainesville? Was through there last weekend and wonder what those towns are like. I know G has a very good heart hospital...