Where's the best place to live in GA? (Atlanta, Albany: relocate, tornadoes)

[girlraisedinthesouth]

Hi, My husband was transferred to Metter, Ga five months ago and has been living in a hotel. We are planning on joining him in the summer. We have been to Dublin, Statesboro, and Vidalia. Are there any other areas with decent shopping and good schools that anyone would recommend nearby? We have two children 11 and 10. The 10 year old is autistic and great schools are a MUST! We currently live in Hattiesburg, MS, 40 miles north of the MS Gulf Coast. We were severly affected by Hurricane Katrina, but since the storm we are really booming. However, I do not want to live through another hurricane as long as I live. We had over 70k worth of damage to our home and are still working on getting it fixed. You would not believe the crooks that come to town after devastation. We would like to be convenient to great shopping, but could settle for less on a day to day basis. Also, Statesboro's housing was less than acceptable to us. We looked at 400k + homes and found Formica countertops in the kitchens. Higher end finishes are used in MS on this priced home. The realtor told us that unless it is custom built that is the standard. I guess contractors are making a killing in GA.

[rebrink]

new to board, have been interested in relocating to ga from s fl, noticed someposts from leavinFlorida, we also are from parkland and have had it with the taxes and ins, was'nt clear on your posts, did you make the move?? and if so where to, and are you satisfied, we also have been interested in the Flowery branch area, haven't been up there yet though, would appreciate any input

[cpowers21]

Originally Posted by rebrink

new to board, have been interested in relocating to ga from s fl, noticed someposts from leavinFlorida, we also are from parkland and have had it with the taxes and ins, was'nt clear on your posts, did you make the move?? and if so where to, and are you satisfied, we also have been interested in the Flowery branch area, haven't been up there yet though, would appreciate any input

There have been a few posts about Flowery Branch. I like the name. I've never been there but if you search the name you should get all the posts about it.

[anotherfloridian leaving]

Hello,
I understand how you feel...what you are feeling and going through is EXACTLY what was happening to us! But now we are set and decided where we want to be and what we want for our kids 13, 8 and 7. It's hard though, but it is worth it. How many times out of the year do we go to the beach or go out enjoy the beauty of Miami's Palm trees, beaches, parks???? we can't do it too often because we have to be working to pay $7000 in house insurance, $1200 car insurance and $4000 in property taxes.....and with gas prices raising everything cost more.
We are moving to Douglasville, GA away from Atlanta.....We are leaving on July 2007.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by LeavinFlorida

I think the development that Tiffani is thinking of in Flowery Branch is called Sterling on the lake. We've looked there too as well as other areas in Gwinnett. It is beautiful. Looking to move from So Fla because yes the taxes and insurance are just outrageous.for example a $400,000 home would have real estate taxes of $10,000 a year. We've outgrown our house here although we love our area, its hard to afford to buy another home here thats bigger.Most houses here start around $500,000. We have 2 kids one in elem & one in middle, the schools here in my area are great and I hate to leave the sun and palm trees but think it may come to that. That development in Flowery branch seems awesome for kids and shopping was close by. that was the area we liked best. My sister & her family live in Bethlehem GA which is a little too rural for me but she likes it there and has 3 young kids. Were looking for a nice (safe) family area with stuff to do (both kids are into sports) & good schools. When we visit Ga we love it and can picture ourselves living there but when we come back home to Florida we are confused again. Its a hard decision to make that move but so many are going. Other South Floridians - what do you think? where is the best place?

[anotherfloridian leaving]

Hello,

We are leaving FL in about 4 more months. We live in Miami-Dade and I do understand! We are moving to Douglasville, GA. There are plenty of houses with basesments in the range you are looking for.
Check out Hollys Spring elementary School, the first grade class has only around 17 or 18 students per class. My sister lives in Douglasville, GA since January 2003, she moved from UTAH. My mom moved there from Miami in August 2004 and she was able to buy a house something that she couldn't do here. My brother just left on November 1, 2006. He loves paying half of what he used to pay here in Miami for car insurance.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by lee16240

I left my question broad like that so that people from all over could tell me where they live and how they like it, plus the cost of living. Now, what I currently pay here in So. FL is $5,000 in homeowners ins, $5,000 in residental taxes, $250-$300 in electric, and car insurance is $850 every six months for each of our vehicles (we have two vehicles so double that). Although we make good money, it's getting extremely crowded and we want to find a slower paced city. We are looking to buy a home in the range of $150000 to $275000 and not in Atlanta....we would like either outside of Atlanta...Is North of Atlanta better than South of Atlanta? Is East of Atlanta better than West of Atlanta?....we like Marietta GA (Alton Brown of the Food Network TV is there...) My husband is in the elevator trade and will need to transfer and we don't want the commute to be so long. Looking for a brick home with a basement, pool, 3/2 or 4/2, neighbors not too close to each other either. Maybe this will give you what we have in mind....Thanks in advance to all who provide me information. Oh, and one more thing, we have a 4 1/2 month old little girl so we need a nice place to raise her and that has great schools.

[tiffani]

Originally Posted by LeavinFlorida

I think the development that Tiffani is thinking of in Flowery Branch is called Sterling on the lake. We've looked there too as well as other areas in Gwinnett. It is beautiful. Looking to move from So Fla because yes the taxes and insurance are just outrageous.for example a $400,000 home would have real estate taxes of $10,000 a year. We've outgrown our house here although we love our area, its hard to afford to buy another home here thats bigger.Most houses here start around $500,000. We have 2 kids one in elem & one in middle, the schools here in my area are great and I hate to leave the sun and palm trees but think it may come to that. That development in Flowery branch seems awesome for kids and shopping was close by. that was the area we liked best. My sister & her family live in Bethlehem GA which is a little too rural for me but she likes it there and has 3 young kids. Were looking for a nice (safe) family area with stuff to do (both kids are into sports) & good schools. When we visit Ga we love it and can picture ourselves living there but when we come back home to Florida we are confused again. Its a hard decision to make that move but so many are going. Other South Floridians - what do you think? where is the best place?

YES! It was Sterling on the Lake!! Gorgeous neighborhood, just too pricey for us, as we want 4 bedrooms and a finished basement.
We are buying a lovely 2800 sq ft new construction home in Gainesville, about 10 minutes north of Flowery Branch. We close on April 2nd. If we could afford Sterling on the Lake, or even Hamilton Mill, those would have been my first and second choices, but our desire to have a basement, and the $$ left over to have the basement finished was a deciding factor in where we ultimately bought our home. Georgian Acres is the name of the development. It's very pretty, and has lots of trees. Gorgeous view from our back deck, feels like we're in the mountains, but yet we're just 20 minutes from the Mall of GA (10 minutes from interstate) and all the wonderful shopping surrounding it.
Can't wait to move!!!!

[atlanta]

I would like to recommend two places. My children are all grown and/or married - some with small children (ages 7 - 2). We all live in metro Atlanta. I've narrowed down, through their research, two possibilities on the northeast area of Atlanta. One is Grayson in Gwinnett Co. and the other is Watkinsville in Oconee Co. Both are very family-friendly and good places to raise children. The hoped-for home you described is a "real" possibility in either of these area in that price range. However, consider your husband's commute. Depending on the location of his work, he may have a long commute in bumper-to-bumper traffic during rush hour. For instance, if you lived in south Gwinnett Co. and worked in Midtown, you'd have at least an hour+ commute each way. Unfortunately, it's a way-of-life for many in metro Atlanta. Jobs are in the city, safer & affordable lifestyle to raise children is in the suburbs!

[atlanta]

Relatives live in East Dublin and their school have been good - both in high school now. I might mention that they go to Macon to shop. Unfortunately, they found the same experience concerning new homes. I don't have an answer as to why low-end products are used in high-end homes in that area. That is not the case in my area (Gwinnett/Walton/Oconee Co.) or in any of metro Atlanta. I also know that not to be the case in the Columbus or Augusta-areas, where relatives have recently bought homes. Would you consider living as far from Metter as Rincon? Friends just moved from there, had a beautiful home. Their children were babies, so I don't know anything about schools in Effingham Co. Good luck!

[Michelle DeRepentigny]

Athens, Ga was listed as the 2cnd safest city in Georgia last year. Athens has alot to offer in the way of activites because of the Univeristy of Georgia.
Moderator cut: agent's website

[CalieCat]

To be honest, I only read over the first page of replies. We live in Woodstock which is N. of Atlanta, we've lived her for about 8 years now. It is still considered "rural" but we have had a LOT of growth in the past few years. We live in a modest neighborhood (tennis courts, swimming pool, 2 story club house, playgrounds) where the homes range from $250,000 - $300,000 (most homes have 4-6 bedrooms & 3-4 baths). Our property tax this year was just under $2,400, we pay right about $450 for property insurance and we pay $500 in HOA dues. Our utilites are quite reasonable also. We really like it here and in my opinion...North of Atlanta is far better than East, West or South of Atlanta! I think you would find Woodstock a VERY friendly child raising place to live (we have a few of those too ), look it up and give us a try!