What is the perfect Georgia town (Atlanta, Columbus: relocate, affordable houses, budget)

[mrnini]

My family is looking to relocate from Pittsburgh, and we would love to live down South. I spent some time living in Louisiana and loved the slower pace, interesting people and the charm of place. I would love to raise my 2 boys in the South. The only problem is we are short on the time and money needed to scout out the 'perfect' place. Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

I like the community feeling you get from a walkable city. I like mountains and/or water and friendly people who talk to each other. I do not like sprawl, stripmalls, crime or closed-mindedness. I also need good public schools and moderate home prices. I have no preference for the size of the city, but I am looking for something with a special kind of charm. Any recommendations?

Thanks for your help!

[neil0311]

Your wish list seems a bit of a cross between fantasy and wishful thinking.

You'll find public transportation is Atlanta, although Atlanta isn't really a walking city. Atlanta is pretty famous for "sprawl and stripmalls", two of your dislikes. You''ll also have to deal with some level of crime and home prices that probably rank beyond "moderate" for anything in a a safe neighborhood with "good schools".

There may be some smaller cities like Macon, Augusta, or Columbus that have bus service, but no serious transit. Crime and "good schools" may also be a problem in those areas, although home prices may be lower. Stripmalls are everywhere.

Sounds like what you really want is Vermont or northern New Hampshire with mountains, lakes, small town people, less strip malls, and an earthy crunchy culture. Good luck.

[mrnini]

Originally Posted by neil0311

Your wish list seems a bit of a cross between fantasy and wishful thinking.
.

The more I look, the more I agree with you. What I want is the historic district of Savannah with no crime and good schools. Oh yeah - and affordable houses!

It is tough. If I had to give up a requirement, it would be public transportation. The stripmall-sprawl mess really bothers me and it's getting harder to get away from.

[DisgustaTruth]

You might want to consider Athens... for a small city, they have an excellent public transit service.

[mrnini]

There must be something left in Georgia that is still charming without being over run by crime and development.

[LovinDecatur]

St Simons Island is often referred to as "Mayberry By The Sea"...it is a lovely community with a central village and pier, its own lighthouse, extensive bike trails, plenty of public beach access and is about an hour away from Jacksonville and Savannah. It's also very family friendly.
I love it there, although it's growing rapidly and is pricing itself over most homebuyers' budgets.

St Simons Guide - The Official Website of Saint Simons Island and the Golden Isles. St Simons accommodations, restaurants, events, entertainment, and more!

[runnergrl]

hmm...Thomasville, GA is a lovely town...in GA it is hard to find refined type small towns like up in New england...our folks down here are just alittle slower paced. I grew up in SW GA and you could check out Americus, GA (they have GA southwestern Univ there), and Moultrie. Eatonton and Milledgeville, both are charming towns too and they along hwy441 in central GA.

I mean, you are just going to have to compromise in some way. I have lived alot of places including a small town outside Danbury, CT...we drove down to GA to see family from CT...and it is quite a difference, because once you get south...you see less protection of the land from development, more billboards, trailors and the like...not as pristine as in New England.

When I lived in Atlanta, I can say truly got to enjoy it before the development swallowed it up....no little town outside of atlanta was safe from the sprawl. Whereas, where we lived in CT...about an hour from NYC...I was amazed at how the rural areas about 20-25 minutes outside NYC was maintained...it is truly like another world. My guess, is that there is more money up there and the people want the rural areas to STAY rural...and money talks. All the little townships maintained their small town feel and there isnt any mega type communities being thrown up.

In the south, especially GA...its like show me the money, and all kinds of crap gets built without any thought of how it would fit together and flow nicely. There is no appreciation for the integrity of the land. It is really sad...especially for me...when I lived other places that are so proactive about development and planning things out before they get thrown up...balancing commercial, residential, parks and rec and school development. Out west and in the midwest, I especially noticed it and could feel how much better it was to fully enjoy the community in which I lived when everything was right where you needed it.

So good luck with finding what you are looking for...I think Savannah would be worth checking out. My brother inlaw is a police officer in Clarke county (athens) so according to the crime he has to deal with...I wouldnt consider it for that. Cleveland, GA is neat little mountain town....Just remember GA will be alittle rough around the edges...the town center will certainly have loads of southern charm with the architecture of the old homes...and if the town is decent sized enough...there may be some lovely older subdivisions with schools close by. Just dont expect a picture perfect utopia...afterall once you get outside the citified areas....you will get country people...which is where I came from, and very proud of...in fact being where I am now in southern CA...I couldnt miss those country people more. These country people dont like change and sometimes will not be so open to newcomers. They are tremendously friendly and will treat you like family, but would be a bit resistant to things that are outside their box of thinking. And church is big in these small towns...afterall it is the bible belt.

[luvsthebeach]

You may want to try looking up in the northern counties of GA. Walker & Dade counties and then south to Rome (town, not sure what county). Low cost of living, crime rate is as close to zero as you can get, and schools are top notch. I'm a big fan of that area and will be moving my family down there in 2 months.

[Katsmeeyow]

Originally Posted by luvsthebeach

You may want to try looking up in the northern counties of GA. Walker & Dade counties and then south to Rome (town, not sure what county). Low cost of living, crime rate is as close to zero as you can get, and schools are top notch. I'm a big fan of that area and will be moving my family down there in 2 months.

DITTO DITTO DITTO!!!!

[DisgustaTruth]

My first pick would be Athens.. but Thomasville is also very nice and really eptomises the slower "old style " Southern way of life.. it's in the heart of plantation country. It's smaller than Athens, but fairly close to Tallahassee, Florida, which is a sizeable metro area.